Reading this Thursday

For those of you in the D.C. area, Linda Fairstein will be at the Baileys Crossroads Borders to promote her new legal thriller, Killer Heat, this Thursday, March 13, at 7:30 pm .

Dakota Discussion Part 2

If you missed her last event, Martha Grimes will also talk about her book, Dakota, this Wednesday, at 7:00 pm at the Barnes & Noble-Potomac.

Lady Killer

Lisa Scottoline, author of Daddy's Girl and Killer Smile, will read and sign her new mystery, Lady Killer, at the Borders in Tyson's Corner tomorrow night, February 27, at 7:30.

Dakota Discussion

Martha Grimes will be discussing her new book Dakota at the Dupont Circle Olsson's Books and Records tomorrow night, February 26, at 7:00 pm. Dakota is a mystery set against the back drop of a pig raising farm. Grimes, who will be joined by Neal Barnard, the president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, will talk about the animal rights issues related to factory farming.

Book Event Tonight

Susan Choi, author of The Foreign Student and American Woman, will be at Politics and Prose tonight to promote her new book A Person of Interest.

Precious Blood

Jonathan Hayes will discuss his latest book Precious Blood at the Baileys Crossroads Borders this Thursday. Hayes pulled from his experience as a forensic pathologist to craft the story of Dr. Edward Jenner who tries to find a serial killer in New York City.

Mystery Theater

We have a mystery theater in this area! The Mystery Dinner Playhouse, which has a few locations in Virginia, puts on shows at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City.

A while ago, I dragged my skeptical boyfriend to a show called “Murder in the Court.” The performance, which was more comedic than suspenseful, took place in 10-15 minute scripted acts between courses. In between the acts, the cast members served food while still in character and the audience was encouraged to try to illicit more clues by bribing the characters with fake money. I also liked how, during the show, they interacted with the audience and even pulled people out to play minor characters. (My boyfriend got to take the stand!)

Toward the end of the show, we wrote who we thought was the murderer and why. (I can’t remember if I was right or not…really). After the murderer was revealed, the most humorous answers were read out loud.

The only downside, at least for the performance I saw, was that the mystery was pretty simple and not as clever as I would have liked. Still I really enjoyed in and plan to go back sometime soon. They’re currently showing a spoof on westerns called, “Murder Rides Again.” Where, in “Murder in the Court” the audience serves as court witnesses, in “Murder Rides Again,” the audience serves as town members in a saloon.

A Person of Interest

Susan Choi, author of The Foreign Student and American Woman, will be at Politics and Prose next Monday, February 18, to promote her new book A Person of Interest.