VJ Books has received:  Jesse Kellerman – Executor, William Dietrich – Barbary Pirates, Mary Higgins Clark – The Shadow of Your Smile,  Michael Harvey - The Third Rail, and Stuart Woods – Lucid Intervals.

Here’s a look at Publisher’s Weekly fiction bestsellers as we reach the half-year.  It’s become increasingly hard of late for authors to hold onto the #1 spot, but this year seems tougher still.  Of the 18 authors who have nabbed that perch, only three – John Grisham, The Associate; Janet Evanovich, Plum Spooky; and Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care – have exceeded a week’s stay.  Such bestseller veterans as Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Harlan Coben, Mary Higgins Clark and others have managed only one week on top.  Of this year’s fiction newcomers, the five longest-running tenures to date are David Baldacci (First Family, nine weeks and counting); James Patterson (Run for Your Life, nine weeks); James Patterson (The 8th Confession, seven weeks); Maeve Binchy (Heart and Soul, seven weeks) and W.E.B. Griffin (Black Ops, seven weeks).

(Publisher’s Weekly, June 29)

T.S. Eliot be damned.  April is a most kindly month for Mary Higgins Clark, the acknowledged grande dame of mysteries – Simon & Schuster has been successfully publishing Clark’s hardcovers and mass market reprints in April for many years.  Last year, for example, Where Are You Now?, Clark’s 32nd hardcover, landed atop our (Publisher’s Weekly)  list on April 21 (and ran for six weeks) that book’s mass market landed at #1 two weeks ago, on April 6.  Just take My Heart hits today’s list in second place, narrowly edged out by Jim Butcher.  Following local New York and New Jersey events, Clark took to the road on April 18 on an 11-city jaunt, traveling with daughter Carol Higgins Clark.  Look for the duo May 1 on Today.

(Publisher’s Weekly, Apr. 20)

Order your signed copy of Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark at www.vjbooks.com

“It began three months ago when the world as I knew it shattered. My name is Emily O’Connor, Ph.D., age thirty-four, and I teach criminology at Boston Layman College. Three months ago, on September 5th, the first day of the new term, I remember coming into my office feeling pretty good about life…”

(Publisher’s Weekly, Mar 30)

In this intense novel of suspense from bestseller Clark (Where Are You Now?), the obvious suspect in the shooting murder of famous actress Natalie Raines at her Closter, N.J., home is her husband and theatrical agent, Gregg Aldrich, whom she was divorcing. Gregg never wavers from his innocent plea, but Bergen County assistant prosecutor Emily Wallace nails his conviction thanks to the evidence of an ex-con, who testifies Gregg tried to hire him to kill Natalie. Clark neatly details the courtroom proceedings, though of more dramatic interest is a subplot involving oddball serial killer Zach Lanning, who’s been stalking Emily while pretending to be a good neighbor. Clark slowly reveals that Emily’s recent heart transplant has given the attorney extra sensitivity to Natalie’s past. As Emily’s doubts about Gregg’s guilt grow, the action hurtles to a surprising if abrupt resolution. (Apr.)

Order your signed copy of Just Take My Heart from Mary Higgins Clark at www.vjbooks.com

(The Sacramento Bee, Dec. 1, Allen Pierleoni)

Is it the start of December already? We’d best get on with rounding up some holiday- oriented books, which include mystery, humor, feel-good and romance:

“Dashing Through the Snow” by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster, 240 pages): The mother-daughter (respectively) mystery writers set their fifth yuletide suspense novel in a small New Hampshire town. Two visiting sleuths must solve a puzzle involving a multimillion-dollar lottery ticket and a missing person.

“The Spy Who Came for Christmas” by David Morrell (Vanguard, 220 pages): The award- winning thriller novelist tells a Christmas Eve story about a wounded American spy in Santa Fe, N.M. who is trying to keep a very special baby safe from kidnapping by the Russian mob. He finds help from a distraught single mother and her 12-year-old son, who are themselves in a different kind of danger.

“Six Geese a-Slaying” by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s, $22.95, 288 pages): The 10th title in the series involves amateur sleuth Meg Langslow’s search for a Santa killer (she’s hoping he won’t spoil the Christmas pageant).

“A Christmas Grace” by Anne Perry (Ballantine, 224 pages): The veteran novelist’s sixth Christmas-themed book is serious, but fast-moving. At a priest’s request, a niece travels to the remote Irish coast to comfort an ailing (more…)

(www.bworldonline.com, Dec. 23, Dennis Posadas)

The traditional book industry is in a quandary these days. In this time of home foreclosures, industry and job layoffs, factory shutdowns, etc., the last priority on some people’s minds is to buy a book. This is why Random House decided to release a video (and I urge you to look at it) urging everyone to consider giving a book as a present this Christmas and for most gift giving occasions. See the video entitled Books Make Great Gifts at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OXs7tnP5eQ.

In the video, authors like Elmo, Barbara Walters, Martha Stewart, Jon Stewart, Chris Paolini, Frank McCourt, Maya Angelou, Alec Baldwin, Dean Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark, Bill O’Reilly, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Julie (more…)

(marketwatch.com, Nov 20)

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) has announced that the organization will name James Lee Burke and Sue Grafton its 2009 Grand Masters in honor of the Bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth next year. Not since 1978 has the organization presented dual Grand Masters.

MWA’s Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery genre and was established to acknowledge important contributions to the genre, as well as significant output of consistently high-quality material. The awards will be presented at the 63rd Annual Edgar(R) Awards banquet on Thursday April 30, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

According to MWA executive vice president Harry Hunsicker, the Edgar Awards — or “Edgars,” as they are commonly known — are named after Edgar Allan Poe, whose 200th birthday will be marked next year. “One of the great pleasures of my tenure at the helm of MWA has been informing two of the most talented writers on the planet that they have been selected as (more…)

Dashing Through the Snow by  Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

(Publisher’s Weekly, Oct. 27)

The festive fifth holiday mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2006′s Santa Cruise) focuses on a wish-fulfillment theme many Americans dream about-winning a fortune in a lottery.  As Christmas approaches, the folks of Branscombe, N.H., are celebrating their first “Festival of Joy.”  Visiting from New York City are novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her PI daughter, Regan Reilly., and their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, who won $40 million in the lottery a few years earlier.  When four employees of Conklin’s Market win $160 million using numbers supplied by their associate Duncan Graham, they decided to share their winnings with Duncan.  Duncan, alas, has vanished.  The Reillys and Meehans soon get a trail of intrigue involving abduction, thieves, con men and a second winning lottery ticket.  Through the plotting and the characterization can be as thin as early winter ice, this trifle still rates a cheerful ho ho ho. (November 2009 release)