Cartoon of the Day: A Dickensian Alphabet

 

MARGARET MARON: R.I.P.

I woke up this morning to the sad news that Margaret Maron, mystery author, humanist, and friend, passed away yesterday. I enjoyed her Sigrid Harald books and, of course, her Deborah Knott series. I, also, loved spending time with Margaret at Malice Domestic and Bouchercon. She was always so friendly, including people in her panels and chats in the lobby, bar, or book room. When she finally made it to one of my Literary Salons here on the West Coast, she not only gave a great talk, but she identified a special spider that was spinning a web 'behind my garden gate.' Who knew she was an expert on arachnia? Margaret was a woman of many talents and interests. She was smart, witty, funny, compassionate, and generous to others. She was also a wonderdful storyteller, so it's not surprising that she won all the major mystery awards, including the Macavity. She was also a Grandmaster of Mystery Writers of America. Margaret was a literary treasure and one of the nicest people I've ever known. I will miss her.

Photo: I took this in 2013. Margaret, wearing an Egyptian motif scarf that Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Mertz gave her.

Here's the obit that was in my inbox this morning (click to enlarge):

CHOCOLATE HAMENTASCHEN FOR PURIM!

The Holiday of Purim begins tomorrow night (lunar calendar). The traditional food served during this Jewish holiday is Hamentaschen. Hamentaschen are made to resemble Hamen's (the villain of the story) hat! Traditionally, hamentaschen were filled with prune, apricot, or munn (poppyseed). But what's to say that Hamen's Hat couldn't be made of or filled with chocolate? I must mention that this holiday is about a Jewish woman (Queen Esther) who saves her people. How can you not love a holiday that honors a strong clever woman?

In the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on its thirteenth day ... on the day that the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail over them, it was turned about: the Jews prevailed over their adversaries. - Esther 9:1
And they gained relief on the fourteenth, making it a day of feasting and gladness. - Esther 9:17
[Mordecai instructed them] to observe them as days of feasting and gladness, and sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor. - Esther 9:22

Short summary: The holiday of Purim appears in the Book of Esther. The story is read from the Megillah. So as not to give you the whole 'megillah' here, the story goes that Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as a daughter, was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of Ahasuerus' harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther and made Esther queen. But the king did not know that Esther was Jewish. The king’s aide, Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews. Esther tells the king that Hamen is plotting to have her killed -- well he's plotting to have all the Jews killed. When she tells the King that she is Jewish, the King kills Haman instead and saves the Jews.

During Purim, everyone eats hamantaschen. They are supposed to be modeled after Haman’s three pointed hat. In Israel they are often shaped like Hamen's ears (oznei Haman), but I feel better about eating hats than ears. :-), but if you're so inclined here's a great video and recipe for Haman's Ears with Halva Spreads (one features Bittersweet Chocolate Sea Salt Halva spread) from Jamie Geller at Joy of Kosher! 

So on with the Chocolate!

Following are two great recipes for Chocolate Hamentaschen for Purim. You'll find them quite different, and I suggest you try both. Although the holiday tomorrow night, there's no reason that these great pastries (cookies) can't be made and consumed now (or at another time)!

Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning has a really wonderful recipe for Decadent Chocolate Hamantaschen. (Victoria Sutton has a BA from Barnard College, and the Grand Diploma in Classic Pastry Arts from the French Culinary Institute. She works as a freelance chef in New York City.) When I made these I filled them with Nutella. Great addition. So many possibilities. The second recipe has a darker chocolate pastry (I use DARK cocoa), and the hamentaschen are filled with jam (I like Bonne Maman Dark Cherry Preserves). The second recipe is from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another taste treat  is to fill these with peanut butter.  Of course, you can make your own family recipe for Hamentaschen and fill them with chocolate. Any way you make them, have fun! I've added a third link for yet another Purim treat!

Before you begin, here are some TIPS for making good Hamentaschen.

Dough: Be sure and chill your dough. Put it in your refrigerate the dough before rolling it out. Roll out dough between pieces of parchment or wax paper rather than adding more flour, so the final product isn't too dense and doughy.

Tip for shaping: Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under. Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, losing its filling. It also makes a better triangle shape.

I. Decadent Chocolate Hamentaschen
Recipe from Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning 

Chocolate Pâte Sucree:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate Ganache Filling:
8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
8 ounces heavy cream
Dash salt
Rum to taste (optional)

Chopped cherries, cranberries, nuts, or toffee (optional)

To prepare sucree: Cream butter, sugar, salt, and almond extract if using until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture in two stages, alternating with the heavy cream. More or less cream might be needed depending on the consistency of the dough. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, and form a flattened disc. Chill for at least one hour.

To prepare ganache: Over a double boiler, heat cream and chopped chocolate. When chocolate is mostly melted, lightly whisk until ganache is smooth and shiny. Whisk in rum (optional) and salt. Chill for several hours.

To form hamantaschen: Roll chilled chocolate sucree to slightly more than 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cutter or glass rim dipped in flour, cut circles of about 3 inches in diameter. If adding dried fruit or nuts, sprinkle a small amount in the center of the cut discs.

Remove ganache from fridge, and using either a small ice-cream scoop or by hand, form about 1 inch round balls and place in center of sucree circles. Carefully fold in the edges to form a triangular shape, and pinch the corners to seal.  Ensure there are no gaps or tears in the dough, to prevent filling from oozing out during baking.

Bake hamantaschen on greased cookie sheets at 350 F for about 15 minutes, until crust is baked through. Ganache will liquify during baking, but will set as hamantaschen cool. 

This second recipe features a really dark chocolate pastry,  and these hamentaschen are filled with jam. This recipe is adapted from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another great taste treat is to fill these with peanut butter.

II. CHOCOLATE HAMENTASCHEN 
Recipe from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily.

Ingredients
Recipe originally adapted from Coconut and Lime
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup DARK cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of any flavor jam, divided

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line with cookie sheet with parchment paper
In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly.
Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, and mix until thick dough forms. Refrigerate dough for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle  clean work area with powdered sugar. Roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 2 to 3 inch rounds. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
Spoon 1-2 tsp of jam (or peanut butter) in middle and fold sides to create  triangle shape. Pinch corners and lightly smoosh them down so there isn’t a visible seam. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

III. And, here's a recipe to a third recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Chocolate Hamentaschen from With love and Cupcakes.

MALICE DOMESTIC NEWS: MORE THAN MALICE

Here's the latest from the Malice Domestic Board of Directors:

After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone Malice 32/33 to 2022. We are looking forward to honoring our invited guests and to seeing you all again in person next year! 

Instead of a live event in 2021, we are excited to announce MORE THAN MALICE, a virtual (online) festival. MORE THAN MALICE will be held on July 14 - 17, 2021, and will feature special guests, unique panels, and the Agatha Awards. We will have much more exciting information for you in the coming days and weeks. Information regarding MD32/33 registrations will be sent in the next few days. 

The Agatha Award nomination forms will be emailed tomorrow, February 24. Everyone who is currently registered for Malice will receive a form and be invited to nominate their favorite books and stories from 2020.

LEFTY BEST HUMOROUS NOVEL NOMINEE PANEL: The Unconvention, February 27

Join me Saturday, February 27, as I moderate the Lefty Best Humorous Novel Nominee Panel at Left Coast Crime: The Unconvention: 2021. Panelists: Ellen Byron, Jennifer J. Chow, Carl Hiaasen, Cynthia Kunh, J. Michael Orenduff, Sung J. Woo.

While you're at it, sign up for all four panels:

This Zoom Webinar is free, but advance registration is required.

Registration Link

Cartoon of the Day: Early Sphinx Prototype

Happy Caturday!

COVER REVEAL: THE NINJA BETRAYED by Tori Eldridge: Sneak Peek into the Symbolic Cover Art for Lily Wong Series, Book 3

TORI ELDRIDGE: 

Cover Reveal for THE NINJA BETRAYED

Check out that cover! I’m overjoyed with the results and thrilled to share it with you. What better place for a Lily Wong mystery cover reveal than on the fabulous Mystery Readers Blog, Mystery Fanfare? 

As with the other two books in the series, this cover has layers of symbolism in all of its elements. The color, the icons, even the grid, have meaning—sometimes, more than one. The cover makes an initial impact then offers new discoveries as you read the book. 

First, the color. 

Every book in the Lily Wong Series features a bold solid color steeped in symbolism. The yellow cover for The Ninja Daughter and red cover for The Ninja’s Blade spoke to Lily’s (and my) Chinese heritage—firecrackers, red envelopes, yellow gold. The ninja element was represented by the ninja black and gray icons. What color would be right for The Ninja Betrayed? 

In the third book, Lily and Ma travel to Hong Kong for a surprise board meeting for her grandfather Gung-Gung’s international finance company. When Ma’s L.A. director position is threatened, Lily digs for the truth behind friendly façades of partners, directors, and family. Her Hong Kong vacation quickly devolves into a scorpion’s nest of trouble and shady deals. 

We needed a color that symbolized Lily’s mother, risk, and finance. Lucky jade green fit the bill. 

Like yellow and red, green is a bold color that evokes strong emotions. It’s associated with wealth, luck, danger, and—as the third color in a stop light—action. Although Hong Kong money comes in a variety of colors, green is the color of money in the U.S. 

The shade of green was equally important. Anyone who’s read either of the previous books, knows that Violet Wong wears signature imperial jade jewelry. When I picture Ma, I always see her jade and diamond earrings, ring, and Sì Xiàng bracelet. 

I was so appreciative that the design team at Agora Books were willing to work with me to find the perfect shade of jade. 

Not only did my editor, Chantelle Aimée Osman, ask me for ideas about color and icons, she asked for feedback at every stage of development. I can’t begin to tell you how rare and wonderful this is. Most authors have limited involvement at best. 

“Lily is a duality herself, she is at once a proud product of her heritage, but also an embodiment of the modern evolution of it, and we wanted the covers to embody both of those qualities.” 

My good fortune is not only reflected in lucky colors but lucky numbers, as well. 

The number eight, featured in the grid on all of the Lily Wong covers, is the most auspicious number in China. The Mandarin word for eight is Bā, which sounds similar to the word Fā, the character on the mahjong tile in the upper left quadrant of The Ninja Betrayed. Fā is the first half of the saying, fā cái, which translates to “get rich.” The ink on this mahjong tile is always green to symbolize wealth. In The Ninja’s Blade, the second book in the series, two of those panels are dominated by an awesome Chinese tiger. 

In The Ninja Betrayed, two of the grids are taken over by a line of protesters to signify the pro-democracy struggle in Hong Kong, a major theme in the story. 

In addition to protecting Ma and investigating Gung-Gung’s international finance company, Lily befriends and protects a teenage activist during the height of the 2019 protests. Things get volatile as peaceful demonstrations erupt into violence. 

There’s also a strong romantic component to the story that the cover needed to reflect. As Lily copes with riots, triads, and family strife, her budding romance with Daniel Kwok—there on business—flourishes into the possibility of true love. Chantelle came up with the perfect icon. 

“When Tori pointed out, quite rightly, that we were missing a symbol for the romantic element of the plot—which is stronger in this book than the others, readers can look forward—we immediately landed on the lily. Not only is it, obviously, the name of our protagonist, and a symbol of romance, but it also symbolizes Lily’s finally coming into her own and accepting herself for who she is.” 

The lily flower also symbolizes purity and fertility, fresh life and rebirth. There’s a lot of nuanced meaning to unpack in the presence of that flower and all the other icons on The Ninja Betrayed cover. The only way to discover them is to read the book! 

The Ninja Betrayed releases September 14, 2021 from Agora Books. Pre-Order links can be found at https://torieldridge.com/links

Cartoon of the Day: Advice to Writers

LEFT COAST CRIME: THE UNCONVENTION 2021 Virtual Lefty Award Panels - February 27

On February 27, 2021, Left Coast Crime will present four virtual panels to introduce the 2021 Lefty Award Nominees and their books.

This Zoom Webinar is free, but advance registration is required. Left Coast Crime registrants are the first to receive the news about this event. Please don’t share with your friends yet; we will be announcing the webinar to the public soon.

Registration Link

[Note: Left Coast Crime is charged for each registration.]

 

Schedule for the Day

Introduction: Left Coast Crime and the Lefty Awards (15 minutes)
8:30 AM PT, 9:30  MT, 10:30  CT, 11:30 ET

Nominees for the Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel (60 minutes)
     8:45 PT, 9:45 MT, 10:45 CT, 11:45 ET


Nominees for the Lefty Award for Best Novel  (60 minutes)
    10:00 AM PT, 11:00 MT, Noon CT, 1:00 PM ET


Nominees for the Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel (60 minutes)
    11:15 AM PT, 12:15 PM MT, 1:15 CT, 2:15 ET


Nominees for the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Novel (60 minutes)
    12:30 PM PT, 1:30 MT, 2:30 CT, 3:30 ET

 

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2021 Lefty Award Nominees

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel

• Ellen Byron, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard (Crooked Lane Books)
• Jennifer J. Chow, Mimi Lee Gets a Clue (Berkley Prime Crime)
• Carl Hiaasen, Squeeze Me (Alfred A. Knopf)
• Cynthia Kuhn, The Study of Secrets (Henery Press)
• J. Michael Orenduff, The Pot Thief Who Studied the Woman at Otowi Crossing (Aakenbaaken & Kent)
• Sung J. Woo, Skin Deep (Agora Books)

Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel for books set before 1970

• Susanna Calkins, The Fate of a Flapper (Minotaur Books)
• Dianne Freeman, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (Kensington Books)
• Laurie R. King, Riviera Gold (Bantam Books)
• Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide (Quercus)
• Ann Parker, Mortal Music (Poisoned Pen Press)
• James W. Ziskin, Turn to Stone (Seventh Street Books)

Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel

• Daisy Bateman, Murder Goes to Market (Seventh Street Books)
• Mary Keliikoa, Derailed (Camel Press)
• Erica Ruth Neubauer, Murder at the Mena House (Kensington Books)
• Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club (Viking)
• Halley Sutton, The Lady Upstairs (Putnam)
• David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Winter Counts (Ecco)

Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories)

• Tracy Clark, What You Don’t See (Kensington Books)
• S.A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland (Flatiron Books)
• Matt Coyle, Blind Vigil (Oceanview Publishing)
• Rachel Howzell Hall, And Now She’s Gone (Forge)
• Louise Penny, All the Devils Are Here (Minotaur Books)

Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich, Lefty Awards Co-Chairs
 

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2022 in ABQ: Our Next In-Person Convention
Left Coast Crime 2022: Albuquerque, New Mexico

When: April 7–10, 2022
Where: Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
Guest of Honor: Mick Herron
Guest of Honor: Catriona McPherson
Fan Guest of Honor: Kristopher Zgorski
Toastmaster: Kellye Garrett
Ghost of Honor: Tony Hillerman
Visit the LCC 2022 website for more details and to register.

Not sure if you are registered for Albuquerque? Check the Attendee page for your name.

Cartoon of the Day: Cat Candy Hearts

PRESIDENTIAL CRIME FICTION: HAIL TO THE CHIEF!

Hail to the Chief! The following is an updated list Presidential Crime Fiction list for President's Day. Hail to the Chief! We now have a 'real' president in office!

The following updated list featuring U.S. President in mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction is so relevant today. The list is divided into categories, but I added more titles at the end under 'other' and a separate list of Abraham Lincoln Mysteries. Of course, there are many overlaps, so scroll through them all. This is not a definitive list, and I welcome any additions. Post your favorites in the comments section.

A big thriller on the list this year is The President is Missing by former President Bill Clinton with James Patterson. And, I really enjoy Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery and Hope Rides Again by Andrew Shaffer. There's a sequel out.

Political Election and Thrillers
Rubicon by Lawrence Alexander
Saving Faith by David Baldacci
Political Suicide and Touched by the Dead by Robert Barnard
Capitol Conspiracy by William Bernhardt
Collateral Damage by Michael Bowen
Three Shirt Deal by Stephen J. Cannell
Executive Orders by Tom Clancy
Impaired Judgement by David Compton
Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
Term Limits; Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn
The Scandal Plan by Bill Folman
The Power Broker by Stephen W. Frey
Spook Country by William Gibson
Fast Track, Sleeping Dogs by Ed Gorman
The Fourth Perimeter by Tim Green
The People's Choice by Jeff Greenfield
Hazardous Duty by W.E.B. Griffin
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
The Second Revolution by Gary Hansen
The President's Daughter and The White House Connection by Jack Higgins
The Enemy Within  by Noel Hynd
First Daughter by Eric Lustbader
Drone Threat by Mike Maden
Executive Privilege by Philip Margolin
Presidents' Day by Seth Margolis
The Race, Protect and Defend, Balance of Power by Richard North Patterson
Politics Noir: Gary Phillips, Editor
Missing Member by Jo-Ann Power
Dark Horse by Ralph Reed
Dead Heat, The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg
Dead Watch by John Sandford
State of the Union by Brad Thor
Capital Crimes by Stuart Woods

Assassination Attempts
American Quartet by Warren Adler
Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer
Sherlock Holmes in Dallas by Edmund Aubrey
The 14th Colony by Steve Berry
All American Girl by Meg Cabot (YA)
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton/James Patterson
Primary Target by Max Allan Collins
Campaign Train (Murder Rides the Campaign Train) by The Gordons
Glass Tiger by Joe Gores
The President's Assassin by Brian Haig
Potus by Greg Holden
Marine One by James W. Huston
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Murder at Monticello by Jane Langton
The Surrogate Assassin by Christopher Leppek
Gideon's March by J.J. Marric
The Kidnapping of the President by Charles Templeton
Pursuit by James Stewart Thayer
Primary Target by Marilyn Wallace
Watchdogs by John Weisman

Kidnappings
We are Holding the President Hostage by Warren Adler
The Camel Club, First Family by David Baldacci
Line of Succession by Brian Garfield
Madam President by Anne Holt
Oath of Office by Steven J. Kirsch
Presidential Deal by Les Standiford
The Kidnapping of the President by Charles Templeton
The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor

Presidential Disappearances
The President Vanishes by Anonymous (1934)
Missing! by Michael Avallone
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton & James Patterson
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
The President's Plan is Missing by Robert J. Serling
The President Vanishes by Rex Stout

Fixing the Election
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
The 13th Directorate by Barry Chubin
Atropos by William DeAndrea
The Red President by Martin Gross
The Ceiling of Hell by Warren Murphy
The Trojan Hearse by Richard S. Prather
 President Fu Manch by Sax Rohmer
The Big Fix by Roger L. Simon

Presidential Crisis
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
Vanished; Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel
A Fine and Dangerous Season by Keith Raffel

The President as Detective
Speak Softly by Lawrence Alexander
Lincoln for the Defense by Warren Bull
Mr President, Private Eye, edited by Martin Greenberg & Francis M. Nevins
Bully by Mark Schorr
Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery; Hope Rides Again by Andrew Shaffer

The JFK Plot
Too many to list, but...
Mongoose, RIP by William F. Buckley
Executive Action by Mark Lane, Donald Freed and Stephen Jaffe
The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry

Presidential Families
Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert

Exclusive by Sandra Brown
Deadly Aims by Ron L. Gerard
The First Lady by E.J. Gorman

First Daughter series by Susan Ford & Laura Hayden
The President's Daughter by Jack Higgins
The Devil's Bed by William Kent Krueger
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
The First Lady Murders, edited by Nancy Pickard
Murder and the First Lady; Murder at the President's Door (and other novels) By Elliot Roosevelt
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld 

The Murder of Willie Lincoln by Brad Solomon
Murder in the White House (and other novels) by Margaret Truman
They've Shot the President's Daughter by Edward Stewart

Other
The Big Stick by Lawrence Alexander
The President's Mind, The 20th Day of January by Ted Allbeury
Absolute Power by David Baldacci
Father's Day by John Calvin Batchelor
Warriors by Ted Bell
The Kennedy Connection by Dick Belsky
Enslaved by Ron Burns
The Plan by Stephen J. Cannell
Killing Time by Caleb Carr
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter
First Strike by Ben Coes
Ex Officio by Timothy Culver (Donald Westlake)
The Whole Truth by John Ehrlichman
The President's Vampire, Blood Bath by Christopher Farnsworth
FDR's Treasure, Lincoln's Hand by Joel Fox
The President's Henchman, The Next President by Joseph Flynn
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
By Order of the President by W.E.B. Griffin

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen
Julie Hyzy's White House Chef series
Spin Doctor by M.C. Lewis
Die Like a Hero by Clyde Linsley
Jack 1939 by Francine Matthews
The Better Angels by Charles McCarry
The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer
The First Patient by Michael Palmer
Treason at Hanford by Scott Parker
No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson
Keeping House by Tucker and Richard Phillips
The Only Thing to Fear by David Poyer
Acts of Mercy by Bill Pronzini and Barry Malzberg
Love, Lust, and Loyalty by Greg Sandora

White House Gardener series by Dorothy St. James
The President's Daugther by Mariah Stewart
Ghosts of War by Brad Taylor
Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut
Put a Lid on It by Donald Westlake
President Lincoln's Spy by Steven Wilson

An Anthology
Mr President, Private Eye, edited by Martin H. Greenberg. Different historical presidents in the role of sleuth

Abraham Lincoln Mysteries
Abraham Lincoln: Detective by Allen Appel
A Night of Horrors: A Historical Thriller about the 24 Hours of Lincoln's Assassination by John C. Berry
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter
Lincoln's Hand by Joel Fox
The Lincoln Letter by Gretchen Elassani and Phillip Grizzell
Lincoln's Diary by DL Fowler

Murder in the Lincoln White House, Murder in the Oval Library, Murder at the Capitol by C.M. Gleason
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
The Assassin's Accomplice by Kate Clifford Larson
The Lincoln Letter by William Martin
The Lincoln Secret by John A. McKinsey
The First Assassin by John J. Miller
The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy L. O'Brien
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Murder of Willie Lincoln by Brad Solomon
The Cosgrove Report: Being the Private Inquiry of a Pinkerton Detective into the Death of President Lincoln by G.J.A. O'Toole
President Lincoln's Secret, President Lincoln's Spy by Steven Wilson

Want to know what the Presidents read? or in the case of the present President (nothing!), read Camille LeBlanc's areticle: American Presidents Can't Stop Reading Thrillers, Just Like Us: A Century of Crime Fiction Readers in the White House that appeared on CrimeReads a few years ago.

Cartoon of the Day: Young Love, Transylvania

RETRO BOOK-RELATED AND MYSTERY VALENTINE'S DAY CARDS

Remember those Valentine's Day cards you punched out and gave to all the people in your class?  I love these Retro Mystery and Book-Related Valentine's Day Cards. Be sure and scroll through to the end of this post where this year I've added some really weird ones. They don't really seem to be quite in the Valentine's Day spirit, but mystery folks will enjoy them. Happy Valentine's Day!

And then there are the Bookish Valentines...

And now a few WTF Valentine's Day cards. 

What were the card designers thinking?