PoisonedBlogger

Carl Hiaasen’s new book is a juvenile book. Squirm might be designed for readers 8 to 12, but that doesn’t mean adults won’t appreciate the humor. Or, maybe you’ll want to pick up a new book for the child in your life. You can order Squirm and other books by Hiaasen through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2IprI5a

Hiaasen says he writes to entertain. When you read the description of Squirm, you can see what he means.

Newbery Honor-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author Carl Hiaasen–beloved for his modern classics like Hoot and Chomp–delivers a wildly entertaining novel involving snakes, grizzlies, a missing dad, a menacing drone, and more!

Some facts about Billy Dickens:
*  He once saw a biker swerve across the road in order to run over a snake.
*  Later, that motorcycle somehow ended up at the bottom of a canal.
*  Billy isn’t the type to let things go.

Some facts about Billy’s family:
*  They’ve lived in six different Florida towns because Billy’s mom insists on getting a house near a bald eagle nest.
*  Billy’s dad left when he was four and is a total mystery.
*  Billy has just found his dad’s address–in Montana.

This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor’s cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father.

Carl Hiaasen tells a wickedly funny, slightly twisted tale about families, figuring out what’s really important, and knowing when (and when not) to let things go.

*****

Better yet, thanks to Penguin Random House, you can “Meet the Author”, and hear Carl Hiaasen talk about writing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTDPoFkoe0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Paula Munier, author of A Borrowing of Bones, was at the Poisoned Pen earlier this month. Her mystery introduces two K-9 heroes. In a recent article for CriminalElement.com, Munier discusses her favorite mysteries featuring dogs. https://bit.ly/2DMJ7Gr

You’ll recognize authors who appear at the Poisoned Pen, including Margaret Mizushima. Mizushima herself will be at the Poisoned Pen on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 2-4 PM. She’s part of a multi-author event. Going Mizushima is Scott Graham, Roger Johns, and C.C. Harrison. Check out the link to the event. https://bit.ly/2NNNRA4

Once you read Munier’s article, or see the list of authors who will appear at the Poisoned Pen on Saturday, you can order any of the titles through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Kyle Mills, author of the latest Mitch Rapp novel, Vince Flynn’s Red War, appears at the Poisoned Pen on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 PM. He’ll be in conversation with Jack Carr. You can order a signed copy of Red War through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2DvX1MD

What’s this about predictions of the future? Mills recently wrote a piece for CrimeReads called, “A Thriller Writer is Always Looking for the Next Big Threat.” You can find it here. https://bit.ly/2Dz5D5e

What is Red War about? Here’s the description.

The #1 New York Times bestselling series returns with Mitch Rapp racing to prevent Russia’s gravely ill leader from starting a full-scale war with NATO.

“Mills is the only writer capable of filling the enormous void left by Vince Flynn.”—The Real Book Spy

When Russian president Maxim Krupin discovers that he has inoperable brain cancer, he’s determined to cling to power. His first task is to kill or imprison any of his countrymen who can threaten him. Soon, though, his illness becomes serious enough to require a more dramatic diversion—war with the West.

Upon learning of Krupin’s condition, CIA director Irene Kennedy understands that the US is facing an opponent who has nothing to lose. The only way to avoid a confrontation that could leave millions dead is to send Mitch Rapp to Russia under impossibly dangerous orders. With the Kremlin’s entire security apparatus hunting him, he must find and kill a man many have deemed the most powerful in the world.

Success means averting a war that could consume all of Europe. But if his mission is discovered, Rapp will plunge Russia and America into a conflict that neither will survive.

“In the world of black-ops thrillers, Mitch Rapp continues to be among the best of the best” (Booklist, starred review).

Sarah Weinman’s The Real Lolita is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Weinman will be at the bookstore on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 PM to discuss and sign the book. The Real Lolita is subtitled “The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World.” If you can’t make it to the event on Thursday, you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2PPeH7g

Here’s the description of The Real Lolita.

“The Real Lolita is a tour de force of literary detective work. Not only does it shed new light on the terrifying true saga that influenced Nabokov’s masterpiece, it restores the forgotten victim to our consciousness.” —David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita is one of the most beloved and notorious novels of all time. And yet, very few of its readers know that the subject of the novel was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of eleven-year-old Sally Horner.

Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, The Real Lolita tells Sally Horner’s full story for the very first time. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records, and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Nabokov knew of the Sally Horner case and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing Lolita.

Sally Horner’s story echoes the stories of countless girls and women who never had the chance to speak for themselves. By diving deeper in the publication history of Lolita and restoring Sally to her rightful place in the lore of the novel’s creation, The Real Lolita casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.

Sara Weinman. Kyle Mills, Sara Gran. Amy Stewart. Lou Berney. John Sandford. What do all of these authors have in common? They are all authors with a new book that appears on CrimeReads.com‘s list of “The Most Anticipated Crime Books of the Year”, the 75 books that close out the year. https://bit.ly/2zqZggh Best of all, those authors are all either closing out the month of September at the Poisoned Pen, or kicking off October. In fact, October’s full calendar looks like it was taken right from CrimeReads’ list.

So, check out Poisoned Pen’s calendar of upcoming author appearances. https://www.poisonedpenevents.com/  Read the list of anticipated books on CrimeReads’ site. Then, come back to the Web Store. If you can’t come to an event with one of your favorite authors, you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

You’ll want to know what’s happening at the Poisoned Pen this fall.

Two Poisoned Pen favorites see their latest novel start at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller List on Sunday, September 30. Shadow Tyrants, the 13th in the Oregon Files series, is by Clive Cussler with Boyd Morrison. Now’s the time to order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Iadl4m

Here’s the summary of Shadow Tyrants.

Only Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon stand between two warring moguls and global havoc in this thrilling suspense novel in Clive Cussler’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Nearly two thousand years ago, an Eastern emperor charged a small group with safeguarding secrets powerful enough to change the history of mankind. They went down in legend as the Nine Unknown Men–and now two rival factions of their descendants are fighting a mighty battle. Both sides think they are saving the world, but their tactics could very well bring about the end of humankind. Soon, Juan Cabrillo and his team of expert operatives aboard the Oregon find themselves trapped between two power-hungry adversaries, both of whom are willing to use shocking means to accomplish their goals.

Cabrillo and the team must divide and conquer as they fight dual threats, which include a supercomputer at sea and satellites that can wipe out technology across the globe–including the high-tech weapons on board the Oregon. The crew must rely on their unique skills to stop the tyrants in their tracks and save the earth from a dynasty of terror.

Andrew Gross went from writing what he calls “suburban thrillers” to writing historical thrillers. Following the success of The Saboteur and The One Man, Gross’ latest novel is Button Man. Gross will be at the Poisoned Pen on Monday, Sept. 24 at 7 PM to discuss and sign his new book. Can’t make it? You can still order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Dmjps2

In The Washington Post, Jeff Ayers recently reviewed the novel he calls “rich and compelling”. https://wapo.st/2xC854Q

However, the most interesting story to read comes from The Real Book Spy. He covered “Five Questions with Andrew Gross”. https://bit.ly/2QOn1pa

Hope you can make it Monday night to hear the discussion. If not, here’s the summary of Button Man.

Following up The One Man and The Saboteur, Gross’s next historical thriller brings to life the drama of the birth of organized crime in 1930s New York City from the tale of one family.

After a string of New York Times bestselling suburban thrillers, Andrew Gross has reinvented himself as a writer of historical thrillers. In his latest novel, Button Man, he delivers a stirring story of a Jewish family brought together in the dawn of the women’s garment business and torn apart by the birth of organized crime in New York City in the 1930s.

Morris, Sol, and Harry Rabishevsky grew up poor and rough in a tiny flat on the Lower East Side, until the death of their father thrust them into having to fend for themselves and support their large family. Morris, the youngest, dropped out of school at twelve years old and apprenticed himself to a garment cutter in a clothing factory; Sol headed to accounting school; but Harry, scarred by a family tragedy, fell in with a gang of thugs as a teenager. Morris steadily climbs through the ranks at the factory until at twenty-one he finally goes out on his own, convincing Sol to come work with him. But Harry can’t be lured away from the glamour, the power, and the money that come from his association with Louis Buchalter, whom Morris has battled with since his youth and who has risen to become the most ruthless mobster in New York. And when Buchalter sets his sights on the unions that staff the garment makers’ factories, a fatal showdown is inevitable, pitting brother against brother.

This new novel is equal parts historical thriller, rich with the detail of a vibrant New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, and family saga, based on Andrew Gross’s own family story and on the history of the era, complete with appearances by real-life characters like mobsters Louis Lepke and Dutch Schultz and special prosecutor Thomas Dewey, and cements Gross’s reputation as today’s most atmospheric and original historical thriller writer.

You may have read Diane Johnson’s recent review in The New York Times, “Behind the Kidnapping Case that Inspired Lolita”. She reviews two books. The nonfiction account is Sarah Weinman’s The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World. https://nyti.ms/2NldOqy

Weinman will be at The Poisoned Pen on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 PM to discuss and sign her book. If you can’t make it that evening, signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2PPeH7g

Here’s the summary of Weinman’s The Real Lolita.

“The Real Lolita is a tour de force of literary detective work. Not only does it shed new light on the terrifying true saga that influenced Nabokov’s masterpiece, it restores the forgotten victim to our consciousness.” —David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita is one of the most beloved and notorious novels of all time. And yet, very few of its readers know that the subject of the novel was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of eleven-year-old Sally Horner.

Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, The Real Lolita tells Sally Horner’s full story for the very first time. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records, and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Nabokov knew of the Sally Horner case and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing Lolita.

Sally Horner’s story echoes the stories of countless girls and women who never had the chance to speak for themselves. By diving deeper in the publication history of Lolita and restoring Sally to her rightful place in the lore of the novel’s creation, The Real Lolita casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.

I’ve heard Walter Mosley say he doesn’t like his work to be pigeonholed. The current Hot Book of the Week at the Poisoned Pen, his John Woman, is one of those titles. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2NXhTQU

Here’s the description of John Woman.

A convention-defying novel by bestselling writer Walter Mosley, John Woman recounts the transformation of an unassuming boy named Cornelius Jones into John Woman, an unconventional history professor—while the legacy of a hideous crime lurks in the shadows.

At twelve years old, Cornelius, the son of an Italian-American woman and an older black man from Mississippi named Herman, secretly takes over his father’s job at a silent film theater in New York’s East Village. Five years later, as Herman lives out his last days, he shares his wisdom with his son, explaining that the person who controls the narrative of history controls their own fate. After his father dies and his mother disappears, Cornelius sets about reinventing himself—as Professor John Woman, a man who will spread Herman’s teachings into the classrooms of his unorthodox southwestern university and beyond. But there are other individuals who are attempting to influence the narrative of John Woman, and who might know something about the facts of his hidden past.

Engaging with some of the most provocative ideas of recent intellectual history, John Woman is a compulsively readable, deliciously unexpected novel about the way we tell stories, and whether the stories we tell have the power to change the world.

Mary Robinette Kowal was at the Poisoned Pen in August with her first two Lady Astronaut novels, The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky.  Those books, and others by Kowal, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2OxQemJ

You might want to pick them up now. According to Andrew Liptak in The Verge, Kowal just signed a six-figure deal with Tor Books to add two more novels to the series, and to write a sci-fi murder mystery novel. Details here. https://bit.ly/2MIJxNc

For those unfamiliar with the series, here’s the summary of the first book, The Calculating Stars.

Mary Robinette Kowal’s science fiction debut, The Calculating Stars, explores the premise behind her award-winning “Lady Astronaut of Mars.” 

Goodreads—Most Popular Books Published in July 2018 (#66)
The Verge—12 fantastic science fiction and fantasy novels for July 2018 
Unbound Worlds—Best SciFi and Fantasy Books of July 2018
Den of Geek—Best Science Fiction Books of June 2018
Omnivoracious—15 Highly Anticipated SFF Reads for Summer 2018

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.