Publishers Weekly articles from March 2002

Publishers Weekly archives from March 2002

Chain sales rose 3.7% in 2001, to $7.51 billion: Despite slow February, retailers optimistic about 2002. (News).(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
March 25, 2002... TOTAL SALES FROM the nation's three top chains increased 3.7%, to $7.51 billion, for the fiscal year ended February 2. Books-A-Million, which bought 19 former Crown Books outlets in the year, had the largest gain, with sales up 5.8%, to...

Sales flat, earnings up at Scholastic. (3rd-Quarter Results).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 25, 2002... DESPITE FLAT REVENUES of $433 million for the third quarter ended February 28, net income at Scholastic jumped 222% to $11.9 million. The company attributed the earnings improvement to cost controls that saved about $11 million in the period...

Lonely Planet cuts 81 positions in U.S. (Travel Warning).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... LONELY PLANET, the travel publisher that in the fall came up with a plan to allow employees to work part-time hours or take short-term leave in order to avoid layoffs, will eliminate 81 positions in the U.S., or approximately 15% of its...

Volini, Pfuhl move up at Random. (People).(Random House appoints Edward Volini and Jorg Pfuhl)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Random House, which revamped its upper management structure in November, has made several new changes, including the promotion of Edward Volini to the additional post of chief financial officer. Volini will also continue as chief...

Harvill added to Random U.K. (People).(Harvill Press purchased by Random House)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... The Random empire continues to expand, most recently with the acquisition of British publisher Harvill Press. The Harvill hardcover imprint will remain an independent imprint within Random U.K.'s operation, and its paperback list, currently...

Intimate fights summary judgment bid by chains. (Litigation).(Intimate Bookshop; chain bookstores)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... IN PREPARATION for oral arguments set for March 22 in Barnes & Noble and Borders Group's request for summary judgment to be granted in the price discrimination lawsuit filed against the two chains by the Intimate Bookshop, the lawyer for the...

iPublish authors waiting for royalty statements. (E-Books).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... EVEN FROM BEYOND the grave, iPublish is causing a stir. The site that shook up publishing with its new model-and whose undoing was blared in the same 32-point headlines- remains a cause celebre for horror novelist J. Knight. The author, whose...

Selling e-books to academic, trade markets. (E-Publishing).(electronic books from McGraw-Hill and St. Martin's)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... E-BOOK SALES MAy be relatively small, but according to spokespersons for McGraw-Hill and St. Martin's, they're growing fast, and both publishers are working aggressively to make more titles available. Bob Bolick, v-p for new business...

Lightning Source Inks deal with Amazon U.K. (Partnering).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... TWO YEARS AFTER making the decision to build infrastructure in Britain, Lightning Source has brought on Amazon.co.uk as a retailing partner. Lightning touts Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press as two of its biggest...

Good clean fun. (News).(party for author and magazine editor)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Simon & Schuster and Harper's magazine threw a party for Harper's contributing editor Vince Passaro and his new novel Violence Nudity Adult Content in Manhattan at the Housing Works Cafe in SoHo Pictured are rock impresario Jamie Kitman-David...

In memory of Daniel Pearl. (Hot Deals).(collection of journalist's works to be published)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... A collection of pieces by Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter assassinated in Pakistan, will be published by the Wall Street Journal Books imprint at the Free Press this summer. The collection, introduced by his widow, Mariane, and...

Of Priests and children. (Hot Deals).(rights to book by David France obtained)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... The first book to investigate the current scandal about child molestation engulfing the Catholic Church in the U.S. has been signed. Gerry Howard at Broadway/Doubleday made a "significant" six-figure preempt to secure Our Fathers: The Secret...

'Christmas Box' author to Dutton. (Hot Deals).(Dutton pays for rights to books by Richard Paul Evans)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Dutton publisher Carole Baron and editor Laurie Chittenden paid what was reported to be several million dollars for two new novels by Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box and several sentimental sequels that were huge bestsellers...

Random's Russian star. (Hot Deals).(Random House obtains rights to book by Boris Akunin)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... A Russian writer of period detective thrillers who has scored sales of more than three million copies in his native land was snapped up by editor M.J. Devaney of Random's Modern Library imprint after he read a story about the author, Boris...

Action in London. (Hot Deals).(deals made at London Book Fair)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... One of the hot titles at the London Book Fair last week was Cinderella-story first novel by American-in-London Kathleen Tessaro, whose Elegance made six-figure sales at auction on both sides of the Atlantic. Morrow executive editor Jennifer...

Annik LaFarge. (Short Takes).(obtains rights to book by Greta Van Susteren)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Crown's Annik LaFarge bought world rights to a book by Greta Van Susteren, the much-watched host of the new Fox News program On the Record. The untitled book, in which she meditates on the significant issues of the day, will be co-written...

Dan Menaker. (Short Takes).(obtains rights to book by Keith Kachtick)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... HarperCollins's Dan Menaker swiftly preempted a first novel by prison counselor Keith Kachtick from agent William Clark; it's called Hungry Ghost and is about the difficult relationship between a dissolute photographer on a risky assignment...

My Life Among Serial Killers. (Short Takes).(Morrow obtains rights to book)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... A book that sounds like the life of "a real life Clarice Starling" was preempted by Mauro DiPreta at Morrow; it's My Life Among Serial Killers by Dr. Helen Morrison, a forensic psychiatrist specializing in profiling such criminal types for...

The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime and Punishment. (Short Takes).(rights to book by Eric Jager purchased)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Broadway's Charlie Conrad bought world rights to an unusual historical tale, The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime and Punishment by UCLA medieval literature professor Eric Jager. It's the story of a duel in 14th-century France in which a...

New owner looks to revitalize Baskerville. (Independent Publishing).(Baskerville Publishers)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... ALTHOUGH DALLAS-based Baskerville Publishers began making critical waves soon after Jane Howle founded it in 1992, with a strong Literary list that includes Peter Landesman's The Raven and Austin Wright's acclaimed Tony and Susan, the...

January Sales Jump. (AAP Sales Report).(book sales)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... AAP Sales Report January Sales Jump % CHANGE CATEGORY JANUARY Adult Hardcover 93.6 Adult Paperback 48.4 Juvenile Hardcover 77.5 Juvenile Paperback ...

Waller sequel upped to 250,000+ copies. (Doing it Again).(planned publishing of Robert James Waller's 'A Thousand Country Roads: An Epilogue to the Bridges of Madison County' by Iron Mountain Press)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... RESPONDING TO strong interest from bookstores, tiny Iron Mountain Press is tipping the initial print run of Robert James Waller's A Thousand Country Roads: An Epilogue to the Bridges of Madison County from the previously announced 25,000...

B&B Audio up for sale. (Audio Publishing).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... AFTER 16 YEARS in business, Beth Baxter, owner and founder of B&B Audio Inc., Northbrook, Ill., is putting her company up for sale. "It's been almost 16 years that I've been doing this, and it's time for a change," Baxter told PW. "I love...

January bookstore sales up 27%. (News).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... The U.S. Census Bureau reported that bookstore sales in January jumped 27.2%, to $2.25 billion, compared to a 3.1% increase for the entire retail segment. Although the increase seems outlandishly high, the AAP January sales report shows sales...

Profits, stability mark HarperSF's rebound. (25th Anniversary).(Harper San Francisco)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JUST A FEW YEARS AFTER a major downsizing in the publishing program at Harper San Francisco, HerperCollins president and CEO Jane Friedman said the division, which celebrated its 25th anniversary March 7 with a gala waterfront party, has...

C-SPAN's 'American Writers' returns. (New Season).(television program)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... FOLLOWING ON THE heels of CSPAN's American Writers: A Journey Through History, a popular series on the lives of influential American writers from the colonial years to the 19th century, the public affairs cable network will air American...

O'Brien heads to HarperCollins. (People).(Maureen O'Brien)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Harper Collins has appointed Maureen O'Brien as executive editor at Morrow/Avon. O'Brien, who starts April 1, will acquire commercial fiction and nonfiction for the Harper Entertainment imprint as well as for the entire Morrow/Avon division....

Barney Rosset wins Curtis Benjamin Award. (Honors).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... BARNEY ROSSET, maverick independent publisher and legendary founder of Grove Press, will receive the Association of American Publishers Curtis Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing. Rosset can add the Benjamin Award to honors he has...

ABFFE sets author auction lineup. (Fund-Raising).(American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... FIFTEEN OF THE nation's most prominent writers have agreed to participate in the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression author auction that will take place March 27-29. The latest authors to join the proceedings are Judy Blume,...

Templeton goes to theologian/Scientist. (Awards).(Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion awarded to John C. Polkinchorne)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JOHN C. POLKINCHORNE, theologian, physicist and prolific author, was named the recipient of the 2002 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion at a press conference at the U.N. on March 14. Polkinghorne, who left a remarkable career in...

Correction.(Barry Lipsky of Franklin Electronic Publishers)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 25, 2002... PW regrets that Franklin Electronic Publishers CEO Barry Lipsky's name was misspelled in last week's e-publishing department.

A Booker Hooker. (Behind the Bestsellers).('Atonement' by Ian McEwan)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Ian McEwan won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1998, and now he's enjoying another coveted book prize--a high slot on the national charts. Atonement, from Doubleday/Nan Talese, hits PVv's list in the #6 position and has already made four...

Monkey see, Monkey do. (Behind the Bestsellers).(Jeffrey Deaver's 'The Stone Monkey' reaches best seller list)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... And this monkey did the best so far. Jeffery Deaver's latest Lincoln Rhyme caper, The Stone Monkry, is hitting the bestseller charts higher than any of his previous books--it's #3 on PWs list this week. Laydown date was March 12, and Simon &...

Regnery's latest score. (Behind the Bestsellers).('Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson' by Kenneth R. Timmerman on best seller list)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Conservative publisher Regnery lands a second book (after Bias, which has been on our list for 12 weeks) in the top 10: Kenneth R. Timmerman's Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson. Timmerman, an investigative reporter with a...

International fiction hits. (Behind the Bestsellers).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... In last week's PW, we listed the 2001 year-end national fiction bestsellers in hardcover and paperbacks for both adult and children's titles. Recently, Market Partners International, in its Publishing Trends newsletter, noted the 2001...

A YA debut makes 5. (Behind the Bestsellers).('The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' on best seller list, after being on young adult best seller list)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... One book was not mentioned in last week's column, on the subject of debut novels that sold more than 100,000 copies in 2001: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a first YA novel by Ann Brashares, which sold just under 125,000 copies for...

What's in a name? A recently published nonfiction work proves once again that controversy sells. (Marketing).(marketing of 'Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word')
March 25, 2002... With a title primed to court controversy, Randall Kennedy's latest from Pantheon, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, has indeed done so. However, despite the blatant word that many find objectionable, Nigger has also succeeded...

It's playtime! Games for all ages: A nifty collection of card trivia games and fun board games to entertain the entire family. (Sidelines).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Art, education, interaction, fantasy, nostalgia, trivia--whatever the urge, there's a game to satisfy it. We're cocooning more than ever before, and games that bring people together are doing big business. Why wait for the next national...

A 'Seabiscuit' stampede: For sports publishers, it's the Seabiscuit phenomenon by a length; Olympics show; sports bios place.
March 25, 2002... IF IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST form of flattery, then the sports publishing industry must be cloning itself silly over the remarkable success of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit (Random House). For years, publishers have shied away from horse...

Ahmed Rashid: Required reading, Alas. (PW Interview).(author of book about the Taliban and Afghanistan)(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 25, 2002... On the evening of September 11, Pakistani-born journalist Ahmed Rashid was sitting in the book-lined study of his home in Lahore, Pakistan, with the television on. He watched with horror as attacks began on the United States--first in New...

Betrayal. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... CLARE FRANCIS. Soho, $25 (384p) ISBN 1-56947-290-4 Sometimes it takes a while for a good fish to swim all the way across the pond. Originally published in England in 1995, this psychological suspenser from crowd-pleaser Francis (Night...

Triggerfish Twist. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... TIM DORSEY. Morrow, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-06-018571-6 Conjuring up Carl Hiaasen and El-more Leonard on crack, the fourth off-the-wall novel from Dorsey (Orange Crush) finds antihero Serge Storms--a quixotic, socially conscious...

In the Casa Azul: A Novel of Revolution and Betrayal. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MEAGHAN DELAHUNT. St. Martin's, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-312-29106-X A historical footnote -- Leon Trotsky's six-week affair with painter Frida Kahlo during his exile in Mexico--blooms into a mesmerizing first novel by Australian writer...

Three Junes. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JULIA GLASS. Pantheon, $25 (368p) ISBN 0-375-42144-0 * The artful construction of this seductive novel and the mature, compassionate wisdom permeating it would be impressive for a seasoned writer, but it's all the more remarkable in a...

Some of Her Friends That Year. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MAXINE CHERNOFF, Coffee House, $16.95 paper (360p) ISBN 1-56689-127-2 Poet and novelist Chernoff infuses this collection (15 new stories plus selections from Bop and Signs of Devotion) alternately with hope and resignation, and a touch...

Disappearing Ingenue: The Misadventures of Eleanor Stoddard. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MELISSA PRITCHARD. Doubleday, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-385-50303-2 This impressive new collection of eight interrelated stories from the author of Selene of the Spirits charts the journey of Eleanor Stoddard from awkward childhood through...

Gold Rush. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MIRI YU, TRANS. FROM THE JAPANESE BY STEPHEN SNYDER. Welcome Rain, $25 (288p) ISBN 1-56649-155-X A violent Japanese teen murders his father and tries to take control of his gaming business in Yu's lurid, graphic American debut. At 14,...

The Curse of Treasure Island. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... FRANCIS BRYAN. Viking, $24.95 (291p) ISBN 0-670-03089-9 This sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 classic packs a great deal of adventure into a relatively small package. However, escapades and high melodrama are nearly all that's...

Across Open Ground. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... HEATHER PARKINSON. Bloomsbury, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 1-58234-243-1 A young Idaho sheep herder meets the girl of his dreams just as events conspire to part them in Parkinson's lyrical, evocative debut novel, whose "echoes of Cormac...

Eleazar, Exodus to the West. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MICHEL TOURNIER, TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH BY JONATHAN F. KRELL. Univ. of Nebraska, $45 (128p) ISBN 0-8032-4440-1; paper $16.95 -9445-X As in his seven previous novels (Friday; The Ogre), prolific French author Tournier draws on biblical...

Stormy Weather. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MICHAEL MEEHAN. Arcade, $24.95 (208p) ISBN 1-55970-620-1 Australian writer Meehan takes a sly, baroque look at the inner workings of a dying vaudevillian theater troupe in his second novel, an arch retelling of The Tempest that takes...

Losing Mr. North. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... ELAINE KAGAN. Morrow, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 0-06-018474-4 Writer and actress Kagan (The Girls) pens a domestic drama that turns on a romantic triangle. Jack North is a retired cop and grandfather of fotir, living seven hours from Los...

Second Draft of My Life. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... SARA LEWIS. Pocket, $24 (320p) ISBN 0-7434-3669-5 Readers of "women's fiction" will find escapist entertainment and some nuggets of insight in Lewis's latest novel. It follows the tribulations of a praised but chronically impecunious...

Belief. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... STEPHANIE JOHNSON. St. Martin's, $26.95 (496p) ISBN 0-312-29110-8 The darker side of belief permeates this American debut by New Zealander Johnson, who chronicles a life of spiritual pilgrimage driven by mental instability in the late...

The Tablets of Ararat. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... C.J. ILLINIK. Kregel, $12.99 paper (352p) ISBN 0-8254-2908-0 This ambitious debut novel geared for the Christian market juggles a multitude of time periods and subplots to trace the history of ancient gold-covered clay tablets on which...

Gould's Book of Fish. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... RICHARD FLANAGAN. Grove, $27.50 (416p) ISBN 0-8021-1711-2 * Flanagan (The Sound of One Hand Clapping) has written a Tasmanian version of Rimbaud's Season in Hell, a mesmerizing portrait of human abjection--and sometimes elation--set in a...

April Witch. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MAJGULL AXELSSON, TRANS. FROM THE SWEDISH BY LINDA SCHENCK. Villard, $24.95 (480p) ISBN 0-375-50517-2 Desiree (meaning "desired one".) Johansson is the ironically named daughter of Ella Johansson--ironic because Ella abandoned her at...

PW talks with Morgan Entrekin. (Fiction).(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 25, 2002... PW: You've published two of Richard Flanagan's earlier books, but what made you decide to do Gould's Book of Fish in such an original--and expensive--format? ME: I think Richard's one of the most talented writers working in the world...

Last Night. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... BRENDAN LEMON. Alyson, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 1-55583-645-3 Out magazine editor-in-chief Lemon makes his fiction debut with a poignant love story set in mid-1980s Cuba. The novel takes the form of a long letter to a young Cuban man from an...

Henry's List of Wrongs. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JOHN SCOTT SHEPHERD. Rugged Land [276 Canal St., New York, NY 10013], $24.95 (303p) ISBN 1-54567-901-0 Screenwriter Shepherd's first novel tells the entertaining if somewhat jerry-built story of a heartless cad's quest for love and...

The Short Forever. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... STUART WOODS. Putnam, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 0-399-14868-X In recent Woods bestsellers like Cold Paradise, N.Y.P.D. detective-turned-PI Stone Barrington has gone upscale in lifestyle, international in expertise. This time, mogul John...

Act of God. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... SUSAN R. SLOAN. Warner, $24.95 (544p) ISBN 0-446-52451-4 This explosive new novel by the author of An Isolated Incident takes aim at both sides of the abortion debate as it follows the trial of an all-American suspect in an abortion...

Dancing with the Dragon. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JOE WEBER. Presidio, $25.95 (384p) ISBN 0-89141-764-8 Heavy on high-tech thrills but light on almost everything else, Weber's seventh novel zeroes in on that villain of the moment, China, and the ill-conceived fight it decides to pick...

Bone Key: A John Deal Novel. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... LES STANDIFORD. Putnam, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-399-14874-4 * Among mystery buffs, John D. MacDonald may be the poet laureate of South Florida, but now Standiford--whose work has been praised by Elmore Leonard and Stephen King, among...

Hokkaido Popsicle. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... ISAAC ADAMSON. HarperPerennial, $12.95 paper (336p) ISBN 0-380-81292-4 Adamson's action-packed, rapid-fire follow-up to Tokyo Suckerpunch finds its hero, star reporter Billy Chaka ("the deadline poet of the bubblegum set"), wrapped up in...

Jenny Willow. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... MIKE GADDIS. Lyons, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 1-58574-451-4 A remarkable grouse-hunting clog undergoes an difficult transition from old master to new owner in Caddis's debut, a compassionate, heartwarming story that begins with octogenarian Ben...

On Treacherous Ground: Secret Stories of the American West. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... EARL MURRAY. Forge, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 0-312-86922-3 The author of more than 40 novels, most of them about the American frontier, Murray (South of Eden) displays his intimate knowledge of the people and events that shaped the West in this...

Sittin' in the Front Pew. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... PARRY "EBONYSATIN" BROWN. Villard/Strivers Row, $13.95 paper (224p) ISBN 0-375-75705-8 Brown's sophomore effort explores the upheavals that a father's death triggers for his grown daughters. Narrator Glynda has just passed the bar...

Cape Refuge. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... TERRI BLACKSTOCK. Zondervan, $12.99 paper (400p) ISBN 0-310-23592-8 Although Blackstock, a former best-selling romance author in the general market, is now well-known in the CBA for her writing partnership with Beverly LaHaye, her most...

Hurricane Bay. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... HEATHER GRAHAM. Mira, $22.95 (352p) ISBN 1-55166-897-1 A major sea change works wonders for romance stalwart Graham (Night of the Blackbird), yielding a suspenseful, sexy thriller set in the Florida Keys. Sheila Warren has gone missing;...

The Pursuit. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... JOHANNA LINDSEY. Morrow, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 0-380-97855-5 Energetic and expansive, good-natured and lusty, with enough flouncy dresses and galloping steeds to equip a comic opera, the sequel to Say You Love Me should delight Lindsey's...

This Pen for Hire: A Jaine Austen Mystery. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... LAURA LEVINE. Kensington, $22 (208p) ISBN 0-7582-0158-3 Humor is the key ingredient in this slick debut by television comedy writer Levine. Freelancer Jaine Austen (her mother loved the classics but couldn't spell) makes a living writing...

Exposure. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... ALAN RUSSELL. St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 0-312-28924-3 * With this novel of intrigue reminiscent of Eric Ambler, Russell (Shame; Multiple Wounds; No Sign of Murder; etc.) shows he's one of the best writers in the mystery...

Not Guilty. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... PATRICIA MACDONALD. Pocket, $24 (400p) ISBN 0-7434-2355-0 Combining hand-wringing angst with wild improbabilities, Edgar-nominee Mac-Donald (The Unforgiven, etc.) plunges her heroine, Keely Bennett, into a nightmarish ride through...

Ash Child: A Gabriel Du Pre Mystery. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... PETER BOWEN. St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-312-28850-6 This compelling series, set in a contemporary Wild West where little old ladies come into the saloon, order red beers and go home and shoot at meddlesome strangers,...

Stolen Honey: A Mystery Featuring Ruth Willmarth. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... NANCY MEANS WRIGHT. St. Martin's Minotaur/Dunne, $23.95 (258p) ISBN 0-312-26245-0 Vermont's bucolic image takes a beating in this grim tale of vandalism, grave-robbing and murder, Wright's fourth (after 2000's Poison Apples) to feature...

The Newtonian Egg: And Other Cases of Rolf Le Roux. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... PETER GODFREY. Crippen & Landru (www.crippenlandru.com), $25 (172p) ISBN 1-885941-68-4; paper $15-69-2 Crippen & Landru inaugurates a welcome new series, Lost Classics, with this fine collection of 10 whodunits and howdunits set in South...

April publications. (Mystery Notes).(three books)(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Can't find a good mystery that's not an overhyped bestseller? Then this is the guide for you: They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels, edited by Jim Huang, editor and publisher of The Drood Review, Mystery...

Lumen. (SF/Fantasy/Horror).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... CAMILLE FLAMMARION; TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH BY BRIAN STABLEFORD. Wesleyan Univ., $45 (190p) ISBN 0-8195-6567-9; paper $17.95 -6568-7 Initially published in 1872 and here translated for the first time into English, this French SF classic...

The Warmasters. (SF/Fantasy/Horror).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... EDITED BY BILL FAWCETT. Baen, $24 (320p) ISBN 0-7434-3534-6 This anthology contains three novellas of future or alternate war by three of the acknowledged experts in the field, so the title satisfies any reasonable truth-in-packaging...

The Mermaid that Came Between Them. (SF/Fantasy/Horror).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... CAROL ANN SIMA. Coffee House (www.coffeehousepress.org), $24.95 (288p) ISBN 1-56689-124-8 In the arresting prologue of this winsome contemporary fairy tale, five-year-old Jacob Koleman is enticed into the sea off South Hampton by three...

In the Garden of Poisonous Flowers. (SF/Fantasy/Horror).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... CAITLIN R. KIERNAN. Subterranean (www.subterraneanpress.com), $20 (100p) ISBN 1-931081-48-4 This short atmospheric sidebar to Kiernan's well-received second novel, Threshold, succeeds only intermittently. Whereas its predecessor featured...

The Tyrant. (SF/Fantasy/Horror).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... ERIC FLINT AND DAVID DRAKE. Baen, $24 (352p) ISBN 0-7434-3521-4 Veteran Drake (Mistress of the Catacombs) and relative newcomer Flint (1632) manage to instruct as well as entertain in this latest volume in their popular Belisarius series....

April publications. (SF/Fantasy/Horror Notes).(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... Ramsey Campbell fans who can't wait for the regular trade edition of the British horror master's latest novel, The Darkest Part of the Wood, will welcome this special limited edition, which includes an introduction by Peter Straub. All 500...