Bridget Kinsella reports in Publishers Weekly today on a contest Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park is running to kick off its new Mystery and Mayhem reading series. The series will begin this Thursday with Barry Eisler, author of The Last Assassin.

…the customer who has bought the most books during the week leading up to the event will have his or her name appear as a character in the author’s next John Rain mystery. The contest is part of the Menlo Park, Calif. independent’s revitalization plan that started last fall when the store reopened.