Mr Grey sells out?

It's true! The hardcover edition of Grey Expectations is just about sold out! I found out about this from a bookstore, the lovely Book Rack in Newburyport, where I'll be taking part in a Sisters in Crime Beach Reads panel on July 23 as part of the store's grand reopening. Maeread, the events coordinator, emailed to tell me that Grey Expectations is out of stock. I was shocked – and followed up with my publisher, Severn House.

What I found out is cheering, but also a little scary: It's true, except for a dozen or so books in a warehouse in Oregon, the hardcover of Grey Expectations is just about gone! Some bookstores still have them: I'm pretty sure Harvard Book Store in Cambridge has a few signed copies, and I know that Brookline Booksmith has ordered some of that last dozen for when Susan Conant and I do our "cats and dogs in crime fiction" chat there July 23. Both bookstores take phone orders, by the way, and if you want me to personalize a copy for you, I can – give them a call, order a copy, I'll sign and they'll ship! On a less personal note, it seems the big A – Amazon (shhh!) – still has some, too. But that's it.

The book isn't going out of print. Severn House wouldn't let that happen: Grey Expectations, the fourth Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery, is getting the best reviews of the series. Publishers Weekly called it "enchanting," and Booklist says, "this is definitely more than just another cat mystery." The story – with its cats and ghosts and romance – will continue, only in different forms. The audiobook is out now. The paperback will be out this fall (well, Dec. 1 in the U.S.). Libraries around the world – bless them all! – have copies to borrow. And an ebook will follow soon, at some point.

But do you want a hardcover of Grey Expectations? A first edition of Dulcie and Mr Grey's latest adventure? Do you want to read Grey Expectations this summer? Well, folks, time is running out.