PoisonedBlogger

Lee Goldberg will be at the Poisoned Pen Monday, April 16 at 7 PM to discuss his latest novel, True Fiction. Signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2quRso2

Here’s the summary of True Fiction.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg hits the ground running in a breakneck thriller where truth and fiction collide for the unluckiest writer alive.

When a passenger jet crashes onto the beaches of Waikiki, bestselling thriller writer Ian Ludlow knows the horrific tragedy wasn’t an accident.

Years before, the CIA enlisted Ian to dream up terrorism scenarios to prepare the government for nightmares they couldn’t imagine. Now one of those schemes has come true, and Ian is the only person alive who knows how it was done…and who is behind the plot. That makes him too dangerous to live.

Ian goes on the run, sweeping up an innocent bystander in his plight—Margo French, a dog walker and aspiring singer. They are pursued by assassins and an all-seeing global-intelligence network that won’t stop until Ian and Margo are dead. Ian has written thrillers like this before, but this time he doesn’t know how it’s going to end—or if he will be alive to find out.

*****

Monday night, Goldberg will be in conversation with Grace Doyle, his Amazon publishing editor. In the meantime, you can catch another interview with him. Dave Simms interviewed Goldberg for Publishers Weekly in an article called “The Opposite of Jack Reacher”. https://bit.ly/2EGNYE9

Anne Perry was just here to introduce a new character, Daniel Pitt, in the book Twenty-one Days. Yes, he’s the son of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, but the young barrister is the hero of her new series. You can order a signed copy of Twenty-one Days through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2qtUOZh

Here’s the description of Twenty-one Days.

In the first book of an all-new series, a young lawyer races to save his client from execution, putting him at odds with his own father: Thomas Pitt, head of London’s Special Police Branch.

1910: Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Pitt is a junior barrister in London and eager to prove himself, independent of his renowned parents’ influence. And the new case before him will be the test. When his client, arrogant biographer Russell Graves, is found guilty of murdering his wife, Daniel is dispatched to find the real killer before Graves faces the hangman’s noose—in only twenty-one days.

Could Mrs. Graves’s violent death have anything to do with her husband’s profession? Someone in power may be framing the biographer to keep damaging secrets from coming to light. It is a theory that leads Daniel’s investigation unexpectedly to London’s Special Branch—and, disturbingly, to one of his father’s closest colleagues.

Caught between duty to the law and a fierce desire to protect his family, Daniel must call on his keen intellect—and trust his natural instincts—to find the truth in a tangle of dark deception, lest an innocent man hang for another’s heinous crime.

*****

If you would like to hear about the new series and British law, you can watch the conversation between Anne Perry and Poisoned Pen bookstore owner, Barbara Peters.

https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8157107

Madeline Miller’s follow-up to the New York Times bestseller, The Song of Achilles, is Circe. The novel is the current Hot Book of the Week at the Poisoned Pen. Signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2v6Evqg

Here’s the description of Circe.

The daring, dazzling and highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Song of Achilles

J. Todd Scott, author of High White Sun, recently appeared here with Willy Vlautin. You may have caught the Livestream of the program. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8122126

If you’re a fan, or just discovering Scott, you might be interested in his recent interview in LitSouth. Jeff Sykes’ article is called “An interview with modern crime novelist J. Todd Scott.” https://bit.ly/2H199pq

Signed copies of High White Sun are still available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2GE9qPN

Here’s the description of the book.

Even though the corrupt Sheriff Ross is dead and gone, outlaws still walk free, peace comes at a price, and redemption remains hard to find in this fiery and violent novel from the author of The Far Empty.

Sometimes we have to be wolves…

In the wake of Sheriff Stanford Ross’s death, former deputy Chris Cherry–now Sheriff Cherry–is the new “law” in Big Bend County, yet he still struggles to escape the long, dark shadow of that infamous lawman. As Chris tries to remake and modernize his corrupt department, bringing in new deputies, including young America Reynosa and Ben Harper–a hard-edged veteran homicide detective now lured out of retirement–he finds himself constantly staring down a town unwilling to change, friends and enemies unable to let go of the past, and the harsh limits of his badge.

But it’s only when a local Rio Grande guide is brutally and inexplicably murdered, and America and Ben’s ongoing investigation is swept aside by a secretive federal agent, that the novice sheriff truly understands just how tenuous his hold on that badge really is. And as other new threats rise right along with the unforgiving West Texas sun, nothing can prepare Chris for the high cost of crossing dangerous men such as John Wesley Earl, a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and the patriarch of a murderous clan that’s descended on Chris’s hometown of Murfee; or Thurman Flowers, a part-time pastor and full-time white supremacist hell-bent on founding his violent Church of Purity in the very heart of the Big Bend.

Before long, Chris, America, and Ben are outmaneuvered, outnumbered, and outgunned–inexorably drawn into a nearly twenty-year vendetta that began with a murdered Texas Ranger on a dusty highway outside of Sweetwater, and that can only end with fire, blood, and bullets in Murfee’s own sun-scorched streets…

Welcome back to the Big Bend…

Are you familiar with Kerry Greenwood’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries set in 1920s Australia? Poisoned Pen Press publishes the books here in the U.S., and you can find them in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2JfL7W5

Now, there’s a new way to experience the stories. “Miss Fisher and the Deadly Maze” is an ap, an interactive game free to download. For all the facts, check out Daryl Grabarek’s article, “The Astute Miss Fisher Goes Interactive/ Touch and Go”. https://bit.ly/2EkitQ1

Notice, Grabarek does mention the the “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” television shows. That’s a great way to see all of Phryne Fisher’s clothes. But, don’t forget the books!

If you love Paris, bookstores, or classic children’s books about Paris, you really should listen to Liam Callanan talk about his novel, Paris By the Book. You can see and hear the entire program on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8145765

Signed copies of Paris By the Book are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Jg9zqv

Here’s the description.

A missing person, a grieving family, a curious clue: a half-finished manuscript set in Paris. Heading off in search of its author, a mother and her daughters find themselves in France, rescuing a failing bookstore and drawing closer to unexpected truths.

Once a week, I chase men who are not my husband. . . . 

When eccentric novelist Robert Eady abruptly vanishes, he leaves behind his wife, Leah, their daughters, and, hidden in an unexpected spot, plane tickets to Paris.

Hoping to uncover clues–and her husband–Leah sets off for France with her girls. Upon their arrival, she discovers an unfinished manuscript, one Robert had been writing without her knowledge . . . and that he had set in Paris. The Eady women follow the path of the manuscript to a small, floundering English-language bookstore whose weary proprietor is eager to sell. The whole store? Today? Yes, but Leah’s biggest surprise comes when she hears herself accepting the offer on the spot.

As the family settles into their new Parisian life, they can’t help but trace the literary paths of some beloved Parisian classics, including Madeline and The Red Balloon, hoping more clues arise. But a series of startling discoveries forces Leah to consider that she may not be ready for what solving this mystery might do to her family–and the Paris she thought she knew.

At once haunting and charming, Paris by the Book follows one woman’s journey as her story is being rewritten, exploring the power of family and the magic that hides within the pages of a book.

Tony Hillerman’s daughter, Anne, was just at the Poisoned Pen. Hillerman himself appeared here, but he also spoke with bookstore owner Barbara Peters at the National Book Festival. The Library of Congress has made copies of those talks available.

https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3487

There’s also second short talk, but while the Library is updating its website, that one is not linking.

You can also listen to Barbara Peters talk with Jamie McGrath Morris who is writing a biography of Tony Hillerman. It’s scheduled for publication in 2020. This podcast is just the first in a series of conversations about the progress of the book. The publisher will be the University of Oklahoma. https://poisonedpen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/audio_04_02_2018_11_04_33.mp3

In the meantime, you might want to discover the landscape of Hillerman’s books. There’s an extensive collection of his books available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2uRxzx1

One of the books in the Web Store is Tony Hillerman’s Landscape by Anne Hillerman.

She’s continued her father’s stories while concentrating on Bernadette Manuelito. She’s also continued to explore the Navajo landscape, as she discusses in a recent article, “On the Road with Anne Hillerman”, written for CrimeReads.com. It’s at https://bit.ly/2HdRbOb

Signed copies of Anne Hillerman’s latest book, Cave of Bones, and her other books, are also available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2q3fNkK

Those names are four of the top five names on the April 8 New York Times Fiction Best Seller List. Three of the authors recently appeared at the Poisoned Pen, and the fourth dropped in to sign books. You can find signed copies of these four titles in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

It’s C.J. Box’s first week on the list with The Disappeared. It debuts in the number one spot.

James Patterson and Marshall Karp appear at number two with Red Alert, the fifth book in the NYPD Red series.

Kristin Hannah stopped in to sign copies of The Great Alone. It’s on the list for the eighth straight week, now at number 4.

And, Jacqueline Winspear’s latest Maisie Dobbs, To Die But Once, cracks the list, appearing at number 5.

If you continue to read the list, you’ll recognize the names of some of the other authors as recent visitors to the Poisoned Pen. https://nyti.ms/1WiHfqE   Check out the Web Store for signed copies of other books. https://bit.ly/2GAlHEV

Joe R. Lansdale recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen where he discussed his latest Hap and Leonard novel, Jackrabbit Smile, with Patrick Millikin. Now, you can order a signed copy of Jackrabbit Smile through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2GAlHEV

And, you can also enjoy listening to Lansdale tell stories if you watch the program on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8144174 I don’t think you’re going to want to miss this.

Here’s the description of Jackrabbit Smile.

Edgar Award-winner and fan favorite Joe R. Lansdale is back with Hap and Leonard’s latest caper: investigating the disappearance of a revivalist cult leader’s daughter.

Hap and Leonard are an unlikely pair-Hap, a self-proclaimed white trash rebel, and Leonard, a tough-as-nails black gay Vietnam vet and Republican-but they’re the closest friend either of them has in the world. Hap is celebrating his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Brett (who is also Hap and Leonard’s boss), when their backyard barbecue is interrupted by a couple of Pentecostal white supremacists. They’re not too happy to see Leonard, and no one is happy to see them, but they have a problem and only Hap and Leonard will take the case.

When Kevin Hearne was here to reveal the conclusion of the Iron Druid Chronicles, with Scourged, there was a full  house.

You can still order a signed copy of Scourged, and copies of the other books in the Iron Druid Chronicles, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Glm6Lt

What’s it like to end a beloved fantasy series? Shawn Speakman recently interviewed Hearne for “Unbound Worlds”. Hearne talked about the conclusion of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and what he’s writing now. bit.ly/2GQuh1R