Diane Les Becquets is the author of the thriller, The Last Woman in the Forest. She recently took part in a video, talking about three books she’s reading. Before the video, just a reminder you can order a signed copy of The Last Woman in the Forest through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2HsJDJq
Here’s the summary of The Last Woman in the Forest.
From the national bestselling author of Breaking Wild, a riveting and powerful thriller about a woman whose greatest threat could be the man she loves.…
Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. After they’re separated from each other on another assignment, Marian is shattered to learn of Tate’s tragic death. Worse still is the aftermath in which Marian discovers disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women.
Hoping to clear Tate’s name, Marian reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. But as Marian relives her relationship with Tate and circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move.…
*****
Here’s Diane Les Becquets’ video about what she’s reading. If any of these books interest you, don’t forget to check the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Patrick Millikin recently hosted Jeffery Deaver, author of The Never Game, and Chris Pavone, author of The Paris Diversion. You can order signed copies of those books, and other books by the authors, through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Of course, at The Poisoned Pen, conversations are never just about the book. Check out the video.
Here’s the description of The Never Game.
From the bestselling and award-winning master of suspense, the first novel in a thrilling new series, introducing Colter Shaw.
“You have been abandoned.”
A young woman has gone missing in Silicon Valley and her father has hired Colter Shaw to find her. The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a “reward seeker,” traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America’s tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry.
“Escape if you can.”
When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past–The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life?
“Or die with dignity.”
Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims even as he pursues the kidnapper across both Silicon Valley and the dark ‘net. Encountering eccentric game designers, trigger-happy gamers and ruthless tech titans, he soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast.
The Never Game proves once more why “Deaver is a genius when it comes to manipulation and deception” (Associated Press).
*****
Here’s The Paris Diversion.
“The most clever plot twist of the year.”—Washington Post
“I nominate Kate Moore, the protagonist of Chris Pavone’s sizzling new thriller The Paris Diversion, for patron saint of working wives and mothers everywhere.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“The Paris Diversion is the best espionage novel I’ve read this year. Smart, sophisticated and suspenseful, this is Pavone’s finest novel to date—and that’s saying something.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fool Me Once
“Deliciously twisty . . . This involving work has been skillfully engineered for maximum reader enjoyment.”—The Wall Street Journal
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Expats. Kate Moore is back in a pulse-pounding thriller to discover that a massive terror attack across Paris is not what it seems—and that it involves her family
Across the Seine, tech CEO Hunter Forsyth stands on his balcony, wondering why his police escort just departed, and frustrated that his cell service has cut out; Hunter has important calls to make, not all of them technically legal.
And on the nearby rue de Rivoli, Mahmoud Khalid climbs out of an electrician’s van and elbows his way into the crowded courtyard of the world’s largest museum. He sets down his metal briefcase, and removes his windbreaker.
That’s when people start to scream.
Everyone has big plans for the day. Dexter is going to make a small fortune, finally digging himself out of a deep financial hole, via an extremely risky investment. Hunter is going to make a huge fortune, with a major corporate acquisition that will send his company’s stock soaring. Kate has less ambitious plans: preparations for tonight’s dinner party—one of those homemaker obligations she still hasn’t embraced, even after a half-decade of this life—and an uneventful workday at the Paris Substation, the clandestine cadre of operatives that she’s been running, not entirely successfully, increasingly convinced that every day could be the last of her career. But every day is also a fresh chance to prove her own relevance, never more so than during today’s momentous events.
And Mahmoud? He is planning to die today. And he won’t be the only one.
As long as we’re helping you build your reading list for the summer, here’s a list that will take you a while to get through. CrimeReads recently published their “Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer”. Check out their list, https://bit.ly/2WLNsi4, and then check the Web Store for these books. https://store.poisonedpen.com
And, keep checking the upcoming events and calendar because some of those authors of “most anticipated crime books” will be at The Poisoned Pen. https://poisonedpen.com
What a fabulous article for all of us who are always looking for books to add to our TBR (To Be Read) piles, and authors to add. The Sunday Times in the U.K. recently named their 100 favorite crime and spy novels published since 1945, and only 28 of them were by women. In response, The Guardian asked authors such as Val McDermid, Dreda Say Mitchell, Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, and Sharon Bolton for further suggestions. Check this terrific list. Then, check the Web Store for books you might want to own. https://store.poisonedpen.com
Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press author Maggie Robinson has a new book due out on June 1. Who’s Sorry Now? is the second Lady Adelaide mystery. It’s available to pre-order through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2r5nvfa
Here’s the description of Who’s Sorry Now?
London, England 1925
A Russian prince. A wealthy heir. An impoverished earl’s daughter. Which one will make an untimely exit from the London social scene?
Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter finds himself in the middle of a series of upper-class deaths in London. Bright Young People are being extinguished in their favorite night spots, from a sleazy private jazz club to the Savoy ballroom. Dev knows just the person to help him navigate the treacherous society waters: Lady Adelaide Compton, a marquess’ daughter and widow of a Great War hero. Unfortunately, he has put her in jeopardy once before, nearly leading him to turn in his warrant card.
But when her sister Cee is nearly one of the victims, Addie turns to Mr. Hunter, offering her help… and it soon becomes clear that the two of them working together again could lead to much more than merely solving crime.
*****
Of course, our intention is to tempt you to check out books. The first Lady Adelaide book was Nobody’s Sweetheart Now. Michael Barson interviewed author Maggie Robinson last year when that book was out. Here’s that interview.
After writing numerous historical romances set in the Regency, Victorian and Edwardian eras, Maggie Robinson now tries her hand at a mystery series that begins in 1924. In the opening installment, NOBODY’S SWEETHEART NOW, a murder ruins Lady Adelaide Compton’s weekend house party, and Inspector Devenand Hunter must determine which of her 12 houseguests is a cold-blooded killer. Meanwhile, Addie is confronted by the spirit of her late husband, Major Rupert Charles Cressleigh Compton, who has to perform a few good deeds before being welcomed to heaven — or, more likely (thinks Addie), to hell. In this interview, Robinson explains what inspired her to make the genre switch, her decision to set this new series in the 1920s English countryside, and why she chooses to be “a total pantser” during the writing process.
Question: You’ve set this new series in the 1920s English countryside. What drew you to that particular time and place?
Maggie Robinson: As a hopeless Anglophile, my characters and I are very happy in the Cotswolds! We’ve made too many trips to England to count since my husband and I were first married, and have rented quaint cottages in Painswick and Kingham for extended stays, complete with AGAs, low ceilings and terrifyingly steep stairs. There is nothing like an English cottage garden in the spring, unless it’s a stately home’s garden in the spring!
Q: After writing numerous historical romances, what inspired you to try your hand at a mystery series set in 1924? And why that particular year?
MR: I think there might be something wrong with me. After setting 16 novels in the Regency, Victorian and Edwardian eras, I was keen to do some more research on the “more modern” 1920s, a time period that’s always fascinated me. The years between the Great War and the Depression were filled with every conceivable excess and deprivation, and the contrasts make for so many possibilities. Several of my romances have an element of suspense, and since mysteries were my first reading love, I wondered if I could construct one and took it on as a challenge. As for 1924, skirts were slowly being raised. How could I resist?
Q: Were you surprised by any aspect of the writing process for this mystery versus the technique you employed for the romances you’ve been writing?
MR: I am a total pantser. Every time I try to outline or use sticky notes to plot, my characters have decided to ignore me and go their own way. I believe most mystery writers know “whodunnit” before they get started, but not me. I’m one-third of the way through my current work in progress, and have no idea who’s guilty yet, LOL. I hope it will be as much of a surprise to the readers. My motto is “guilty until proven innocent.” And I must say it’s somewhat of a relief not to worry about my characters kissing. It’s so much more fun to kill them.
Q: Your protagonist, Lady Adelaide Compton, at times seems to be channeling screen star Carole Lombard, the mistress of madcap romantic comedies. Did you model Adelaide on anyone in particular, from either lit or film?
MR: You must have seen my Pinterest board! I’ve spent way too many hours watching old black and white movies from the ’30s. The Thin Man, Bringing Up Baby and Topper were all inspirations. A reviewer once described one of my romance books as “funny, poignant, and sexy, this book has all the charm of a classic screwball comedy with more substance,” and I hope I’ve brought that to NOBODY’S SWEETHEART NOW.
Q: Who would you say your primary writing influences have been, in your lead-up to becoming a published author?
MR: I read mysteries long before I read romances, and devoured Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Dorothy L. Sayers and Georgette Heyer in both genres. There’s nothing like having a lot to live up to!
Yesterday, this year’s Bouchercon Anthony Award committee announced the 2019 Anthony Award nominees. If you’re looking for these books, check out the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com
Congratulations to all of the nominees!
ANTHONY AWARD NOMINATIONS Best Novel Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott (Little, Brown and Company) November Road by Lou Berney (William Morrow) Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (Minotaur Books) Sunburn by Laura Lippman (William Morrow) Blackout by Alex Segura (Polis Books)
Best First Novel My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Doubleday) Broken Places by Tracy Clark (Kensington) Dodging and Burning by John Copenhaver (Pegasus Books) What Doesn’t Kill You by Aimee Hix (Midnight Ink) Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin (Ecco)
Best Paperback Original Novel Hollywood Ending by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink) If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin (William Morrow Paperbacks) Hiroshima Boy by Naomi Hirahara (Prospect Park Books) Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day (William Morrow Paperbacks) A Stone’s Throw by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street Books)
Best Critical or Non-Fiction Work Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin (William Morrow Paperbacks) Mastering Plot Twists: How To Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure To Captivate Your Readers by Jane K. Cleland (Writer’s Digest Books) Pulp According to David Goodis by Jay A. Gertzman (Down & Out Books) Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger (Pegasus Books) I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (HarperCollins) The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman (Ecco)
Bouchercon 2019 — “Denim, Diamonds, and Death” — will present this year’s Anthony® Awards in five categories at the 50th annual Bouchercon® World Mystery Convention to be held in Dallas, October 31 to November 3. The Anthony Awards will be voted on by attendees at the convention and presented on Saturday, November 2.
The Anthony® Award is named for the late Anthony Boucher (rhymes with “voucher”), a well-known California writer and critic who wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times Book Review, and also helped found Mystery Writers of America. First presented in 1986, the Anthony Awards are among the most prestigious and coveted literary awards. Bouchercon®, the World Mystery Convention founded in 1970, is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization celebrating the mystery genre. It is the largest annual meeting in the world for readers, writers, fans, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers, and other lovers of crime fiction.
There was a time when Kevin Hearne lived in the Valley. He started writing his Iron Druid series, and, in fact, celebrated the release of his fourth book, Tricked, at Rula Bula, an Irish pub in Tempe. The Poisoned Pen staff was there to take care of the book sales. Why do I mention that? In the video below, Hearne says it’s good to be back in the area because he could make a stop at Rula Bula. The party was “Atticus & Oberon’s Sausage Fest.”
Kevin Hearne has moved on. He and Delilah Dawson were recently at the Pen with the second book in their Pell series, No Country for Old Gnomes. The series has been described as a combination of Monty Python and Terry Pratchett. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2HjwJx5
Here’s a description of No Country for Old Gnomes.
Go big or go gnome. The New York Times bestselling authors of Kill the Farm Boy welcome you to the world of Pell, the irreverent fantasy universe that recalls Monty Python and Terry Pratchett.
War is coming, and it’s gonna be Pell.
On one side stand the gnomes: smol, cheerful, possessing tidy cardigans and no taste for cruelty.
On the other side sit the halflings, proudly astride their war alpacas, carrying bags of grenades and hungry for a fight. And pretty much anything else.
It takes only one halfling bomb and Offi Numminen’s world is turned upside down—or downside up, really, since he lives in a hole in the ground. His goth cardigans and aggressive melancholy set him apart from the other gnomes, as does his decision to fight back against their halfling oppressors. Suddenly Offi is the leader of a band of lovable misfits and outcasts—from a gryphon who would literally kill for omelets to a young dwarf herbalist who is better with bees than with his cudgel to an assertive and cheerful teen witch with a beard as long as her book of curses—all on a journey to the Toot Towers to confront the dastardly villain intent on tearing Pell asunder. These adventurers never fit in anywhere else, but as they become friends, fight mermaids, and get really angry at this one raccoon, they learn that there’s nothing more heroic than being yourself.
In No Country for Old Gnomes, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne lovingly tweak the tropes of fantasy and fairy tales. Here you’ll find goofy jokes and whimsical puns, but you’ll also find a diverse, feminist, and lighthearted approach to fantasy that will bring a smile to your face and many fine cheeses to your plate.
*****
If you’re a fan, I think you’ll want to watch the video featuring Kevin Hearne and Delilah Dawson.
You might have missed Jeffery Deaver’s appearance at The Poisoned Pen, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss the debut of his new series featuring Colter Shaw. The Never Game is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/30e1laZ
Here’s the description of The Never Game.
From the bestselling and award-winning master of suspense, the first novel in a thrilling new series, introducing Colter Shaw.
“You have been abandoned.”
A young woman has gone missing in Silicon Valley and her father has hired Colter Shaw to find her. The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a “reward seeker,” traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America’s tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry.
“Escape if you can.”
When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past–The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life?
“Or die with dignity.”
Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims even as he pursues the kidnapper across both Silicon Valley and the dark ‘net. Encountering eccentric game designers, trigger-happy gamers and ruthless tech titans, he soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast.
The Never Game proves once more why “Deaver is a genius when it comes to manipulation and deception” (Associated Press).
*****
Piqued your interest? You can read more about The Never Game in a book review by The Real Book Spy. https://bit.ly/2Q3kbwx
The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is proud to announce full and partial fellowships for individuals to teach at the 2020 Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference at Arizona State University. By presenting alongside nationally recognized faculty, fellowships provide valuable opportunities to develop professional networks, increase profiles, and advance careers. Applications are relatively easy and consist of a session proposal, statement of merit, and supporting materials. Writers of all genres and any level of experience are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is May 30, 2019. Read the full guidelines, meet past fellows, and become a fellow today at https://piper.asu.edu/fellowships.
Hilary Davidson kicks off a new series, and Laird Barron discusses his second Isaiah Coleridge novel when Patrick Millikin interviews them at The Poisoned Pen. Davidson’s thriller is One Small Sacrifice, and Barron’s is crime novel is Black Mountain. You can order signed copies of both books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com
Here’s the description of Hilary Davidson’s One Small Sacrifice.
An apparent suicide. A mysterious disappearance. Did one man get away with murder—twice?
NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling has had her eye on Alex Traynor ever since his friend Cori fell to her death under suspicious circumstances a year ago. Cori’s death was ruled a suicide, but Sheryn thinks Alex—a wartime photojournalist suffering from PTSD—got away with murder.
But as Sheryn starts pulling at the threads in this web, her whole theory unravels. Everyone involved remembers the night Cori died differently—and the truth about her death could be the key to solving Emily’s disappearance.
*****
And, here’s the summary of Laird Barron’s Black Mountain.
Ex-mob enforcer Isaiah Coledrige has hung out a shingle as a private eye in New York’s Hudson Valley, and in his newest case, a seemingly simple murder investigation leads him to the most terrifying enemy he has ever faced
When a small-time criminal named Harold Lee turns up in the Ashokan reservoir–sans a heartbeat, head, or hands–the local Mafia capo hires Isaiah Coleridge to look into the matter. The Mob likes crime, but only the crime it controls…and as it turns out, Lee is the second independent contractor to meet a bad end on the business side of a serrated knife. One such death can be overlooked. Two makes a man wonder.
A guy in Harold Lee’s business would make his fair share of enemies, and it seems a likely case of pure revenge. But as Coledrige turns over more stones, he finds himself dragged into something deeper and more insidious than he could have imagined, in a labyrinthine case spanning decades. At the center are an heiress moonlighting as a cabaret dancer, a powerful corporation with high-placed connections, and a serial killer who may have been honing his skills since the Vietnam War…
*****
If you haven’t been to a Poisoned Pen event, you might think the discussions are all about the authors’ most recent books. You couldn’t be more wrong. Check out this conversation.
