Although it was release day for Craig Johnson’s Tooth and Claw, he started out his program at The Poisoned Pen by asking the crowd to greet his wife, Judy, in Wyoming. I don’t know if he was rubbing it in that Wyoming is having snow as compared to the weather in Arizona. Johnson talks about the novella, set in Alaska, and said he started it about five years ago. You’ll enjoy his discussion below. You can order a signed copy of Tooth and Claw through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4hWku9a.

Here’s the description of Tooth and Claw.

In the tradition of Wait for Signs and The Highwayman, Craig Johnson is back with a short novel set in the Alaska tundra where a young Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear face off with powerful enemies who will do anything to get what they want.

Tooth and Claw follows Walt and Henry up to Alaska as they look for work after they both returned from serving in Vietnam. While working for an oil company in the bitter cold of winter, they soon encounter a ferocious polar bear who seems hell-bent on their destruction. But it’s not too long until they realize the danger does not lurk outside in the frozen Alaskan tundra, but with their co-workers who are after priceless treasure and will stop at nothing to get it.

Fans of Longmire will thrill to this pulse-pounding and bone-chilling novel of extreme adventure that adds another indelible chapter to the great story of Walt Longmire.

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Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction and the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association’s Reading the West Book Award for fiction. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26.

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Enjoy the video as Craig Johnson talks about Tooth and Claw, Alistair MacLean, and post-Vietnam adventures for Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed a Phoenix author who was a trial lawyer and judge to the bookstore. Joel Erik Thompson talked about his background, and his first date which was an author’s program at the bookstore. Signed copies of Thompson’s legal thriller, The Bentley Barrister, is available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4hPvF3k.

Here’s the description of The Bentley Barrister.

Collum Arbuthnot Taylor was a hell of a quarterback even as a kid, but he was always simply CAT to the public, since sportswriters avoid long names, and initials are easier to remember and spell.

He grew up in an orphanage and always pushed himself to be the best, especially playing football. A full-scholarship quarterback at Notre Dame, he was a multiyear All-American. After graduating, he earned both a Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best college football player and a Rhodes scholarship because he’d worked just as hard in his classes as in the stadiums.

He also became the NFL’s first draft pick. But rather than signing to play, he instead went to study law at Oxford on his Rhodes scholarship for a year before signing a pro contract for next season. That signing bonus also bought his first ever car. A Bentley, of course, and directly from the factory in Crewe where they made them, naturally! “Nothing but the best for the best,” according to the media!

As a pro quarterback, he became a Super Bowl MVP a couple of times. Off seasons, he finished law school and was even admitted to practice law. His pro football career ended suddenly and tragically in a deadly car crash that killed his beloved baby girl and his unborn son. It also devastatingly injured his beloved wife who was called Kitten by everyone but CAT. She remains in a traumatic injury care facility known as Sanctuary of the Morning Sun. CAT visits her there every Sunday without fail. But it is unlikely she will ever be able to leave the facility and equally unlikely that CAT would fail to visit her every Sunday. CAT is now focused on courtroom lawyering and caring for his massively injured and now long institutionalized wife, Kitten.

Collum, as we catch up to him, is in the midst of an ugly high-profile murder trial, with ugly racial overtones, and before a belligerent judge he’s fought with since childhood. We’re privy to CAT’s planning and strategy with his staff and in jail visits with his defendant/client. During a critical stage of this trial, CAT answers a late-night phone call. It’s from his best friend and former teammate Racer Roosevelt who has just been arrested a thousand miles away and charged with raping the local TV news anchor.

Can CAT be in two places at once? Never know what you can accomplish until you give it your best shot!

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Enjoy the conversation with Joel Erik Thompson.

Although Phillip Margolin appeared at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore to discuss his new book, An Insignificant Case, he and a friend, Dan Bronson, also talked about film adaptations. You can order a signed copy of An Insignificant Case through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3Z8opIn.

Here’s the summary of An Insignificant Case. The story is inspired by one of Margolin’s early cases.

A new standalone legal thriller from the international bestselling author of GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.

Charlie Webb is a third rate lawyer who graduated from a third rate law-school and, because he couldn’t get hired by any of the major law firms, has opened his own law firm, where he gets by handling cases for dubious associates from his youth and some court appointed cases. Described as “a leaky boat floating down the stream of life,” Charlie has led unremarkable life, personally and professionally. Until he’s appointed to be the attorney for a decidedly crackpot artist who calls himself Guido Sabatini (born Lawrence Weiss). Sabatini has been arrested – again – for breaking into a restaurant and stealing back a painting he sold them because he was insulted by where it was displayed. But as Lawrence Weiss, he’s also an accomplished card shark and burglar and while he was there, he stole a thumb drive from the owner’s safe.

Not knowing what else Sabatani has stolen, Webb negotiates the return of the painting and “other items’ for the owner dropping charges against Sabatini. But the contents of the flash drive threatens very powerful figures who are determined to retrieve it, the restaurant owner (Gretchen Hall) and her driver (Yuri Makarov) are being investigated for the sex trafficking of minors, and there are others who have a violent grudge against Sabatini. When a minor theft case becomes a double homicide, and even more, Charlie Webb, an insignificant lawyer assigned to an insignificant case, is faced with the most important, and deadliest, case of his life. Going back to his long-time bestselling roots, Phillip Margolin returns with a brilliant standalone legal thriller in the tradition of John Grisham.

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PHILLIP MARGOLIN has written over twenty-five novels, most of them New York Times bestsellers, including Gone But Not Forgotten, Lost Lake, and Violent Crimes. In addition to being a novelist, he was a long time criminal defense attorney with decades of trial experience, including a large number of capital cases. Margolin lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Enjoy the conversation with Phillip Margolin.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Graham Brown, author of the latest NUMA Files book, Clive Cussler Desolation Code. Brown introduces readers to NUMA before talking about the series. You can order a signed copy of Clive Cussler Desolation Code through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3CzrfNK.

Here’s the description of Clive Cussler Desolation Code.

Kurt Austin and the NUMA crew face swarms of deadly bio-hacked sea locusts, a runaway AI system, and a sinister cult in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler.

When Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala investigate a mass stranding of aquatic life in the Indian Ocean, they accidentally uncover a much deeper mystery. A strange figure soon steals NUMA’s findings, forcing a high-speed chase—someone really didn’t want them examining those dead whales. But who, and why?

A cryptic text through the NUMA satellite network makes things still stranger: these odd phrases and numbers look like NUMA codes. But who could be tantalizing the crew with such specific knowledge of their tech? Are they being helped by an old friend, or lured into a trap by a traitor who knows a little too much about NUMA’s inner workings?

Kurt, Joe, and even Max, the agency’s supercomputer, will have to investigate like never before as they decrypt data, infiltrate a cult of cloned men, and prepare for a battle on two very different planes: one physical; one digital. The aquatic stranding was just the beginning of a sinister plan concocted by a mind more brilliant than any they’ve ever faced—the mind of a machine. A new, terrifying world order is being plotted. First marine ecosystems will be devastated, then the entire globe’s…Unless the NUMA crew can stop this code of desolation.

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Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA Files®, Oregon Files®, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Cussler passed away in February 2020.

Graham Brown is the author of Black Rain, Black Sun, Clive Cussler Condor’s Fury, and Clive Cussler’s Dark Vector, and the coauthor with Cussler of Devil’s Gate, The Storm, Zero Hour, Ghost Ship, The Pharaoh’s Secret, Nighthawk, The Rising Sea, Sea of Greed, Journey of the Pharaohs, and Fast Ice. He is a pilot and an attorney.

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Enjoy the conversation with Graham Brown.

Taped at the end of October, David Baldacci joined Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, to discuss his latest 6:20 Man novel, To Die For. With publication day November 12, there are signed copies in the Webstore, and they come with a custom foiled bookmark. https://bit.ly/48Mp59J

Here’s the description of To Die For.

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author, the 6:20 Man returns, this time sent to the Pacific Northwest to aid in a complicated FBI case—and he’s about to come face-to-face with his nemesis, the girl on the train.  

Travis Devine has become a pro at accomplishing any mission he’s given. But this time it’s not his skills that send him to Seattle to aid the FBI in escorting orphaned, twelve-year-old Betsy Odom to a meeting with her uncle, who’s under federal investigation. Instead, he’s hoping to lay low and keep off the radar of an enemy–the girl on the train.

But as Devine gets to know Betsy, questions begin to arise around the death of her parents. Devine digs for answers, and what he finds points to a conspiracy bigger than he could’ve ever imagined.  

It might finally be time for Devine and the girl on the train to come face-to-face. Devine is going to find out the difference between his friends and his enemies–and in some cases, they might well be both.

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DAVID BALDACCI is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.

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Enjoy the conversation with David Baldacci.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed J.T. Ellison back to the bookstore. Ellison’s latest book, A Very Bad Thing, is about women, empowered women. You can order a signed copy of A Very Bad Thing through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3YFaYyu.

Here’s the description of Ellison’s A Very Bad Thing.

From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows.

A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder.

With a number of hit titles and a highly anticipated movie tie-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood.

Columbia’s death shocks the world and leaves Darian, her daughter and publicist, reeling. The police have nothing to go on—at first. But then details emerge, pointing to the author’s illicit past. Turns out many people had motive to kill Columbia. And with a hungry reporter and frustrated cop on the trail, her secrets won’t stay buried long. But how many lives will they shatter as the truth comes out?

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J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY(R) award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries. J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels and the Emmy Award–winning cohost of the literary TV show A Word on Words. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.

With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.

J.T. lives with her husband and twin kittens, one of whom is a ghost, in Nashville, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

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Enjoy the conversation between two empowered, strong women.

Zibby Owens is an author and publisher. She recently brought authors Betty Cayouette, Sarah Sawyer, Tara Schuster, Annabel Monaghan and Maggie Smith to The Poisoned Pen as part of her Zibby Retreat: Scottsdale. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, welcomed the authors to talk about their books with Owens, and then sign them. You can order their books through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Enjoy the conversation with Zibby Owens and the authors.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed authors David McCloskey and Taylor Moore for the last bookstore event for October. McCloskey’s new book is The Seventh Floor. Taylor Moore’s latest is Cold Trail, the fourth Garrett Kohl book. Signed copies of both books are available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Here’s the description of The Seventh Floor.

A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, operational chief Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat for the disaster and run out of the service. Months later, Sam appears at Procter’s doorstep with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole burrowed deep within the highest ranks of the CIA.
As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter’s closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt requires Procter to dredge up her checkered past in the service of the CIA, placing the pair in the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow’s mole in Langley at all costs. What happens when friendships forged by sweat and blood—from the Farm to Afghanistan and the executive “Seventh Floor” of CIA’s Langley headquarters—are put to the ultimate test? What can we truly know about the people we love the most?
Taking readers from Langley to Moscow to Paris and beyond, The Seventh Floor explores the nature of friendship in a faithless business, and what it means to love a place that does not love you back.

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David McCloskey is the author of the novels Damascus Station and Moscow X. He’s a former CIA analyst and a former consultant at McKinsey & Company. While at the CIA, he worked in field stations across the Middle East. He lives in Texas.

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Here’s the summary of Cold Trail.

In the fourth pulse-pounding thriller in the series, DEA Special Agent Garrett Kohl must find out what’s truly tainted in the energy industry and uncover a deep-rooted plot in order to protect his new business, beloved ranch, and family. Perfect for fans of C. J. Box and Jack Carr.

On leave from the DEA, Garrett Kohl is ready to settle down and build a stable foundation for his family. But that’s easier said than done. In order to give his girlfriend, Lacey, and adopted son, Asadi, the life they deserve, and get out from under crippling debt, some risks have to be taken. And shocking alliances have to be formed.

First, Garrett partners with an old nemesis to form his new energy venture: Savage Exploration. Then his estranged, aloof sister, Grace, reemerges, keen on brokering a contract to connect the Kohl Ranch energy play to a pipeline on the Texas coast. But the company’s earlier success is endangered when an explosion at a nearby natural gas plant injures several workers. Garrett begins to suspect foul play and embarks on a winding investigation, teaming up with his old war buddy, Kai Stoddard, and reaching out to his CIA contacts, uncovering a sinister conspiracy overseas.

From an ex-CIA intelligence officer and consultant for the Department of Defense, this exhilarating thriller follows a man’s turbulent journey to fight for his family and hold on to the land that he calls home, culminating in an explosive final showdown that he never could have expected.

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Taylor Moore is the author of Cold Trail, Ricochet, Firestorm, and Down Range, which was nominated for the Barry Award for Best First Novel, named a Strand Magazine Best Mystery of the year, and selected for the Texas Library Association’s Lariat Reading List. He is a sixth-generation Texan who grew up on a farm and ranch northwest of Houston and is a former CIA Intelligence Officer who worked in both analysis and operations and later consulted for the Department of Defense in Theater Security Cooperation, Force Protection, and Counternarcotics. He now lives in the Texas Panhandle with his wife and two children, where he is a full-time author, screenwriter, and speaker. 

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Enjoy the conversation with David McCloskey and Taylor Moore.