A letter to the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association written by the award-winning author JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING

Dear Independent Mystery Bookseller:

I've written to you about writers as diverse as Louise Penny, Marcus Sakey, Sarah Stewart-Taylor and Jeffrey Cohen. The only thing they have in common is that I was lucky enough to get an advance look at their writing, and couldn't keep from telling people, "I really liked this. I think you will, too."

Well, I just finished a great book by Robert Fate. HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION is due out in May from Capitol Crime Press. The third book in Fate's acclaimed Baby Shark series, I opined:

HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION is a hugely entertaining pulp-style masterpiece for today's reader. With bootlegging, billiards, Buicks and babes, this unique series is a blue-ribbon trip down memory lane.

Fate is a unique storyteller. Who else would have penned a young, blonde, female protagonist in post-WWII Texas? Fate's style is modern, spare, propulsive, almost a screenplay. I loved the tough, oh-so-human heroine. My husband loved the twangy Badlands sensibility.

The first Baby Shark was an Anthony Award finalist for best first novel; especially compelling given that Capitol Crime Press is a small press by any definition. Small press, big chops. Read Baby Shark, check out www.robertfate.com, and let me know what you think. I believe like me, you'll want to say, "I really liked this. I think you will, too."

Yours,

Julia Spencer-Fleming
Buxton, Maine