June 23, 2010 David Baldacci. Stuart Woods. Lisa Gardner. Besides churning out at least one thriller a year, all have created a series featuring a particular set of characters, only to move on to a whole new series at the height of their bestselling success. Once the second series wins fans, the writers merge the two worlds, with new books in which protagonist A meets protagonist B, sidekick C competes with sidekick D, and the bad guys are all over the place. Plots and past histories weave together like the final season of Lost, and only dedicated fans can follow the nuances. But with a crime writer as sophisticated as Karin Slaughter, the collision of two worlds can blossom into something as complex as a Bach fugue—something that is ultimately just as beautiful and satisfying. Slaughter will sign copies of her new book, Broken, at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on June 23 at 7 p.m.

June 22, 2010 When Alice Pepin is found dead of anaphylactic shock, the result of a catastrophic peanut allergy, it’s not clear why she ever sat down in front of a plate of peanuts in the first place, or why all the EpiPens in the apartment are missing. Why did Alice die? Did she commit suicide? Or was she murdered—by her husband, or, even more incredibly, by marriage itself? This unconventional premise is only one reason that Adam Ross’s Mr. Peanut—a dark examination of sex, marriage, and murder—is already this year’s most talked-about fiction debut, though it hits stores for the first time today. Ross will discuss Mr. Peanut at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville tonight at 7 p.m., and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on June 24 at 6 p.m.