Yesterday was a gorgeous day and it gave me the perfect excuse to walk to a local mystery bookshop. It's not far from where I live, but to get there (walking) I have to go a roundabout way, which is why I tend to go only when the weather is nice. I hadn't realized that she moved, but only a few doors away from her former shop on the same street. It's a much nicer space with wood floors and big windows and two curious and very helpful cats. The shop is half books and half needlework supplies--how dangerous is that. I only browsed on the book side, but still spent more than I probably should have. I went with a list in hand but didn't find a single book I was looking for. I did find a few books I wasn't looking for, however, so things worked out in the end. Actually a few of these were books have long been on my wishlist, but I never found them at any of the local chains. She has a much better selection of unusual and imported mysteries, so I really should try and spend my money locally more often. I could have come away with a pile twice the size, but what I finally selected:
The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers - I've heard of this author, but I didn't realize this was his only book. It's considered the first modern spy thriller.
The Bloody Tower, Carola Dunn - I couldn't pass up a new Daisy Dalrymple mystery.
A Plague on Both Your Houses, Susanna Gregory - She has come recommended, but I've never managed to find her first Matthew Bartholomew mystery. Bartholomew is a physician and the book is set in 14th century Cambridge.
Wycliffe and the Tangled Web, W.J. Burley - I'd never heard of Superintendent Wycliffe, but there were quite a few books by Burley available. The author was a school master until he retired to write full time. He has since passed away. I believe the books are set in Cornwall. It was the cover illustrations that drew me to them--all showing rocky coastline. Has anyone read him?
Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place, W.J. Burley
The Suspect, L.R. Wright - Another book that came recommended that I've finally found locally. This is set in Canada, and the blurb describes it as "intriguing character studies of the cop, his quarry, and the enigmatic librarian who proves an unlikely bridge between the two."
Five Mile House, Karen Novak - This appears to be a mixture of crime novel and ghost story--could be interesting. I seem to be reading a lot of books lately with ghosts in them. I wonder if this will also have a séance?
London Bridges, Jane Stevenson - This one caught my eye as the jacket description calls London the main character of the novel, "lovingly depicted in all its rich variousness". It's written in the mode of the classic English detective thriller concerning a teasure lost in the Blitz.
I still want to track down some of those cozies and classic detective stories that were recommended to me, but these and these will certainly keep me busy in the interim.