Finley’s Fiction is in full swing with three summer book signings featuring renown authors Tessa Wegert and Mary Dixie Carter, and illustrator and cartoonist Keith Bendis. Visit the shop and bring your copy or purchase one while you are there.
Finley Oakley Shaw carefully curates the selections in her shop, with help from family members who live all around Shelter Island Heights. A voracious reader, her favorites include mysteries, beach reads, chick lit and thrillers.
However, the shop has something for every reader and specializes in the newest fiction and non-fiction — bestsellers, literary wonders, debut authors, biographies/memories, political non-fiction, as well as beautiful coffee table books and children’s books, gifts, games and more.
Finley’s Fiction, 8 Grand Avenue, open daily 10 AM to 5 PM.
Tessa Wegert
Tessa Wegert, who writes the Shana Merchant series of mysteries, will make an appearance on Saturday, July 24 at 10 AM.
Wegert’s series begins with “Death in the Family,” which introduces former NYPD detective Shana Merchant who barely survived being abducted by a serial killer. Berkley is the publisher; here’s the synopsis:
“Now hoping to leave grisly murder cases behind, she’s taken a job in her fiancé’s sleepy hometown in the Thousand Islands. Here, a storm-struck island, a blood-soaked bed and a missing man lead Senior Investigator Shana Merchant to believe a killer is in the midst — and that murder is a family affair.”
The second book, “The Dead Season,” finds Merchant, who has spent years running from her past‚ working on a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all — home. Tormented by her former abductor, Merchant is forced to return home to Vermont or the next blood her abductor spills will be on her hands.
Wegert is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Adweek, and The Economist. She grew up in Quebec near the border of Vermont and now lives with her husband and children in Coastal Connecticut.
Keith Bendis
Award-wining cartoonist and illustrator Keith Bendis will sign books at Finley’s Fiction on Sunday, July 25 between 10 and 11:30 AM. Recognized in numerous leading publications including TIME, Newsweek and the New Yorker, he is also known locally by many as the husband of Islander Betty Hansel, Kathy Dinkel’s sister.
Bendis will be signing “Only the Good Stay Dead”, written by Joe Queenan and published by Fantagraphics in May 2021. Here’s what the publisher says:
“Yesterday, Mel McDonnell had been one of the most influential and respected members of the United States Senate. Today, he finds himself reincarnated as a moist heap of whale excrement, languishing on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Thus begins Joe Queenan’s satirical fable of reincarnation, political ambition, man’s folly, and the capricious nature of the universe — lusciously illustrated with his signature wry wit by award-winning cartoonist Keith Bendis.”
Mary Dixie Carter
On Thursday, August 5 from 4 to 6 PM, Mary Dixie Carter will be signing copies of her debut novel, “The Photographer,” which was published in May by Minotaur Books.
“The Photographer is a slyly observed, suspenseful story of envy and obsession, told in the mesmerizing, irresistible voice of a character who will make you doubt that seeing is ever believing,” says the publisher.
“The photographer in the story, Delta Dawn observes the seemingly perfect lives of New York City’s elite: snapping photos of their children’s birthday parties, transforming images of stiff hugs and tearstained faces into visions of pure joy. But soon Dawn learns the perfect images are made of beautiful lies.”
Carter’s writing has appeared in TIME, The Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Sun, The New York Observer, among other publications.
She worked at The Observer for five years, where she served as the publishing director. In addition to writing, she also has a background as a professional actor. A graduate of Harvard College with an honors degree in English Literature, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing at The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two young children.
