Saturday, September 18th, 1-4:00 p.m.

Michael Sherer, author of Death on a Budget

Mercer Island's own Michael Sherer returns with the latest installment in his acclaimed Emerson Ward mystery series.

There’s nothing like having kids to change your outlook on life. A toddler has Chicago freelance writer Emerson Ward thinking twice about his habit of tilting at windmills and riding a white charger to people’s rescue. It’s no wonder he turns down his friend Brandt’s pleas to find out why a banker they both knew was shotgunned to death in the park near Montrose Harbor.

But when the love of Emerson’s life leaves for Seattle with their daughter to care for her ailing mother, Emerson has no reason to turn down a cry for help from a childhood friend. It means climbing back in the saddle of his old GMC motor home and returning to the small town where he grew up and swore he’d never return to confront old demons, family, friends and foes he hasn’t seen for 25 years.

Soon he’s up to his eyeballs in a high-stakes commercial real estate scam and a decades-old family secret that threaten everything he holds dear. The deeper he digs, the less he likes what he learns, about his old hometown, the people in it, and even himself. When he links the dead banker to the real estate scam and a group of fundamentalist Muslim businessmen raising funds for terrorists, the FBI steps in to let him know he stands to lose even more—his life.

Friday, September 24th, 7-8:30 p.m.

Charlie Neff, author of Hard Cache

Neither marriage nor murder are on Magnus Torval's agenda when he and his fiancee, Mariela, travel to the tiny mountain town of Swiftwater, Washington for a reunion with their friends, but the recently retired police officer soon finds himself caught up in the rip currents of both. Magnus' promises to Mariela require him to stay away from police work but, as Shakespeare put it, "the course of true love never did run smooth." Mariela's spontaneous wedding plans and Magnus' discovery of a fresh corpse make for an unholy combination that threatens to sweep away their happiness and jail a beloved priest whose congregation fled Russia due to religious persecution. As events unfold, Magnus, Mariela, a local policeman and a young Ukranian woman are drawn into an investigation that leads to upheaval for many and terror for some, exposing buried connections to art theft, organized crime and brutality during the Russian-Afghan War. Threads of memory and action, celebration and revenge, converge in a climactic confrontation deep in the mountains. Hard Cache takes a look at events forcing people to examine their commitments—past, present and future—in the light of day.

Saturday, September 25th, 1-4:00 p.m.

Andrea Lott, author of Dining in Seattle: Past & Present

Join us for an evening of memories, food, and fun with Andrea Lott. A Seattle native, she started her career in the food industry at the age of five, selling chocolate chip cookies on football game days outside of her Montlake house near Husky Stadium. Now, as an international traveler and former management consultant, she is immersed in the Seattle food world from soups to nuts—from the shopping expeditions, to the impressive evening meals she prepares for many friends and family. The Dining In Seattle: Past & Present project allowed her to peek into the kitchens of prominent Seattle chefs of today and the past four decades, scratching her itch for details, details, details.

Saturday, September 25th, 7-8:30 p.m.

Nancy Medwell, author of Eternal Moments

Noted portrait photographer Nancy Medwell presents her new volume of pictures and reflections, Eternal Moments, awakening us to the importance and beauty of sharing our hearts with others, both on a spiritual and artistic level.  She believes that to plan a good future we must start growing from our personal foundation, which is made of what we inherit from our ancestors and what we've added through our daily effort.  We grow through our unconditional commitment to listening compassionately, appreciating the warmth of life's central values, and by taking the risks that allow us to find a common ground with others.  From birth to the end of life, the greater our willingness to step into each moment, the more original, creative, and transformative our time will become.

Friday, October 1st

Reading Group Night at Island Books

We'll be hosting a special evening event for book club members, reading group organizers, and anyone who's interested in finding out about new titles for the fall. Enjoy a fun presentation about great books that can prompt great discussions, all of which will be available that night for just ten dollars each.  Join us for wine, snacks, reading, and conversation.

Time and other information TBA as it's available.