We hung out at the bookstore over the weekend and I was in the mood for something mysterious. So I wandered over to the mystery section to see what new mysteries (or new to me) I could find. I managed to add a bunch of new books to my list so take a look and let me know if you’ve read any of these and can recommend them.

• Dead Dancing Women by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli. The sleuth in this cozy is a failed mystery writer escaping city life for the woods in northern Michigan.
• Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson. A medieval noir. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that. Anyway, this story is set in late 14th Century and features a disgraced former knight who finds himself in the midst of a situation involving a murdered tradesman, a missing religious artifact, and a family dispute.
• Hold My Hand by Serena Mackesy. The AP says “A modern day Rebecca, mixed with a suspense-filled Gothic novel and served up with generous helpings of wit – a real treat.” Oh yes, I want to read this one.
• The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan. This is a comic whodunit about Charlie Howard who travels the globe writing suspense novels for a living, about an intrepid burglar named Faulks. To supplement his income—and to keep his hand in—Charlie also has a small side business: stealing for a very discreet clientele on commission.
• Blood Wedding by P.J. Brooke. This is the first in a series about Inspector Max Romero and it’s set in Granada, Spain.
• Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle. A new series featuring a rare book expert and restorer. Oh how fun! I haven’t gotten into any restoration yet but I’ve seen some of the work that goes into that and it’s really amazing what book doctors can do. Anyway, it should be fun to see what this mystery is about.

In case you are wondering, yes, I am reading a mystery at the moment. I’ve returned to Venice to see what Inspector Brunetti is up to in Acqua Alta, the fifth installment of the series.

Lots of good stuff has been arriving at Casa Bookgirl over the past couple of weeks so let me tell you all about it.

First up, is the wonderful prize package I got from Dolce Bellezza for participating and completing the Japanese Reading challenge. I got a pretty journal, some lovely notecards and even a froggie origami kit. Look at all of this, and didn’t my little froggie turn out cute? He’ll have to keep me company in the studio.

My friend Isabel is always sending me the coolest packages with postcards, articles of interest and all sorts of things. This time she sent me a vintage book by H.G. Wells, which my husband took over because it’s in German. She also sent me a chapbook of poetry, Como Un Paraguayou Ebrio Y Celoso de su Hermana by Washington Cucurto.

One of the poems, Los Libros del Centro Editor, is about a writer who loves his books by the Centro Editor publishing house above all and asks to be buried with them. It made me curious if there was a Centro Editor. I’ve jumped around from site to site on the net and have found some interesting articles on the writer but not on that publishing house. I did find out about Proyecto Vox, which put together this book, and they have an interesting web site on contemporary latin american art and literature.

I’ve also done a bit of mooching recently and have received A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve, Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama and Fraud by Anita Brookner. I’m excited to read something else by Gail Tsukiyama and you know I love Anita Brookner so these were great mooches.

Finally, Postcard Journals. Okay these didn’t arrive at Casa Bookgirl but they’ve arrived in my shop. I had a fun time making these and definitely plan to use my collection of postcards to come up with more of these.