November 2020

MAINELY MURDERS NEWSLETTER

1 Bourne Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043

207-985-8706

NOW OPEN

MAIL-ORDER ONLY

[USPS Media Mail or Local Pick-Up]

Direct all orders to: [email protected]

Mystery Quiz

Many fictional detectives have an able sidekick/assistant--think Sherlock Holmes’ John Watson or Nero Wolf’s Archie Goodwin. It may sound outdated, but some even employed a trusted secretary. Name your favorite detective/secretary duo.

Send your answer to [email protected] (subject line: quiz). A prizewinner (a $25 gift card) will be randomly drawn from correct submissions.

Congratulations to Nancy Meyers of Higganum, Connecticut, last month’s winner, who named Gerald Elias as the author whose crime-solving protagonist is Daniel Jacobus, a blind, crotchety, reclusive violin teacher. Nancy’s name was drawn from correct answers.

Thanks to all who entered this month (and all the other months). Our mystery readers are rarely stumped for an answer.

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Happy Birthday

Each month we note birthdays of some of the masters of the mystery genre, with hopes that readers might read (or re-read) one of their gems.

Émile Gaboriau, born November 9, 1832, in Saujon, France, was a writer, novelist, journalist, and pioneer of detective fiction. His best-known creation was Monsieur Lecoq, one of the earliest detectives in literature, who was said to have been a major influence on Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin, and other fictional characters. He died in 1873 in Paris.

Anna Katherine Green,

author of The Leavenworth Case

(1878), was born November 11, 1845. This classic novel, among the very first mysteries written by a woman, featured Ebenezer Gryce, a New York City police detective. She died in 1935.

Harry Kemelman,

born November 24, 1900, in Boston, created one of the most famous clerical detectives, Rabbi David Small. His first book in the series, Friday The Rabbi Slept Late (1964), won the Edgar for Best First Novel. He died in 1996.

John Dickson Carr,

who also wrote under the pseudonym Carter Dickson, was born November 30, 1906, in Pennsylvania. Best known for his locked-room mysteries, he was honored as a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1963. He died in 1977.

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Signed Firsts

Signed first editions have long been held in high esteem by book lovers. Many of us have our own, if limited, collections. For example, we like having signed Sara Paretsky, Val McDermid, Patricia Moyes, Sue Grafton,

Louise Penny, and other authors we've met in person or through their books.

While from the beginning our inventory has been focused on readers, not collectors, we do have some special finds. Signed, mylar-covered first edition of authors Louise Penny, Paul Doiron, Tess Gerritsen, Lee Child, David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and others.

Own a signed copy of a favorite title. How about signed copies from each of your favorite authors? Purchase for yourself or as a gift. Prices vary and supply limited. Let us know the author and we'll reply with a list of available signed books.

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Reveal Your

Mysterious Side

What better way to carry your books (or anything else) and at the same time demonstrate your love of mysteries than with our signature black bag?

Made of durable fabric with reinforced 20-inch handles, the bag sports our recognizable logo. ($7)

Remember, if you've taken your Mainely Murders bag on a trip, let us know. Send your photo and details to [email protected]

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Thank you!

Thank you for supporting

Mainely Murders and other small independent booksellers. At a time when you have other choices, you've shown a commitment to those of us who are part of the local community and who consider customers to be friends and neighbors.

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Friends,

September and October’s “outdoor browsing” was a breath of fresh air for us and our customers. It was great to once again personally interact with mystery readers.

But late fall and winter, at least here in Maine, doesn’t lend itself to outside bookselling.

COVID-19 has required that we all make changes and sacrifices. From early on, we’ve recognized that our shop is too small to afford safe distancing between customers.

With that said, it’s time to return to the safer option we used earlier this year--sales exclusively by mail order (with driveway pick-up available for local customers) throughout November and December--and possibly into the new year.

2020 has not been the 10th anniversary year we’d imagined for Mainely Murders. But, perhaps next year will bring better (safer) times. And, we hope that we will be back in our tiny shop to welcome you.

In the meantime, we hope you will continue to support us with mail order requests. And, don’t forget your own reading for the winter ahead. We may have gaps in some series, but we have hardly run out of books.

Stay well, keep safe, and read on!

Paula and Ann

Partners in Crime

Coming Soon

Our Favorite New Reads

The Darkest Evening, Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope appears to be the most non-threatening of detectives. But, after nine titles featuring the Northumberland Detective Inspector, readers know never to underestimate her prowess.

The Darkest Evening opens on a snowy evening in December with Vera driving to her home in the hills after work. Ahead, a car has skidded off the narrow road, so she stops to help. There’s no one in the driver’s seat, but a toddler is strapped in the back.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at Brockburn, a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights, and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

A Christmas Resolution, Anne Perry

You know Christmas is right around the corner when Anne Perry’s annual title appears. A Christmas Resolution, the author’s 18th holiday book, finds love (and lies and deceit) in the air.

Silent Bite, David Rosenfelt

Andy Carpenter, everyone’s favorite New Jersey attorney, who would much rather rescue dogs than people, is back--just in time for Christmas.

Willie Miller, his partner at the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that’s Andy’s true passion, asks for help. Willie’s old cellmate, Tony Birch, has been arrested for murder. Andy doesn’t necessarily believe in Tony, but Willie does. And Andy believes in Willie, which is why he decides to take the case. OK, Tony’s dog believes in him, too.

With his trademark wit, bigger-than-life characters, and clever plotting, the author delivers another Christmas tale (tail)--following up on The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (2016), Deck The Hounds (2018), and Dachshund Through the Snow (2019).

In The Beginning

How often we've heard it: "I was totally hooked by the opening line." It's happened to all of us.

How important to you are those first few words? Do you have a memorable opening from mystery/detective fiction? Share it at [email protected] (subject line: opening lines).

The marsh air hung hot and heavy, providing the perfect breeding ground for a battalion of mosquitoes that dive-bombed my body as if it were a fast-food stop.

So begins “Gator Aide” by Jessica Speart. It caught the attention of Denise Dorton of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Special Visitors

It’s not every day that we receive a visit from bookselling royalty, so imagine our surprise when Otto Penzler, owner of New York’s Mysterious Books--as well as editor and publisher--dropped by last month. Accompanied by former Mysterious Books manager, Ian Kern, Otto assured us that the plight of booksellers in the time of COVID-19 hasn’t been restricted to small dealers like us. Even after more than 40 years in business, Mysterious Books’ future, like independent bookstores everywhere, remains uncertain.

What We’ve Been Reading

Our shelves are filled with books, most of which are the result of our myriad book-buying excursions. With those trips curtailed in recent months, we’ve been looking to our own shelves for our reading material.

Linda Castillo, Shamed (Paula)

After a dozen titles, Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder, the ex-Amish police chief in Painters Mill, in the very center of Ohio’s Amish country, still isn’t always convinced that returning to a place she long ago rejected was the best of decisions.

Being born and raised in the faith may give her a certain understanding of the customs and behaviors of her former brethren but it doesn’t mean that she’s either liked or accepted there. And, more often than not, she finds herself questioning many of her own beliefs.

When an Amish woman is brutally murdered and her 7-year-old granddaughter kidnapped, Kate knows the clock is ticking―the longer the girl is missing, the less likely her safe return. The girl’s family is a pillar of the community in an isolated Amish settlement, but it soon becomes obvious that this is a family harboring secrets of its own, and that the sins of its past may be coming back to haunt them. Is it all about revenge?

Over the years, I’ve read many of the now dozen titles in this series. With each I’ve gained insight into a culture about which I, like many, know little about--not to mention the cost when two distinctly different cultures clash.

William Shaw, Grave's End (Ann)

William Shaw’s DS Alexandra Cupidi series set in the Sussex marshlands has everything Mainely Murders customers like: interesting, slightly flawed lead character; increasingly strong supporting characters; great location; and very good plots with only a few murders.

An unwilling transplant from London, Cupidi doesn’t exactly fit well into the tight-knit local culture. Her teenaged daughter, somewhat neglected because of her mom's work hours, becomes obsessed with birdwatching, which does not strike Cupidi as either interesting or safe (since dawn, dusk, and night are often ideal times to watch them), though in this book she becomes interested in boys, which also does not strike Cupidi as safe.

Grave’s End, either the fourth or third Cupidi, depending on whether or not one includes the prequel The Birdwatcher, is wonderful, with two intertwined stories: that of a starving, old male badger on land designated as a potential housing development and the disappearance of a local environmentalist.

I actually worried more about the badger than the missing man. Fortunately, Cupidi is more focused on people because unlike her daughter, she knows nothing about badger setts. (OK, I didn’t either.)

Shop Now!

Early shopping for this year’s holiday giving isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. One thing we’ve learned from COVID-19 is that those things that we count on most can quickly become inaccessible.

For readers--and those with readers on their holiday gift list--bookstores, Mainely Murders included, are already warning customers what they might expect: unpredictable supply chain; smaller than normal inventory as we’re forced to buy less; shipping/mailing backups; and, worst of all, the very real possibility of future shutdowns.

That said, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of shopping now.

For those who want to substitute grab bags for Christmas stockings, there’s our trademark $5 mystery bags. Each contains three books tied to a single clue printed on the outside.

Get into the season with our popular “Ho-Ho Homicide” bag filled with titles just right for reading under the mistletoe. Others include: Culinary Crimes, Meow for Murder, Crafty Killings, The Garden Plot, Historical Whodunits, Body in the Bookstore, Crime Scene New England, Murder Most British, Passport to Crime, Order in the Court, These Gumshoes Wear High Heels, and Police!!

Directly From Three Pines

Cooler weather calls for steaming mugs of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate; hearty, warming soups; and mulled cider. What better way to enjoy them than with a café-au-lait mug inspired by Louise Penny and her Three Pines “family.” It holds 12 ounces and is microwavable and dishwasher safe. Available in "Vive Gamache!" and "I'm F.I.N.E." (from Ruth's poetry).

Regularly $25 each, while they last, buy three and receive the fourth free. Purchase a set for yourself or surprise your favorite Louise Penny fans with this special gift.

Order now; limited supply remaining. Reminder, these cannot be shipped with books as “Media Mail.”

Winter Travels Still Possible

We’re not the only ones who will be reluctantly putting aside passports this winter. Many of our customers and friends are preparing to do the same.

Until we can safely travel again—and borders to our favorite destinations once again open—mysteries can take us around the world. If you or friends and family on your holiday gift list are mourning lost trips and vacations, try virtual vacations--via mysteries. And to be doubly sure it’s a new vacation, we are listing recent (2019 and 2020) titles.

Scotland

Lucy Foley (Highlands): The Hunting Party.

Val McDermid (Edinburgh): Still Life.

Denise Mina (Glasgow): The Less Dead.

Ian Rankin (Edinburgh): A Song for Dark Times.

Ireland

Lucy Foley (Remote Irish Island): The Guest List.

Tana French (Irish Countryside): The Searcher.

England

Ann Cleeves (Northumberland): The Darkest Evening.

Elly Griffiths (Norfork Fens): The Lantern Men.

Elly Griffiths (Seaside Town): The Postscript Murders.

Anthony Horowitz (Greece/England) Moonflower Murders.

William Shaw (Suffolk Coast): Graves' End.

Scandinavia

Lars Kepler (Sweden): Lazarus.

Camilla Lackberg (Sweden): The Golden Cage.

Jo Nesbo (Norway): The Kingdom.

France

Jean-Luc Bannalec (Breton Coast): The Killing Tide.

Louise Penny (Paris): All the Devils Are Here.

Manda Scott (French countryside/Highlands): The Treachery of Spies.

Martin Walker (The Dordoigne): The Shooting at Chateau Rock.

A Winning Combination

We love to support Maine mystery writers; so do our customers. When we learned that Mary Lawrence, author of Bianca Goddard's Tudor London mysteries, also makes and sells her own line of jams, we knew a winning combination. Anyone who bought one of her books in the series last month qualified to win a sampling from her Rare Berry Farm of Limington.

Winner Harriet Mill of Kennebunk is now enjoying both.

Coming in November

Be aware that publication schedules in both the U.S. and Great Britain have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Find more at www.stopyourekillingme.com and https://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/soon-to-be-released-mysteries.

Jeffrey Archer, Hidden in Plain Sight [William Warwick #2]

Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker’s Someone to Watch Over Me [Spenser continuation]

David Baldacci, Daylight [Atlee Pine #3]

M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green, Hot to Trot [Agatha Raisin #31]

Ken Bruen, The Galway Epiphany [Jack Taylor #16]

Marc Cameron, Tom Clancy’s Shadow of the Dragon [Clancy continuation]

Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, Piece of My Heart [Under Suspicion #7]

Michael Connelly, The Law of Innocence [Mickey Haller #7]

Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison, Marauder [Oregon Files #15]

Kjell Eriksson, The Night of the Fire [Ann Lidell #11]

Janet Evanovich, Fortune and Glory [Stephanie Plum #27]

Jane Haddam, One of Our Own [Gregor Demarkian #30]

Anthony Horowitz, Moonflower Murders [Susan Ryeland #2]

*Jon Land, Murder in Season [Murder, She Wrote continuation]

Alexander McCall Smith, How To Raise an Elephant [No 1 Ladies Detective Agency #21]

Michael McGarrity, Head Wounds [Kevin Kerney #14]

Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide [Dandy Gilver #14]

Jo Nesbo, The Kingdom [NS]

James Patterson, Deadly Cross [Alex Cross #28]

Anne Perry, A Christmas Resolution [Christmas #18]

T.R. Ragan, Out of Her Mind [Sawyer Brook #2]

*Maine Tie

Customers Recommend

We mentioned last month the release of the latest title by Vermont author Archer Mayor. Customer/friend/mystery blogger Marilyn Brooks of Needham, Massachusetts, (www.marilynsmysteryreads.com), immediately turned to the author’s 31st Joe Gunther title.

‘Old sins cast long shadows’ is a proverb that’s never been truer than in Archer Mayor’s latest Joe Gunther novel.

The Orphan’s Guilt opens with the inebriated John Rust being pulled over by a Vermont state trooper. John doesn’t fight going to the police barracks, even though he knows that because it’s his fourth DUI--Driving Under the Influence--an arrest and conviction will likely cost him his license and possibly a jail term.

The event that triggered John’s drinking was the death of his younger brother Peter earlier that day. After he’s released from the barracks he contacts attorney Scott Jezek to discuss his legal options, and Scott hires Sally Kravitz, who works for him as an independent investigator, to determine if there are mitigating circumstances that might lead to a lesser sentence or even no penalty at all for his client.

It was always believed by John’s neighbors that Peter had a severe birth defect that resulted in his inability to speak, walk, or take care of himself in any way. The few people who knew the brothers were uniformly impressed by John’s care of and devotion for Peter. Their mother had died when John was twelve and Peter eight, and the day that John turned eighteen their father, Daryl Hicks, walked out of the house, leaving the older brother to care for the younger one.

In the aftermath of John’s arrest, things long hidden start coming to the surface. Sally talks to Marcia Ethier, the midwife who delivered Peter, and is stunned to hear that, as opposed to everyone’s understanding of Peter’s condition, the boy was not born brain damaged.

“I know, by all that is holy, that Peter Rust was damaged by another,” Marcia tells Sally. She has kept this knowledge to herself, feeling guilty for more than two decades, because she was frightened by the boys’ father. “I felt like my life was in danger.”

This statement opens up an inquiry by the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, headed by Joe Gunther and his staff. A very circuitous path, starting with the disappearance of Scott’s client John, takes them into an examination of the Russ/Hicks home life, the death by overdose of the boys’ mother, the criminal record of their father, and a long-forgotten financial crime.

It is always a delight to have an opportunity to spend time with Joe Gunther and his staff. There’s smart and organized Sammie Martens, cranky but street-smart Willy Kunkle, and friendly and easy-going Lester Spinney. Working together they solve a case that began with a boy’s birth and ended years later in multiple murders.

A man of many talents and interests, Archer Mayor works as a death investigator for the Vermont State Medical Examiner’s office, a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff’s Department, and a volunteer for his local fire department and EMT squad. He’s also a master craftsman, and The Orphan’s Guilt shows him at the top of his game.

Mainely Murders is an independent specialty mystery bookstore devoted exclusively to suspense, crime, and detective fiction. Our stock of used recent and hard-to-find hardcover, trade paper, and mass market volumes ranges from classics and cozies to tough guys and thrillers.