Press Release

“I am pleased to see Pelecanos return to the streets that earned him the Gumshoe Award in 2003,” tells John Hutchinson of VJ Books, “Hell to Pay is one of my favourite books, and I appreciate how What It Was tells some of the back story of how Derek Strange got started.”  “It’s a great background for the other Strange novels, Right as Rain and Soul Circus,” adds Hutchinson. (more…)

We just received signed 1st edition copies of The Cut by George Pelencanos.

There comes a point in a writer’s career when reviewers start to look not just at the book on the “New Releases” table in the bookstore, but at the body of work as a whole. This sort of analysis usually happens when the number of potential books is dwarfed by the author’s previous output; upon recent death, when literary-leaning obituarists struggle to mine some instant legacy; or years if not decades later, when those in the throes of rediscovery commit their ecstatic cries to page and pixel.

For crime writers, such summary judgments focus either on specific characters — Chandler’s Marlowe, Christie’s Marple and Poirot, Highsmith’s Ripley — or indelible one-offs, like Eric Ambler’s “A Coffin for Dimitrios” and Dorothy B. Hughes’ “In a Lonely Place.” Characters inspire loyalty, passion and debate among readers; one-offs spur reexamination, depending on the time period of discovery.

George Pelecanos, however, is a different breed, because his work is less about specific characters and more about discrete periods.

Certainly, all his novels share certain attributes: chronicling urban Washington, D.C., as it was then and now, paying attention to the nuances of racial tensions and togetherness, examining masculinity against the backdrop of criminality, all set to musical soundtracks. (more…)

Dear Friends,

Booksellers often boast of the authors they can call “friends,”  and I must confess that even VJ Books is presumptive enough to refer to a writer or two with that familiarity.  Rare is the bookseller though who turns the world upside down and is labeled as friend by the authors.  This is indeed Dennis McMillan.

(connpost.com, jan. 16, Joe Meyers)

With so many “literary” novelists turning inward and away from broader social concerns and traditional storytelling, readers have been enjoying crime fiction in larger numbers each year.

A genre that was once viewed as essentially escapist — cozy little murders in cozy little towns — is now the place to look for stories that tell us how people live and die all over the world.

You could make a strong argument that some of the finest novelists writing today are working in the mystery and crime fields.

Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos are just three of the many “stars” on this side of the Atlantic and the popular and critically acclaimed crime writers in the United Kingdom include Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell and P.D. James.

Another U.K. star, Val McDermid, will be kicking off her U.S. book tour for “A Darker Domain” (HarperCollins) in Westport on Feb. 9.

The Scottish novelist has two dozen books to her credit. The Observer in London has called her “one of the world’s leading mystery writers … Thomas Harris crossed with Agatha Christie, if you will…” (more…)

Hello friends!

2008 was a great year for books.  We had the pleasure of bringing hundreds of new titles to you this year, and introducing you to dozens of new authors.

When it was suggested to make a list of our favorites and give you one last chance to add them to your collection, I found picking titles kind of like choosing between my children! 
 
Of course all your favorites climbed the charts and we were proud to bring you new books by Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, George Pelecanos, Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, Clive Cussler, Jonathan Kellerman, Gregg Hurwitz, and all the other usual suspects.
 
So we have picked our favorites in ten different catagories.  If you didn’t already pick these up, here’s your last chance to get them, and save 25%.

Looking ahead, we have already ordered titles for the first quarter of ’09.  It promises to be another big year with exciting new authors making their first appearance in our store as well as new books from all the bestselling authors you’ve come to expect at VJ Books.  Take a look at our Upcoming Titles to see what is ahead for 2009.

For now, grab these before they are gone!
 
Good reading,
 
John

Best New Author:  Mark Alpert (Final Theory)
Best New Legal: James Scott Bell (Try Dying)
Best Psychological Thriller:  Alan Jacobson (7th Victim)
Best Political Novel: Eric Van Lustbader (First Daughter)
Best Spy Novel:  Dan Fesperman (The Amateur Spy)
Best Youth Novel: Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry (Science Fair)
Best from the UK: David Hewson (The Garden of Evil)
Best Movie Tie-in: James Rollins (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
John’s Top Pick: Joe Domenici (Bringing Back the Dead)
Best Anthology: Lee Child (Killer Year)
New Friend of VJ Books:  Iris Johansen (Dark Summer)
Best Translation: Alnauldur Indridason (The Draining Lake)

(catholic.org, Dec. 17)

Sun Sentinel (MCT) – In “The Finder,” Colin Harrison combines a strong eye for social details and the intricacies of New York City for a novel that is equally literary fiction and mystery.

A scheme in which office cleaners steal a new pharmaceutical company’s paperwork leads to cohesive plot about greed, power and revenge. “The Finder’s” ensemble features characters from every stratum of New York society as well as sharp dialogue and fresh plot twists. Harrison’s original approach makes “The Finder” the top mystery of 2008.

(1) “The Finder.” Colin Harrison. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. A scheme to steal paperwork erupts into a perceptive, thriller about New York life. (more…)

(Publisher’s Weekly, Aug. 25)

Fans of bestseller Lippman‘s long-running series featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan (Another Thing to Fall, etc.) will be pleased to find that the 17 selections in her first short story collection are as intricate and witty as her novels. Part one, “Girls Gone Wild,” focuses on women engaged in all manner of shady enterprises, from first-time drug buyers in “The Crack Cocaine Diet” to an unassuming femme fatale with a secret in “Dear Penthouse Forum (A First Draft).” Lest readers think Lippman can only work her magic in her Maryland hometown, she devotes a section, “Other Cities, Not My Own,” to stories in settings as disparate as New Orleans during Mardi Gras (“Pony Girl”) and Dublin, Ireland, full of jilted lovers (“Honor Bar”). The book’s climax is “Scratch a Woman,” a novella written for the collection and starring Heloise, the enterprising heroine of “One True Love,” an earlier entry. George Pelecanos provides an appreciative introduction. (Oct.)

Get your copy of Hardly Knew Her today at www.vjbooks.com!