The national bestselling author of The Marsh Madness takes rare book collector Jordan Bingham on a trip to San Francisco-home to Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled heroes-where nothing is as it seems. The Hammett Hex is the fifth book in the Book Collector mystery series, published by Penguin Random House, October 2016. Victoria Abbott is happy to give one brave commenter a copy of the The Hammett Hex, wherever you live.
The Hammett Hex came out on October 4, 2016. Hope you get to read this latest adventure. In the meantime, ‘a day in the life’ might turn out to be ‘a day in the death’. One good thing, those skills and all the Kelly family legends are going to get a work-out as I try to stay alive and make sure other people do too. Maybe we can work it all out, but first we have to stay alive. I get the shivers just thinking about it. And, as in those great books from Dashiell Hammett, no one can be trusted, no matter how sweet and innocent they look. Nobody in San Francisco seems to be who they appear. This day in my life is like no other, ever!įor one thing, I’ve not only been pushed out of a cable car, but I’ve also discovered that an entire bookstore can vanish and I’ve learned that “Smiley” has been keeping a BIG secret from me. Golden Gate Bridge! Cable Cars! San Francisco Bay! I’d be happy to recount a typical day in my life there, but so far on this trip there’s nothing typical. In an effort to help up work through our issues, Tyler has sprung for airfare (non-refundable) and accommodations for the two of us in San Francisco, the fabled city of Dashiell Hammett and a place I’ve always wanted to visit. But this time and for this book- The Hammett Hex, the fifth book collector mystery-all bets are off. With all this in the mix, it’s hard for Tyler and me to trust each other and share, but we’re working on it.Īll to say, usually it’s easy to write about a day in my life as Dru has asked. It was a waste of all that training when I was young (Thanks for all the lockpicks and balaclavas, Uncle Mick!) and the lovingly transmitted family legends of crimes gone by. In their eyes, it’s just plain wrong, not to mention inconvenient. As I am the first person in my family to go straight, adding a cop to the mix has distressed my relatives.
I am also blessed (and possibly cursed) to have an on-again, off-again relationship with Officer Tyler “Smiley” Dekker. Have I mentioned lovable Walter the Pug? What about not always lovable Good Cat and Bad Cat? They make life interesting too. Never mind, we have found common ground and achieved peace, most days. I have even become fond of that same boss, Vera Van Alst, although she’s a total curmudgeon and the most hated woman in Harrison Falls, NY. And, of course, I love my job, helping my book collector boss improve her fabulous collection of first edition mysteries from the Golden Age of Detection.
I revel in the wonderful meals prepared by Signora Panetone, the live-in cook. It’s a wonderful life being in these books: I enjoy the historic house in upstate New York. You may know me from Victoria Abbott’s four (soon to be five) book collector mysteries.
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