"You Might As Well Die"

New from Signet: You Might As Well Die: An Algonquin Round Table Mystery by J.J. Murphy.

About the book, from the publisher:

When second-rate illustrator Ernie MacGuffin's artistic works triple in value following his apparent suicide off the Brooklyn Bridge, Dorothy Parker smells something fishy. Enlisting the help of magician and skeptic Harry Houdini, she goes to a séance held by MacGuffin's mistress, where Ernie's ghostly voice seems hauntingly real...

Visit J.J. Murphy's website and Facebook page.

"Slash and Burn"

New from Soho Press: Slash and Burn (Dr. Siri Paiboun Series #8) by Colin Cotterill.

About the book, from the publisher:

Dr. Siri might finally be allowed to retire (again). Although he loves his two morgue assistants, he's tired of being Laos's national coroner, a job he never wanted in the first place. Plus, he's pushing 80, and wants to spend some time with his wife before his untimely death (which has been predicted by the local transvestite fortune teller).

But retirement is not in the cards for Dr. Siri after all. He's dragged into one last job for the Lao government: supervising an excavation for the remains of U.S. fighter pilot who went down in the remote northern Lao jungle ten years earlier. The presence of American soldiers in Laos is a hot-button issue for both the Americans and the Lao involved, and the search party includes high-level politicians and scientists. But one member of the party is found dead, setting off a chain of accidents Dr. Siri suspects aren't completely accidental. Everyone is trapped in a cabin in the jungle, and the bodies are starting to pile up. Can Dr. Siri get to the bottom of the MIA pilot's mysterious story before the transvestite fortune teller's prediction comes true?

Learn more about the book and author at Colin Cotterill's website.

The Page 69 Test: Anarchy and Old Dogs.

My Book, The Movie: Curse of the Pogo Stick.

The Page 69 Test: Killed at the Whim of a Hat.

My Book, The Movie: Killed at the Whim of a Hat.

Writers Read: Colin Cotterill.

"The Economics of Beer"

New from Oxford University Press: The Economics of Beer edited by Johan F. M. Swinnen.

About the book, from the publisher:

Beer has been consumed across the globe for centuries and was the drink of choice in many ancient societies. Today it is the most important alcoholic drink worldwide, in terms of volume and value. The largest brewing companies have developed into global multinationals, and the beer market has enjoyed strong growth in emerging economies, but there has been a substantial decline of beer consumption in traditional markets and a shift to new products. There is close interaction between governments and markets in the beer industry. For centuries, taxes on beer or its raw materials have been a major source of tax revenue and governments have regulated the beer industry for reasons related to quality, health, and competition.

This book is the first economic analysis of the beer market and brewing industry. The introduction provides an economic history of beer, from monasteries in the early Middle Ages to the recent 'microbrewery movement', whilst other chapters consider whether people drink more beer during recessions, the effect of television on local breweries, and what makes a country a 'beer drinking' nation. It comprises a comprehensive and unique set of economic research and analysis on the economics of beer and brewing and covers economic history and development, supply and demand, trade and investment, geography and scale economies, technology and innovation, health and nutrition, quantity and quality, industrial organization and competition, taxation and regulation, and regional beer market developments.

"Double Booked for Death"

New from Berkley Prime Crime: Double Booked for Death (Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series #1) by Ali Brandon.

About the book, from the publisher:

When transplanted Texan Darla Pettistone unexpectedly inherits her Great-Aunt Dee’s Brooklyn bookstore and the apartment above, she’s certain her worst headache will be dealing the store’s mascot. Hamlet, an oversized black cat with a personality to match, considers the four-story brownstone to be his own personal stomping grounds. He has a bad habit of terrorizing customers, claiming every sunny spot for his own, and, in general, acting like a small potentate.

The fact that Hamlet is smarter than the average cat makes dealing with him all the more difficult. But Darla is less sure that a series of odd incidents in the store—misplaced items, lights going on and off after dark—is his fault. In fact, the usually skeptical Darla soon finds herself seriously considering the possibility that her late aunt is now haunting the place.

Matters come to a head when a bestselling author of young adult ghostly fiction meets an untimely end during an autographing event at the bookstore. While the death is officially ruled accidental, Hamlet soon digs up a clue that seems to indicate otherwise. Now, Darla fears the murderer might be one of the author’s entourage—or even one of Darla’s own customers—and that she and her staff are in equal danger. Hamlet's interfering ways might just help point the paw at the culprit...that is, if he doesn’t lose one of his own nine lives in the process of solving the crime.

Visit Ali Brandon's website.

"Nested Scrolls"

New from Tor Books: Nested Scrolls: The Autobiography of Rudolf von Bitter Rucker by Rudy Rucker.

About the book, from the publisher:

Nested Scrolls reveals the true life adventures of Rudolf von Bitter “Rudy” Rucker—mathematician, transrealist author, punk rocker, and computer hacker. It begins with a young boy growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of a businessman father who becomes a clergyman, and a mother descended from the philosopher Hegel. His career goals? To explore infinity, popularize the fourth dimension, seek the gnarl, become a beatnik writer, and father a family.

All the while Rudy is reading science fiction and beat poetry, and beginning to write some pretty strange fiction of his own—a blend of Philip K. Dick and hard SF that qualifies him as part of the original circle of writers in the early 1980s that includes Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, John Shirley, and Lewis Shiner, who were the founders of cyberpunk.

At one level, Rucker’s genial and unfettered memoir brings us a first-hand account of how he and his contemporaries ushered in our postmodern world. At another, this is the wry and moving tale of a man making his way from one turbulent century to the next.

Nested Scrolls is like its author: sweet, gentle, honest, and intellectually fierce.

Visit Rudy Rucker's blog.

"The Leopard"

New from Knopf: The Leopard by Jo Nesbø.

About the book, from the publisher:

Two young women are found murdered in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. Media coverage quickly reaches fever pitch: Could this be the work of a serial killer?

The crime scenes offer no coherent clues, the police investigation is stalled, and the one man who might be able to help doesn’t want to be found. Traumatized by his last case, Inspector Harry Hole has lost himself in the squalor of Hong Kong’s opium dens. Yet when he is compelled, at last, to return to Norway—his father is dying—Harry’s buried instincts begin to take over. After a female MP is discovered brutally murdered, nothing can keep him from the investigation.

There is little to go on: a piece of rope, a scrap of wool, a bit of gravel, an unexpected connection between the victims. And Harry will soon come to understand that he is dealing with a psychopath for whom “insanity is a vital retreat,” someone who will put him to the test—in both his professional and personal lives—as never before.

Ruthlessly intelligent and suspenseful, The Leopard is Jo Nesbø’s most electrifying novel yet—absolutely gripping from first to last.

"A Spirited Gift"

New from Berkley Prime Crime: A Spirited Gift (Missing Pieces Mystery Series #3) by Joyce and Jim Lavene.

About the book, from the publisher:

As the mayor of Duck, North Carolina, Dae is playing host to twenty North Carolina elected officials attending her first Mayors’ Conference Weekend at the Blue Whale Inn. When the body of Mayor Sandi Foxx is discovered the morning after a severe storm, Dae receives a vision through the mayor’s ring; that there’s a killer among the guests who’s as deadly as any hurricane.

Joyce and Jim Lavene are really two people who write together, not just one disguising herself with two names. They have had over 40 books published. Learn more about the authors and their work at Joyce and Jim Lavene's website.

My Book, The Movie: Ghastly Glass.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Joyce and Jim Lavene & Rudi.

"Dark Men"

New from Pegasus: Dark Men: A Silver Bear Thriller by Derek Haas.

About the book, from the publisher:

Columbus has retired. Or so he thinks. He and his lover, Risina, a mysterious rare-book dealer, have fled to a tiny Italian coastal village where no one knows their names. And yet Columbus has trouble letting go.

His paranoia is justified when one day, he notices a suspicious man following him, and within days, he's back in Chicago trying to figure out why his old fence has been kidnapped and maybe even killed. The ransom note left behind demands Columbus by name.

The Silver Bear must now sever this last link with his dark past if he and Risina are to ever have hope at a new life. Yet Risinia seems to show a remarkable knack for the kill herself…and perhaps there won't be a chance for turning back.

Visit Derek Haas's website.

"The Spy Who Left Me"

New from St. Martin's Paperbacks: The Spy Who Left Me: An Agent Ex Novel by Gina Robinson.

About the book, from the publisher:

If there’s one thing that can ruin a vacation, it’s running into your ex. Just ask Treflee Miller. If she’d only known that her husband Ty would be here in Hawaii—muscular, sun-bronzed, and infuriatingly gorgeous—she would have brought the divorce papers for him to sign. But life is full of surprises when you’re married to a world-class spy…

Ty Miller can understand why his wife is tired of playing Mrs. James Bond. He’s never home, he’s always on a mission, and he’s usually surrounded by exotic informants. He has to admit that the perfect spy makes a pretty lousy husband. But for the sake of Ty’s security and Treflee’s safety, they can’t blow his cover. Not here. Not now. Not when his longing is so strong, her lips so tempting—and his enemies so close…

Visit Gina Robinson's website and blog.

"Egypt: The Book of Chaos"

New from Harper: Egypt: The Book of Chaos by Nick Drake.

About the book, from the publisher:

The future of Egypt lies in the hands of chief detective Rahotep in this final installment of Nick Drake’s acclaimed ancient Egyptian trilogy.

King Tutankhamun has died without an heir, and his young widow, Queen Ankhesenamun, last of her dynasty, struggles to maintain power and order. To defeat her enemies, she has but one hope: to forge an alliance with the Hittites, a powerful, militant new empire that threatens Egypt’s supremacy.

The loyal Rahotep, chief detective of the Thebes Medjay—the ancient capital’s elite police force—and his friend, the royal envoy Nakht, are sent on a clandestine mission to the Hittite homeland, to persuade the king to agree to a marriage between one of his sons and Ankhesenamun—a union that would bring peace to the region and consolidate the queen’s power.

Back in Egypt, the nefarious General Horemheb is poised to use his army to impose martial law and destroy the dynasty. But he is not the only enemy vying for control. A mysterious and brutal new opium cartel has emerged within the criminal underworld of Thebes, ready to take over the lucrative black market—and, ultimately, the very heart of the government.

In this epic quest to the dark heart of the ancient world, Rahotep must also confront his own demons if he is to prevent the gathering forces of chaos from destroying Egypt’s greatest dynasty, and to return home in time to save his own family from the terror that threatens them all.

Based on a true story and meticulously researched, Egypt: The Book of Chaos brings to life the ancient world and the cradle of civilization in a riveting, suspenseful finale to Nick Drake’s acclaimed trilogy.

Visit Nick Drake's website.