Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed James Byrne for a virtual event. Byrne has a new thriller, The Gatekeeper, and signed copies of the book are available in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3aseI1d
Here’s the summary of The Gatekeeper.
James Byrne’s The Gatekeeper introduces Dez Limerick in the most anticipated new thriller in years.
A highly trained team of mercenaries launches a well-planned, coordinated attack on a well-guarded military contractor – but they didn’t count on one thing, the right man being in the wrong place at the right time.
Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to all) is a retired mercenary, and enthusiastic amateur musician, currently in Southern California, enjoying the sun and sitting in on the occasional gig, when the hotel he’s at falls under attack. A skilled team attempts to kidnap the Chief legal counsel of Triton Expeditors, a major military contractor ““ in fact, Petra Alexandris is the daughter of the CEO ““ but their meticulously-planned, seamlessly executed scheme runs into the figurative ‘spanner-in-the-works,’ Dez himself.
After foiling the attack, and with nothing better to do, Dez agrees to help Alexandris with another problem she’s having ““ someone has embezzled more than a billion dollars from her company and left very few tracks behind. But Dez is a gatekeeper ““ one who opens doors and keeps them open ““ and this is just a door of another kind. And the door he opens leads to a dangerous conspiracy involving media manipulation, militias, an armed coup, and an attempt to fracture the United States themselves. There’s only one obstacle between the conspirators and success ““ and that is Dez, The Gatekeeper.
JAMES BYRNE is the pseudonym for an author who has worked for more than twenty years as a journalist and in politics. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he lives in Portland, Oregon.
Mark Greaney recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to talk about his new book, Armored. There are signed copies of the book available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3uWf6ft
Here’s the description of Armored.
A novel inspired by #1 New York Times best-selling author Mark Greaney’s Audible Original drama, Armored.
Joshua Duffy is a Close Protection Agent—a professional bodyguard—and he’s one of the world’s elite operatives. That is, he was until his last mission in Lebanon. Against all odds, Josh got his primary out alive, but the cost was high. Josh lost his lower left leg.
There’s not much call for an elite bodyguard with such an injury. So, Josh has to support his family working as a mall cop in New Jersey. For a man like Josh, this is purgatory on earth, but miracles can occur even in Paramus.
A lucky run-in with an old comrade promises to get Josh back in the field for one last job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico, an area so dangerous it’s known as Espinazo del Diablo—the Devil’s Spine. Only a fool would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region, and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive.
Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. In his research for the Gray Man novels, including Relentless, One Minute Out, Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, he traveled to more than thirty-five countries and trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine LtCol Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.
Enjoy the conversation between Mark Greaney and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.
It’s been twenty years since Brad Thor’s first Scot Harvath thriller. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Thor for the national book launch of his new book, Rising Tiger. And, if you order a copy of Rising Tiger, only through The Poisoned Pen, you not only get a signed copy, you get a special commemorative decal. Here’s the link to the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3nJuZl5
Here’s the description of Rising Tiger.
Deadly operative Scot Harvath faces down the country’s most powerful enemy in #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor’s new white-knuckle thriller.
An unprecedented, potentially nation-ending threat has materialized on the world stage. Fearful of the global consequences of engaging this enemy, administration after administration has passed the buck. The clock, however, has run out and doing nothing is no longer an option. It is time to unleash Scot Harvath.
As America’s top spy, Harvath has the unparalleled skills and experience necessary to handle any situation, but this assignment feels different.
Thrust into a completely unfamiliar culture, with few he can trust, the danger begins mounting the moment he arrives. Amidst multiple competing forces and a host of deadly agendas, it becomes nearly impossible to tell predator from prey.
With democracy itself hanging in the balance, Harvath will risk everything to untangle the explosive plot and bring every bad actor to justice.
Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two thrillers, including Black Ice, Near Dark (one of Suspense Magazine‘s Best Books of the Year), Backlash (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), Spymaster (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), The Last Patriot (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association), and Blowback (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR). Visit his website at BradThor.com and follow him on Facebook at Facebook.com/BradThorOfficial and on Twitter @BradThor.
This was the only event that Brad Thor did for Rising Tiger, so, if you’re interested, this is the event you want to watch.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Tess Gerritsen for the national book launch of Listen to Me.Listen to Me is not only the Hot Book of the Week at the bookstore, but it’s the latest Rizzoli & Isles story. And, Gerritsen said she didn’t have plans to write to write another Rizzoli & Isles, but Jane Rizzoli’s mother, Angela, said “Listen to Me”. I can’t guarantee there are still signed copies of the book available, but you can check the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3bYLKpN
Here’s the description of Listen to Me.
Rizzoli & Isles are back! From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, this “shocking and fast-paced” (Karin Slaughter) thriller has Jane and Maura investigating a brutal murder with dire implications, and this time, with Jane’s intrepid mother, Angela, looking into a mystery of her own.
“Absolutely first rate—readers will be thrilled and delighted by this new Rizzoli & Isles outing!”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door Mothers know best . . . But who will listen?
Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are newly plagued by what seems like a completely senseless murder. Sofia Suarez, a widow and nurse who was universally liked by her neighbors, lies bludgeoned to death in her own home. But anything can happen behind closed doors, and Sofia seemed to have plenty of secrets in her last days, making covert phone calls to traceless burner phones. When Jane finally makes a connection between Sofia and the victim of a hit-and-run from months earlier, the case only grows more blurry. What exactly was Sofia involved in? One thing is clear: The killer will do anything it takes to keep their secret safe.
Meanwhile, Angela Rizzoli hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in all the years since her daughter became a homicide detective. Maybe the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree: Nothing in Angela’s neighborhood gets by her—not the gossip about a runaway teenager down the block and definitely not the strange neighbors who have just moved in across the street. Angela’s sure there’s no such thing as coincidence in her sleepy suburb. If only Jane would listen—instead she writes off Angela’s concerns as the result of an overactive imagination. But Angela’s convinced there’s a real wolf in her vicinity, and her cries might now fall on deaf ears.
With so much happening on the Sofia case, Jane and Maura already struggle to see the forest for the trees, but will they lose sight of something sinister happening much closer to home?
Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is also a physician, and she brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency and autopsy rooms. Her thrillers featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TV series Rizzoli & Isles. But Gerritsen’s interests span far more than medicine and crime. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she catalogued centuries-old human remains, and she continues to travel the world, driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, hosted David Ellis to talk about two books, one by himself (Look Closer), and one with James Patterson (Escape). Patterson talked about reading Look Closer, and writing with Ellis. They just mentioned James Patterson by James Patterson. You can order copies of all the books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s the description of Look Closer.
From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a wickedly clever and fast-paced novel of greed, revenge, obsession—and quite possibly the perfect murder.
Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure … absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer. When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. A secret whirlwind affair. A twenty-million-dollar trust fund about to come due. A decades-long grudge and obsession with revenge. These are just a few of the lies that make up the complex web…and they will have devastating consequences. And while both Vicky and Simon are liars, just who exactly is conning who? Part Gone Girl, part Strangers on a Train, Look Closer is a wild rollercoaster of a read that will have you questioning everything you think you know.
David Ellis is a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight books co-authored with James Patterson. In December, 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. Ellis lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.
Here’s the summary of Escape.
#1 New York Times bestselling detective Billy Harney of The Black Book is chasing down a billionaire crime boss and a prison escape artist while a young girl’s life hangs in the balance.As Chicago PD’s special-ops leader, Detective Billy Harney knows well that money is not the only valuable currency. The filthy rich man he’s investigating is down to his last twenty million. He’s also being held in jail.
For now.
Billy’s unit is called in when an escape plan results in officers down and inmates vanished.
In an empty lot, Billy spots two Kevlar vests. Two helmets. Two assault rifles. And a handwritten note:
Hi, Billy Are you having fun yet?
James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. The creator of Alex Cross, he has produced more enduring fictional heroes than any other novelist alive. He lives in Florida with his family.
Don’t forget about James Patterson’s memoir, James Patterson.
“It’s quite a life, Patterson’s, and this fizzing, funny, often deeply moving memoir is a perfect way to understand the dizzying world of a best-selling writer.” —Daily Mail
“Damn near addictive. I loved it . . . that Patterson guy can write!” ““Ron Howard
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER—How did a kid whose dad lived in the poorhouse become the most successful storyteller in the world?
On the morning he was born, he nearly died.
His dad grew up in the Pogey”“ the Newburgh, New York, poorhouse.
He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell.
While he toiled in advertising hell, James wrote the ad jingle line “I’m a Toys “˜R’ Us Kid.”
He once watched James Baldwin and Norman Mailer square off to trade punches at a party.
He’s only been in love twice. Both times are amazing.
Dolly Parton once sang “Happy Birthday” to James over the phone. She calls him J.J., for Jimmy James.
How did a boy from small-town New York become the world’s most successful writer? How does he do it? He has always wanted to write the kind of novel that would be read and reread so many times that the binding breaks and the book literally falls apart. As he says, “I’m still working on that one.”
Enjoy the conversation with David Ellis and James Patterson.
Mark Pinsky is an investigative journalist who specializes in capital murder cases. He recently appeared for The Poisoned Pen to discuss his latest true crime book, Drifting Into Darkness: Murders, Madness, Suicde, and a Death “Under Suspicious Circumstances”. His guest host was Christina Estes from KJZZ radio. You can find copies of Drifting Into Darkness through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3bEJmVa
Here’s the description of Drifting Into Darkness.
A tangled web of family dysfunction, fatal attraction, and greed wends its way from the elegant Southern mansions of old Montgomery, Alabama, to the New Age salons of Boulder and rural, windswept Wyoming in Drifting Into Darkness, a true saga of bloodshed and betrayal.
Two grisly murders—a brutal double parricide—a suicide, and a fourth death under suspicious circumstances. Drifting Into Darkness is a tangled tale of family dysfunction, fatal attraction, and greed, a saga that wends its way from the elegant Southern mansions of Montgomery, Alabama, to the New Age salons of Boulder, Colorado, to rural, windswept Wyoming.
On Thanksgiving weekend in 2004, philanthropists Charlotte and Brent Springford Sr.”•a wealthy, socially prominent Montgomery couple”•were brutally beaten to death with an ax handle, echoing the infamous case of Lizzie Borden. Suspicion quickly fell on the Springfords’ gifted but troubled son Brent Jr., who would be tried and sentenced to life without parole. But a mystery remained: Who was the mysterious, elusive woman who claimed to be a Native American shaman that investigators believed manipulated Brent into this murder?
Journalists solving murders is a time-tested trope in movies, mysteries, and on television. But cops and cop reporters know that rarely happens in real life. Except when it does. Veteran crime reporter Mark I. Pinsky, who covered the sensational cases of serial killer Ted Bundy and Green Beret Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, broke the cardinal rule of journalism by involving himself in the story. Pinsky’s extensive research prompted investigators to invite him to join their dogged pursuit of justice. His access to unique and heart-breaking behind-the-scenes material enables him to take readers with him into the troubled, tortured minds of the case’s main players.
Mark I. Pinsky is a veteran investigative journalist specializing in capital murder cases. A former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel, his work—which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today—has followed topics ranging from the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of Trayvon Martin. His expertise has been showcased in multiple television appearances for Investigation Discovery, TruTV, and Amazon Prime. Pinsky is the author of Met Her on the Mountain: A Forty-Year Quest to Solve the Appalachian Cold-Case Murder of Nancy Morgan and four religious books: Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion; A Jew Among the Evangelicals; The Gospel According to The Simpsons; and The Gospel According to Disney.
True crime readers will want to catch up with Mark Pinsky.
Fortunately for readers, the publisher did a simultaneous publication of the paperback with the hardcover because all of the hardcover copies of Matt Goldman’s Carolina Moonset are sold out. You can still order a paperback through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3OVPmHv
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Goldman for a virtual event.
Here’s the description of his latest book, Carolina Moonset.
Both suspenseful and deeply moving, Carolina Moonset is an engrossing novel about family, memories both golden and terrible, and secrets too dangerous to stay hidden forever, from New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award-winning author, Matt Goldman.
Joey Green has returned to Beaufort, South Carolina, with its palmettos and shrimp boats, to look after his ailing father, who is succumbing to dementia, while his overstressed mother takes a break. Marshall Green’s short-term memory has all but evaporated, but, as if in compensation, his oldest memories are more vivid than ever. His mind keeps slipping backwards in time, retreating into long-ago yesterdays of growing up in Beaufort as a boy.
At first this seems like a blessing of sorts, with the past providing a refuge from a shrinking future, but Joey grows increasingly anxious as his father’s hallucinatory arguments with figures from his youth begin to hint at deadly secrets, scandals, and suspicions long buried and forgotten. Resurfacing from decades past are mysteries that still have the power to shatter lives—and change everything Joey thought he knew.
Especially when a new murder brings the police to his door…
Matt Goldman is a playwright and Emmy Award-winning television writer for Seinfeld, Ellen, and other shows. He brings his signature storytelling abilities and light touch to his Nils Shapiro series, which begins with Gone to Dust. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and whichever children happen to be around.
Enjoy the conversation as Matt Goldman talks about his standalone, Carolina Moonset.
Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed Isabella Maldonado for a live event at the bookstore. The Falcon is the third book featuring FBI Agent Nina Guerrera. Millikin says he has to be careful to not give away spoilers with this book. So, you might want to pick up a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3ORZgtC
Here’s the description of The Falcon.
A Wall Street Journal bestselling series.
A serial killer wants to play. FBI Agent Nina Guerrera has no time for games.
Six female undergrads at an elite university vanish. The media descends. The families demand action. And as Special Agent Nina Guerrera follows clue by chilling clue, she realizes she’s tracking the most cunning predator of her career.
The case takes a turn for the worse, and the bizarre, when several victims are found perfectly preserved. No signs of violence, no hint of how they died. Just more evidence that the killer is cruel, calculating, and a master of mind control.
With her mission compromised, Nina must face her greatest failure—and greatest fear—to stop a deadly hunter before he claims another prize.
Isabella Maldonado is the award-winning and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Cruz series and of The Cipher and A Different Dawn in the Nina Guerrera series. Before turning to crime writing, she wore a gun and badge in real life. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in her police department, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, she served as a hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and district station commander. She uses her extensive law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing. Maldonado lives in the Phoenix area with her family. For more information, visit www.isabellamaldonado.com.
Maldonado introduces her book, and Nina Guerrera’s FBI team.
John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed cozy mystery authors Krista Davis and Daryl Wood Gerber. Davis’ latest book is The Diva Says Cheesecake. Gerber’s new book is A Hint of Mischief. Both books are available in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s Krista Davis’ The Diva Says Cheesecake.
“Reminiscent of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen cozies, which also include baking and a group of close friends working together to solve crimes.” ““ Booklist
A delightful new story from a New York Times bestselling author perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mystery series! In this page-turning new book, entertaining guru Sophie Winston is faced with a midsummer nightmare when a celebration in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, is the appetizer for murder…
Old Town’s midsummer festivities are getting a tasty addition this year. To coincide with a public performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Bobbie Sue Bodoin, the Queen of Cheesecake, has hired Sophie to organize a dinner with a dessert buffet on the waterfront. Bobbie Sue’s homegrown company is thriving, and since her baking dish overfloweth, she wants to reward her employees.
Bobbie Sue has only one menu demand: no cheesecake! But her specialty isn’t the only thing missing from the evening—Tate, Bobbie Sue’s husband, is too, much to her annoyance. Next morning, however, Tate’s dead body is discovered. Bobbie Sue insists she didn’t kick her spouse to the curb, and begs for Sophie’s help finding the real killer. Digging in, Sophie discovers an assortment of Old Town locals who all had reason to want a piece of Tate. Can she gather together the crumbs the killer left behind in time to prevent a second helping of murder?
Includes delectable recipes and fabulous DIY decorating tips!
Krista Davis is the New York Times bestselling and four-time Agatha Award-nominated author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries, the Pen & Ink Mysteries, and the Paws & Claws Mysteries. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two cats and a brood of dogs. Her friends and family complain about being guinea pigs for her recipes, but she notices they keep coming back for more. Please visit her at KristaDavis.com.
Here’s the description of Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Hint of Mischief.
From Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber, the third in an enchantingly whimsical series featuring Courtney Kelly, the owner of a fairy-gardening and tea shop in Carmel, California. It’s a special place brimming with good vibes and the kind of magical assistance its proprietor will need to prepare for an old sorority sister’s birthday bash awhile solving a puzzling murder!
Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder .
Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, as well as the Cheese Shop Mysteries written under the name Avery Aames. She also writes standalone suspense novels and the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense. Prior to her career as a novelist, she was an actress with roles in television shows including “Murder, She Wrote,” and she wrote for the popular TV sitcom “Out of this World.” Originally from the Bay Area, she now lives in Southern California where she likes to cook, garden and spend time with her frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky. Visit her online at DarylWoodGerber.com.
If you’re a cozy mystery reader, you’ll enjoy the interviews. John Charles asks both writers to talk about their backgrounds, writing, and their latest books.
Julie Clark, the author of The Last Flight, appeared for a live event at The Poisoned Pen to promote her latest thriller, The Lies I Tell. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, welcomed Clark, whose book The Lies I Tell is the Hot Book of the Week. There are signed copies of the book available in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3nywW3K
Here is the description of The Lies I Tell.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
“A mindbender.” —Jessica Knoll
“Riveting…a winner.” —Laura Dave
“A knockout.” —Mary Kubica
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight comes a twisted con-woman thriller about two women out for revenge—or is it justice?
Two women. Many aliases.
Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She’s a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she’s done, you’ve likely lost everything.
Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat’s long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg’s true target is.
The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.
Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We Choose and The Last Flight, which was also a #1 international bestseller and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.
Enjoy the discussion, especially the segment about con artists.
