The Poisoned Pen Bookstore is starting and ending years with Brad Meltzer and The Viper. Critic Oline Cogdill sends us out on a good note with her review of Meltzer’s new book. Signed copies are available through the Webstore, https://bit.ly/4jgDSi6. We’re kicking off 2026 with Meltzer’s virtual appearance at the Pen, Jan. 4 at 4:00 PM MST.

Thank you to Oline Cogdill for her review of The Viper. The review first appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Book review: Meltzer’s characters take the lead in ‘The Viper’

The Viper: A Zig & Nola Novel’ by Brad Meltzer. Morrow, 400 pages, $32 

Brad Meltzer’s adult novels are known for fast and furious plots that stay on a breathless course to the end, as does his first thriller in four years, “The Viper: A Zig & Nola Novel.”

Meltzer specializes in meticulous research and attention to obscure historical and government details, carefully woven together organically without missing a beat. While “The Viper” adheres to Meltzer’s trademark intense plotting and unusual characters, his 14th thriller may be his most conventional.

While snatches of history and governmental issues enter “The Viper,” Meltzer has made this novel more about the complicated pasts of his characters. “The Viper,” like many of Meltzer’s novels, is both global and personal in scope.

This is his third outing with Jim “Zig” Zigarowski, a mortician who specializes in handling soldiers, and Nola Brown, a military artist whose precise drawings on battlefields illustrate more than some photographs. The two are wary of each other. Nola, emotionless and prickly, doesn’t really like Zig, who is compassionate. Yet through the years they have been bound to each other, each having saved the other at various times from violence.

In “The Viper,” New Jersey cop Roddy LaPointe, who is Nola’s twin, drafts Zig into helping him investigate the recent murder of Andrew Fechmeier, who had only just returned to his home town after decades. Roddy believes Andrew’s murder is related to the death 26 years ago of his and Nola’s mother when they were 3 years old. Their mother’s death, Roddy believes, led to the subsequent deaths of her and Andrew’s classmates and friends.

Not caring about the past, even her own, Nola wants little to do with this investigation. But Zig and Roddy embark on an accelerated investigation, navigating a labyrinth of family bonds and secrets. Along the way, Meltzer will show secrets of the witness protection program, veterans’ mental health and a peek at Dover Air Force Base, which houses the mortuary that cares for the remains of fallen soldiers. Nola’s job as a military artist is real.

Meltzer’s depiction of these topics is fascinating and authentic. Meltzer is respected for the facts he has gleaned from interviews with high-level government sources, including U.S. presidents, though no top-level secrets are disclosed. For a bit of levity, Meltzer includes references to “The Breakfast Club” and “Mean Girls.”

In addition to his thrillers, the prolific Meltzer, who lives in Broward County, has written a series of children’s books based on the childhoods of famous people, nonfiction books and has been the host of two History Channel series. Hopefully, readers won’t have to wait another four years for Meltzer’s next thriller.

Critic Oline Cogdill reviews P.J. Nelson’s second Old Juniper BookBookshop Mystery, All My Bones. You can order a copy through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://bit.ly/3Nmsmpp

A VALENTINE TO READING

‘All My Bones: An Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery’ by P.J. Nelson; Minotaur; 352 pages; $28

The joys and frustrations of living in a small town, the value of friends and the challenges of rebuilding one’s life meld into a humorous and light but also poignant “All My Bones,” the second in P.J. Nelson’s Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery series.

Nelson adds a wide swath of humor and seriousness to the highly entertaining “All My Bones,” which also serves as a valentine to reading and book selling.

Madeline Brimley needed a new role after her long, fairly successful career as an actress in New York and Atlanta had pretty much its course. Acting had been all she wanted to do since majoring in theater at Florida State University— but now that’s part of her past.

She has found satisfaction both professionally and personally since she’s been running the Old Juniper Bookshop, which her late Aunt Rose left her. Bookstore business is going well, with sales on the rise, no mean feat in her hometown of Enigma, Georgia, population 1,251. She’s also reconnected with friends and has found a love interest.

Madeline has been sprucing up the Victorian that houses the bookstore, but her attempts to fix up the front yard have a different outcome. Madeline and friend Gloria Coleman find a human skull while digging, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation rules that a murder has occurred.

The body is that of Beatrice Glassie, known for being a troublemaker who’s been missing for months. It’s hard to find anyone in Enigma who liked Beatrice, let alone didn’t want to kill her. But when Gloria is arrested, Madeline and other friends start their own investigations to prove her innocence.

“All My Bones” moves at a brisk clip, helmed by the strong, intelligent Madeline.

Enigma, a terrific name for a small town populated by close friends and lifelong feuds will remind readers of Cabot Cove, the villages of “Midsomer Murders” and other small towns where many meet untimely deaths.

You may not want to live there, but you would buy a few books at Old Juniper while visiting.

Thanks to critic Oline Cogdill for sharing her review of James L’Etoile’s Illusion of Truth. You can order a copy of it through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://bit.ly/4qtiJDE. Cogdill’s review was originally published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Book review: Politics, revenge & the personal lives of detectives mix in superb ‘Illusion of Truth’

‘Illusion of Truth’ by James L’Etoile; Oceanview; $19.99; 392 pages

James L’Etoile’s authentic procedurals mix police work with politics, revenge and the personal lives of detectives.

The superb “Illusion of Truth,” L’Etoile’s third novel about detective Emily Hunter, moves at a brisk pace as it delves into various aspects of life in Sacramento, California.

On the personal side, Emily and police officer Brian Conner are in love, but their relationship stalls when she refuses to move in with him, as the commitment scares her. Their professional lives take a turn when a bomb goes off shortly after Brian and his partner arrive at a church, responding to a 911 call that’s later found to be fake. Both officers survive, but Brian is left with a traumatic brain injury. Unknown to Emily, Brian listed her as his next of kin and health care proxy. That’s a bigger commitment than moving in together, as now she is in charge of his future.

As Emily deals with Brian and her often-agitated mother, who is in a memory care center, she also is pulled into the investigation as more police officers are victims of bombings, lured to the scene by fake 911 calls. An ambitious politician uses the bombing to advance his anti-police agenda, hampering the investigation.

L’Etoile realistically shows how complicated police investigations can be. “Illusion of Truth” is filled with believable cops who are not perfect but devoted to the job. Conversation flows naturally as they use banter to relieve stress, even as they stay laser-focused.

L’Etoile keeps the labyrinthine plot tightly focused, while the police officers’ personal lives add a balance to the story. Emily’s strong personality and her respect for her colleagues work well. This is a series that keeps growing.

Are you ready to end the year or kick off 2026 with book selections? Deb Lewis has book picks for January. You can order books through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Let’s start with Anatomy of An Alibi by Ashley Elston (follow up to #! NYT Bestseller First Lie Wins)

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi.

Eat Your Ice Cream by Ezekiel J. Emmanuel, M.D.

From one of America’s leading doctors, an authoritative, practical, and entertaining guide to living a full and healthy life.

Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

From award-winning author Lori Rader-Day, Wreck Your Heart is an engaging, “wisecracking and wonderful” crime novel with a big heart, about a country and midwestern singer out to catch her big break before family—or murder—wrecks everything.

A Gift before Dying (debut) by Malcolm Kempt 

“Hypnotically good—instantly immersive, intense, and ultimately inspiring.”—Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

In a hauntingly atmospheric novel set against the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, a disgraced police investigator discovers that his path to redemption is paved with ice—and blood.

Such Sheltered Lives by Alyssa Sheinmel

For fans of Nine Perfect Strangers and The Midnight Feast, a moody, atmospheric psychological suspense set in the secretive world of celebrity rehab centers, from New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel.

Skylark by Paula McLean 

The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.

The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman

With her signature blend of magical and heartfelt storytelling, USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Moorman returns with The Charmed Library, a love letter to libraries, favorite childhood stories, and readers who have fallen for fictional heroes.

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

“From the book’s chillingly creepy setting, which previously appeared in The Sun Down Motel (2020), to a nerve-jangling plot that effectively borrows from a mix of genres to the writing itself, which shimmers with a dazzlingly sharp sense of wit, everything about St. James’ latest is done to perfection.”-Booklist (starred review)

Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

Happy Holidays to those who celebrate, from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Arizona. I hope you have enough books to celebrate ólabókaflóð, the “Christmas Book Flood,” Iceland’s tradition of exchanging books on Christmas Eve and spending the night reading. If not, maybe you can start stocking up for next year when the bookstore reopens. You can always access the Webstore. Happy Holidays!

Thank you to critic Oline Cogdill who shared her recent review of Matthew Pearl’s novel, The Award. Cogdill’s review originally appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. If you’ld like a signed copy, check out The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://bit.ly/4prpq8F

‘The Award’ by Matthew Pearl; Harper; 256 pages; $30

Satire and mystery swirl with arrogance, the creative process and unchecked ambition in Matthew Pearl’s amusing and realistic “The Award.”

Pearl turns a delightfully poisoned pen toward writers and the writing life — subjects he knows quite well — for a story that seems a bit over the top but, at the same time, realistic. “The Award” has a slow-burn plot, but it never drags.

David Trent doubts himself and his talents every day, as his insecurities stymie his attempts to finish the novel he’s been working on for years. David is approaching 30, worried about being financially dependent on his loving girlfriend, Bonnie, who believes in his talent. She seems to be only one who has faith in him. He certainly doesn’t as he struggles against a colossal writer’s block. Perhaps that’s unfair — he can write, but the words don’t go anywhere. He’s increasingly depressed because the other writers who also work at the various coffee shops he frequents seem to be doing better.

He and Bonnie almost pass on a new apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The place is roomy enough and the rent reasonable. But it’s on the third floor, reachable only by a rickety, slippery and steep outside staircase. Then, he learns that award-winning novelist and New Yorker editor Silas Hale lives on the first floor.

Suddenly, those stairs are not an obstacle as David fantasies about Silas being his mentor, his champion, praising his work to influential agents and editors, helping him get published, inspiring him to work. David’s dream disappears when Silas proves to be a nasty, arrogant, self-centered and petty person. On their first meeting, Silas calls David “nothing,” forbidding David to even talk to the Hales. Against the odds, David finishes his book, then wins a prestigious award that Silas had won decades before. But being a published author doesn’t go smoothly, as David encounters several setbacks, then there is a fatality.

Pearl, who grew up in Davie and still lives in Broward County, delivers an evocative look at the oddities of life in Cambridge, beginning with the quirky apartments in the Victorian townhouse. The stairs are too treacherous to bring up furniture, so items must be hoisted through floor openings that start in Silas’ apartment. Heat is controlled only through Silas’ thermostat. The snow seems heavier, the temperatures more extreme — all of which is chalked up to the constant refrain: “It’s Cambridge.”

Pearl smoothly incorporates his characters into the plot. Silas thrives on being mean, charging guests to attend his annual party, refusing to allow heat in David’s apartment (even when it’s freezing), and belittling everyone he sees. Silas’ personality contrasts with David’s as Pearl slyly shows how ambition and a hint of fame can change a person.

Author Dana Stabenow recently reviewed The Ballad of Innes of Skara Skaill by Faulkner Hunt, and allowed us to share the review here. You can order the book through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4aqxanu

The Ballad of Innes of Skara Skaill
by Faulkner Hunt

Never have I felt colder or wetter reading a novel, as this one is set on an island somewhere north of Scotland and the latitude is almost a character itself in the amount of wind and rain it besieges its setting with. Occasionally there is a break in the clouds through which can be seen a comet, trailing its luminescent tail across the sky and bringing wonder and foreboding both to the watchers below.

Who are, first, an expatriate islander who hears bad news from home; two orphaned underage islander brothers on the lam from the do-gooder authorities who would separate them; an off islander itinerant jack-of-all-trades; the first live-in doctor the island has ever seen; the local lord slash mob boss; his mob; a corrupt constable; a duo of not-so-bumbling off island archeologists; and—wait for it—a pirate treasure celebrated in song and long thought to be only legend.

A prow slid silent ‘pon the nameless shore
A hoard unloaded down
In the island’s breast went the oaken chests
Hid deep beneath the ground.

But maybe not. As Mr. Begbie says, “What, has the whole world forgotten its yesterdays?”

No, they haven’t, Mr. Begbie, and some of them take the treasure seriously enough to kill for it. Hunt makes you care for his heroes and hiss at his villains and laugh and shiver as one or all of them are nearly always in harm’s way, to a greater or lesser degree. The archeologists wake up from a night in their car to find themselves surrounded by sheep.

More sheep came and pressed against Alastair’s window, gaping in at him. “And how exactly are we supposed to get through all that?”

“Ah, you can just push right through them, sir.” Jameson forced the door open.  “I grew up around the likes of these fells here. He waded out among the flock.

Alastair set a manilla work folder on the dash and cracked open his door. “Excuse me.” He slid his angular frame through the door. “Shoo, shoo there. If you don’t mind.”

They’re sheep. They don’t. The animal characters have their own important roles in the drama, though, from the sheep to the moor ponies to Eustace the escape artist mule to the big bull elk with the banshee call who knows all the secret ways of the island. A rollicking novel with more near misses with disaster for the good guys than Odysseus ever survived, where everyone gets what they deserve and I’m happy to report especially the bad guys.

Dana

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Thank you to critic Oline Cogdill for sharing her review of At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Although The Poisoned Pen is out of signed copies of the book, you can still order a copy through the Webstore for delivery after the holidays. https://bit.ly/3Y1cgnw. Cogdill’s review originally appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Welcome back, Clare and Russ

‘At Midnight Comes the Cry: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery’ by Julia Spencer-Fleming; Minotaur; 320 pages; $29

Community — and all the various ways in which people interact — has always been the heart of the multi-award winning series about Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne, as Julia Spencer-Fleming shows in her sumptuous and insightful novel, “At Midnight Comes the Cry.”

It’s been five years since Spencer-Fleming’s last novel about this married couple — “Hid from Our Eyes”(2020) — and the author doesn’t miss a beat in exploring those who call the small town of Millers Kill, New York, home.In “At Midnight Comes the Cry,” Clare and Russ are about to spend their first Christmas as parents with their 8-month-old son, Ethan. They and other residents of this upstate N.Y. town have gathered to watch the annual Greenwich Tractor Parade and attend an open house in a 200-year-old Victorian house. But the festive occasion is marred when a driver, unknown to the residents, unfurls a banner that reads: “Keep America’s Christmas white.” The residents have long known white supremacists live in surrounding areas, but this hits hard.

Danger lurks when a search begins for Kevin Flynn, a former police officer in Millers Kill who has been missing from his new position in the Syracuse Police Department. Kevin had been undercover, working to ferret out a militia group operating in the Adirondacks, but hasn’t checked in with his supervisor in two months.

The search for Kevin and the investigation into the outlying communities involve Russ, who recently left his position as chief of police. Russ now must adjust to civilian life and to the limitations of being without the badge. As a civilian, Clare has a different approach with her skills. A former Blackhawk pilot, Clare is now an Episcopalian priest and in the National Guard.

Spencer-Fleming pulls together a strong, believable plot that moves briskly, despite its several subplots. The author also delivers individual looks at her large cast of characters, keeping each distinctive. Her mix of religion and adventure, professional and domestic life enhance “At Midnight Comes the Cry.”

A return to Clare and Russ and the denizens of Millers Kill is most welcome. Longtime readers will savor “At Midnight Comes the Cry,” and be eager for future outings.

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You might also enjoy the YouTube video of Julia Spencer-Fleming at The Poisoned Pen with author Rhys Bowen.

Critic Oline Cogdill recently reviewed Ace Atkins’ novel Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Atkins recently appeared at The Poisoned Pne Bookstore, interviewed by Patrick Millikin. You can order a copy of the book through the Webstore at https://bit.ly/4s0kGJg.

Thank you to Oline for sharing her review. It originally appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ by Ace Atkins; Morrow; 368 pages; $30

Ace Atkins melds the spy thriller with a suburban story and a family drama in his highly entertaining “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

The novel marks a departure for Atkins, best known for his various series, including his Edgar-nominated books about Mississippi Sheriff Quinn Colson, his continuing of the late Robert B. Parker’s Spenser franchise, and his fictionalized accounts of real criminals. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is strictly a stand-alone, expanding his talent range.

As the title states, “everybody wants to rule the world” — and everyone wants to be a hero, as Atkins shows. In this case, the would-be hero is 14-year-old Peter Bennett, a voracious reader with an overactive imagination and a desire to fit in. Peter becomes convinced that his mother’s new boyfriend is a Russian spy. It’s a bit of a far-fetched idea, but in 1985 when rumors of espionage were common, it seems plausible. Peter and his mother, Connie, have moved around the country a lot for her work as a scientist, landing this time in Atlanta. Peter likes his new school and has made friends. He knows his mother dates a lot in each city, but he has misgivings about her latest. Gary Powers has an odd accent, is not in the phone book and drives a flashy car where he keeps a gun. Peter worries that Gary really is after the work his mother does for a government contractor.

Atkins digs deep into the mind of a teenager. Peter so wants to be the hero who will save his mother’s life and uncover a Russian operation. But who will believe a high school freshman? Peter tracks down his favorite writer, Dennis “Hotch” Hotchner, who once wrote about spies in suburbia but whose career is on the downslide. Finding a real spy is the jolt Hotch needs.

Atkins introduces so many characters that the first chapters of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” seem a bit disjointed. But he soon pulls the various characters together into a cohesive story that grows in suspense and intensity. His mom’s co-worker is murdered. The FBI becomes involved. And suddenly Atlanta seems overrun with Russians. These various plot points work into a fine narrative. Atkins buoys his story with numerous references to 1980s pop culture and an insider’s look at Atlanta during that era.

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” shows Atkins at the top of his game.

You can also watch Patrick Millikin’s conversation with Ace Atkins at The Poisoned Pen.