April 9, 7:00 pm. Travel “beyond the bridge” to St. John’s Two Rivers Bookstore, where dueling mystery authors thrust and parry over character quirks, plot secrets and action clips from River Run: a Delia Chavez Mystery by J. S. James and Crossroad by W. H. Cameron. All interested in the genre are invited to come and join in the repartee. At Two Rivers Bookstore (8836 N. Lombard Street, Portland, 97203), a “magical confluence happens where art, music and community combine, clash and show up . . .” A unique bookstore concept, new and current patrons are in for a treat!
Both novels plumb the Oregon environs—one, the Willamette River at flood stage, the other, a fiery junction of two Central Oregon highways—as prime founts of suspense, mystery and intrigue. Both authors explore the personalities of women protagonists with unique callings, the first a potamophobic Latina sheriff’s detective, the second a novice mortician on her way to collect her first body.
The authors have won recognition for their work from writer’s organizations, including the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association, the UK’s Crime Writer’s Association, the Spotted Owl Award, and the Rocky Award.
James struggled to translate twenty years of grant writing at the University of Washington into fiction writing when he entered and won the PNWA mystery/thriller competition, supplying the traction needed to finish his debut novel. He lives near Portland, Oregon with his family, including their “Velcro” Vizsla and furry red exercise machine, Maggie. He writes in a casino for atmosphere and is hard at work on more stories in the genre. When W. H. “Bill” Cameron is not in his writing room garnering critical acclaim for shaping unruly words into captivating people caught in harrowing situations, he’s busy wrangling backyard chickens near Eugene, Oregon.
The following are drawn from reviews and publication announcements:
River Run: A Delia Chavez Mystery by J. S. James (Crooked Lane Books, NY, NY)
Newly promoted sheriff’s deputy Delia Chavez has worked hard to get where she is. Without any family to speak of, law enforcement is all she has. But just a few days into her new job, Delia finds the body of a hunter washed up on a bank of the Willamette River and missing his trigger finger. Soon, more bodies are found—all hunters without their trigger fingers. This waterfowl season, the hunters become the hunted.
“Evocative and cleverly-plotted, J.S. James’ River Run delivers a cast of complex characters in which even the most minor ones come fully alive…Written in confident prose, River Run is an intelligent mystery that captures Oregon’s Willamette Valley in all its glory and haunting beauty. I can’t wait for the next Delia Chavez novel.”
—Christine Carbo, bestselling author of A Sharp Solitude
Crossroad by W. H. Cameron (Crooked Lane Books, NY, NY)
On a desolate road in the Oregon high desert, apprentice mortician Melisende Dulac stumbles upon a horrific car crash—and into a vortex of treachery and long-buried secrets that threaten not only her freedom, but her life.
“Cameron keeps the surprises coming. This pulse-pounding tale begs to be read in one sitting.”
—Publishers Weekly