Otto’s favorites:

Furst, Alan, Mission to Paris, Random House.  Paris.  1938. Café life.  Europe facing the inevitability of war. These are the essential elements in the best of Alan Furst's novels of espionage and Mission to Paris is no exception. Fredric Stahl (born Franz Stulka, of Austrian descent), one of Hollywood's biggest stars, crosses the Atlantic to make a movie for Paramount France.  But what ensues is no ordinary film shoot.  For Germany, in an all-out effort to undermine French morale and resistance--and put itself in the most flattering light-- has targeted Stahl as the perfect pawn by which to realize its goals. Although Stahl initially dismisses the Germans’ overtures with disdain, he soon learns that this form of political warfare is every bit as dangerous as the real thing itself.  Finishing the movie soon becomes the least of his concerns. This is the starting point for one of Furst's finest novels.  Along the way we're thrown into the frenzied pace of what it’s like to actually make the movie while meeting up with all the customary Furstian supporting characters: the scheming baroness, the beautiful seductress, sinister assassins, undercover operatives and a woman in need. One of the great joys of Furst's oeuvre is the skill he employs in continually weaving in characters and situations from previous novels, just as we have the pleasure of once again dining at a Furst staple, table 14 at Brasserie Heininger.  With events spiraling out of control across the European landscape, Stahl sums up the story's underlying theme nicely by stating, Being in the movies...doesn't shield you from what goes on in the real world. $27.00

Also recommended:

Deaver, Jeffery, XO, Simon & Schuster. One of the greatest writers of suspense fiction of the past quarter-century, Deaver’s most recent thriller is the third novel in the Kathryn Dancer series. I admit I don’t find Special Agent Dancer as compelling a character as Lincoln Rhyme, and it’s possible that Deaver shares this view, as he brings his physically handicapped but intellectually daunting hero on the scene to help with a very complex mystery. A lovely young country music singer, Kayleigh Towne, has become a super-star because the simple, visceral lyrics of the songs she writes goes straight to the hearts of her fans. As a friendly, down-home girl, she insists on staying in touch with those who adore her, sending warm form letter responses to her fan mail, signing off with an “XO” before her signature. One of those fans is convinced that her songs have been written especially for him since she has signed her letters to him in such an affectionate way. He decides that he needs to meet her. And spend time with her. A lot of time. Whether she wants to or not. When people with whom Kayleigh has been close start to die, and the singer spurns the stalker’s efforts to share some quality time, there is more to fear than the attention of an overly enthusiastic fan. $26.99

Ian’s Favorites:

Mandel, Emily St. John, The Lola Quartet, Unbridled Books.  Over the past few years Mandel has earned a cult following with her quiet, almost elegant approach to both crime and literary fiction.  This is not to say that her work is soft-boiled.  In fact, some of the reviews for this, her third novel, point to a rather noir undertone.  Her novels and stories have a sort of smoky, shrouded style that lends itself well to unreliable, yet honestly drawn, characters.  The Lola Quartet follows one such character, a gentleman named Gavin Sasaki.  After leaving New York in shame after a series of unethical moves as a journalist, Gavin returns to his hometown of Sebastian, Florida.  When his sister discovers a 10-year-old girl who looks exactly like Gavin, and bears the last name of his high-school sweetheart, it sets in motion a series of perplexing and terrifying events. The Washington Post calls The Lola Quartet “[an] elegant, hypnotic novel….engrossing….Mandel brilliantly modulates the heightening suspense in a novel that remains, above all, an elegy for lost — and perhaps only imagined — innocence.”  This is in addition to glowing reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Boston Globe and numerous other media outlets.  For an author at a small press such as Unbridled this is an amazing amount of attention.  Much like authors Gillian Flynn, John Hart, and Megan Abbott, Mandel is a growing presence on both the mystery and literary scene.  Don’t miss out!  Signed.  $24.95

Other recommendations:

Kanon, Joseph, Istanbul Passage, Norton.  Good WWII and post-war espionage is hard to come by.  Sure, there are plenty of knockoffs out there: atmospheric without the hard details; shadowy without any real intrigue.  But Kanon’s latest marks an author at the top of his craft.  As the war winds down, neutral Istanbul, the home of double agents and quiet power plays, starts to empty out.  Leon Bauer, a low-level agent for the Allies, has one final job to do—one that will take every ounce of skill and luck if he is to survive.  Beautiful descriptions of Istanbul vie with frightening scenes of real spycraft in this ambitious novel new novel.  Signed.  $26.00

Sally’s Favorites: 

The Dark Winter by David Mark. This debut from the UK has a wonderful premise: sole survivors of past tragedies are being killed off in the manner they cheated death.  Somebody is playing God and DS Aector McAvoy must find out who.  This story is set in Hull, East Yorkshire - Humberside - one of the less romantic parts of Yorkshire and the venue together with the character of McAvoy who is a shy gentleman of 6' 5" makes this an unusual and riveting mystery.  I’m not a huge fan of dramatic irony, and there’s no getting away from the fact that the reader knows how the victims are connected way too long before the police catch on - the dust jacket reveals the fact..  But if you can control your patience, McAvoy will get there eventually and will unearth a most unusual motive for the killings. $33.00

RECOMMENDED PAPERBACKS:

The Last Six Million Seconds by John Burdett has been reissued.  Set in 1997 Hong Kong as the British prepare to hand over the city to the Chinese, “Charlie” Chan Sui-Kai investigates a series of gruesome murders. $15.00

Bluffing Mr. Churchill by John Lawton is also a reissue in the Inspector Troy series.  In 1941 an American spy posing as an SS officer carries a deadly cargo - Hitler’s plans to invade the USSR.  $14.00

The Wreckage by Michael Robotham is “one of the best novels to come out of the chaos of Iraq: a penetrating peek through the fog of war, and a high-octane thriller.” - Nelson DeMille. $13.99