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Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 Edgar Awards. The awards were presented by the Mystery Writers of America in New York City on April 29. If you’d like to order any of the books, check the Webstore, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

The first and only President’s Award was presented to Margery Flax, the one and only staff member for MWA.

The Mary Higgins Clark Award – All This Could Be Yours – Hank Phillippi Ryan

Sue Grafton Memorial Award – Gone in the Night – Joanna Schaffhausen

Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award – A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run – Gwen Florio

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award – “How It Happened” – Billie Kay Fern, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Best Juvenile – Blood in the Water – Tiffany D. Jackson

Best Young Adult – Under the Same Stars – Libba Bray

Best Critical Biographical – Edgar Allan Poe: A Life – Richard Kopley

Best Fact Crime – Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers – Caroline Fraser

Best Short Story – “Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush” by Dave Zeltserman. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Sept-Oct., 2025

Best Paperback Original – The Backwater – Vikki Wakefield

Best First Novel by an American Author – Dead Money – Jakob Kerr

Best Mystery Novel – The Big Empty – Robert Crais

Thanks to Deb Lewis from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore staff for sharing her book selections for May. If the direct link doesn’t work, check out the link to the Webstore, where you can order Deb’s picks. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

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The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

When your life flashes before your eyes, where would you stop?

No one can change the past, but the Midnight Train can take you there.
The chance to re-live the moments that meant most.
To see what kind of person you really were.

For Wilbur his best days were with Maggie, the love of his life. On his honeymoon in Venice.

Before he gave it all away.

He wishes he could go back and live differently. But to do so risks everything . . .

A Zoom with A View by Jess Cannon

A cozy murder mystery filled with hometown drama, social media influencers, an over-the-top mother, and two very attractive local men, A Zoom with a View will make you want to move to Blue Oak—if only the Fourth of July festivities didn’t end with a dead body.

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh

“A love story for true believers. . . Perfection.” —Annabel Monaghan

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life comes an unmissable emotional thriller: an up-all-night, page-turning love story with a very dark secret at its heart.

Murders and Acquisitions by Thomas Dunne

From acclaimed publisher Thomas Dunne, Murders and Acquisitions is a gripping story of greed, rivalry, and revenge in the publishing industry. Perfect for fans of Succession.

The Confessions by Paul Carr

A high-octane and “hugely entertaining” (Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a supercomputer and the secrets we keep from one another—perfect for fans of Blake Crouch, Harlan Coben, and Gillian Flynn.

Liar’s Creek by Matt Goldman

From New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winner Matt Goldman comes Liar’s Creek, which asks how far we’ll go to protect the people we love.

The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman

A wildly entertaining debut and homage to the classic murder mystery set in post-WWII London where a stranger’s arrival at a boarding house sets a deadly chain of events in motion—perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson, Agatha Christie, and Richard Osman.

The Library After Dark by Ande Pilego

A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.

The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung 

A standalone thriller co-written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gamache series and an award-winning journalist.

In a fast-paced, all-too-real thriller co-written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny and award-winning journalist Mellissa Fung, global politics become personal for two unlikely heroines. Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese-American, is an erstwhile food blogger who has lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien Li. A Chinese dissident who escaped China after Tiananmen Square, Vivien is now a globally recognized human rights activist and passionate advocate for a free and democratic China.

When security and fire alarms go off simultaneously all around the world, setting off a panic, the signal is traced back to China. As world leaders scramble to respond, Vivien and Alice are called to the White House in hopes Madame Li can decode the Chinese intentions.

When the owner of The Poisoned Pen, Barbara Peters, introduced author Marie Benedict, she reminded the audience of all the women that Benedict has covered in her books. Her current book is Daughter of Egypt. There are copies available through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/5249aj83

Here’s the description of Daughter of Egypt.

Known for her “delightful blend of historical fiction and suspense” (People), New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict, returns with a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten Pharaoh—rewriting both of their legacies forever.

In the 1920s, archeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert—daughter of Lord Carnarvon—whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible.

Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary—and nearly erased from history.

When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy—or forge her own.

Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever

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MARIE BENEDICT is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Daughter of Egypt, The Queens of Crime, The Mitford Affair, Her Hidden Genius, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, and with Victoria Christopher Murray, the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian and the Target Book of the Year The First Ladies. All have been translated into multiple languages, and many have been selected for the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, Costco Book Club, Indie Next List, and LibraryReads List. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

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Enjoy the conversation with Marie Benedict.

Critic Oline Cogdill recently reviewed Eleanor Shearer’s historical novel Fireflies in Winter. Although the review appeared originally in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, she shared the review with us. You can order a copy through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/574nnu6v

Book review: ‘Fireflies in Winter’ explores the healing power of love and and resilience

‘Fireflies in Winter’ by Eleanor Shearer; Berkley; 320 pages; $30

With her intriguing “Fireflies in Winter,” author Eleanor Shearer turns a lens on a piece of history that may have receded into obscurity, while showing the human side of facts and figures.

As Shearer writes: “In 1796, a group of Maroons — runaway slaves who had struck a deal with the British to form their own independent communities — was deported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia.” Shearer makes the most of this historical footnote linking Jamaica and Canada to show the experience of migrating from a tropical place to a cold one, and how these free Black people established a town in Nova Scotia yet were constantly on edge as they maneuvered around those who wanted to enslave them again.

Food is scarce, as is money. The community is close, not out of concern but necessity — several families have to live together to keep warm. “Fireflies in Winter” explores friendship, the healing power of love and surviving a harsh environment.

Shearer shows the hard life of Cora, a 20-year-old orphan who was forced to come to Nova Scotia. Cora misses Jamaica, as “the core of her has always been the forests of home.” She feels unwelcomed by her foster family, who want her to marry. She frequently wanders into the “glittering world” of the forest to escape the stifling atmosphere of her foster family.

In the wild, the silence is so “thick” she can hear “every snapping twig.” Cora sees the different ways people are forced to live. Many are taken advantage of due to their lack of education, forced into hard labor on a rich man’s estate. “Cora has always lived at the edge of others’ unfreedom.”

On her excursions, Cora meets Agnes, who was taught how to survive in the wild by the indigenous Mi’kmaq people. Agnes has become used to being alone, but Cora shows her the value of friendship. The two women fall in love, believing their solitary life in the woods is the best place to conceal their love. A murder trial, the circumstances of which Shearer doesn’t detail until the end, alternates with Cora and Agnes’ story.

Shearer keeps the area’s sheer-yet-harsh beauty paramount in “Fireflies in Winter.” There are bear attacks to fear, but there also is the joy of watching humpback whales “dancing,” signaling the beginning of summer, hope and rebirth.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Andrew Ludington to the bookstore for his second appearance, but the first live one. Ludington is the author of the second Splinter Effect novel, Double Shadow. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/2ctmnc6d

Here’s the summary of Double Shadow.

In this thrilling installment of the Splinter Effect series, time-traveling archaeologist Rabbit Ward returns to the past to help save his former adversary and track down a murderous thief in first century Jerusalem.

ROME, 2019. Time-traveling, Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward is back in the present, but not for long. Helen, his former adversary and growing ally, is in trouble with the law after being framed for a murder she didn’t commit. Stuck in hiding and running out of other options, she turns to Rabbit for help. “Help” in this case involves a trip to first century Jerusalem to track down a mysterious man named Einar Eshek.

But Rabbit won’t have to do this mission alone; as soon as he arrives in 68 CE, he meets a younger version of Helen, one who has never met him before. Together, they work to track down Eshek, who turns out to be not only a time-traveling thief, but a murderous psychopath.

As they pursue Eshek through time, Rabbit and Helen feel something even bigger pulling them together. Torn between the two versions of the woman he knows, and with the clock ticking down on Helen’s fate in 2019, Rabbit might have no choice but to betray her past self to secure Helen’s safety in the future. Tensions rise as Jerusalem prepares to go to war with Rome, and Rabbit races to capture Eshek, clear Helen’s name, and make it back to 2019 in one piece—a feat that’s proving to be easier said than done—before everything falls apart.

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Andrew Ludington writes transportive adventure stories intended to make you forget your commute. He graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in English Literature and lives in Evanston, IL where he moonlights as a technologist for Northwestern University. Splinter Effect is his first novel.

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Enjoy this conversation about research and time travel and Double Shadow.

Australian authors appeared live from The Poisoned Pen. Guest host Sulari Gentill welcomed Sally Hepwroth, author of Mad Mabel. You can order copies of Mad Mabel through the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/22ww5prz

Here’s the summary of Mad Mabel.

Mad MabelA Novel

Sally Hepworth  Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing GroupFiction / Women / Thrillers – Domestic
#430 in bestsellers

Description

Bio

Details

Reviews

From New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth comes a twisty tale of justice, redemption, and one irrepressible woman who’s not done breaking the rules just yet.

Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea—or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying.

Because Elsie hasn’t always been Elsie. Once upon a headline, she was Mad Mabel Waller—Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. But was she really mad, or just misunderstood? Either way, she’s kept her secret buried for decades.

Enter seven-year-old Persephone, a relentless little chatterbox who has just moved in across the road (armed with stickers, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries); Joan, who appears to have it in for Elsie; and a healthy dose of public interest—the cops are sniffing around, and the media is circling like seagulls at a picnic.

So Mabel does what she’s always done best—she takes matters into her own hands.

Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?

Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny, this is the unforgettable story of a woman who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated—and is about to prove everyone wrong. Again.

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Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Good Sister and The Soulmate. Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone. They are available worldwide in English and have been translated into twenty languages. Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family and one adorable dog.

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Enjoy Sulari Gentill’s conversation with Sally Hepworth.

Oline Cogdill recently reviewed Kill Dick by Luke Goebel. Her original review appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. You can order a copy of Kill Dick through the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/4ry24eae

Thank you, Oline, for sharing the review.

Book review: Few nice people inhabit ‘Kill Dick,’ but Luke Goebel’s second novel is highly entertaining

‘Kill Dick’ by Luke Goebel; Red Hen; 280 pages; $26.95

Screenwriter/author Luke Goebel channels Nathanael West’s classic “The Day of the Locust” and Elmore Leonard’s dark humor for “Kill Dick,” his second novel.

As with West’s 1939 book and all of Leonard’s crime fiction, few nice people inhabit “Kill Dick.” But Goebel’s sharp dialogue, razor plotting and fiery sense of Los Angeles elevate his unconventional characters.

The Dick of “Kill Dick” is opioid manufacturer Dick Sickler, an amoral, ruthless man who loves the wealth his trade brings and cares little about anyone else. A lot of people want to kill him. But Goebel keeps Dick in the background. His business moves the plot and is responsible for many deaths, but he is almost a supporting character.

Instead, the focus is on two other characters. There’s 19-year-old Susie Vogelman, who wants to be an artist but is more on her way to being an opioid addict. Since dropping out of NYU, she spends most of her time doing nothing but sleeping in the backyard of the Brentwood estate owned by her father, who is Dick’s attorney. There’s also Peter Holiday, who taught at NYU, where he met Susie before he was fired. Now in L.A., he operates a crumbling rehab that is a scam. But he’s is as bad a criminal as he was a professor.

While set during 2016, with the presidential election looming, none of the characters is particularly interested in politics — but they are affected by politics, as this historic event looms large in the background.

A string of murders targeting addicts, a creepy secret society and wealthy families all permeate “Kill Dick.” The characters revolve around a jaded Los Angeles.

Goebel delivers a gritty, highly entertaining novel with “Kill Dick,” which has been named on numerous lists recommending the most anticipated novels of 2026.

As a screenwriter, Goebel co-wrote the films “Eileen,” starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie, and “Causeway,” starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed bestselling author Douglas Preston back to the bookstore. This time, he came with his daughter Alethia. She’s his co-author for the book Paradox, although Douglas did read an excerpt of their very first collaboration. Signed copies of their new book, Paradox, are available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/yrek55yu

Here’s the summary of Paradox.

One of the holiest relics in Christendom, inexplicably defaced…

A paranoid old prospector, ritualistically murdered…

A controversial exobiologist, tortured and dismembered…

When a reclusive man is found dead under grisly circumstances in the Colorado wilderness, CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord, whom we met in the New York Times bestseller, Extinction, team up again on their most enigmatic and dangerous case yet. Their investigation uncovers a trail of bizarre killings, baffling money transfers, and a fanatical secret society.

And all the while, the resurrected Neanderthals, who vanished into the Colorado mountains, seem to be biding their time for something…spectacular.

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DOUGLAS PRESTON has published over forty books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which more than thirty have been New York Times bestsellers, a half-dozen reaching the #1 position. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He also writes nonfiction pieces for the New Yorker. He worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He is president emeritus of the Authors Guild and serves on the Advisory Board of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe.

ALETHEIA PRESTON is a reformed lawyer originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. After working as a prosecutor in San Francisco, she moved into private practice as a trial attorney before embarking on a journey as a writer. She is a lover of thriller and science fiction novels and has been an avid reader and writer in both genres since she was a little girl.

An admitted adrenaline junkie, Aletheia spends much of her free time outdoors finding ways to risk her life, from skiing and mountaineering to paragliding and winter camping. She is also a PADI certified deepwater and wreck scuba diver. Fluent in Italian and Spanish, she spent much of her childhood in Florence, Italy. She and her cat Mochi live in Bozeman, Montana.

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Enjoy the conversation with Douglas and Aletheia Preston.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Spencer Quinn back to the bookstore. It was the book launch for the latest Chet and Bernie mystery, Cat on a Hot Tin Woof. Quinn talks about the background of the books. There are signed copies of the book in the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/4asmpre3

Here’s the description of Cat on a Hot Tin Woof.

Join Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of fiction” (Boston Globe), and his human partner Bernie as they scramble to solve a case exposing the dark side of internet fame.

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family’s income is on the line.

The case presents a slew of challenges for Chet and Bernie. For one thing, a potential witness is a pig named Senor Piggy who may be in possession of an important piece of evidence. For another, it seems like a possible perp has been killed twice—and there’s evidence implicating Bernie in the crime.

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Spencer Quinn is the pen name of Peter Abrahams, the Edgar-award winning author of many novels, including the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, The Right Side, and Oblivion, as well as the New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series for younger readers. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana—and Dottie, a loyal and energetic member of the four-pawed nation within.

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I think you’ll enjoy the conversation about the Chet and Bernie books.

That’s how author Sadie Kincaid describes her new “dark Mafia romance”, The Auction. Her elevator pitch is “Beauty and the Beast” meets Batman. If that entices you, there are still a few signed copies left in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/yc4rrzx9

Here’s the description of The Auction.

The queen of dark mafia romance, Sadie Kincaid, begins her new explosively sexy Wages of Sin series with The Auction. Order your deluxe hardcover limited edition with stunning cover effects, stamped foil case, lush matching endpapers, and decked-out floral edges today.

Beauty and the Beast meets organized crime in this tense slow-burn romance with scorching spice, thrilling suspense, and life-altering secrets. 

I was trained to be a pawn, but I will rise as a queen.
My life has never been my own. After the death of my parents, I was saved by my grandfather, with the promise that he would turn me over to the Brotherhood on my twenty-first birthday.

I was kept away from the outside world so I could one day be sold to the highest bidder—pure and unsullied. Penance for my parents’ alleged crimes.

That’s how I come to be sold at an auction.

And who buys me but the reclusive billionaire, Lincoln Knight?

Some say that he’s a monster, more dangerous than any of the evil men from the Brotherhood. That he wears a mask to cover his scars. But I believe he’s hiding more than just his face behind his mask. 

My fate is sealed when he takes me to his crumbling mansion deep in the woods. I’m trapped. Entirely at his mercy.

I have to escape.

But something here isn’t what it seems.

Lincoln isn’t what he seems. Maybe he’s not a monster at all. I’m drawn to him in a way that I can’t explain. Until I discover that his secrets go far beyond his mask.

He’s everything I’ve been taught to fear, but what if everything I’ve ever known has been a lie?

Perfect for readers who love:

• Scorching hot spice
• Masked men
• Morally grey alpha heroes
• Determined heroines
• Gothic vibes
• Fiery slow burns
• Beauty and the Beast, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights inspo
• God of Malice, Ruthless Creatures, and The Kiss Thief
• possessive romance
• jealous possessive romance
• obsessive / stalker romance
• dark possessive romance books
• OTT possessive alpha romance

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Sadie Kincaid is an Amazon #1 bestselling spicy romance author. She lives in the UK with her husband, and sons.Sadie writes feisty heroines and morally grey, swoon-worthy alphas with filthy mouths, who would burn the world down for the ladies they love. For more information on Sadie”s upcoming releases including exclusive teasers, excerpts, and more, join her Facebook reader group: Sadie”s Ladies and Sizzling Alphas. 

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Enjoy the conversation with Sadie Kincaid.