California Bookstore Day, May 2, 2015

Yesterday was California Bookstore Day and I visited my local bookstore, Chaucer's Books. I did not need any books for my bulging bookshelves, but I succumbed to temptation and at the same time supported my local independent bookstore.

This year, Independent Bookstore Day was celebrated all over the US on May 2nd. Per an article at The Washington Post:

This new nationwide holiday stems from a program started last year by California indie bookstores.

I hope the trend continues and our local independent bookstores get lots of support in coming years.

My first choice, suggested by my husband, was SEE ALSO MURDER, by Larry D. Sweazy. This book was totally unknown to me, but I took a chance. The premise seemed promising and it is set in North Dakota in the 1960s. The heroine is an indexer and indexes in books are a passion of mine, so how could I resist?

The book has just been published and I am reading good things about it so I will have to read it soon. Check out the review by Randy Johnson at Not the Baseball Pitcher.

Next up is Murder in Piccadilly, which my husband also found for me. He is such a nice man, isn't he? This one has also just come out here in the US, so I would not have had access to read it before now, but it was published in 1936 and would have been a perfect book for the April Crimes of the Century meme at Past Offences.

The protagonist is Scotland Yard’s Inspector Wake, so a perfect book for me. If you want to know more see the review at Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased. This is the first book I have bought in the British Library Crime Classics reprints. It has a lovely cover and an introduction by Martin Edwards.

The Half-Child is the second book in a series by Angela Savage. Savage is an Australian author, and the series features Jayne Keeney, a private eye living in Bangkok. In the first book, Behind the Night Bazaar, Jayne becomes involved in a murder investigation while visiting a friend in the smaller town of Chiang Mai. Within this context, the author looks at social issues such as HIV and child prostitution. (My review here.)

In The Half-Child, Savage includes a look at issues in the world of overseas adoption.
See Bernadette's review at Fair Dinkum Crime.

I also bought a copy of The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain, because I love this cover. I had thought I might not want to read this book (too noir?), but after reading Double Indemnity recently I have to try it.

Jose Ignacio at The Game's Afoot has reviewed this novel very recently.