On Monday, January 13, Janet Rudolph’s Mystery Fanfare announced the Lefty Award Nominations for 2020. Check the Web Store for the nominated books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/ Congratulations to all of the nominees, with a special shout-out to Wendall Thomas whose Drowned Under is from Poisoned Pen Press.

Here are the nominations, as announced.

LEFTY AWARD NOMINATIONS: Left Coast Crime 2020

Left Coast Crime 2020, “Murder’s a Beach,” will be presenting four Lefty Awards at the 30th annual LCC convention, to be held in San Diego in March: humorous, historical, debut, and best. The awards will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 14, at the Marriot Mission Valley in San Diego. The award nominees have been selected by this and last years’ convention registrants.LCC is delighted to announce the 2020 Lefty nominees for books published in 2019. Congratulations to all!

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel:
“¢Fatal Cajun Festival, by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane)
“¢Murder from Scratch, by Leslie Karst (Crooked Lane)
“¢The Subject of Malice, by Cynthia Kuhn (Henery Press)
“¢Scot & Soda, by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)
“¢Drowned Under, by Wendall Thomas (Poisoned Pen Press)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (for books set before 1970):
“¢Murder Knocks Twice, by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
“¢The Pearl Dagger, by L.A. Chandlar (Kensington)
“¢A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder, by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
“¢The Body in Griffith Park, by Jennifer Kincheloe (Seventh Street)
“¢The Satapur Moonstone, by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel:
“¢The Ninja Daughter, by Tori Eldridge (Agora)
“¢Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim (Sarah Crichton)
“¢One Night Gone, by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
“¢Three-Fifths, by John Vercher (Agora)
“¢Murderabilia, by Carl Vonderau (Midnight Ink)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories):
“¢Your House Will Pay, by Steph Cha (Ecco)
“¢Borrowed Time, by Tracy Clark (Kensington)
“¢Lost Tomorrows, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview)
“¢They All Fall Down, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Forge)
“¢Heaven, My Home, by Attica Locke (Mulholland)

The Left Coast Crime Convention is an annual event sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. Held in the western half of North America, LCC’s intent is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests. Lefty Awards have been given since 1996.The 30th annual Left Coast Crime Convention will take place in San Diego, California, March 12″“15, 2020. This year’s Guests of Honor are authors Rachel Howzell Hall and T. Jefferson Parker. Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore is the Fan Guest of Honor, and author Matt Coyle will serve as Toastmaster.

Patrick King was the host when Jennifer Roberson, author of Life and Limb, recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen. Life and Limb is the first in Roberson’s new Blood and Bone modern western fantasy series. You can order signed copies of it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2sn6fWY

Here’s the summary of Life and Limb.

A biker and a cowboy must stop the apocalypse in the first book of the Blood and Bone modern western fantasy series.

His voice was rich, a much loved baritone, as he handed his seven-year-old grandson a gun. 

“It’s time we had a talk, you and I. You won’t remember it, but you need to know it, and one day, when it’s time, I’ll call it up in you. You’ll know who you are, and what you’re intended to do. You’ll be a soldier, boy. Sealed to it. Life and limb, blood and bone. Not a soldier like others are, for it’s not the kind of war most people fight on earth. But because we’re not “˜most people,’ you and I, it will be far more important. The fate of the world will hinge upon it.”

Now no longer that wide-eyed child, Gabe is fresh out of prison, a leather-clad biker answering Grandaddy’s peremptory summons to, of all places, a cowboy bar in Northern Arizona. He is about to find out just how different he is from “most people”—and to meet the stranger with whom he will be sealed: life and limb, blood and bone, conscripted to fight an unholy war unlike any other. 

For the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. 

When he does.

And Gabe, thrown into the unlikely company of a country-music-loving rodeo cowboy from West Texas, an ancient Celtic goddess of war, an African Orisha who sings volcanoes awake, a Chinese goddess of mercy, Nephilim, and Grigori, finds himself fighting a battle he was bred for, but wants no part of.

*****

Here’s the conversation between Jennifer Roberson and Patrick King.

Sulari Gentill is the author of the Rowland Sinclair mysteries published by Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press. The seventh one, Give the Devil His Due, was just released. The series is set in Australia in the 1930s. You can order copies of Gentill’s books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2N5KsYB

Sulari has written several posts and been interviewed here in the past. She lives in Australia, where she and her family and their home have been caught up in the wildfires. Her descriptions of Australia here on the blog have been loving, and just beautiful. I urge you to search her name, and go back and read those pieces.

Right now, you can read an article she wrote for CrimeReads. It’s called “Reviving the Traditional Mystery for a 21st Century Audience”, and you can find it here. https://bit.ly/30cijXr

You can read about Sulari Gentill’s own traditional mystery, Give the Devil His Due, right here.

For fans of Rhys Bowen, Kerry Greenwood and Jacqueline Winspear comes an adventure-packed romp that threads 1934 Sydney’s upper class and its seedy underworld.

Wealthy Rowland Sinclair, an artist with leftist friends and a free-wheeling lifestyle, reluctantly agrees to a charity race. He’ll drive his beloved yellow Mercedes on the Maroubra Speedway, renamed the Killer Track for the lives it has claimed. His teammates are a young Errol Flynn and the well-known driver Joan Richmond. It’s all good fun. But then people start to die…

The body of a journalist covering the race is found murdered in a House of Horrors. An English blueblood with Blackshirt affiliations dies in a Maroubra crash. Reporters stalk Rowly for dirt while bookmakers are after an edge. When someone takes a shot at him—it could be anyone. Then the police arrest one of Rowly’s housemates for murder.

Winner of the 2018 Ned Kelly Award for Best Mystery.

Other Rowland Sinclair Mysteries:
A Few Right Thinking Men
A Decline in Prophets
Miles off Course
Paving the New Road
A Murder Unmentioned
Gentlemen Formerly Dressed

International politics. Crime. The military. If those subjects interest you, you may already be familiar with Brad Taylor’s books. The Poisoned Pen, and bookstore owner, Barbara Peters, recently welcomed him and hosted the book launch for Hunter Killer, the latest Pike Logan novel. You can order Taylor’s books, including signed copies of Hunter Killer, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2FFEJad

Here’s the description of Hunter Killer.

Pike Logan tracks highly-trained Russian assassins to Brazil in this blistering, action-packed thriller from New York Times bestselling author and former Special Forces Officer Brad Taylor.

Pike Logan and the Taskforce were once the apex predators, an unrivaled hunting machine that decimated those out to harm the United States, but they may have met their match. While Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill prepare to join their team on a counter-terrorist mission in the triple frontier—the lawless tri-border region where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet—they are targeted in Charleston, South Carolina. A vicious explosion kills a friend, and the perpetrators have set it up to look like an accident. While the authorities believe this was not foul play, Pike knows the attack was meant for him.

When he loses contact with the team in South America, Pike is convinced he and the Taskforce are under assault. His men are the closest thing to family that Pike has, which means he will do anything, even ignore direct orders to stand down, to find them. Pike and Jennifer head to Brazil to investigate their disappearance and run headlong into a crew of Russian assassins. Within days they are entangled in a byzantine scheme involving Brazilian politics and a cut-throat battle for control of offshore oil fields.

Forged in combat, the Russians are the equal of anything the Taskforce has encountered before, but they make a mistake in attacking Pike’s team, because Pike has a couple of elite Israeli assassins of his own. And Pike will stop at nothing to protect his family.

*****

You can also see this fascinating conversation here.

Tarryn Fisher, author of The Wives, was recently at The Poisoned Pen, in conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore. You can learn quite a bit about the author as the two discuss Fisher’s popular Instagram account, and her background in South Africa, where she lived until she was thirteen. And, they tried not to give away any spoilers as they discussed her new book. You can order signed copies of The Wives through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/37KCkH7

Here’s the description of The Wives.

New York Times bestselling author Tarryn Fisher delivers a pulse-pounding, fast-paced suspense novel that will leave you breathless. A thriller you won’t be able to put down!

“You’ll have whiplash until the very end.”—New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married. 

What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read. 

You’ll have to grab a copy to find out why. 

“Nail-biting, heart-clenchingly good.”—New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Torre

“[A] lightning-fast plot.”—Kirkus

“Suspense fans will be rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly

“Some sharp twists.”—Booklist

*****

Now, you can eavesdrop on that conversation.

Dana Stabenow, author of the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen, will sign copies of No Fixed Line on Saturday, January 11 at 2 PM. No Fixed Line is the current PI Kate Shugak mystery. Copies of Stabenow’s books, including signed copies of No Fixed Line, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2F9m0Bq

Here’s the description of the current Kate Shugak book.

It is New Year’s Eve, nearly six weeks into an off-and-on blizzard that has locked Alaska down, effectively cutting it off from the outside world. But now there are reports of a plane down in the Quilak mountains. With the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board—responsible for investigating aviation incidents) unable to reach the crash site, ex-Trooper Jim Chopin is pulled out of retirement to try to identify the aircraft, collect the corpses, and determine why no flight has been reported missing. But Jim discovers survivors: two children who don’t speak a word of English. Meanwhile, PI Kate Shugak receives an unexpected and unwelcome accusation from beyond the grave, a charge that could change the face of the Park forever.

It seems to happen more with nonfiction than fiction, but there are ways to buy a place on The New York Times BestSeller List. No, no one pays the newspaper to get on the list. But, the newspaper’s list is so valuable to sales and prestige, that people (with money) do what they can to get on the list.

Check out Sarah Nicolas’ piece in BookRiot, “A History of Buying Books onto the Bestseller List.” https://bit.ly/2N15Hgs

Caroline and Charles Todd are the mother and son team who write under the name Charles Todd. Authors of the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford mystery series, for the sake of today’s post, it’s the Bess Crawford books that should be emphasized. You can find copies of their books, including signed copies of the latest Bess Crawford, A Cruel Deception, in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2CYwbY1

The Todds recently discussed strong women in mysteries while they were travelling together. Fortunately for us, that discussion resulted in an article for CrimeReads. You can find “A Brief History of Strong Women in Mystery” here. https://bit.ly/2T1Itur

It’s a thought-provoking piece, forcing the reader to wonder what characters written today might stand the test of time.

*****

Here’s the description of Charles Todd’s latest book featuring their Bess Crawford, A Cruel Deception.

In the aftermath of World War I, nurse Bess Crawford attempts to save a troubled former soldier from a mysterious killer in this eleventh book in the beloved Bess Crawford mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd.

The Armistice of November 1918 ended the fighting, but the Great War will not be over until a Peace Treaty is drawn up and signed by all parties. Representatives from the Allies are gathering in Paris, and already ominous signs of disagreement have appeared.

Sister Bess Crawford, who has been working with the severely wounded in England in the war’s wake, is asked to carry out a personal mission in Paris for a Matron at the London headquarters of The Queen Alexandra’s.

Bess is facing decisions about her own future, even as she searches for the man she is charged with helping.  When she does locate Lawrence Minton, she finds a bitter and disturbed officer who has walked away from his duties at the Peace Conference and is well on his way toward an addiction to opiates. When she confronts him with the dangers of using laudanum, he tells her that he doesn’t care if he lives or dies, as long as he can find oblivion. But what has changed him? What is it that haunts him? He can’t confide in Bess—because the truth is so deeply buried in his mind that he can only relive it in nightmares. The officers who had shared a house with him in Paris profess to know nothing—still, Bess is reluctant to trust them even when they offer her their help. But where to begin on her own?

What is driving this man to a despair so profound it can only end with death? The war? Something that happened in Paris? To prevent a tragedy, she must get at the truth as quickly as possible—which means putting herself between Lieutenant Minton and whatever is destroying him. Or is it whoever?

While Unspeakable Things is the name of Jess Lourey’s latest crime novel, it’s also the topic of a recent article she wrote for CriminalElement, “Four Authors Who Blurred the True Crime Line”. She quotes Dorothy Allison’s memoir, “I know the use of fiction in a world of hard truth, the way fiction can be a harder piece of truth.” Then, she discusses four novels that blur that line. Check the Web Store for those novels. Don’t forget to look for Lourey’s Unspeakable Things as well. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Lourey’s own novel actually fits her article as well. Unspeakable Things is based on true events in her own hometown. Check the description.

Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems.

Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them.

All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale.

One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed—violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface. Then Cassie’s own sister undergoes the dark change. If she is to survive, Cassie must find her way in an adult world where every sin is justified, and only the truth is unforgivable.

Did you know Maigret’s First Case is not the first Georges Simenon novel to feature Inspector Maigret? In a recent article in The Guardian, Graeme Macrae Burnet looks back at the series, as Penguin Books finishes a six-year project to reissue all of the titles. The article is called, “Put that in your pipe: why the Maigret novels are still worth savouring.” https://bit.ly/35lMXOX

It has been ninety years since the first case for Maigret. But, you can still order the books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/39CSpQY

And, you can read a description of Maigret’s First Case to see why you might want to go back and read the books.

“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian

When a Paris musician witnesses an altercation that may have been a murder, the young Inspector Maigret becomes embroiled in his first case

A musician walking home along the Rue Chaptal in the early hours of the morning sees a panic-stricken woman call for help from an upstairs window; moments later he hears a gun shot. He tries to go to her assistance, pushing past the man who opens the door upon his frantic knocking, but he finds himself roughly ejected from the premises. Undeterred, he heads for the nearest police station and urges Maigret to return with him and find out what has taken place.

With this look into the man he once was and how he became the insightful inspector we have some to know, Simenon offers new insights into the brilliance of Maigret.