Is it possible to have too many books?
That is a question that almost every bookstore in the world seems to be asking right now. September and October are traditionally months when a lot of new and important titles are published e.g new books from Ian Rankin (A Song for Dark Times, HC, Oct. 6th), John Grisham (A Time for Mercy, HC, Oct. 13th) and Val McDermid (Still Life, HC, Oct. 16th), and in addition this year many titles were pushed back from the Spring. The Bookseller reported that 355 new hardbacks were being released on October 1st. That being said we are excited about the titles we have received this week including Kate Ellis, Lynda La Plante, Nicola Upson, and Anna Lee Huber. The answer to my question is of course no, but customers may have to put up with a messier store.
Missed Book
I like to think that I have a pretty good idea handle on books in the store but one new book that I missed was Cate Conte’s Witch Hunt (MM, $10.99). The main character, Violet Mooney, owns a crystal shop in a small town in Connecticut. She is grieving the recent death of her grandmother but otherwise her life is stable and happy. This, of course, is about to change when she gets into an argument with a member of the town council, who less than 24 hours later is found dead. When the police start to investigate her as a possible suspect in the killing help comes from an unexpected place. Her mother, who Violet thought had abandoned her after her parent’s divorce, arrives literally in a cloud of glitter accompanied by her half sister Zoe. This is a really enjoyable and fast paced read. It does feel like a book that is going to be the start of a new series and I hope that it does. Fans of Juliet Blackwell and Bailey Cates should enjoy this title.
Used Books
We have a lot of just received used books. There have often been times when we have had an influx of the books by one author but I honestly do not remember when we have had so many. If you are a Carter Dickson or John Dickson Carr fan looking to fill in some gaps in your collection, now is the time to check out our used listings either online at whodunitbooks.ca or in person. If you check the online listings, you can mark books to be set aside for you to pick up and remember you do not pay anything until you pick up the books. We also have long runs of other authors including Dorothy Gilman, John Mortimer, Donald Hamilton, Tony Hillerman and Charlotte Macleod.