Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, reminisced about the Detection Club when she hosted Martin Edwards. Edwards is the current President. He is also the author of the fourth Rachel Savernake Golden Age Mystery, The House on Graveyard Lane. You can preorder a copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4fMk582.

Here’s the summary of The House on Graveyard Lane.

“If you haven’t yet discovered Martin Edwards’ books, you are in for a treat…I am a huge fan!” — Louise Penny

“I want you to solve my murder,” said the woman in white.

Rachel Savernake gave a sardonic smile. “Quite a challenge.”

The woman in white—surreal artist Damaris Gethin—has invited a select group to the opening of her exhibit “Artist in Crime,” held in the eerie subterranean Hades Gallery. As costumed models reenact famously violent deaths, the artist herself portrays Marie Antoinette on the day of her execution, complete with a guillotine on the stage. It’s not a prop; within ten minutes of Rachel’s promise to solve Damaris’s future murder, the artist slips her neck into the collar of the device and the very real blade sends her head rolling at the feet of her horrified audience.

As everyone reels from the shock, Rachel quickly learns that Damaris herself accomplished the deed with the push of a button—a suicide. So then why did she ask Rachel to solve her “murder?”

Keen for the hunt, Rachel begins sniffing around the other invited guests, including a former lover with shady financial dealings, his widowed sister-in-law, and her has-been songwriter friend. Meanwhile, crime reporter Jacob Flint—also in attendance, in hopes of meeting celebrated French beauty Kiki de Villiers, allows his fascination with her to endanger his own life when a ruthless gangster returns to London, looking to take back what’s his.

Equal parts thriller and whodunit, THE HOUSE ON GRAVEYARD LANE leads Rachel and Jacob into a viper’s pit of suspects, each sneakier and more venomous than the last.

Martin Edwards has been described by Richard Osman as ‘a true master of British crime writing.’ His novels include the eight Lake District Mysteries and four books featuring Rachel Savernake, including the Dagger-nominated The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge. He is also the author of two multi-award-winning histories of crime fiction, The Life of Crime and The Golden Age of Murder. He has received three Daggers, including the CWA Diamond Dagger (the highest honour in UK crime writing) and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America. He has received four lifetime achievement awards: for his fiction, short fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics and since 2015 has been President of the Detection Club. 

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Enjoy the discussion with Martin Edwards.

It was release date for William Kent Krueger’s Spirit Crossing, the twentieth book in the Cork O’Connor series. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Krueger to discuss the latest in the series. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3YMvGxY.

Here’s the description of Spirit Crossing.

A disappearance and a dead body put Cork O’Connor’s family in the crosshairs of a killer in the twentieth book in the New York Times bestselling series from William Kent Krueger­, “a master storyteller at the top of his game” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

The disappearance of a local politician’s teenaged daughter is major news in Minnesota. As a huge manhunt is launched to find her, Cork O’Connor’s grandson stumbles across the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman—but nobody seems that interested. Nobody, that is, except Cork and the newly formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police. As Cork and the tribal officers dig into the circumstances of this mysterious and grim discovery, they uncover a connection to the missing teenager. And soon, it’s clear that Cork’s grandson is in danger of being the killer’s next victim.

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William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.

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Enjoy the conversation as Krueger talks about changes in his characters over the years.

Hart Hanson was the special guest host when Kathy Reichs appeared for The Poisoned Pen. Hanson is the creator of the television show, “Bones”, so he was the perfect host for the event. Reichs’ latest book is Fire and Bones. There are signed copies of it available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4dPCI9c.

Here’s the description of Fire and Bones.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself at the center of a Washington, DC, arson investigation that spawns deepening levels of mystery and, ultimately, violence.

Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history.

The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the thirties and forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions.

As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious: somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.

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Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Evil Bones is Reichs’s twenty-fourth novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Reichs was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama, Bones, which was based on her work and her novels. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Reichs divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. Visit her at KathyReichs.com or follow her on X @KathyReichs, Instagram @KathyReichs, or Facebook @KathyReichsBooks. 

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Enjoy the conversation with Kathy Reichs.

Patrick Millikin recently welcomed Gabino Iglesias to The Poisoned Pen. Iglesias’ latest book is House of Bone and Rain. There are signed copies of this book, classified as horror and thriller, available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4fMA1qY.

Here’s the description of House of Bone and Rain.

In this “stunningly visceral” (New York Times Book Review) novel, a group of young men seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered in a Puerto Rican slum; STAND BY ME with a haunted, obsidian-dark heart. 

For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo’s mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her Bimbo swears. And they all agree.

Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits which impose their own order.

Blurring the boundaries between myth, mysticism, and the grim realities of our world, House of Bone and Rain is a harrowing coming of age story; a doomed tale of devotion, the afterlife of violence, and what rolls in on the tide. 

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Gabino Iglesias is the author of the Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker award-winning novel, The Devil Takes You Home, as well as author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning novels Zero Saints and Coyote Songs. He is a writer, journalist, professor, and literary critic living in Austin, Texas. He is the horror columnist for the New York Times Book Review. 

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Enjoy the conversation with Gabino Iglesias.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed one of the local authors, bestselling author T.J. Newman back to the bookstore. Newman’s new book is Worst Case Scenario. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4cmPKKx.

Here’s the description of Worst Case Scenario.

“Worst Case Scenario is the best thriller I’ve read so far this year. It’s a chilling idea with great characters and near-perfect execution.” -James Patterson

When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications.

#1 internationally bestselling author T.J. Newman is back with Worst Case Scenario, following her explosive debut thriller Falling and its harrowing follow-up Drowning.
 

“Worst Case Scenario is the best thriller I’ve read so far this year.  A jetliner crashes in the worst possible location – and I mean the worst – the site of a nuclear plant.  It’s a chilling idea with great characters and near-perfect execution.  T. J. Newman is the kind of gifted storyteller that comes along every 5 to 10 years. Don’t miss Worst Case Scenario.” -James Patterson   

The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now.
 
In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends— are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large.

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T.J. Newman is a former bookseller and flight attendant whose first novel, Falling, became a publishing sensation and debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list. The book was named a best book of the year by USA Today, Esquire, and Amazon, among many others, and has been published in more than thirty countries. The book will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. T.J. lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Her second novel, Drowning, was released in May 2023 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. 

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Enjoy the conversation with T.J. Newman.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child to discuss their latest Agent Pendergast series. Angel of Vengeance is also in the Dr. Leng internal series. It’s quite possible the bookstore sold the last signed copies of Angel of Vengeance during the event on release date yesterday, so you’ll want to check. Here’s the link to the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4fM02qc

Here’s the summary of Angel of Vengeance.

Preston & Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they take a final stand against New York’s deadliest serial killer: Pendergast’s own ancestor…and Constance’s greatest enemy.

A desperate bargain is broken…

Constance Greene confronts Manhattan’s most dangerous serial killer, Enoch Leng, bartering for her sister’s life – but she is betrayed and turned away empty-handed, incandescent with rage.

A clever trap is set…

Unknown to Leng, Pendergast’s brother, Diogenes, appears unexpectedly, offering to help—for mysterious reasons of his own. Disguised as a cleric, Diogenes establishes himself in New York’s notorious Five Points slum, manipulating events like a chess master, watching Leng’s every move…and awaiting his own chance to strike.

A vengeful angel will not be deterred…

Meanwhile, as Pendergast focuses on saving the unstable Constance in her fanatical quest for vengeance, she strikes out on her own: to rescue her beloved siblings from a tragic fate and take savage retribution on Leng. But Leng is one step ahead and has a surprise for them all…

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The thrillers of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child “stand head and shoulders above their rivals” (Publishers Weekly). Preston and Child’s Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities were chosen by readers in a National Public Radio poll as being among the one hundred greatest thrillers ever written, and Relic was made into a number?one box office hit movie. They are coauthors of the famed Pendergast series, and their recent novels include The Cabinet of Dr. Leng, Diablo Mesa, Bloodless, The Scorpion’s Tail, and Crooked River. In addition to his novels, Preston is the author of the award-winning nonfiction book The Lost City of the Monkey God. Child is a Florida resident and former book editor who has published eight novels of his own, including such bestsellers as Chrysalis and Deep Storm.

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Enjoy the conversation with Preston and Child.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Jessa Maxwell for a virtual author event. Maxwell, author of The Golden Spoon, has a new book, I Need You to Read This. You can order a signed copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3X2kRXo.

Here’s the description of I Need You to Read This.

The author of the “clever, atmospheric, and creepy” (Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon returns with a sly and addictive new mystery about an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor’s murder.

Her most important letter might be her last…

Years ago Alex Marks escaped to New York City for a fresh start. Now, aside from trips to her regular diner for coffee, she keeps to herself, gets her perfectly normal copywriting job done, and doesn’t date. Her carefully cultivated world is upended when her childhood hero, Francis Keen, is brutally murdered. Francis was the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance, and her words helped Alex through some of her darkest times.

When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. Against all odds, Alex is given the position and quickly proves herself skilled at solving other people’s problems. But soon, she begins to receive strange, potentially threatening letters at the office. Francis’s murderer was never identified, turning everyone around her into a threat. Including her boss, editor-in-chief Howard Dimitri, who has a habit of staying late at the office and drinking too much.

As Alex is drawn into the details surrounding her predecessor’s murder, her own dark secrets begin to rise to the surface and Alex suddenly finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly game of cat and mouse that takes her all the way from the power centers of Manhattan to Francis Keen’s summer house, where her body was found and where the killer may just be waiting for her.

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Jessa Maxwell is the author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This. She is also the author and illustrator of five picture books for children. Her comics and cartoons have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times and her writing has been published in Slate, Marie Claire, and many others. She now lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island with her husband, two cats and three-legged dog. 

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Enjoy the conversation with Jessa Maxwell.

Barbara Peters welcomed a Poisoned Pen Press author back to the bookstore. Peters was Johnson’s original editor. The Hungry Bones is Johnson’s fifth book in the series set in New Zealand. You can order signed copies through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3LYRRZY.

Here’s the description of The Hungry Bones.

“Unexpected plot twists will keep readers turning pages until they reach the exciting ending.” — Booklist

Alexa Glock is at a crossroads, personally and professionally.

Now that DI Bruce Horne, who said he loved her, won’t deny he cheated on his ex-wife, how can Alexa trust he won’t cheat on her? She and her abandonment issues need some space, so she throws her hat in the ring for a position far from New Zealand: Abertay University in Scotland. Her professional crush, Dr. Ben Odden, is interested in her expertise in teeth. If he makes an offer, will Alexa bite?

Meanwhile, a human skeleton has been exhumed in a quaint former gold rush town in New Zealand. A benefactor believes that the bones are that of a Chinese gold miner, and she wants to repatriate the “hungry ghost” of her ancestor to China. Alexa is called in to examine the teeth and the secrets they contain. She didn’t expect to discover a hole in the skull. When another skeleton is unearthed nearby and also shows evidence of a violent death, Alexa heads to the police station to open a cold case. Then, the town’s beloved school principal goes missing. Alexa is quickly recruited to assist with the search, and as she digs into both cases, the secrets she uncovers make her dangerously unpopular with those who want to keep the past buried—and perhaps Alexa along with it.

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Sara E. Johnson lives in Durham, North Carolina. She worked as a middle school reading specialist and local newspaper contributor before her husband lured her to New Zealand for a year. Her first novel, Molten Mud Murder, is the result, followed by The Bones Remember and The Bone Track.

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Enjoy the conversation with Sara Johnson.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Jonathan Kellerman and his son, Jesse, for a virtual event. Jonathan signed copies of the new book, The Lost Coast, but Jesse has a funny story as to why he hasn’t signed it. You can order copies of the latest Clay Edison book through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4ckaz9e.

Here’s the description of The Lost Coast.

The riveting new Clay Edison thriller from the bestselling, acclaimed father-son duo who write “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King)

Cut loose from his former life at the coroner’s office, Clay Edison has set up shop as a private investigator. It’s steady, safe work. Until it isn’t.

The trouble begins when a young man, tasked with managing his grandmother’s estate, hires Clay to examine some minor financial discrepancies. What starts off as a case of simple fraud rapidly explodes into a web of deception, an elaborate con game stretching back decades and involving countless victims.

All the evidence points to a tiny town on California’s rugged, remote Lost Coast. Good luck getting there, though. And Clay’s reward for surviving the journey is a trigger-happy welcoming committee, ready to guard their secrets with lethal force.

Navigating this landscape of savage waves and savage lies brings Clay into collision with a host of other players: a grieving mother, an enigmatic teenager, a reclusive military veteran, a foul-mouthed PI pursuing her own agenda. And the price of truth will turn out to be higher—and deadlier—than Clay could have imagined.

From the minds of Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman comes a heart-stopping tale of deception and redemption—bursting with action, suspense, and unforgettable characters.

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Jonathan Kellerman has lived in two worlds: clinical psychologist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty crime novels. His unique perspective on human behavior has led to the creation of the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored The Burning, Half Moon Bay, A Measure of Darkness, Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California.

Jesse Kellerman won the Princess Grace Award for best young American playwright and is the author of Sunstroke, Trouble (nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Novel), The Genius (winner of the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle), The Executor, and Potboiler (nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel). He lives in California.

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Enjoy the conversation with Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman.