McKenna's Staff Picks

McKenna Jordan, Store Owner at Murder By The Book since 2003

Having read crime fiction almost exclusively for the last fifteen years at MBTB, this “staff stack” was incredibly challenging to narrow down. I decided to go with an approach of which books represent both my reading taste as well as my history - to this point - with the bookstore. Every one of this holds a special place in my heart and has a story to go along with it. 

I have a real respect for the genre and its icons, and I love unique characters. That’s basically all I can find as a thread of similarity throughout my reading taste. I’m happy to read across the genre as long as it’s well-written, and there’s nothing that beats a fresh new voice that grabs you from the first line. 
 

 

Beware the Woman By Megan Abbott Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593084939
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - May 30th, 2023

An NPR Best Book of the Year

By the "master of thinly veiled secrets often kept by women who rage underneath their delicate exteriors" (Kirkus Reviews), Beware the Woman is Megan Abbott at the height of her game.


Thus Was Adonis Murdered: A Novel By Sarah Caudwell Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593598733
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bantam - April 4th, 2023

I couldn’t be more excited that Bantam is reissuing the Hilary Tamar mysteries by Sarah Caudwell. These clever, witty British mysteries feature Oxford Don and legal expert Hilary Tamar - astoundingly never gendered throughout the series, in intricately-plotted, occasionally laugh-out-loud cases. If you’re a fan of classic British mysteries written by everyone from Christie and Sayers to Lovesey, Horowitz, Osman and more, don’t miss these! - McKenna


The Shortest Way to Hades: A Novel By Sarah Caudwell Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593598757
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bantam - April 4th, 2023

Inheritance becomes deadly in this gripping literary puzzle—the second installment of the Hilary Tamar mysteries that began with Thus Was Adonis Murdered.
 
“Sarah Caudwell is one of my very favorite mystery writers.”—A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Die first, pay later.


Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery By Margot Douaihy Cover Image
$27.95
ISBN: 9781638930242
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Gillian Flynn Books - February 21st, 2023

The first in Gillian Flynn's imprint, this hard-boiled mystery features one of the freshest voices I've read in ages! Sister Holiday is a star! Don't miss this New Orleans PI novel. - McKenna


Them Bones: A Mystery from the Mississippi Delta (Sarah Booth Delaney #1) By Carolyn Haines Cover Image
$7.99
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780553581713
Published: Bantam - November 2nd, 1999

Meet Sarah Booth Delaney, an unconventional Southern belle whose knack for uncovering the truth is about to make her the hottest detective in Zinnia, Mississippi . . . if it doesn't make her the deadest.


Funeral Music: A Novel (The Sarah Selkirk Mysteries #1) By Morag Joss Cover Image
$6.99
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ISBN: 9780440242413
Published: Dell - March 29th, 2005

To the ancient Romans, the healing waters of Bath belonged to the goddess Minerva. Today they belong to the gods of commerce, as tourists teem, shops prosper, and the incense of gourmet food rises to the English skies. Among the throng is Sara Selkirk, a world-class cellist who came undone in a Paris performance.


No Graves As Yet: A Novel (World War I #1) By Anne Perry Cover Image
$17.00
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ISBN: 9780345484239
Published: Ballantine Books - July 26th, 2005

Through Anne Perry’s magnificent Victorian novels, millions of readers have enjoyed the pleasures and intrigue of a bygone age.


The Bangalore Detectives Club: A Novel By Harini Nagendra Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781639363803
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Pegasus Crime - March 14th, 2023

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

The first in a charming, joyful crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu.