Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, is a #1 bestseller in the UK. It received starred reviews in professional journals here in the U.S. You may or may not be able to get a signed copy through the Web Store, but you will want to order a copy of this debut. The story features four amateur sleuths who are all over seventy. Osman says the book is very British, and the humor is British. Here’s the link to buy the book. https://bit.ly/32Vsd2x

Here’s The Thursday Murder Club.

“A little beacon of pleasure in the midst of the gloom…SUCH FUN!”
–Kate Atkinson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Sky

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?

*****

Mark Bilingham, author of Cry Baby, hosted Richard Osman for the recent virtual event at The Poisoned Pen. It’s a fun conversation about British humor, habits, and murder.

There’s a full slate of virtual events featuring favorite authors in the next two weeks at The Poisoned Pen. Even with the current schedule, it doesn’t hurt to check back frequently. Occasionally, times or days change or additional events are added. If one of your favorite authors is appearing, though, you will want to pre-order a copy of their book. The supply chain isn’t quite the same during the pandemic. You can find the books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the schedule through October 8.

Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the standalone novel, And Now She’s Gone, recently spent time talking about Los Angeles and her latest book with Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen. You can order signed copies of that book, and copies of Hall’s other ones through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3mYHlnO

Here’s the summary of And Now She’s Gone.

“Sharp, witty and perfectly paced, And Now She’s Gone is one hell of a read!” —Wendy Walker, bestselling author of The Night Before

Isabel Lincoln is gone.

But is she missing?

It’s up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray’s search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman’s secrets and the truth she’s hidden from her friends and family.

Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, Rachel Howzell Hall’s And Now She’s Gone explores the nature of secrets — and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.

*****

Enjoy the discussion at Rachel Howzell Hall’s virtual event.

Lee Child is the editor of The Nicotine Chronicles, a collection of sixteen stories contributed by authors such as Joyce Carol Oates and Cara Black. Robert Arellano and Bernice McFadden, who wrote pieces in the book, joined Child for a recent virtual event at The Poisoned Pen. Lee Child led the discussion. You can find copies of the book, both hardcover and paperback, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3i4d4R6

Here is the summary of The Nicotine Chronicles.

Lee Child recruits Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Cara Black, and others to reveal nicotine’s scintillating alter egos.

“Typically for Akashic–publisher of the terrific Noir series–the stories approach the subject matter from an impressive number of angles…Akashic has yet to produce a dull anthology, and this one is especially good.”
—Booklist

“Sixteen tributes to America’s guiltiest pleasure…Even confirmed anti-smokers will find something to savor.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The most successful entries delve bone-deep into addiction, as characters smoke to smother physical pain, loneliness, and their days…These writers capture the mental gymnastics behind the characters’ bad decisions, and the joy such bad decisions can bring.”
—Publishers Weekly

In recent years, nicotine has become as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imaginations on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection.

Featuring brand-new stories by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Eric Bogosian, Achy Obejas, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Tinti, Ariel Gore, Bernice L. McFadden, Cara Black, Christopher Sorrentino, David L. Ulin, Jerry Stahl, Lauren Sanders, Peter Kimani, and Robert Arellano.

From the introduction by Lee Child:

Food scientists have discovered a complex compound naturally present in, among other things, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. The compound offers us a number of benefits: it improves our fine motor skills; it increases our attention spans; it improves our cognitive abilities; it improves our long- and short-term memories; it lessens depression…In and of itself, it has no real downside. It’s called nicotine. We should all get some.

The problem is the delivery system…The most efficient way is to burn dried tobacco leaves and inhale the smoke. Ten seconds later, the compound is in your brain, doing good in all its various ways. Unfortunately, the rest of the smoke doesn’t do good. And therein lies a great mystery of human behavior. To get the good, we risk the bad. Or we prohibit ourselves the good, for fear of the bad. Which approach makes more sense?

*****

I think you’ll enjoy the conversation about the book, and about the authors’ actions during the pandemic.

The Poisoned Pen recently hosted Robert Dugoni for the virtual launch of his book, The Last Agent. Bookstore owner Barbara Peters introduces Dugoni and Edgar Award-winner Angie Kim who acted as host for the event. You can order signed copies of The Last Agent, and copies of Dugoni’s other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2JxAtto

Here’s the summary of The Last Agent.

An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

An American operative in Russia is on the run for his life in a thriller of heart-stopping betrayal and international intrigue by the New York Times bestselling author of The Eighth Sister.

Betrayed by his own country and tried for treason, former spy Charles Jenkins survived an undercover Russian operation gone wrong. Exonerated, bitter, and safe, the retired family man is through with duplicitous spy games. Then he learns of a woman isolated in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison.

If it’s Paulina Ponomayova, the agent who sacrificed her life to save his, Jenkins can’t leave her behind. But there’s no guarantee it’s her. Or proof Paulina is still alive. To find out, Jenkins must return to Russia. Next move: blackmail Viktor Federov, a former Russian officer with his own ax to grind, into helping him infiltrate Lefortovo. The enemy who once pursued Jenkins across three continents is now the only man Jenkins can trust.

Every step of the way—from Moscow to Scandinavia to the open ocean—they’re hunted by a brutal Russian agent on a killer quest of his own. Out of loyalty to Paulina—dead or alive—Jenkins is putting everyone’s life on the line for a new mission that could be his last.

*****

Enjoy Angie Kim’s excellent interview with Robert Dugoni.

Craig Johnson made a virtual appearance at The Poisoned Pen for the release of his sixteenth Walt Longmire novel, Next to Last Stand. If you watch the video of the event, you’ll also be able to see TV’s Walt Longmire, actor Robert Taylor, who was live from Australia. Before you get that far, though, you’ll watch to check out Johnson’s books in the Web Store. There might still be signed copies of Next to Last Stand available. https://bit.ly/2Qmogf5

Johnson said he needed to give readers something a little lighter after the last two Longmire books. Here’s Next to Last Stand.

The new novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.

One of the most viewed paintings in American history, Custer’s Last Fight, copied and distributed by Anheuser-Busch at a rate of over two million copies a year, was destroyed in a fire at the 7th Cavalry Headquarters in Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1946. Or was it? When Charley Lee Stillwater dies of an apparent heart attack at the Wyoming Home for Soldiers & Sailors, Walt Longmire is called in to try and make sense of a piece of a painting and a Florsheim shoebox containing a million dollars, sending the good sheriff on the trail of a dangerous art heist.

*****

Here’s your chance to listen to Craig Johnson, the storyteller.

For some reason, Richard Osman’s debut mystery, The Thursday Murder Club, received quite a bit of criticism in Britain. Perhaps it’s because he’s better known there than he is in the U.S. “Richard Osman has worked as an executive producer on numerous UK shows. Richard’s popularity and tremendous knowledge of trivia led to him presenting his own BBC quiz show and several others, as well as being the host of Pointless with 7 million views. He is also a regular on panel shows and writes a column for the Radio Times. He has more than 830k followers across social media.”

However, if people were too polite in Britain, Osman might suspect they were planning his murder. He wrote about that in a recent piece for crimereads.com. It’s called “All British People are Potential Murderers – That’s Why We Love Our Mysteries.” You can read it here. https://bit.ly/3mLB6np

You can find The Thursday Murder Club in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/32Vsd2x Frankly, I found it delightful, with four amateur sleuths who are in their seventies and older. Osman treats them with respect. They’re savvy, shrewd sleuths. Check out the summary.

“A little beacon of pleasure in the midst of the gloom…SUCH FUN!”
–Kate Atkinson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Sky

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently discussed Vince Flynn’s Total Power with its author, Kyle Mills, and special guest Brad Thor. Thor says his books have quite a bit in common with the Vince Flynn books. You can still order signed copies of the sixth Mitch Rapp novel, Total Power, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/32V11RP

Here’s the summary of Total Power.

“Mills’s suspenseful, strikingly original sixth Mitch Rapp novel…is as riveting as anything penned by Mitch’s creator, Vince Flynn (1966″“2013). Mills has really hit his stride with this franchise entry.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“One of the best thriller writers on the planet.” —The Real Book Spy

In the next thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series, it’s a race against the clock when ISIS takes out the entire US power grid and throws the country into chaos.

When Mitch Rapp captures ISIS’s top technology expert, he reveals that he was on his way to meet a man who claims to have the ability to bring down America’s power grid. Rapp is determined to eliminate this shadowy figure, but the CIA’s trap fails.

The Agency is still trying to determine what went wrong when ISIS operatives help this cyber terrorist do what he said he could—plunge the country into darkness. With no concept of how this unprecedented act was accomplished, the task of getting the power back on could take months. Perhaps even years.

Rapp and his team embark on a desperate search for the only people who know how to repair the damage—the ones responsible. But his operating environment is like nothing he’s experienced before. Computers and communication networks are down, fuel can no longer be pumped from gas stations, water and sanitation systems are on the brink of collapse, and the supply of food is running out.

Can Rapp get the lights back on before America descends irretrievably into chaos?

This compulsive thriller proves once again that the Mitch Rapp series is “the best of the best when it comes to the world of special ops” (Booklist, starred review).

*****

You can watch the conversation here.

Author Megan Miranda recently acted as host for Wendy Walker, whose new book, Don’t Look for Me, was just released. You can order a signed copy of Walker’s book, as well as copies of her other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3hUeIo6

Here’s the summary of Don’t Look for Me.

* An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mystery & Thriller) *
“A twisty, hair-raising tale.”““ Newsweek
“A fast-paced psychological drama.” ““ GMA.com
“Compulsively readable.” ““ PopSugar
“Reinforces Walker’s place at the top of the genre.” ““ Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Addictive.” ““ A.J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
“Gripping.” ““ Adrian McGinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain

They said she walked away. But what really happened to Molly Clarke?
From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a compelling and emotionally powerful story of a daughter’s desperate search to find her mother before it’s too late.

They called it a “walk away.” The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to start over. But what really happened to Molly Clarke?

The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man offering her a ride to safety. But when the doors lock shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.

A new lead brings Molly’s daughter, Nicole, back to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to renew the desperate search. The locals are sympathetic and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves and Nicole comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

*****

Or, here’s another way of looking at the book. Adam Walker’s GifNotes at Criminal Element, provides the basic elements of the book with the help of Gifs. https://bit.ly/33IHSBE

*****

You can listen to the conversation between Wendy Walker and Megan Miranda via The Poisoned Pen’s podcast. https://youtu.be/bQ9jKkb73A0