I was bemoaning the reduced number of mass markets just the other month but we seem to be seeing more in the catalogues for Summer and Fall. There is one new series which I have been enjoying, written by Bree Baker the series is set the summer resort town of Charm. The first book was called Live and Let Chai, and the second title which is a new release is No Good Tea Goes Unpunished. I think this series is well worth a try and we have copies of both titles in stock in mass market at $10.99 (including the newest in used already!).
I must admit I was a little surprised to see Andrew Cartmel’s ‘Vinyl Detective’ series appear in mass market format but it was a pleasant surprise. The plots revolve around a record collector and vinyl connoisseur who has developed a business based on his own passion for vinyl records of seeking out rare or lost recordings for clients. This is a fun and engaging series with a host of well developed supporting characters. The fourth title, Flip Back is about to appear in trade paper, but the first two titles Written in Dead Wax and The Run-Out Groove are available in mass market at $10.99 and we’ve got the third book, Victory Disc, in new and used trade paperback.
Alexander McCall Smith is well known as a very prolific writer, so it is no surprise that he has recently embarked on two new series. With Inspector Varg, McCall Smith is entering the Scandinavian genre. The Department of Sensitive Crimes introduces us to Inspector Ulf Varg who as the title suggests is part of the Department of Sensitive Crimes, which is based in Malmo, Sweden. Varg is also the owner of a hearing impaired dog Marten, who is able to lip read in Swedish. We will see how this series progresses. The first title will be available in hardcover later in April at $29.95.
Also from McCall Smith, My Italian Bulldozer, introduces us to writer Paul Stewart, whose attempted escape to Italy to find peace and quiet to finish his current project is doomed to failure from the moment his plane touches down. The book is available in stock $19.95. The second title The Second Worst Restaurant in France is due to be released in hardcover in July, at $29.95. The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is a stand alone novel, set in England during WWII. Available in store $19.95. However, fans of the Ladies No 1 Detective Agency should not worry because the 20th title in that series, To the Land of Long Lost Friends, will arrive in hardcover in October. We’ve got the first four books in that series in stock in used trade paperback if you never jumped on that particular train all those years ago now.
After a gap of seven years and literary side trips to Amsterdam and the Faroes among other places David Hewson has returned to Nic Costa and Italy. The Savage Shore sees Nic Costa away from his native Rome on the Calabrian coast to assist the head of the ‘Ndrangheta who wants to become a government informant. Needless to say the task does not run smoothly. Available in trade paper in May $20.95.