Staff Picks
Blind Date With a Book
Mexican Gothic is reminiscent of classics such as Rebecca and Wuthering Heights. It is a dark tale that speaks to the effects of colonization on families and the strength it takes for them to survive. I enjoyed this book as it reads like a psychological thriller with tones of magical realism, evoking similar themes to gothic films of the 1940s and 50s.
-- Taylor W., BMC '23
Booked to Die
First published in 1992, this book was an instant sensation and an instant classic of the mystery genre. Booked to Die is, like its protagonist, energetic, ornery, passionate and a true original. Full of insider detail about the world of antiquarian bookselling, the novel builds to an elegant and satisfying solution. We have a limited number of remainder copies at a bargain price. Don't miss out!
- Jim Huang, BMC Bookshop Director
Pachinko
Pachinko is so soapy! I went through it so quickly and cried my eyes out toward the end. It is the book I recommend to anyone and everyone!
- Angelica C., BMC '22
Right Sort of Man
Allison Montclair (pseudonym of Alan Gordon, author of the beloved Fool's Guild mysteries) has a deft touch with this lively cast of characters, spinning a entertaining tale of love of murder in London just after World War II. This novel, first in a series, is a lovely lark, but there are also post-war and familial undercurrents that are surprisingly affecting.
- Jim Huang, BMC Bookshop Director
From debut author Allison Montclair comes an engrossing historical mystery novel set in post-war London, The Right Sort of Man.
In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair--The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world. But their promising start is threatened when their newest client is found murdered and the man arrested for the crime is the prospective husband they matched her with. While the police are convinced they have their man, Miss Sparks and Mrs. Bainbridge are not. To clear his name--and to rescue their fledgling operation's reputation--Sparks and Bainbridge decide to investigate on their own. Little do they know that this will put their very lives at risk. *BONUS CONTENT: This edition of The Right Sort of Man includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guideArt of Violence
My favorite hardboiled writer working today. S.J. Rozan's Lydia Chin/Bill Smith novels feature characters you'll love, snappy banter, and intricate, beautifully constructed plots. Art of Violence offers all this plus sharp observations about the New York art scene. Tragically, Rozan's publishers have worked overtime to make earlier titles in this series difficult to find -- we'd stock, recommend and sell all of them if we could -- but you can pick up this thirteenth in the series without missing a beat.
- Jim Huang, BMC Bookshop Director
In the latest mystery from S. J. Rozan, Bill Smith and Lydia Chin must track down a serial killer stalking women in New York's contemporary art scene.
Former client Sam Tabor, just out of Greenhaven after a five-year homicide stint, comes to Bill Smith with a strange request. A colossally talented painter whose parole was orchestrated by art world movers and shakers, Sam's convinced that since he's been out he's killed two women. He doesn't remember the killings but he wants Smith, one of the few people he trusts, to investigate and prove him either innocent or guilty.
NYPD detective Angela Grimaldi thinks Sam's "a weirdo." Smith has no argument with that: diagnosed with a number of mental disorders over the years, Sam self-medicates with alcohol, loses focus (except when he's painting), and has few friends. But Smith doesn't think that adds up to serial killer. He enlists Lydia Chin to help prove it.
Smith and Chin delve into the world surrounding Sam Tabor, including his brother, two NYPD detectives, and various other artists, dealers, collectors, curators, and art connoisseurs. No answers appear. Evidence is found and lost again. And more bodies turn up.
Sam Tabor might be just a crazy artist. But someone is killing people in his orbit. If not Sam, who? Why? And who will be next?