P.I.'s in Print A to G

A TO G

September 5, 2010

Amidon, Stephen. SECURITY: A Novel. Picador. February '10. $14.00. "There isn't much crime in Stoneleigh, Massachusetts. It's a college town, a mountain getaway for the quietly rich, where the average burglar alarm is set off by wildlife. So when Edward Inman, owner of Stoneleigh Sentinel, gets a late-night false alarm from the home of Doyle Cutler, one of his wealthiest clients, Edward thinks nothing of it - not until a local student, Mary Steckl, claims that she was sexually assaulted that same night at Cutler's house. Edward soon finds himself drawn to Mary's story, even though the rest of the town doubts her, including his wife, a rising politician who has made security the platform of her mayoral campaign. While homework from a creative writing class is leaked as evidence of a dark secret between Mary and her father, Edward's investigations lead him to his old girlfriend, Kathryn Williams, whose teenage son may hold the key to the truth about that night. From the author of HUMAN CAPITAL, SECURITY is a timely, wry, and riveting story of adults and children, secret lives and civic culture, suspicion and sexual hysteria. It confirms Stephen Amidon as a master of the art and one of the foremost chroniclers of American life today."

Bowen, Rhys. IN A GILDED CAGE. Minotaur Press. March '10. $7.99. "Irish immigrant Molly Murphy and her New York City P.I. business are in the midst of a sweeping influenza epidemic and a fight for women's suffrage that lands her in jail. Her betrothed, Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, finds her, but he hardly has time to bail her out, what with Chinese gangs battling for control of a thriving opium trade. The only consolation Molly can take from her vexing afternoon in the clink is that it made her some new friends among the Vassar suffragists - and brought her a pair of new cases. For the first, Emily Boswell is convinced her miserly uncle stole her inheritance and wants Molly to uncover the truth behind her parents' lives and deaths. Second, Emily's colleg roommate Fanny Poindexter wants Molly to find proof of her husband's philandering so that she can leave him without one red cent. But when Fanny dies and her husband claims she's a victim of the epidemic, it's more than Molly's conscience can take. Rhys Bowen's Agatha and Anthony Award-winning historical series continues to breathe life into the past with its wit and charm and its complete sense of early-twentieth-century New York, which makes which makes IN A GILDED CAGE her most accomplished mystery yet."

Bowen, Rhys. THE LAST ILLUSION. Minotaur Press. April '10. $24.99. "Irish immigrant and PI Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to the theater to see a trio of illusionists that are all the rage. Indeed, headlining is Harry Houdini, the most sensational of them all; he has just returned from entertaining European kings and queens for a brief run on Broadway. But before Houdini can even take the stage, the opening act goes horribly wrong and to the crowd's shock the illusionist saws into his assistant. In the aftermath, the stunned performer accuses Houdini of tampering with the equipment he keeps under lock and key. And he's not the only one critical of 'The King of Handcuffs.' Risking his life every night, Houdini has raised the stakes to such a perilous level that he's putting lesser acts out of business. With everyone on edge, Houdini's wife hires Molly to be part investigator/part bodyguard, but how can she protect a man who literally risks his life every night? And how is she going to uncover whether these masters of illusion are simply up to their tricks or if there truly is something much more treacherous going on? With sparkling wit, charming characters, and historic detail, multiple award winner Rhys Bowen brings early-twentieth-century New York City and the fantastic performers of the time vividly to life in THE LAST ILLUSION."

Brown, Sandra. TOUGH CUSTOMER. Simon & Schuster. September '10. $26.99. "Colleagues, friends, and lovers know Dodge Hanley as a private investigator who doesn't let rules get in his way - in his private life as well as his professional one. If he breaks a heart, or bends the law in order to catch a criminal, he does so without hesitation or apology. That's why he's the first person Caroline King - who after a thirty-year separation continues to haunt his dreams - asks for help when a deranged stalker attempts to murder their daughter...the daughter Dodge has never met. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for wishing to ignore Caroline's call, and one compelling reason to drop everything and fly down to Texas: guilt. Dodge's mind may be a haze of disturbing memories and bad decisions, but he arrives in Houston knowing with perfect clarity that his daughter, Berry, is in danger. She has become the object of desire of a co-worker, a madman and genius with a penchant for puzzles and games who has spent the past year making Berry's life hell, and who now has vowed to kill her. Dodge joins forces with local deputy sheriff Ski Nyland, but the alarming situation goes from bad to worse when the stalker begins to claim other victims and leaves an ominous trail of clues as he lethally works his way toward Berry. Sensing the killer drawing nearer, Dodge, who's survived vicious criminals and his own self-destructive impulses, realizes that this time he's in for the fight of his life. From acclaimed best-selling author Sandra Brown, TOUGH CUSTOMER is a heart-pounding tale about obsession and murder, the fragile nature of relationships, and, possibly, second chances." Simultaneous release on Audio CD from Simon & Schuster Audio. Available in paperback. Pocket Books. January '11. $16.00.

Clark, Carol Higgins. CURSED. Pocket Star. April '10. $7.99. Twelfth in the Reagan Reilly series. "Private Investigator Regan Reilly moved from Los Angeles to New York City when she married her husband, Jack 'no relation' Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. To help a friend she ends up taking on a case that calls her back to her old stomping ground... CURSED opens on a cold and gray January morning. Sleet and snow are swirling as Regan arrives at a warehouse in Long Island City with a trunk full of her old case files from Los Angeles. After carting all her boxes into a storage unit, she heads back out into the snow, and her cell phone rings. Abigail Feeney, a young woman who had lived across the hall from Regan in an apartment complex in the Hollywood Hills, is on the line. Abigail believes her life has been cursed since birth. She was born on Friday the 13th of January, and her parents gave her a name with 13 letters. A hairdresser on movie sets, Abigail was recently injured at work when a piece of scaffolding fell and knocked her over, and her arm was broken in two places. But that isn't why she is calling. 'Regan!' she exclaims. 'The 'no good bum' has been spotted in town. I desperately need the money he owes me. Can you please come out here and help me find him?' Regan immediately knows the identity of the 'no good bum.' From her L.A. apartment, Regan had often seen Abigail's ex, Cody Castle, sitting by the pool, bent over his cell phone, text messaging nonstop. Before he disappeared three months ago, he borrowed $100,000 from Abigail. He promised to pay her back in three months. 'Find him?' Regan asks. 'Yes! My grandmother is flying here tomorrow. There's a condo she wants to buy me. But we need that money. She can't find out I don't have it. Regan, can't you spend a few days with me?' If Regan weren't freezing, she might have made an excuse. But Jack was away at a seminar, Regan had never liked the 'no good bum,' and Abigail had brought her chicken soup when she'd had the flu last winter. Within hours Regan is on a flight to Los Angeles where her adventure with Abigail will take her from the beaches of Malibu, to the mountains north of the city, to the renovated lofts of downtown L.A. Regan starts to feel Abigail's curse is contagious as she encounters a cast of characters who aren't always welcoming. Some are downright dangerous. And there's one who is the most dangerous of all..."

Clark, Carol Higgins. WRECKED. Scribner. May '10. $25.00. "Private Investigator Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack 'no relation' Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They are looking forward to a quiet romantic weekend out of town. Wouldn't you know their choice of destination provides them with anything but! Regan and Jack had considered going to Bermuda, but instead they decide to spend four days at his parents' beautiful beachfront home on Cape Cod, a wonderful spot where they'd never been alone. During the summer the house overflowed with Jack's family, bubbling with activity from morning until night. But to be up there for a weekend in April, just the two of them, sounded like a perfect escape. Arriving at the Cape late at night, Regan and Jack are just in time to experience the beginning of a major storm. The next morning, Cape Cod Bay is quite a sight, churning with whitecaps. The wind is howling ferociously. Sheets of rain are pelting the house. Regan is looking forward to settling in the den with Jack and watching the storm. However, the best laid plans... In the bedroom, Regan opens the curtains to find Skip, the Reillys' young caretaker, pressing his nose against the glass, supposedly checking for leaks. A moment later, Jack arrives home from the market, two gossipy older women who live up the street in tow. A branch crashed through their living room window, and they need a place to stay. When Regan thought things couldn't get any worse, Skip comes running into the house, distraught that he'd just discovered Adele Hopkins, the woman renting the house next door, in a heap at the bottom of her staircase to the beach. Regan and Jack run back down with him, but huge waves are crashing on the shore. Hopkins is gone, presumably swept out to sea. Who was Adele Hopkins? No one knows. The sixty-ish loner, who moved in five months ago, shunned her neighbors. Even her landlords, friends of the Reillys, have no idea how to locate her next of kin. Discovered in her dining room are stacks of apology cards she'd not yet sent and bags of decorative pillows that are embroidered with the saying grudge me, grudge me not. Regan and Jack begin an investigation to help their friends track down Hopkins's family. They start by interviewing two young women who own the shop where Adele had bought the pillows. Pippy and Ellen opened Pillow Talk after they both lost their jobs. When a newspaper article revealing the terrible way the women had been treated by their former employers was posted on the Internet, business took off, they started to become well-known, and the Pillow Talk website became a place for people who had had similar experiences to vent their feelings. Pippy and Ellen just received an anonymous e-mail from someone who spews venom about her former rowing coach - Adele Hopkins. Could she be the same Adele Hopkins? Regan and Jack's search for clues to this mysterious woman's identity makes for an anniversary weekend they'll never forget!" Simultaneous release on Audio CD from Simon & Schuster Audio.

Clark, Mary Higgins & Carol Higgins. DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW. Pocket Books. November '09. $7.99. The fifth book written by the mother-daughter team. "In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $180 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advise of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn't come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it? The Clarks' endearing heroes - Alvirah Meehan, the amateur sleuth, and private investigator Regan Reilly - have arrived in Branscombe for the festival. They are just the people to find out what went amiss. As they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears. So much for an old-fashioned weekend in the country. This fast-paced holiday caper will keep you dashing through the pages!"

Coben, Harlan. LONG LOST. Signet Books. March '10. $9.99. "...Harlan Coben's blistering new Myron Bolitar thriller takes Myron - and his millions of fans - where they have never gone before. Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance - her struggles to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born...and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her happiness and her beloved only daughter. Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets...and the very real possibility that her daughter may still be alive. In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese's long-lost little girl - but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global implications."

Depp, Daniel. BABYLON NIGHTS: A David Spandau Novel. Simon & Schuster. August '10. $24.00. Second in the series. "Fifteen years ago, Anna Mayhew won an Oscar for Best Actress. Rich, famous, and beautiful, she had the world at her feet. Nearly forty years old, Anna is being offered these days only bland supporting roles, the kind she got her acting started with. So she spends much of her time thinking up clever and dangerous methods of self-destruction. But she may not have to kill herself after all. Anna discovers she has a stalker - Vincent, a crazed fan whose idea of love involves a straight razor and lots of blood. What better way to propel the name Anna Mayhew into film immortality? Enter David Spandau, ex-stuntman and private investigator, who has been hired by Anna's sister Pam to protect the star. But Anna doesn't want help - until she meets Spandau and decides she needs his intimate protection all the way to the Cannes Film Festival, where she's slated to be a judge. Spandau finds himself falling for Anna, as well. But there's the not so small problem of trying to keep a woman alive who'd prefer to be dead. To complicate matters, Vincent has followed Anna to Cannes intent on a bloody consummation of their relationship and he is being tracked by Special, an opera-loving L.A. pimp trying to recover the mob-owned money Vincent stole from him. So a deadly cat-and-mouse game that begins in the meat market of Hollywood culminates at the Roman orgy that is Cannes. Author Depp proves again to have the deadliest and most perceptive eye trained on the entertainment business today. With an enthralling, hair-raising final act, BABYLON NIGHTS is a twisted and sharply funny thrill ride that will delight Spandau fans and newcomers alike."

Depp, Daniel. LOSER'S TOWN: A David Spandau Novel. Simon & Schuster. April '10. $14.00. First in a new series. "In Hollywood, you're not made until you've made a movie. First-time author Daniel Depp introduces private investigator David Spandau, an ex-stuntman familiar with the ins and outs of Hollywood - a smart, tough, and wickedly funny observer of la vie L.A. - whose patience is almost sapped when he's hired to protect actor Bobby Dye from a blackmailing scheme gone wrong. Dye - young, brash, and on the verge of becoming a major star - has been set up by gangster Richie Stella, a nightclub owner and drug dealer with dreams of becoming a Hollywood producer. And he has a movie perfect for Bobby; problem is, it's the worst script anyone's ever read. But Richie is not easy to say no to, and when he retaliates, the game gets a little more deadly for more than a few of its players. A Hollywood insider himself, Depp is no stranger to the temptations and illusions of the City of Angels and its ambitious, cutthroat denizens. Loser's Town is charged with the elements of all great L.A. noir - crackling dialogue, fast-paced plot, and seedy, jaded characters - and Depp brings a few new tricks to the genre with sadistic talent agents, washed-up actors looking for their second coming, and small-time hustlers just trying to make a modest living outside the limelight. Loser's Town is a deftly written thriller - a gruesomely hilarious, occasionally wistful depiction of what goes on beneath those white letters on the mountainside."

Evanovich, Janet. FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN. St. Martin's Press. July '10. $8.99. "The next Stephanie Plum novel, in which complications arise, loyalties are tested, cliffhangers are resolved, and donuts are eaten." In this entry, Lula witnesses the murder of chef Stanley Chipotle, a TV celebrity. Joe Morelli, Stephanie's sometime boyfriend, agrees to take the case. With the help of Grandma Mazur, Lulu enters a cooking competition in the hopes of luring the murderer out of hiding.

Evanovich, Janet. PLUM SPOOKY. St. Martin's Press. January '10. $7.99. "The First Full Length Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers Novel... Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys. Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground. Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel. Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake - delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an uber bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs. Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course...monkeys."

Faye, Lyndsay. DUST AND SHADOW: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson. Simon & Schuster. December '09. $14.00. "'At first it seemed the Ripper affair had scarred my friend Sherlock Holmes as badly as it had the city of London itself...' From the gritty streets of nineteenth century London, the loyal and courageous Dr. Watson offers a tale unearthed after generations of lore: the harrowing story of Sherlock Holmes's attempt to hunt down Jack the Ripper. As England's greatest specialist in criminal detection, Sherlock Holmes is unwavering in his quest to capture the killer responsible for terrifying London's East End. He hires an 'unfortunate' known as Mary Ann Monk, the friend of a fellow streetwalker who was one of the Ripper's earliest victims; and he relies heavily on the steadfast and devoted Dr. John H. Watson. When Holmes himself is wounded in Whitechapel during an attempt to catch the savage monster, the popular press launches an investigation of its own, questioning the great detective's role in the very crimes he is so fervently struggling to prevent. Stripped of his credibility, Holmes is left with no choice but to break every rule in the desperate race to find the madman known as 'the Knife' before it is too late. A masterly re-creation of history's most diabolical villain, Lyndsay Faye's debut brings unparalleled authenticity to the atmosphere of Whitechapel and London in the fledgling days of tabloid journalism and recalls the ideals evinced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most beloved and world-renowned characters. Jack the Ripper's identity, still hotly debated around the world more than a century after his crimes were committed, remains a mystery ripe for speculation. DUST AND SHADOW explores the terrifying prospect of tracking a serial killer without the advantage of modern forensics, and the result is a lightning-paced novel brimming with historical detail that will keep you on the edge of your seat."

Goldberg, Lee. MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP. Signet Books. December '09. $7.99. "More compulsive fun in this all-new, original mystery starring everyone's favorite OCD detective.... Leland Stottlemeyer is used to obsessive- compulsive genius Adrian Monk getting all the praise and attention. But the police captain is feeling a little hostile after taking a lot of ribbing about his reliance on his star consultant. Is it possible he's used the latest round of budget cuts as an excuse to cut Monk loose? But Monk is much too compulsive to stop investigating, even without pay. Soon he's calling in tips under assumed names to help solve cases. (Who would ever guess the real identity of 'Adrian Smith' and 'Adrian Jones?') Then Stottlemeyer is framed for the murder of another cop - and only one detective in San Francisco can save him..."

Goldberg, Lee. MR. MONK IN TROUBLE. NAL. January '10. $22.95. "Ever since a 1962 unsolved train robbery made it famous, people have made their way to Trouble in California's gold country - to search for the booty that train robbers supposedly dumped in the botched heist. When the museum watchman is murdered, Monk and his assistant, Natalie, are sent to investigate. Monk becomes obsessed with the legendary unsolved robbery, discovering a personal connection to the town's past. During the tail-end of the gold rush, Trouble's assayer was one Artemus Monk. Natalie can't help but notice the resemblance. But that might not be the only thing that ties the past to the present, and if Monk isn't careful, he'll learn how the town of Trouble lives up to its name." Paperback edition. Signet Books. July '10.$7.99.

Goldberg, Lee. MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUTE. NAL. August '10. $22.95. "Monk's been swindled out of his savings - but now it's payback time, in the latest original mystery featuring everyone's favorite OCD detective. In the midst of a financial crisis, the SFPD fires Adrian Monk as a consultant. Monk figures he can live off his savings for a while. Then Natalie learns that Monk invested his money some time ago with Bob Sebes, the charismatic leader of Reinier Investments, who's just been arrested on charges of orchestrating a massive $100 million fraud. All of Sebes' clients - including Monk - are completely wiped out. When the key witness in the government's case against Sebes is killed, Monk is convinced that Sebes did it, but the man has been under house arrest with a horde of paparazzi in front of his building 24/7. Monk may be broke, but he's got plenty of time on his hands to solve this latest mystery..."

Grafton, Sue. U IS FOR UNDERTOW. Putnam Books. December '09. $27.95. "It's April, 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth birthday, and she's alone in her office doing paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he'd be carded if he tried to buy booze, but Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. Twenty-one years earlier, a four-year-old girl disappeared. A recent reference to her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial when he was six years old. He wants Kinsey's help in locating the child's remains and finding the men who killed her. It's a long shot but he's willing to pay cash up front, and Kinsey agrees to give him one day. As her investigation unfolds, she discovers Michael Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he's the boy who cried wolf. Is his current story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications? Grafton moves the narrative between the eighties and the sixties, changing points of view, building multiple subplots, and creating memorable characters. Gradually, we see how they all connect. But at the beating center of the novel is Kinsey Millhone, sharp-tongued, observant, a loner with foibles you can laugh at and faults you can forgive." Simultaneous release on Audio CD from Random House Audio. Available in paperback. Berkley Books. December '10. $7.99.

Greer, Robert. FIRST OF STATE. North Atlantic Books. October '10. $24.95. "A Young and Restless CJ Floyd. Robert Greer's latest novel - a prequel to his CJ Floyd mystery series - takes readers back in time to a very young CJ Floyd. It's 1972, and the 22-year-old decorated war vet has recently returned to Denver from Vietnam with post-traumatic stress disorder. Navigating depression, he finds a friend in World War II vet and amputee Wiley Ames, who shares his passion for rare and valuable western memorabilia. When Ames and a mysterious Chinese man are found murdered, CJ's already fragile world threatens to collapse. His attempts to find his friend's killer are thwarted at every turn, and finally he joins his Uncle Ike's business as bail bondsman and bounty hunter. Five years later one of Ames's treasured antique license plates turns up at a Denver flea market, and CJ is once again off and running. The trail to Wiley Ames's murderer leads CJ down a dark path strewn with backstabbing antique dealers, conniving friends and relatives of Ames's, and a shadowy musician. Equally a white-knuckle-ride murder mystery and a tale of a traumatized young man coming to terms with his past, FIRST OF STATE features the kind of fresh characters, street-smart dialogue, and ingenious plot twists that have made this series a critical and commercial success."

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