Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted a French evening. Cara Black, whose Aimee Leduc Investigations are set in Paris, was one guest author with her nineteenth book in the series, Murder in Bel-Air. Nina Laurin is a Canadian author from Montreal, but her latest novel, The Starter Wife, is set in Ohio. (If you watch the recorded event, she explains why it’s not set in Canada.) Signed copies of both books are available through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Here is the summary of Cara Black’s Murder in Bel-Air.

Cara Black’s riveting 19th installment in her New York Times bestselling Parisian detective series entangles private investigator Aimée Leduc in a dangerous web of international spycraft, post-colonial Franco-African politics, and neighborhood secrets in Paris’s 12th arrondissement. 

Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc is about to go onstage to deliver the keynote address at a tech conference that is sure to secure Leduc Detective some much-needed business contracts when she gets an emergency phone call from her daughter’s playgroup: Aimée’s own mother, who was supposed to pick Chloe up, never showed. Abandoning her hard-won speaking gig, Aimée rushes to get Chloe, annoyed that her mother has let her down yet again.

But as Aimée and Chloe are leaving the playground, Aimée witnesses the body of a homeless woman being wheeled away from the neighboring convent, where nuns run a soup kitchen. The last person anyone saw the dead woman talking to was Aimée’s mother, who has vanished. Trying to figure out what happened to Sydney Leduc, Aimée tracks down the dead woman’s possessions, which include a huge amount of cash. What did Sydney stumble into? Is she in trouble?

*****

Nina Laurin’s The Starter Wife is described below.

From the bestselling author of Girl Last Seen comes “a spine-tingler” (Booklist) of a psychological suspense, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Jessica Knoll. Local police have announced that they’re closing the investigation of the suspected drowning of 37-year-old painter Colleen Westcott. She disappeared on April 11, 2010, and her car was found parked near the waterfront in Cleveland two days later, but her body has never been found. The chief of police has stated that no concrete evidence of foul play has been discovered in the probe.
I close the online search window, annoyed. These articles never have enough detail. They think my husband’s first wife disappeared or they think she is dead. There’s a big difference. 

My phone rings, jarring me away from my thoughts, and when I pick it up, it’s an unknown number. The only answer to my slightly breathless hello is empty static. 

When the voice does finally come, it’s female, low, muffled somehow. “Where is it, Claire? What did you do with it? Tell me where it is.”

A woman. A real flesh-and-blood woman on the other end of the phone. She’s not just in my head.

A wave of panic spreads under my skin like ice water. It’s Colleen.

“Laurin knows how to ratchet up the suspense.” —Publishers Weekly

*****

Now, if you would like to spend some time with the authors, check out the video of the event.

Did you miss James Ellroy when he appeared at The Poisoned Pen on book tour for This Storm? You can still order signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2KUNy3y

Here’s the description of This Storm.

A massive novel of World War II Los Angeles. The crowning work of an American master.

It is January, 1942. Torrential rainstorms hit L.A. A body is unearthed in Griffith Park. The cops rate it a routine dead-man job. They’re grievously wrong. It’s a summons to misalliance and all the spoils of a brand-new war.

Elmer Jackson is a corrupt Vice cop. He’s a flesh peddler and a bagman for the L.A. Chief of Police. Hideo Ashida is a crime-lab whiz, caught up in the maelstrom of the Japanese internment. Dudley Smith is an LAPD hardnose working Army Intelligence. He’s gone rogue and gone all-the-way Fascist. Joan Conville was born rogue. She’s a defrocked Navy lieutenant and a war profiteer to her core.

They’ve signed on for the dead-man job. They’ve got a hot date with History. They will fight their inner wars within The War with unstoppable fury.

*****

And, here’s James Ellroy discussing his work, including This Storm.

Barbara Peters, the owner of The Poisoned Pen, would be the first person to remind you that you want to be in the audience when debut authors appear there. It may mean bragging rights in future years. On Monday, June 24 at 7 PM, debut author Kelsey Rae Dimberg will join Ellen LaCorte, author of The Perfect Fraud. Dimberg’s debut novel is Girl in the Rearview Mirror. The debut is a thriller set in Phoenix. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2xad3Wx

Dimberg recently was interviewed by Kerry Lengel for The Arizona Republic. You can read the article about the author, her book, and the Phoenix setting here. https://bit.ly/2Y3aWzR

Here’s the description of Girl in the Rearview Mirror.

“With hairpin twists and immense psychological acuity, Kelsey Rae Dimberg’s Girl in the Rearview Mirror is as seductive as the glamorous, privileged family at its center—and as cunning. An exciting, intoxicating debut, it will hold you until its startling final pages.”

 — Megan Abbott, bestselling author of Dare Me and Give Me Your Hand

I never meant to lie. That is, I never wanted to.

They are Phoenix’s First Family: handsome Philip Martin, son of the sitting Senator, an ex-football player who carries himself with an easy grace and appears destined to step into his father’s seat when the time is right; his wife Marina, the stylish and elegant director of Phoenix’s fine arts museum; and their four-year-old daughter Amabel, beautiful and precocious and beloved. 

Finn Hunt is working a dull office job to pay off her college debt when she meets Philip and charms Amabel. She eagerly agrees to nanny, thinking she’s lucked into the job of a lifetime. Though the glamour of the Martins’ lifestyle undeniably dazzles Finn, her real pleasure comes from being part of the family: sharing quick jokes with Philip in the kitchen before he leaves for work; staying late when Marina needs a last-minute sitter; and spending long days with Amabel, who is often treated more like a photo op than a child.

But behind every façade lurks a less attractive truth. When a young woman approaches Finn, claiming a connection with Philip and asking Finn to pass on a message, Finn becomes caught up in a web of deceit with the senate seat at its center. And Finn isn’t exactly innocent herself: she too has a background she has kept hidden, and under the hot Phoenix sun, everything is about to be laid bare. . . . 

Stan Trollip, half of the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip who write under Michael Stanley, recently appeared at Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis to launch the new book, Shoot the Bastards. The book is published by Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press. You can order copies of that book, and Stanley’s other ones, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Mwmkml

Stanley discussed Shoot the Bastards, writing a guest post, for the blog Type M for Murder. You can read it here. https://bit.ly/31IpHu2

Here’s the summary of Shoot the Bastards.

“From Minnesota to South Africa to Mozambique to Vietnam, Michael Stanley’s Shoot the Bastards is an extraordinary tale of the extreme measures taken to combat international poaching and smuggling.”—C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wolf Pack

The black market feeds all appetites…

The dark winter nights of Minnesota seem to close in on investigative journalist Crystal Nguyen as she realizes that her close friend Michael Davidson has disappeared while researching a story on rhino poaching and rhino-horn smuggling in Africa. Crystal, fearing the worst, wrangles her own assignment on the continent. Within a week in Africa she’s been hunting poachers (“Shoot the bastards,” she’s told), hunted by their bosses, and questioned in connection with a murder—and there’s still no sign of Michael.

Crystal quickly realizes how little she knows about Africa and about the war between poachers and conservation officers. What she does know is she must find Michael, and she’s committed to preventing a major plot to secure a huge number of horns… but exposing the financial underworld supporting the rhino-horn market is only half the battle. Equally important is convincing South African authorities to take action before it’s too late—for the rhinos, and for Crystal.

Michael Stanley, author of the award-winning Detective Kubu Mysteries series, introduces an intriguing new protagonist while exposing one of southern Africa’s most vicious conflicts in Shoot the Bastards.

I just pre-ordered my copies of Adrian McKinty’s forthcoming book, The Chain, and you might want to as well. The author will be at The Poisoned Pen on release date, Tuesday, July 9 at 7 PM, with a story to tell. Here’s the link to pre-order The Chain, or order McKinty’s other books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Kux9DI

Here’s the hot news about McKinty’s book. https://bit.ly/31JsO55

Check out the book trailer for The Chain.

Here’s the description of The Chain.

VICTIM.
SURVIVOR.
ABDUCTOR.
CRIMINAL.
YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE.

“This nightmarish story is incredibly propulsive and original. You won’t shake it for a long time.”
STEPHEN KING“McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years. His plots tempt you to read at top speed, but don’t give in: this writing – sharply observant, intelligent and shot through with black humor – should be savored.”
TANA FRENCH“A masterpiece. You have never read anything quite like THE CHAIN and you will never be able to forget it.”
DON WINSLOW
* * * * *

YOUR PHONE RINGS.

A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD.

TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE’S CHILD.

YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM’S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD.

IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON’T HAPPEN:
YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED.

YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN

* * * * *

“Diabolical, unnerving, and gives a whole new meaning to the word “relentless”. Adrian McKinty just leapt to the top of my list of must-read suspense novelists. He’s the real deal.”
DENNIS LEHANE
“Pairing an irresistible concept with a winner protagonist, THE CHAIN promises to be your new addiction once you succumb to the first enticing page.”
ALAFAIR BURKE
“A grade-A-first-rate-edge-of-your-seat thriller. I can’t believe what went through my mind while reading it.”
ATTICA LOCKE

“Diabolically gripping. Nail-biting, smart, and convincing. Hang on tight, because once you start this book, you can’t stop – you’ll be caught in THE CHAIN.”
MEG GARDINER

“THE CHAIN is the rare thriller that’s not only fiendishly clever but also powerfully empathetic, with both hair-raising twists and complex, fully-realized characters.”LOU BERNEY

“YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST.
AND YOU WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE THE LAST.”

Claire Legrand’s second book in the Empirium trilogy, Kingsbane, is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Signed copies of Kingsbane, the sequel to Furyborn, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RvCc7L

Here’s the description of Kingsbane.

The Instant New York Times Bestseller!

The anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Furyborn!

Two queens, separated by thousands of years, connected by secrets and lies, must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity’s long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana’s power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother’s power, or rejecting it forever.

Recently, Vanessa Friedman wrote an article about this summer’s thrillers for The New York Times Book Review. You can find her piece here. https://nyti.ms/2RljsHC

The article lists seven thrillers. Of course, you can check the Web Store for those books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

However, one of the mystery fields’ treasures, Grand Master Award Recipient Sara Paretsky, disagreed with Friedman’s comments about women who write thrillers.

You can find Paretsky’s rebuttal in the letters to the editor. https://nyti.ms/2WNC4Bh The letter includes a list of women authors who write in the field. If you want a short history lesson, check out Sara Paretsky’s piece. Then, check the Web Store for books by some of those authors. Better yet, check for books by Sara Paretsky. https://bit.ly/2WKkaj3

James Ellroy will be at The Poisoned Pen on Thursday, June 20 at 7 PM to discuss his latest book in his second LA Quartet, This Storm. You can order copies of Ellroy’s books, including a signed copy of This Storm through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2KUNy3y

Here’s the summary of This Storm.

A massive novel of World War II Los Angeles. The crowning work of an American master.

It is January, 1942. Torrential rainstorms hit L.A. A body is unearthed in Griffith Park. The cops rate it a routine dead-man job. They’re grievously wrong. It’s a summons to misalliance and all the spoils of a brand-new war.

Elmer Jackson is a corrupt Vice cop. He’s a flesh peddler and a bagman for the L.A. Chief of Police. Hideo Ashida is a crime-lab whiz, caught up in the maelstrom of the Japanese internment. Dudley Smith is an LAPD hardnose working Army Intelligence. He’s gone rogue and gone all-the-way Fascist. Joan Conville was born rogue. She’s a defrocked Navy lieutenant and a war profiteer to her core.

They’ve signed on for the dead-man job. They’ve got a hot date with History. They will fight their inner wars within The War with unstoppable fury.

*****

If you would like to know more about the book and James Ellroy before the event on Thursday night, check out Angus Batey’s interview with the author for The Quietus. https://bit.ly/2ZrEMhx

It’s been quite a number of years since Kate Atkinson wrote about her detective Jackson Brodie. Now, he’s back in her forthcoming book, Big Sky. You can pre-order a copy of it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2p9zWWi

For a brief summary, along with Stephanie Merritt’s review of Big Sky, check out the link to The Guardian article. https://bit.ly/2Klgvqe

Leslie Budewitz, author of Chai Another Day, a cozy mystery set in Seattle, recently took time for an interview. You can find that book, and other ones by Budewitz through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2wUwnHt

Thank you, Leslie, for taking the time to answer questions.

Leslie Budewitz and I share something in common, besides our love of mysteries. When I asked her about her childhood reading, she mentioned the Happy Hollisters. That series marked my first foray into mysteries. I was eager to read what else the former President of Sisters in Crime had to say in this interview. Thank you, Leslie, for taking time to answer questions.

*****

Leslie, I reviewed Assault and Pepper, your first Spice Shop Mystery, and we’ve met up at conferences, but I’ve never interviewed you. Let’s remedy that. Would you introduce yourself to readers?

Thanks, Lesa! I’m a lawyer turned mystery writer, living in the woods in NW Montana with my husband, Don Beans, aka Mr. Right, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and our cat, a big gray tuxedo. I’m passionate about books, food, art, and small-town life.

Would you introduce us to Pepper Reece?

Ah, Pepper. She didn’t get her name from her job, running Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, but it suits her. (Her grandfather gave her the nickname when she was a toddler, and you’ll have to know her a long time before you find out her birth name. Or read Killing Thyme.) She loved her life—married to a cop who worked the bike patrol and running staff HR for a major Seattle law firm. Then she turned 40 and it all fell apart. She literally tripped over her husband and a meter maid practically plugging each other, then the law firm imploded in scandal. So she bought a downtown loft and the spice shop. (Wouldn’t you?) She never expected to find solace in bay leaves, and it hasn’t always been easy—not with murder investigations regularly dropping in her path. But when you’re in trouble, Pepper is the woman you want on your side.

Tell us about Chai Another Day, without spoilers. 

When Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper Reece overhears an argument in an antique shop, she finds herself drawn into a murder that could implicate an old enemy, or ensnare a new friend.

It’s about loyalty, trust, and identity—that last is a theme in all the Spice Shop Mysteries. Pepper’s starting a new relationship, and struggling a bit with knowing whether she can trust this man and her own judgment. She’s juggling employee crises and conflicts, as every business owner does, and trying to be a good daughter to a mother going through shifts of her own. It’s about an ever-changing city, and yes, it’s about chai. 

Why spices and Pike Place Market for this series?

My Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries debuted in 2013 with Death al Dente; the series is set in Jewel Bay, Montana, based on the real village in the NW corner of the state, near Glacier National Park, where I’ve lived for nearly 20 years. When I decided to write a second series, I picked Seattle, where I went to college and practiced law for several years, partly for the contrast to the village and partly to let me spend time, on the page and on my feet, in a magical place.  I fell in love with the Market my first year in college, more than 40 years ago, and still love it. It’s the oldest continuously operating public market in the country ““ founded in 1907 ““ and it’s constantly evolving. Think of the research! And by research, of course, I mean eat. 

The urban cozy requires a community within a community, which defines Pike Place. In my early forays to the Market, I always stopped at Market Spice, next to the fish market, for a cup of tea, and it was the whiffs of herbs and spices that lured me into learning to cook. Spice has been luring humans for millennia! Giving my protagonist a spice shop not only gives her a popular market haunt, but it also connects her to the city’s food and restaurant world, giving her good reasons to investigate.

It’s been a few years since the last book in the series, Killing Thyme. How have you been killing time since then?

I finished the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, with Treble at the Jam Fest (2017) and As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles (2018). I discovered another captivating character, “Stagecoach Mary” Fields, a real-life historical figure who stars in a series of historical short stories set in Montana Territory beginning in 1885. The first, “All God’s Sparrows,” appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and just won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. The second, “Miss Starr’s Goodbye,” will appear in AHMM this fall. Another short story, “With My Eyes,” set in Seattle and Athens, appeared in Suspense Magazine and won the 2018 Derringer Award, given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. And “A Death in Yelapa: A Food Lovers’ Village Story” is in the new Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most Edible.

I’ve also got a couple of book projects I hope I can talk about soon. 

Everyone’s journey to publishing is different. Tell us about your journey to publication for Death al Dente in your Food Lovers’ Village series. Then, that book went on to win the Agatha for Best First Novel. How did you learn about that?

I started writing in my late thirties, during a personal crisis. Turns out that’s not uncommon—if we’ve got a creative urge, it will often demand our attention during difficult times. I wrote four manuscripts, all set in Montana, that got attention and agents, but didn’t sell. Finally, I followed the lead of Doug Lyle, MD, well-known in the mystery community for providing medical and forensic info to writers, and turned my newsletter columns on legal topics into Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure, which won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction.

But passionate as I am about helping writers get the facts about the law right, I wasn’t through writing my own fiction. I love cozies—the light side of mystery, with no graphic sex or violence and lots of graphic food—and thought my Montana village would make a fresh setting for a series, with each book focused on a festival, some real and some made up. (We love our festivals out here.) Happily, Berkley agreed. I headed back to Malice Domestic, where the Agatha Awards are given, and got to share the joy of winning with my editor and many friends from the Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter, who were my fairy godmothers on the path to publication.

Leslie, you were president of Sisters in Crime for a year. What are your favorite memories from that year? Your greatest accomplishment as president?

It is such a deep joy to hear from members—whether published or not, and of course, many aren’t writers—telling me how much SinC means to them, both nationally and in their chapters. I had a fabulous board, in 2015-16, and we did a lot of work behind the scenes, so that SinC’s finances and publicity work could run smoothly, and to enable us to support our chapters with the organizational nitty-gritty, ideas for programs and projects,  and most exciting, the education grants. I had a blast representing SinC at the mystery cons, the Edgars (where we were awarded a Raven for contributions to the mystery community), the Writers’ Police Academy, American Library Association, and more. It was a thrill to interview our founding mother, Sara Paretsky, as part of our 30^th anniversary celebration, and to work with the chapter liaison and members to establish new chapters.  And now it’s a joy to watch subsequent boards and presidents continue the good work. 

If you had to recommend 5 books for a person to read so they could get a feel for you and your reading taste, what 5 would you pick?

My tastes are nothing if not eclectic. I am a devotee of the poets Ted Kooser and the late Mary Oliver. It’s a treat to sink into long-running mystery series where the characters are old friends who take me places I’ve never been, particularly those of Deborah Crombie, Barbara Ross, and Jacqueline Winspear. I’ve read A Mercy by Toni Morrison countless times, and few modern writers capture the voice of the young boy better than the late Ivan Doig, although I find Jamie Ford’s young protagonists very appealing. (I say modern because of Mark Twain.)

And apparently, I can’t count.

What books did you love as a child?

The usual mysteries, of course, starting with the Happy Hollisters. But the one book I most loved and still keep on my writing room shelves is Calico Bush by Rachel Fields, published in 1931. It’s the story of Maggie, a French girl orphaned on board ship to the New World in 1743. She’s “bound out” to a young family homesteading along the coast of Maine, where she finds courage and hope in the face of loss and struggle.. It’s a marvelous book, still in print. 

As a librarian, I like to end interviews with the same question. Tell us a story about how a library or librarian influenced you?

I grew up in Billings, Montana, where the main library was built in 1903 as a gift to the city from the Billings family, who made their fortune in railroads. It’s a sandstone building with turrets and cubbies and fireplaces in unexpected places, including the children’s room. We all called it “the Castle,” and though the city outgrew it in the late 60s and it now houses the Western Heritage Center, it started me on a long, magical road paved with books. These days when I visit libraries, they may be modern architectural wonders, refurbished  schools, or spaces in strip malls. But they’re all castles to me.

Thank you, Leslie.

CHAI ANOTHER DAY Seventh Street Books — June 11, 2019 Paperback: $15.95, Kindle $9.99 ISBN: 978-1633885363

*****

L

Leslie is a 2018 Agatha Award winner for Best Short Story and also a recipient of the 2018 Derringer Award in the Long Story category.

CONNECT WITH LESLIE BUDEWITZ ONLINE Website: LeslieBudewitz.com Facebook: /LeslieBudewitzAuthor Twitter: @LeslieBudewitz Goodreads: /LeslieBudewitz

You can also join Leslie for more food, books and fun at Mystery Lovers Kitchen and Killer Characters!