Thursday, May 22, 2008

Just In: New European Mysteries, Signed


The global marketplace is a delight when it lets us quickly bring in new mysteries, signed and dated by the authors. This month has been especially notable for the European ones coming in:

Denise Mina, SLIP OF THE KNIFE. Dark, often violent, immaculately plotted, with the tang of an acrid Glasgow (Scotland) fog -- Mina's work continues to be at the top of the field. Her signature here is dated 31st March '08.

David Michie, CONFLICT OF INTEREST. We've got the British edition of this intense thriller, complete with the red promotional band. A gem of a copy. Michie lives in both London and Australia and has signed this.

Alexander McCall Smith, THE MIRACLE AT SPEEDY MOTORS. Warm, reassuring, a satisfying "cozy" featuring Mma Ramotswe and her estimable husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni -- signed neatly by the Scottish author and dated.

So -- there's another reply to the folks who worry that the Internet and electronics are spoiling the field of book collecting. Not at all! Ten years ago, we would have sweated bricks to get signatures like these. Now we expect them each month. Some changes are definitely for the best.

1 comment:

Imposs1904 said...

Mina's novel is wonderful. All her books are.