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This week's special

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June Staff Picks point the way to summer reading

Memorial Day is gone so summer is officially here--holiday-wise if not according to solstices and equinoxes and stuff like that.

Summer is prime time for reading and our June Staff Picks are a great way to start your search for books to take on vacation or simply curl up with on the porch with a glass of iced tea.

You'll find more serious books like Nancy Pickard's Scent of Rain and Lightning, a humorous caper book by Donald Westlake or a cheap trip to Brazil.

Why not take a look at our June Staff Picks and while you're there, check out the archive of prior picks that you'll find on the left-hand side of the page.

Hammett Prize announced

The North American branch of the International Association of Crime Writers has announced that The Manual of Detection: A Novel by Jedediah Berry is this year's winner of the Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing.

Here's what our reviewer, Lynne Maxwell, had to say about the book:

For a new taste of literary mystery fiction, get your hands on The Manual of Detection. This new voice in the genre is one we’ll all want to hear from again soon. With his MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Berry has published short fiction in literary journals and, in fact, was published in Best New American Voices 2008. Impressive? Wait until you read the book—or, rather, don’t wait! In The Manual of Detection Berry introduces Charles Unwin, a reluctant sleuth whose aid is enlisted when his mentor is mysteriously murdered. Even worse than this deployment, Unwin discovers that he needs to reopen many of the cases that were previously deemed closed. Proceeding by the book—The Manual of Detection within The Manual of Detection, that is—Unwin embarks upon the strangest journey of his life. Fortunately, The Manual of Detection is the best handbook to arrive since Precious Ramotswe’s beloved Principles of Private Detection by Clovis Andersen, a staple of Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Don’t miss this refreshing new literary mystery. [LM]

Scott Turow, April Smith & Thomas Zigal, June 13

We're pleased to announce a unique Pittsburgh author event with a talk and signing featuring Scott Turow, April Smith and Thomas Zigal on Sunday, June 13 at 4 pm.

To accomodate the anticipated turnout we'll be holding this event in the beautiful Charity Randall Theater at the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland.

Tickets for the event are $6 in advance, $7 at the door (space permitting).

Scott Turow achieved breakthrough success with his first novel, Presumed Innocent, a legal thriller later turned into a successful movie with an impossibly young Harrison Ford. Since that time Turow has published a series of best selling novels as well as works of non-fiction. His debut book was One-L, a memoir of his first year at Harvard Law School. Turow will be in Pittsburgh with Innocent, a sequel of sorts to Presumed Innocent, which features Rusty Sabich, the protagonist from that book, being prosecuted again for murder, this time of his wife.

April Smith is the author of three books featuring Los Angeles-based FBI agent Ana Grey beginning with North of Montana in which Ana takes on a high-profile Hollywood case which turns deadly when her own family history crops up among the clues. Her most recent book, also feturing Ana Grey, is the Judas Horse. April has also worked as a scriptwriter for such shows as Cagney and Lacey.

Thomas Zigal is the author of three books featuring Aspen, Colorado sheriff Kurt Muller. Muller is an aging hippie and native of Aspen and his assuming the post of sheriff puts him in an interesting position between the local population and the wealthy visitors that one more associates with Aspen. Two books in that series followed: Hardrock Stiff and Pariah. He is also the author of a The White League, a novel about a secret society in New Orleans.

Full details and tickets on the website.

Spring Coffee & Crime series continues

Well spring seems to have passed us right by with summer weather having arrived before Memorial Day. Nonetheless, the Spring Coffee & Crime series carries on with two more authors scheduled.

Jane K. Cleland on June 5 - Jane will revisit MLB with the fifth book in her Agatha-nominated series with antiques appraiser Josie Prescott, Silent Auction. Jane's books are filled with antiques lore and you'll be sure to enjoy her talk about the many interesting facts and stories she come across in her research.

Michael Koryta on June 19 - We're so pleased to have Michael Koryta make his first visit to MLB. Michael is the author of four books in an excellent PI series set in Cleveland as well as a standalone crime novel. He'll be joining us, however, with an outstanding ghost story for grownups, So Cold the River. The setting of this book is simply irresitable--the old time resort of French Lick, Indiana--and the story and characters will grip you from page one.

Each of the Coffee & Crime events starts at 10 am and includes continental breakfast and author talk and signing. Cost of each event is $5 and reservations are necessary.

Celebrate our anniversary in style

Be the first on your block to get your hands on the spectacular new MLB 20th Anniversary/Raven Award mug. This 8 oz. beauty is spectacular in resplendent red with black and white imprinting on both sides. Side one features our regular logo and notice of our 20th Anniversary in October of 2010. On the other side, a special Raven version of our logo to mark our receiving the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Important Note: We cannot offer free shipping on orders that include mugs. We must send these Priority Mail and will have to charge you $4.50 shipping regardless of these amount of your order.

Signed first editions: here's what's coming

Other books signed by popular authors that we have or expect include:

Elaine Viets - Half-Price Homicide, here now

John Sandford - Storm Prey, here now

Victoria Thompson - Murder on Lexington Avenue available now

Jeffery Deaver - The Burning Wire available now

As always, supplies of these signed books are limited so please order early.

Access to our Facebook page, now even easier

We're now the proud owners of a username on Facebook. That means that you can get to our page just by going to:

www.facebook.com/mysterylovers

Yes, it's as easy as that.

Once your there, click on the Like button and you can join the other 697 folks who like us.

New Arrivals

New Arrivals for June have slowed down but we've still got a nice assortment of new titles to intrigue and entertain you.

Here's a couple:

Edmund Crispin's The Long Divorce is a welcome reissue of this Gervase Fen mystery from the golden age

Fans of British mystery will certainly want Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's Fell Purpose, her latest for London detective Bill Slider

Here at last: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson will answer all your questions about Lisbeth Salander and her story.

Michael Koryta's gripping So Cold the River is in just in time for his June 19 Coffee & Crime Breakfast

Ian Pears's new novel, Stone's Fall, puts me in mind of his earlier An Instance of the Fingerpost. Although the setting and time period are different, the construction of the story from multiple viewpoints is equally compelling.

And many more, besides.

News books arrive every day check our New Arrivals page often for everything new at MLB.

What's on the website now

Here's what you can find at www.mysterylovers.com:

Upcoming Events

June 5 - Jane K. Cleland
June 11 - Kathryn Miller Haines
June 13 - Scott Turow, Tom Zigal & April Smith
June 19 - Michael Koryta
June 23 - Sophie Hannah and Nancy Pickard

More events...

Get ready for summer reading
Richard, Mary Alice and the MLB Staff

Did we mention that we won a Raven Award?

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