Search Results: Books from The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

189 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's quarter black cloth with gilt lettering to spine over black boards in original pictorial jacket. First edition.Ian Laidlaw is an equable man. Quiet, cultivated, efficient, head of the political science department at a Scottish university. His uneventful days are measured out with scrupulous care until Alicia Anna Davie laughs in his face one afternoon--and his ordered world crumbles about him. There is another side to Ian Laidlaw, a side that matches the scarred horror of the left side of his face, mangled in youth by a vicious hound. This side draws Alicia into a bizarre relationship; but as she toys with ugliness and danger, Laidlaw becomes locked into an obsessive passion at once disorienting and hideously destructive. Alicia's crime is the carelessness of youth--Laidlaw's punishment reflects the dislocation of his universe. A near fine copy in like jacket.

384 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 1/4") bound in original publisher's quarter black paper spine with blue lettering to spine over blue boards with blind stamped pictorial to cover in original pictorial jacket. First edition. The opening scene of Ferrigno's third crime novel (after The Cheshire Moon) is a reminder of how good and tough this West Coast-cool author can be: as two killers invade the home of California Superior Court Judge Teddy Krammerson, the judge meets death with dignity, but not before slamming one of his attackers in the face with a telephone (""`You have no idea how good that felt,'' he said... breathing hard, his eyes calm as smoke. `Opportunity knocks... I always answer.'""). In the face of rampant evil, the judge's stepson, investigative reporter Quinn, shows similar courage as he digs into the murder. The web of deceit involving new ripples from long-ago crimes that Quinn uncovers is so tangled, so ultra-Chandleresque, that the reader yearns for some violent action to cut it… Read More

306 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") bound in original; publisher's black boards with gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First published in 1985 by MacMillan. These mystifying and spine-tingling short stories are just what the doctor ordered for first-rate suspense. This presents sixteen hair-raising tales of murder and mayhem in the medical world. Here are country doctors and medical examiners, surgeons and psychiatrists, nurses and pharmacists, dentists and veterinarians, whose prescriptions just might be lethal, their bedside manners deadly and their diagnoses--criminal. Condition: Jacket price clipped else fine in a near fine jacket.

iii+181 maps, illustrations, figures and index. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 1/4") bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Seventh edition. First published in 1948 by the Chicago field Museum of Natural History. This work is a lucid, simple introduction to prehistory. It tells the story of man's achievement from th earliest beginnings of culture up to the dawn of written history and clearly explains the major problems of interpretation and method confronted by prehistoric archaeologist in reconstructing this story. Condition: Ex library copy stamped on title page, back pastedown and front end paper stamped discard. Jacket not marked, text clean else good in a very good jacket. .

273 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 `1/4") bound in original publisher's half red paper with black lettering to spine over black boards blind stamped with a horse and the initial DF. First American edition. Benedict Juliard is an aspiring jockey who must bypass his dreams of horse racing to help his father, George, in his quest to enter the world of politics. At 18, the reserved Benedict is asked by his father to enter into a pact: Neither of the two will do anything that could somehow hinder or destroy George's blossoming political career. Young Benedict, who has no stronger ambition than to ride steeplechase as an amateur jockey, agrees to the pact, without possibly knowing what lies ahead.Twelve years pass, and Ben has since abandoned his dream of making a career on the racetrack. Like his father, Ben enters the political arena, becoming George Juliard's closest ally and most trusted confidant as he makes his move to become prime minister. However, Ben suddenly finds himself the target of a fierce… Read More

367 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/2" x 6 1/4") bound in original publisher's black cloth with silver lettering to spine over blue boards in original pictorial jacket. First edition. When Mike McCleary is shot one morning while jogging, Quin's investigation into the shooting thrusts her into the upper echelons of Palm Beach society. She encounters a Chilean fisherman, Alejandro Domingo, whose healing abilities have attracted numerous wealthy clients in Palm Beach, including the wife of a man running for the U.S. Senate. Videos, photos, and printed material all lead to the haunted Chilean, whose sister and daughter have disappeared en route to South America. Quin's investigation, with the help of fellow operative John Tark, himself a man with a dark past in South America, leads to the place where Alejandro plies his powers. Condition: slightly cocked else a near fine copy in a fine jacket.

237 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 12") bound in original publisher's red boards with silver lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. The street signs outside Detective Jeremy Ransom's office say it's Chicago, but inside -- and inside his mind and heart and speech -- it's rural England circa 1930. Ransom's second case turns on a riddle with all the earmarks of a British cozy: How did Melina, the tarot reader Angela Stephens consulted on the last clay of her life, know Angela was about to be murdered? It's no good asking Melina: Before she has time for more than a brisk sniff or two, she's followed her late client into the spirit realm. And Ransom and his surrogate grandmother, Emily Charters, whose life he saved in their debut (Presence of Mind, 1994), are left with two deeply unpromising suspects: the transparently grief-stricken widower, Frank Stephens, and Angela's bad-girl sister, Eva Brinkley, who didn't inherit a thing and boasts a shockproof alibi anyway. Emily's not much help… Read More

230 pages with map to pastedowns and end pages. Octavo (8 3/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's quarter brown cloth with green gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. Recently divorced and wryly independent, Manhattan attorney Wynsome Lewis has returned to her hometown of Waggs Neck Harbor, Long Island, to set up a real estate practice. But she soon discovers that Waggs Neck Harbor shelters a murderer, and no one is safe--especially the members of the elitist club the Fat Boys Society. Condition: Corners gently bumped, some light shelf wear else very good copy in a near fine jacket.

165 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's black boards with gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. Beautiful Arly Walbridge is found hanging by a rope in a cottonwood grove. To sheriff Pickles Offut, the signs are clear: suicide, pure and simple. But Frank James, reporter and Arly's old lover, doesn't believe it. Rich in character, Barbed Wire is a taut, emotionally charged mystery that will keep readers guessing to the last page. Condition: Jacket spine sunned else a near fine copy in like jacket.

198 pages. Small octavo (7 3/4" x 5") bound in original publisher's quarter black paper with gilt lettering to spine over green boards in original pictorial jacket. First edition. The author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Bridges of Madison County once again brings characters and situations with his special blend of lyricism and magic. This is a bittersweet story about two good people who discover that true love, when it comes, is rarely fair, or right—or without pain. Condition: Near fine in fine jacket.

189 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2"0 bound in original publisher's black boards with gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. When a series of letters sent to the police department indicate that the murder of a young Asian man was racially motivated, Detective Inspector Mike Fletcher has his doubts--especially when a second body is discovered. Condition: Jacket abrasion on front head corner where price sticker removed, small tear at hinge else fine in a very good copy.

xvi+307 pages with charts, tables, graphs, tables, figures, photographs and index. Small quarto (10 1/4" x 7 1/2") bound in grey cloth with gilt lettering to spine in original jacket. First edition. This book will provide the reader with the background necessary for the appreciation of the social issues relating together in a single book, the author emphasizes the social, political and psychological ramifications of the biological laws governing heredity and organic evolution. Condition: Previous owner's name on front end paper, spine heal gently rubbed. DW spine ends and corners lightly rubbed, 2" x 1" loss else a very good copy in about a very good jacket.

360 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6") bound in original publisher's pictorial wrappers. Advance reading copy. In this book, Steve Lopez gives readers a vivid and rich portrait of local politics gone amok, and one woman's quest for happiness and fulfillment. Fleeing a disastrous love affair in Boston, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Savitch - beautiful, brilliant, brave - relocates to Philadelphia, where she is partnered with ex-FBI agent Mike Muldoon. Lisa is assigned to get the goods on the Sunday Macaroni Club - an old-time, South Philly political machine led by Augie Sangiamino, a former United States Senator, and his two cronies, state representative 'Ham' Flaherty, who's running for Congress, and Judge 'Izzy' Weiner. Condition: Light edge wear else near fine.

229 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's black boards with silver lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. Delilah West is in love, and to her that's scarier than any gunman. When a simple shopping trip to the mall turns into a bloodbath - leaving Delilah with a secret she can hardly bear to keep - she turns to Erik Lundstrom, her handsome millionaire boyfriend, for the comfort she needs. But both Erik's prickly eighteen-year-old daughter, Nicki, and Delilah's own fear keep her from getting as close to Erik as he would like. To add to her anxiety, Brian Hall, a troubled boy she saved that horrible day at the mall, shows up at her office hoping that Delilah can find his father. The case seems simple enough, and Delilah needs something to take her mind off of Erik. Soon the search begins to look hopeless, and it becomes so important to Erik for the two women in his life to get along that Delilah and Nicki agree to tolerate each other for an afternoon -… Read More

216 pages. Octavo (8" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's quarter black cloth with gilt lettering to spine over blue boards with Harper logo in gilt in original pictorial jacket. First edition. In his and her journals kept by Ron Bracknell, a creep of creeps, and copied with some justified fear by his wife, Pat, Ron articulates his law to the effect that anyone can become an indiscriminate killer, following certain pseudoscientific givens such as anonymity, randomness, catharsis. Ron's newspaper clippings re the demises via (1) alcohol-barbiturates (2) arson -- in which five HeWs Angels die -- and more, give Pat every reason to suspect the worst to come -- which is not what you or she thinks. . . . One given Bracknell's Law fails to take into consideration is that you can theorize almost anything to death. Condition: Remainder mark at heal end pages. Jacket corners lightly chipped, 1/4" chip at front head edge with closed tear and crease else a very good copy in about a very good jacket.

147 pages with index. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 1/4") bound in original publisher's yellow cloth with black lettering to spine. Reissue of the 1924 printing. Mary Drew (née Gladstone; 23 November 1847–1 January 1927), was a political secretary, writer and hostess. She was the daughter of the British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, and achieved notability as his adviser, confidante and private secretary. She also attained a fair degree of political influence by controlling access to him. Condition: Previous owner's name on front pasted down, light soiling else a very good copy.

xi + 82 pp., plus b/w map of the region. Poetry from a couple of dozen Greek writers, translated by Richmond Lattimore. Underlining and marginal notes on many pages (much of it quite useful!). Binding tight. Cover somewhat brown with age, but clean and without creases or tears. Spine also in very good condition.

63 pages with diagrams and index. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 1/4") bound in original publisher's pictorial wrappers. First edition. Condition: Label taped to spine, soiled, light edge wear else very good.

158 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 6") bound in original publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. A dead man is found floating in a canal, his wallet revealing a strange symbolic drawing, and a hostage drama unfolds at the Banque Credit Rural, where not only millions in francs and jewellery are at stake but also lives. On the other side of town, a stunning art student switches masterpieces for copies. Somehow, the crimes fit like pieces of a jigsaw so Chief Inspector Pel is faced with a challenge of a lifetime and responds with true Gallic guile. Condition: A fine copy in fine jacket.

297 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6") bound in original publisher's quarter purple cloth with silver lettering to spine over beige boards in original jacket. A darkly humorous crime story. Bret and Sarah, Shel and Ramy, were married together 20 years ago, and now they plan to renew their marital vows. But Bret and Ramy are having an affair, and preparing an anniversary surprise - a bomb that will blow their respective partners to kingdom come. Condition: Small bump to heal edge else a very good to fine copy in a near fine jacket.