Summer into Fall

Bouchercon was a lot of fun and Chicago proved to be a perfect place to play and collect new books and new authors. If you want a few laughs, Harley Jane Kozak's Dating Dead Men and Dating is Murder are books to check out. Now that she has won every award possible for her first novel, I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve.

Elaine Viets was a pleasure to meet this year and her short story “Wedding Knife” in Chesapeake Crimes won the Anthony for best short story. I'm sure anyone who has been in a wedding can relate to this story.

William Kent Kruger was honored with his second Anthony win, and he so deserves the award for Blood Hollow . Each novel continues to get better and better and wait until next year when Mercy Falls hits the ballots. Minnesota is on the map with the wonderful fiction that continues to flow out of the Minneapolis area. Everyone on the Minnesota Crime Wave and in the Silence of the Loons anthology should be proud of the hard work that they do to entertain their fans.

Each Bouchercon a new author or a buzz starts for a book or two to watch out for. David Morrells' new novel Creepers is just in time for Halloween. What appears to be a haunted hotel (Insert The Shining theme song here) is one book to check out and enjoy being scared. Zoe Sharp is the other one to watch. England seems to be so many steps ahead of us with Zoe. They have three more of her books out over there, but her first book released here, First Drop , should start a demand for this wonderful author.

The holidays are approaching and if you are looking for a unique gift idea, a signed book could be the perfect present. A friend of mine has many books to sell, so if you are looking for a signed first edition or a hard to find book, Randy Macpherson can help you. E-mail him at Mostlymyst@aol.com with your want lists or ask him to e-mail you a list of what he has in stock.

Now that the column is done, I can return to The Historian and see how the search for Dracula is going. This is an atmospheric novel with a parallel feel of The DaVinci Code . Perfect for autumn and Halloween. Fall is in the air and Bouchercon is over. How sad it is to see summer's end and the big fall mystery conference over, but Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans are truly our greatest sorrow. Our country has more healing to do.