New Delilah West Mystery Starts With a Bang at Mall

Acrazed gunman who shoots up an Orange County mall kicks off Maxine O’Callaghan’s new Delilah West mystery.

The fictional Santa Ana private eye is shopping with a 9-year-old family friend when the gunman goes on his shooting spree and West is forced to take him out. But that’s just the start of a plot that includes the search for a young boy’s missing father, a kidnapping, and Delilah’s ongoing romance with her wealthy developer boyfriend whose hostile teenage daughter wants nothing to do with the hard-boiled PI.

Publishers Weekly says “Down for the Count” (St. Martin’s Press, $20.95) “pulls off the dual task of delivering clean, springy action and a colorful cast of supporting characters. Best of all is the appealing, brassy and vulnerable Delilah.”

One of the earliest fictional female private eyes, Delilah West first appeared in a short story in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery magazine in 1974. The first Delilah West novel, “Death Is Forever,” was published in 1980.

“Down for the Count” is O’Callaghan’s sixth Delilah West novel.

will sign copies of the book at noon today at Mystery Ink/Upchurch-Brown Booksellers, 384 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach.

Also This Week

* The Orange County Sisters in Crime will meet at 3 p.m. today at Pacifica Hospital, 18800 Delaware St., Huntington Beach.

* Sharon Silver, author of “Lifelines: What You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know About Life and Singleland--Living It, Loving It or Leaving It,” will make a presentation at 7 p.m. today at the Jewish Community Center of Orange County, 250 E. Baker St., Costa Mesa. Cost: $5 for JCC members; $7 for nonmembers.

* Philip Reed, author of “Bird Dog,” will speak and sign at 1 p.m. today at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

* The Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center, 7111 Talbert Ave., will hold a holiday book sale Monday through Nov. 30.

* Jacque Nunez, a descendant of the Juanenos Indians of Orange County, will make a presentation for children 5 to 12 at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Los Alamitos/Rossmoor Library, 12700 Montecito Road.

* Mona Ruiz and Geoff Boucher, co-authors of “Two Badges: The Lives of Mona Ruiz,” will speak and sign at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* Emeril Lagasse, author of “Emeril’s Creole Christmas,” will speak and sign at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Point, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Laura Schlessinger, author of “Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives,” will sign at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

* Patricia Huntington Taylor, author of “The Enchantment of Opposites: How to Create Great Relationships,” will make a presentation and sign at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* Diana Morrissey, author of “Anyone Can See the Light,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Mary Lyon, author of “The Frazzled Working Woman’s Practical Guide to Motherhood,” will sign at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach, and at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

* PEN Orange County will present Sunny Nash, author of “Big Mama Didn’t Shop at Woolworth’s,” at 8 p.m. Friday at the Redberry Kaffe, 1088 Irvine Blvd., Tustin.

* Dale Furutani, author of “The Toyotomi Blades,” will sign at 1 p.m. Saturday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.