Every year The Mysterious Bookshop commissions a Christmas story. They print up booklets and hand them out for free to customers. Past contributors include Ed McBain, Donald Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark, Megan Abbott, and Lawrence Block.
This year I wrote it.
It was an incredible honor that Otto asked me to do it, and I’m really happy with the result. “The Gift of the Wiseguy” is a little out of my comfort zone—nary a profanity in sight—and also fits into the “food noir” collection that I’m currently working on.
Here’s the deal: Starting this Friday (Nov. 25), stop into The Mysterious Bookshop and buy something, or order something through the website. You get the story for free.
So take at least one book you had planned to order for somebody this holiday season, and instead of getting it through Amazon or Barnes & Noble, get it through Mysterious. Or get all your books through Mysterious—that’d be cool, too.
If you stop in, ask for me. I work in the basement (haha right nepotism much?). If I’m here, I’ll come up and sign it. If you order it through the website, put a note with your order, and again, I will sign it.
And, hey, it’s worth mentioning: Mysterious has copies of New Yorked, City of Rose, and South Village, which I would also be happy to sign.
Happy holidays!
Rob Hart 