Poor Richard’s Books suggests two mysteries, an ode to queer bookstores

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Poor Richard’s Books in Colorado Springs recommends a Longmire tale, a cold-case mystery and a look at how gay bookstores have been so much more.

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From the publisher: When Pepper McKay, one of the most hated men in Absaroka County, is found murdered on his ranch in Crazy Woman Canyon, suspects aren’t in short supply. But Sheriff Walt Longmire’s attention is on those who had gathered for a family meeting that evening before his body is discovered, McKay’s very different sons: a smooth-talking charmer, a cosmopolitan journalist, a reclusive monk, and a half-Native ranch hand who keeps things running at their family’s lodge. Each had a motive. Each claims he’s innocent.

As Walt investigates what happened on the ranch, he’s pulled into a tangle of old grudges and long-buried secrets. The 22nd  novel in the Longmire series, “The Brothers McKay” is a murder mystery and a survival thriller that tests the sheriff’s hard-won sense of justice—all while paying sly homage to Dostoevsky’s classic.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant retail manager: I have been reading a lot, I mean a lot of history books lately. I needed an escape from all that and gladly jumped into the latest Craig Johnson release in the Longmire mystery series. The storylines keep growing richer and more complex. Johnson pulls us back into earlier plots and old nemeses — Walt Longmire, our much-loved protagonist, has no shortage of villains eager to cause harm and chaos — while his familiar cast of offbeat side characters keeps us entertained. It’s a perfect summer read that will keep you guessing who the real villain is.

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From the publisher: A few nights before Halloween, as Cork O’Connor gloomily ruminates on his upcoming birthday, he receives a call from his son, Stephen, who is working for a nonprofit dedicated to securing freedom for unjustly incarcerated inmates. Stephen tells his father that decades ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for a brutal murder that Stephen is certain he did not commit.

Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth.

At the same time, Cork’s 7-year-old grandson has his own theory about the investigation: the Windigo, that mythic cannibal ogre, has come to Tamarack County…and it won’t leave until it has sated its hunger for human blood.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant retail manager: Instead of working through my growing stack of “must-read” books, I gladly grabbed yet another terrific mystery novel as a welcome break from everyday demands. It’s summer, after all—time to lighten things up a bit.

Krueger’s “Apostle’s Cove” is another amazing entry in the Cork O’Connor series. Its mix of Native American mysticism and real-world struggles that keeps readers engaged, invested, and reluctant to put the book down. This book will seriously make you miss your regular bedtime as you flip page by page, “just one more chapter….OK…maybe another one…(yawn…)…”. We’ve all been there. Stay up all night with this one, call in sick tomorrow.

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From the publisher: Home not only to books but chaotic community noticeboards, vicious rescue cats and countless meet cutes, queer bookshops have always been more than just bookshops, offering friendship, solidarity and sanctuary.

Travelling the world – Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Gay’s the Word in London, the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in New York – A. J. West explores the remarkable history of these bookstores. Tracing their evolution from under-the-counter operations to beloved out-and-proud institutions, West reveals how the queer bookshop stood at the vanguard of LGBTQ+ rights, offering support and vital information through the AIDS crisis and bringing the fight to Section 28 and book bans.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant retail manager: Let’s jump back to 1984, Springfield, Missouri. Often referred to as the Buckle of the Bible Belt. Home of mega-churches before they were a “thing.” I was a skinny, awkward gay kid who loved to read but couldn’t find books that reflected who I was or what I was going through. The town library didn’t, or wouldn’t, carry the titles I had heard about.

I found both comfort and a clearer sense of myself in a metaphysical bookstore, the first public place where I felt safe and accepted. Elaine, the proprietor, was wise, kind and had an impish grin. It was because of her that I wanted nothing more than to work in a bookstore. Bless you for that gift Elaine.

In A.J. West’s “How Queer Bookshops Changed the World,” we see how countless others have found that same compassion and support in bookshops around the world, both past and present. With droll British wit, we gayly skip through the ages, showing just how vital these places have been — and still are.

Type of Story: Review

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