What author do you think of when you think of Italy? If you said, Donna Leon, you selected the right answer. Leon recently answered questions about Italy, the culture and the environment for CrimeReads. You can find the article, “Donna Leon on Italian Culture” here, https://bit.ly/3czRj9e.

And, you can find Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries in the Web Store, including the 29th in the series, Trace Elements. https://bit.ly/3cxq4w8 Check out the description below.

From theNew York Times bestselling author ofUnto Us a Son is Given, comes one of her most dark and thrilling mysteries yet.

A woman’s cryptic dying words in a Venetian hospice lead Guido Brunetti to uncover a threat to the entire region in Donna Leon’s haunting twenty-ninth Brunetti novel.

When Dottoressa Donato calls the Questura to report that a dying patient at the hospice Fatebenefratelli wants to speak to the police, Commissario Guido Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, waste no time in responding.

“They killed him. It was bad money. I told him no,” Benedetta Toso gasps the words about her recently-deceased husband, Vittorio Fadalto. Even though he is not sure she can hear him Brunetti softly promises he and Griffoni will look into what initially appears to be a private family tragedy. They discover that Fadalto worked in the field collecting samples of contamination for a company that measures the cleanliness of Venice’s water supply and that he had died in a mysterious motorcycle accident. Distracted briefly by Vice Questore Patta’s obsession with youth crime in Venice, Brunetti is bolstered once more by the remarkable research skills of Patta’s secretary, Signora Elettra Zorzi. Piecing together the tangled threads, in time Brunetti comes to realize the perilous meaning in the woman’s accusation and the threat it reveals to the health of the entire region. But justice in this case proves to be ambiguous, as Brunetti is reminded it can be when, seeking solace, hereads Aeschylus’s classic playThe Eumenides.

As she has done so often through her memorable characters and storytelling skill, Donna Leon once again engages our sensibilities as to the differences between guilt and responsibility.

I hope you’re enjoying the notes the authors are sending to us while we’re all at home. Each one puts their own spin on their introduction to their “Distractions”. It’s fascinating to see the books the authors are picking. Hank Phillippi Ryan is giving us a wide variety of suggestions. Those books can be found in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Today, Hank Phillippi Ryan is The Poisoned Pen’s featured author. Hank is on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, winning 36 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. Nationally bestselling author of 11 thrillers, Ryan’s also an award-winner in her second profession—with five Agathas, three Anthonys, the Daphne, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Critics call her “a master of suspense.” Her highly-acclaimed TRUST ME is an Agatha nominee and was chosen for numerous prestigious Best of 2018 lists. Hank’s current book is THE MURDER LIST: an Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee. Watch for THE FIRST TO LIE, coming in August.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books are available through the Web Store. You can even pre-order her forthcoming book, The First to Lie. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e

Thank you, Hank.

*****

So how are you reading these days? Are you totally focused, letting go of reality by putting yourself inside a book? Are you wrapping yourself in old favorite, because you are certain of how they end, unlike the world?  Or are you trying something new, hoping that novelty will distract you?

My theory is that we want a little of each:  something we rely on, but also something that’s new. So in the spirit of “if you liked this, you’ll like that”  readalikes, here’s a way to have both. 

Do you love the intense spy versus spy of The Charm School (Nelson DeMille)  and Day of the Jackal (Frederick Forsyth)?  If you have not read them, lucky you. Start with those.  But if they’re already your faves, you’ll revel in a new secret mission book. Cara Black’s fabulous Three Hours in Paris (a woman sharpshooter is sent to kill Hitler) is just what you need. 

If a twisted surprising  domestic suspense is your go-to, start with SJ Watson”˜s seminal Before I Go To Sleep, and Clare Mackintosh’s simmering I Let You Go. ( There are so many wonderful ones: The Last Mrs. Parrish (Liv Constantine), and The Couple Next Door (Shari Lapena)   and The Wife Between Us (Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks)).  Then move on to brand new super-twisty books like Jennifer Hillier”˜s Little Secrets, and Hannah Mary MacKinnon”˜s Sister Dear. They will keep you guessing every second. 

Are you going back to the classics? I’ve thought about rereading all the Agatha Christies. Good idea, right? So start with the iconic Murder on the Orient express, which still surprises and amazes me every time. And then try Andrew Wilson’s Agatha Christie-as-main-character novels—try A Talent for Murder, which is clever and terrific.

Remember Herman Wouk’s  riveting Winds of War? A big saga is always reassuring, with characters you can love and hate, and immensely high stakes. Maybe try that classic again.  And to prove that other generations lived through horrific times, do not miss Charles Todd’s chilling and perceptive  inspector Rutledge series, beginning with A Test of Wills. 

And I cannot resist two non-fiction books for all of us who think about words every day. Andy Martin’s Reacher Said Nothing, a super close-up examination of how Lee Child wrote Make Me. It’s a revelation. And do not miss the droll and fabulous Dreyer’s English, by the Benjamin Dreyer , the editor extraordinaire. He gives us grammar lessons–with sophistication and humor.

It’s always safe inside a book, right? We can solve someone else’s problems, and live in another time. We can stop if the adventure is too stressful—it’s just a story! And even read the ending first.  

Cannot wait to share reading choices with you in person. 

*****

If you didn’t find anything to read in Hank Phillippi Ryan’s list, you’re not trying hard enough. Or, maybe you’re waiting for Ryan’s own books. You can find them in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e

The Murder List is Ryan’s current book.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

“An exhilarating thrill ride that keeps you turning pages.. Ryan deftly delivers a denouement as shocking as it is satisfying.”–Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

*****

Maybe you want to pre-order Ryan’s August release, The First to Lie.

Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling cat and mouse novel of suspense that will have you guessing, and second-guessing, and then gasping with surprise.

We all have our reasons for being who we are—but what if being someone else could get you what you want?

After a devastating betrayal, a young woman sets off on an obsessive path to justice, no matter what dark family secrets are revealed. What she doesn’t know—she isn’t the only one plotting her revenge.

An affluent daughter of privilege. A glamorous manipulative wannabe. A determined reporter, in too deep. A grieving widow who must choose her new reality. Who will be the first to lie? And when the stakes are life and death, do a few lies really matter?

While we’re all in isolation, the Virtual Events at The Poisoned Pen have proven to be popular. If you can’t make it when the conversation with an author is live, you can catch it at your convenience. The schedule is updated continually, so keep checking back on the Web Site. https://poisonedpen.com/ Then, after you’ve watched your favorite author, or an author new to you, check for their books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

As I said, the schedule is updated often. Here are The Poisoned Pen’s virtual events, as of now.

Thomas Kies, author of the Geneva Chase mysteries, is a little luckier than many of us. He admits it in his “Distractions” post when he talks about his location for quarantine or “social distancing”. I think you’ll enjoy his post. His latest book, Graveyard Bay, and the others in the series, can be found in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2VH6SoP

Author of the Geneva Chase Mystery Series, Thomas Kies lives and writes on a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina with his wife, Cindy, and Lilly, their shih-tzu. He has had a long career working for newspapers and magazines, primarily in New England and New York, and is currently working on his next novel. (Or, with what’s going on, and so many authors saying they’re having a hard time writing, let’s hope he’s working on his next novel.)

Thank you, Tom. Readers can find Thomas Kies’ “Distraction” books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Distractions

If I have to live in exile during these trying times, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do so on a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina.  The beach is only a short walk from our home, my office overlooks our front lawn, and the weather this time of year is perfect.

Nonetheless, I find the news Covid-19 to be overwhelming and I’m having a difficult time concentration on my own writing.   So reading some books I’ve picked up over the last year while at various mystery conferences is proving to be a pleasant distraction.

First up was HEAD WOUNDS by Dennis Palumbo whom I met for the first time at Thrillerfest last summer. 

The book begins with “Miles Davis saved my life.”  You have to love that for a first line.  Like Mr. Palumbo, his protagonist Daniel Rinaldi is a psychologist but Rinaldi, unlike Mr. Palumbo, has an uneasy relationship with the police force.  In HEAD WOUNDS, Rinaldi is bieing hunted by a madman who is systematically targeting all the people who are close him.  The book is a nail-biter from beginning to end. 

While in Dallas for Bouchercon, I picked up BELOW THE FOLD by R.G. Belsky. 

Like my own protagonist, Geneva Chase, Mr. Belsky has created Clare Carlson, a female journalist.  Except Clare has left the shrinking newspaper business and is now producing news for television.  In BELOW THE FOLD, a homeless woman is found murdered. Traditionally barely a blip in a news cycle, Clare digs more deeply and finds a connection to a group of wealthy people, some of whom are murdered and some become suspects.  I kept wondering how in hell Mr. Belsky was going to tie that up.  I’m happy to say that he did a great job.

I’ve had the pleasure of running into Stephen Mack Jones a couple of time now and I can vouch that he’s a great guy and a fantastic writer. .  The latest was at the Virginia Festival of the Book where I scored a copy of LIVES LAID AWAY. 

A non-stop mystery thriller that starts off with a dead girl dressed like Marie Antoinette found thrown off the Ambassador Bridge.  Former cop, August Snow, traverses the underbelly of Detroit in a gun-blazing plot that includes immigration and human trafficking.  It was a definite page-turner.

Lastly, I finally had a chance to read Joseph Finder’s mystery JUDGEMENT. 

The main character is a by-the-book judge, Juliana Brody, who makes a serious mistake in the very first chapter, a one night stand.  Juliana is a mother and wife and it’s the first time she’s ever strayed.  With a jolt, she realizes the trouble she’s in when the man that she had an affair with, a man that she didn’t think she’d ever see again, shows up in her courtroom.  The plot takes her from the fear of losing her husband, to seeing her family put in mortal danger.   It made me wonder what rules I’d break to save my family.

Now, I’m halfway through Annie Hogsett’s latest mystery THE DEVIL’S OWN GAME and enjoying it very much. 

It’s nice to be around her characters, Tom, Allie and Otis.  The book starts right out the gate with a crackerjack murder and brings back a very nasty criminal mastermind, Tito Ricci.  It’s also a page-turner that I fear I will finish much too quickly.  

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

*****

You stay safe and healthy as well, Tom. And, thank you.

Thomas Kies’ latest book is Graveyard Bay. Here’s the summary of the book. Don’t forget. You can find his books, and all the books he discussed, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Time is running out…

The nude bodies of a corrupt judge and a Jane Doe are found under the icy, black waters at Groward Bay Marina, chained to the prongs of a mammoth fork lift. A videotape points to Merlin Finn, a ruthless gang leader with a proclivity for bondage and S&M who had recently broken out of prison. In the videotape, he’s wearing a black leather bondage mask.

With the newspaper she works for about to be sold and her job in jeopardy, journalist Geneva Chase investigates pill mills, crooked doctors, and a massive money laundering scheme in an attempt to identify the murdered woman and find the killer. Along the way, she finds herself working with a disgraced New York cop and a host of other unlikely characters with ties to the criminal underworld.

Geneva is clearly hot on the killer’s trail, but when she is kidnapped and held at the mercy of the criminals she hoped to stop, it looks like her chance to uncover the darkness that has seeped through her hometown may be lost forever.

The tenth book in Jeffrey Siger’s Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, The Mykonos Mob, was released a year ago. It has just been rereleased in paperback under the title Island of Secrets. Both copies, and other books in the series, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2jC3gpp

For an article in Bookreporter.com, Jeffrey Siger looks back at an earlier book in the series. Mykonos After Midnight was a warning about the future. Now, in this article, Siger talks about the island, and the consequences of activities there. He has accurately forecast the future before. You might want to read his recent article, https://bit.ly/34LQxmZ.

And, of course, if you haven’t already read The Mykonos Mob, pick up Island of Secrets. Here’s the summary.

“A perfect setting and first-rate storytelling.” —Ragnar Jónasson, bestselling author of The Dark Iceland series

From international bestselling author, Jeffrey Siger, comes another heart-stopping story of corruption and intrigue.

The case begins for Athens’ Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis with a literal bang when a corrupt former police colonel who runs a protection racket on Mykonos is gunned down. Suddenly, Kaldis is face-to-face with Greece’s top crime bosses on an island whose natural beauty and reputation as an international playground belies the corruption lurking just beneath the surface.

While Kaldis and his Special Crimes unit wrestle for answers, his wife, Lila, meets an American expat named Toni, a finder of stolen goods and a piano player in a gender-bending bar who has a zest for life and no apparent regard for rules. As Lila and Toni bond over a common desire to mentor young island girls trapped in an exploitative and patriarchal culture, they soon find that their efforts intersect with Kaldis’ investigation in ways that prove to be dangerous for all involved…

 (Previously published as The Mykonos Mob)

Julia Spencer-Fleming’s last book in her Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series, Through the Evil Days, was published in November 2013. She’s finally back with her new book, Hid from Our Eyes. You’ll be able to watch the virtual event to hear Spencer-Fleming’s account of that gap. You can also order copies of her books, and signed copies of several of them through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2KgausM

Here’s the summary of the latest book, Hid from Our Eyes.

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER

New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series with new crimes that span decades in Hid from Our Eyes.

“New parents Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne tackle three copycat murders and one testy baby in this riveting addition to an acclaimed series” —People magazine

1952. Millers Kill Police Chief Harry McNeil is called to a crime scene where a woman in a party dress has been murdered with no obvious cause of death.

1972. Millers Kill Police Chief Jack Liddle is called to a murder scene of a woman that’s very similar to one he worked as a trooper in the 50s. The only difference is this time, they have a suspect. Young Vietnam War veteran Russ van Alstyne found the body while riding his motorcycle and is quickly pegged as the prime focus of the investigation.

Present-day. Millers Kill Police Chief Russ van Alstyne gets a 911 call that a young woman has been found dead in a party dress, the same MO as the crime he was accused of in the 70s. The pressure is on for Russ to solve the murder before he’s removed from the case.

Russ will enlist the help of his police squad and Reverend Clare Fergusson, who is already juggling the tasks of being a new mother to her and Russ’s baby and running St. Alban’s Church, to finally solve these crimes.

Readers have waited years for this newest book and Julia Spencer-Fleming delivers with the exquisite skill and craftsmanship that have made her such a success.

*****

I think you’ll enjoy the virtual event. Jenn McKinlay, one of the authors who blogs with Spencer-Fleming at Jungle Red Writers, joins bookstore owner Barbara Peters to talk with Julia Spencer-Fleming.

Some authors have as much trouble concentrating as we do. In Wendall Thomas’ case, it’s for a different reason. The author of Lost Luggage and Drowned Under was kind enough to find time to write for us. Look for her books in the Web Store, as well as copies of the books that have helped her get through the social isolation right now. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA, lectures internationally on screenwriting, and has worked as an entertainment reporter, script consultant, and film and television writer. Her novel, Lost Luggage was nominated for the Lefty and Macavity Awards for Best Debut and the follow-up, Drowned Under, was nominated for a Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery of 2019 .  Her short fiction appears in the crime anthologies LAdies Night (2015), Last Resort (2017) and Murder A-Go-Gos (2019).

Thank you, Wendall, for your “Distractions”.

*****

I write in restaurants. I’ve done it since 1992, when I quit my last “real” Hollywood assistant job to become a writer, instantly became creatively paralyzed, and spent much of my days watching The Today Show, going to bargain matinees, and making pointless trips to the dry cleaners—as my savings dwindled.

I realized I needed to treat writing as a job and decided my office would be a Los Angeles coffee shop called Jan’s, where I arrived each morning at 6am, drastically over tipped, and wrote for three hours. Then I came home, took out the dry cleaning, and moved to the historic El Coyote for a working lunch. Although some of the restaurants have changed over the years my routine has not, so for the first weeks of the “Safer at Home” restrictions, I was paralyzed again. Reading helped. So here are a few things I’ve been happily distracted by in the last few weeks. 

One of my favorite new discoveries is author Bill Fitzhugh’s “bug,” series which begins with Pest Control.

This book, featuring a groundbreaking exterminator who hates pesticides, decides to breed “assassin” cockroaches, and winds up being mistaken for a real assassin, had me snorting with laughter. The combination of entomology and bounty killing was just what I needed and, especially if you like Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, or David Attenboroughs’s nature specials, I highly recommend both this book and the follow up, The Exterminators. 

Being a screenwriter and lecturer in film history, I was also riveted by Sam Wasson’s The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood.

The book’s insights into the personalities and politics behind this film and the way it dissects one of my favorite eras in cinema was a real treat. I would recommend it for anyone who loves Jack Nicholson, who loves the film, or who loves Hollywood history.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is one of the books I love best and its butler, Gabriel Betteredge—with his devotion to Robinson Crusoe—is one of my favorite characters in literature.

I was lucky enough to adapt this book for the PBS kids’ show, Wishbone, and it’s up there with Alice and Her Adventures Through the Looking Glass as one of stories I return to again and again.

I also headed back to one of my other “comfort” reads, Ngaio Marsh. This time it was Death in a White Tie, where social butterfly Sir Robert Gospell is murdered while spying for the police during debutante season.

I’m particularly partial to the relationship between Inspector Alleyn and his eventual wife, Agatha Troy. (Spoiler Alert!) This is the book where she finally says “Yes,” which invariably cheers me up.

Finally, I’m a North Carolina girl, born and bred, and so am a bit obessed with Vivian Howard of A Chef’s Life.  I’ve owned her cookbook, Deep Run Roots, since it came out and often make her recipes, but I hadn’t had a chance to really read all the text. The stories behind the recipes are just as delicious.

All these books remind me why I wanted to write in the first place, so if I’ve almost gotten my “mojo” back, it’s largely due to these great authors.

*****

Maybe it will be Wendall Thomas’ own books that help you get your “mojo” back. Here’s an introduction to her books and her character, Cyd Redondo.

Macavity Award 2018 nominee, Best First Novel
Left Award 2018 nominee, Best Debut Mystery Novel

“Thomas makes a rollicking debut with this comic mystery featuring an unconventional protagonist who proves to have the skills of MacGyver. With its sexy overtones, this fun, character-driven novel will appeal to Janet Evanovich fans.” —Library Journal STARRED review

Cyd Redondo, a young, third-generation Brooklyn travel agent who specializes in senior citizens, has never ventured farther than New Jersey. Yet even Jersey proves risky when her Travel Agents’ Convention fling, Roger Claymore, leaves her weak in the knees-and everywhere else-then sneaks out of her Atlantic City hotel room at three a.m.

Back in Brooklyn, when she reads about smugglers stopped at JFK with skinks in their socks or monkeys down their pants, she never imagines she will join their ranks. But days after the pet store owner next door to Redondo Travel is poisoned, Cyd wins a free safari. Her boss, Uncle Ray, wants to cash it in for computers, but Cyd is determined to go. When Roger turns up at the Redondo clan’s door, Cyd invites him along as her “plus one.” And just like that she is thrown heels-first into the bizarre and sinister world of international animal smuggling.

She and Roger arrive in Africa, luggage lost, to find two of Cyd’s elderly clients in a local jail. She manages to barter them out, only to discover smugglers have hidden five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of endangered parrots, snakes, frogs, and a lone Madagascan chameleon in the clients’ outbound luggage. When Roger steals the bags—is the U.S. Embassy in on the contraband ring?—Cyd and the chameleon helicopter into the jungle to go after Roger on their own.

Wondering if “plus one” Roger is actually a minus, Cyd dodges Interpol, faces off with a cobra, steals a diplomatic bag, hijacks a FedEx truck, crashes an eco-safari, winds up in a leopard trap, and is forced to smuggle snakes in her bra. It’s a scramble to find the smugglers, save her clients, and solve Mrs. Barsky’s murder before finding herself at the top of the endangered species list.

“Fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum will cotton to Cyd.” —Publishers Weekly

Eggnog notwithstanding, travel agent Cyd Redondo is not looking forward to the holidays. The borough of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn—along with most of her family—holds her responsible for landing her Uncle Ray in a minimum security prison.

So, when Cyd’s ex-husband, Barry Manzoni, announces his parents have disappeared from an Australian cruise, she rushes Down Under to enlist the help of travel liaison and friend Harriet Archer, who offers a free cabin on the Tasmanian Dream and insider assistance with the search.

Cyd’s flights are delayed, so she hitches a helicopter ride to the ship—which lacks a heli-pad. She and her Balenciaga bag barely survive the harrowing drop, landing on a gorgeous man in a Speedo. When she finally makes it to her cabin, she finds Harriet dead, lying in a pool of blood.

The ship’s doctor/coroner—now wearing a tux instead of his Speedo—declares the death an accident. While Darling Cruises hurries to cover up the “unfortunate event” and sanitize the crime scene, Cyd scrambles to preserve evidence, terrified the murder is connected to the Manzonis’ disappearance, and to prevent the heist of the world’s last Tasmanian tiger.

Do you know how hard people work to get signed books to you? Not only the staff at The Poisoned Pen. This is John Sandford hauling signed copies of his 30th Lucas Davenport book, Masked Prey, to the UPS pick up point to get them back to the store.

Masked Prey is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. John Sandford did his virtual book launch for the store, discussing his books, characters, and writing with Barbara Peters, owner of the store. You can order signed copy of that title, as well as copies of Sandford’s other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Dncbl0

Here’s the description of Masked Prey.

Lucas Davenport investigates a vitriolic blog that seems to be targeting the children of U.S. politicians in the latest thriller by #1 New York Times-bestselling author John Sandford.

The daughter of a U.S. Senator is monitoring her social media presence when she finds a picture of herself on a strange blog. And there are other pictures . . . of the children of other influential Washington politicians, walking or standing outside their schools, each identified by name. Surrounding the photos are texts of vicious political rants from a motley variety of radical groups.

It’s obviously alarming–is there an unstable extremist tracking the loved ones of powerful politicians with deadly intent? But when the FBI is called in, there isn’t much the feds can do. The anonymous photographer can’t be pinned down to one location or IP address, and more importantly, at least to the paper-processing bureaucrats, no crime has actually been committed. With nowhere else to turn, influential Senators decide to call in someone who can operate outside the FBI’s constraints: Lucas Davenport.

*****

Now that John Sandford is moving to just one book a year, you’ll want to check out his conversation with Barbara Peters.

Betty Webb is one of those authors who had an unfortunate launch date for her latest book, The Panda of Death. That book has one of the cutest covers I’ve seen, so I jumped at the chance to invite her to write a Distractions piece for the blog. If you like the cover as much as I do, make sure to look for signed copies of the book in the Web Store, as well as copies of Webb’s other Gunn Zoo and Lena Jones mysteries. https://bit.ly/2uhnpCs

As a journalist, Betty Webb interviewed U.S. presidents, astronauts, and Nobel Prize winners, as well as the homeless, dying, and polygamy runaways. The dark Lena Jones mysteries are based on stories she covered as a reporter. Betty’s humorous Gunn Zoo series debuted with the critically acclaimed The Anteater of Death, followed by The Koala of Death. A book reviewer at Mystery Scene Magazine, Betty is a member of National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, and the National Organization of Zoo Keepers. Check out her website at https://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/

Thank you, Betty. Look for copies of the books Betty Webb suggests in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

Reading in the Time of Cholera, uh, Corona                                                        By Betty Webb 

How the heck am I staying sane in the third week of Social Distancing (I call it House Arrest)? Well, I do have this monster historical novel I happened to be writing at the time the news about the Corona virus leaked, so instead of going through my usual three drafts, I’m stretching it out to five. When you can’t leave your house, you can afford to get picky about pronouns.

But I’m probably reading as much as I’m writing. Just for the hell of it, I decided to re-read the UNABRIDGED version of Stephen King’s apocalyptic gore-fest, “The Stand,” you know that cute little 1,500-something book where a flu named Captain Tripps comes alone and kills almost everyone. Ah, God bless escapist reading.

After reading “Station Eleven,” wherein a new Ice Age kills almost everybody (shades of Uncle Stevie) by Emily St. John Mandel, I was thrilled to receive her follow-up novel, “The Glass Hotel,” where there is no Ice Age and only one or two deaths.

“The Glass Hotel” mainly takes place in a posh hotel on a remote Vancouver Island, and was nowhere near as edgy as “Station Eleven,” but I found its almost-hallucinatory plot strangely irresistible. And the ending was just the kind I like: weird.

But I also enjoyed the non-weird “Miracle Creek,” by Angie Kim, about a Korean family whose father has built a pressurized oxygen chamber that’s rumored to cure all sorts of ills, but one day it blows up and all hell ““ much of it racist — breaks loose in the small Virginia town where they’ve been living. The various tangents this book explored gave me a lot to think about while I had all this time on my hands.

But now we come to the book that surprised me the most while I was under House Arrest (Oops, I meant “Socially-Distanced”). “Disappearing Earth,” by Julia Phillips, showed me a whole new world.

While I was Writer-In-Residence at the Mesa, AZ, Library, I was allowed access to their stacks of ARCs (Advance Reading Copies), and not long after I started my three-month gig, I took it home. The book is set in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, and at first all the characters and their names and nicknames (you know those long-winded Russians!) kept me from getting past the first chapter. But once I couldn’t leave the house, I picked it up again. And whoo-boy, am I glad I did. Ostensibly about two kidnapped sisters, and the village that refuses to stop looking for them, “Disappearing Earth” was an introduction to a tribe and society relatively unknown to most of us in the U.S. who aren’t anthropologists. In this book, the characters’ names are very different, as well as their customs, so it took me a while to figure out what was really going on, but when I did… Anyway, by the end of “Disappearing Earth,” I’d learned that all around the world, in Manhattan and in isolated Kamchatkan villages, we all want safety for our children. 

P.S. I just realized that three out of my four choices were all by women. Hmm. Wonder if that means anything.

*****

And, if you choose a copy of one of Betty Webb’s books, you’ll be choosing to read one by another woman. Here’s the summary of Webb’s The Panda of Death.

California zookeeper Theodora Bentley is now happily married to Sheriff Joe Rejas. The Gunn Zoo is celebrating the arrival of Poonya, an adorable red panda, who forms a strong bond with Teddy. All appears fairytale blissful in the small Monterey Bay village of Gunn Landing until Teddy’s mother-in-law, mystery writer Colleen Rejas, has discovered through DNA testing that Joe has sired a son he knew nothing about. Dylan Coyle, 18, arrives to meet his biological family… and then is arrested for murder.

By the end of the book, besides solving the crime, Teddy and Colleen have learned that the term “family” does not always mean blood kin. It often includes those who—although no blood relationship—are still held close in our hearts.