BOOKS JUST IN

Barber, Christine. Replacement Child Signed.
We were able to get a limited number of Signed copies of this winner of the annual Malice Domestic/St Martins Press Best First Novel contest. I met the author at the Tony Hillerman Conference in mid-November in Albuquerque and was impressed with her drive and commitment to writing. She snagged a review from the NY Times that reads, in part: "Christine Barber is new to the Southwest in the sense that The Replacement Child is her first novel. But she has a great feel for the territory and for the family connections that enforce its strong community bonds.



Brooke, P J. Blood Wedding.
The NYT also likes this one. "Inspector Max Romero knows the Muslim community in and around Granada, Spain. He also knows the young Muslim woman who was found dead near his family's estate. To sort it all out, he must navigate post-9/11 politics . . . [and] his family's secrets both past and present. The mystery surrounding the death of poet Federico García Lorca during the Spanish Civil War adds depth to this compelling tale, richly embroidered with complex characters and multiple plot threads." Granada is one of my favorite cities, home not only to the glorious Muslim fortress The Alhambra, but also capital city of Los Reyes Catolicos: Ferdinand and Isabella who drove out the Moors and launched the Spanish Inquisition, thus taking a city famed for its cultural diversity and religious tolerance to ...

Maleeny, Tim. Greasing the Pinata (Poisoned Pen $25). In writing this book up for booksellers, I came up with a better description than I've given you before. Elmore Leonard meets Dashiell Hammett in Mexico as PI Cape Weathers and the five-foot tall assassin, Sally, who has his back, tangle with alligators of all sizes, one a genuine reptile snacking on a US senator in a golf course lake.

And then there is this just in from Bookgasm
"Now, there is something in GREASING that I've never seen in a mystery: the idea of going green. Not in the sense that Maleeny recycles ideas, but using the idea of going green as central to the story itself, with the talk of carbon offsets being a hot topic and leading Cape to make some discoveries. But where Maleeny shines in this book is in some of his references. If it's a discussion of a well-known zombie baseball film, house decorating by Elvis Presley, and some H.P. Lovecraft love, the author shows he's not only growing as a writer, but really hitting his stride."
I'm hopeful that Maleeny already is working on the fourth book, since these have become a favorite for not only me, but my father. If you have not read the other novels, you're safe, as Maleeny never hits readers over the head about the previous plots. But you don't know what you're missing, since Maleeny is a talent to watch and stick with."
This is so true, I think he has the talent and drive to take over the Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake franchises with a big nod to Don Winslow. Maleeny says his favorite author is Joe R. Lansdale.