The ever-popular Charles Todd returns to The Poisoned Pen on Monday, March 12 at 7 PM.

The mother-son team will be here to discuss their latest Ian Rutledge novel, The Gate Keeper, with their host that evening, Stephanie Barron. You can pre-order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2EsADDf

**Exclusive for Poisoned Pen Customers with the purchase of a signed, The Gate Keeper you will receive a specially designed “wedding invite”…..while supplies last**  ““ Miles M. @ The Poisoned Pen (Jan30-18)

Did you see Marilyn Stasio’s review of The Gate Keeper in The New York Times Book Review? It was the lead book in her recent column. https://nyti.ms/2FDV4KD

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, just hosted authors Lisa Gardner and Meg Gardiner in a double thriller event. It was release day for Lisa Gardner’s latest D.D. Warren novel, Look for Me. Meg Gardiner’s new UNSUB novel, Into the Black Nowhere, came out a week earlier. Signed copies of both books are available in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

How often do you get to watch an event with these authors? You can watch this one on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8046878

Maybe you missed bestselling author Alafair Burke when she was here at The Poisoned Pen in January. She was on tour for her new book, The Wife. Signed copies are still available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2ElJhDA

If you missed that program, you might want to check out Hilli Levin’s interview with Burke in BookPage. https://bit.ly/2GV0xhx

After reading that, here’s the summary of Alafair Burke’s The Wife.

His Scandal
Her Secret

From New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, a stunning domestic thriller in the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Woman in Cabin 10—in which a woman must make the impossible choice between defending her husband and saving herself.

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look—at both the man she married and the women she chose not to believe.

This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke’s Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

Today is release date for Kristin Hannah’s novel of Alaska, The Great Alone. You can order signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2FMA3NA

Here’s the summary.

“A TOUR DE FORCE.” —Kirkus (starred review)

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska—a place of incomparable beauty and danger.The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

*****

Here’s Kristin Hannah discussing The Great Alone.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHvhfLp3wmA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

And, here’s the book trailer for The Great Alone.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT_NehX9Jzc?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

We’ve had a few lessons about writing on the blog lately. Diana Gabaldon showed how she composes a sentence. Dana Stabenow wrote about the importance of setting. Now, Stabenow, the author of Silk and Song, talks about the research she does for her books. It was essential to do that for Silk and Song, her novel about Marco Polo’s granddaughter and the Silk Road. Copies of the book are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2E1Ifci

Dana Stabenow’s post about research was originally written for M.K. Tod’s “A Writer of History”. Here’s the link to that article. https://bit.ly/2EG5MB1

Karen Cleveland’s Need to Know 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/2EAQygx

Here’s the summary of this week’s Hot Book.

Perfect husband. Perfect father. Perfect liar?

“Terrific.”—John Grisham
“Superb.”—Lee Child
“Breathtaking, heart-pounding.”—Louise Penny
“A fast-paced, relentlessly gripping read.”—Chris Pavone

In pursuit of a Russian sleeper cell on American soil, CIA analyst Vivian Miller uncovers a dangerous secret that will threaten her job, her family—and her life. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—is threatened.”Ž

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?

Film rights sold to Universal Pictures for Charlize Theron “¢ Rights sold in more than 20 markets

“Shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest new thrillers.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“So timely . . . Think of the perfect mix of Homeland and The Americans. . . . Need to Know needs to be read by all who relish spy novels. As entertaining as it is informative and as irresistible as it is impossible to put down.”—Providence Journal
 
“Pulse-pounding.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
 
“Accomplished . . . a nonstop thriller tapping into a hot mix of contemporary digital counterintelligence, old-school spying and ageless family drama.”—Shelf Awareness

“An early contender for next year’s Gone Girl.”—GQ (UK)

“The Russia page-turner that should be on everyone’s list.”—New York Post

Have you been waiting for Gregg Hurwitz’ new Orphan X book, Hellbent? You can order it from the Web Store, and if you order now, you can buy a signed first edition that comes with a CIA letter that ties in with the book. https://bit.ly/2Eyuz9S

Here’s the summary of the book.

Evan Smoak—government assassin gone rogue—returns inHellbent, an engrossing, unputdownable thriller from Gregg Hurwitz, the latest in his #1 international bestselling Orphan X series.

Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After he broke with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate.

But this time, the voice on the other end is Jack Johns, the man who raised and trained him, the only father Evan has ever known. Secret government forces are busy trying to scrub the remaining assets and traces of the Orphan Program and they have finally tracked down Jack. With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: find and protect his last protégé and recruit for the program.

But Evan isn’t the only one after this last Orphan—the new head of the Orphan Program, Van Sciver, is mustering all the assets at his disposal to take out both Evan (Orphan X) and the target he is trying to protect.

*****

I know most of us reading this blog missed the event. Patrick Millikin from the Poisoned Pen interviewed Gregg Hurwitz.

But, if you missed it, you can now watch the interview on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8038276

Enjoy!

Are you a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series? You can check for her books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2DVhCdn

Would you like to see how Diana Gabaldon crafts a sentence? Here’s a fun video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbJ1Hn55nOw?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

It’s always fun to introduce a debut author to readers. Tom Hunt just appeared at the Poisoned Pen, and author Stephen Coonts had the opportunity to introduce him to his first audience. His debut thriller is Killer Choice. You can be one of the first to discover his writing, and order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2FxOaWS

Here’s the summary of the book.

“Terrific…full of shocks and twists you won’t see coming—unputdownable and highly recommended!”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The electrifying debut thriller that asks the question: To save the one you love, is there any price you wouldn’t pay?
 
His wife is sick.
He needs $200,000 to save her.
A mysterious man offers to give him the money with just one catch: He has to murder someone to get it.
 
Gary Foster’s life is finally heading in the right direction. After years of trying, his wife, Beth, is pregnant, and he recently opened a business with his brother. But one phone call changes everything….

After collapsing suddenly, Beth has been rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal a devastating diagnosis: an inoperable brain tumor. Their only hope is an expensive experimental treatment available abroad, with a cost that’s out of their reach. And Beth’s time is running out….

Then a strange man approaches Gary and offers the money he needs, on one condition: that he kill someone, no questions asked. End one life to save another.

In this nail-biting debut novel of domestic suspense, one man makes a choice that forces him to confront the darkest reaches of his soul and betray those closest to him. As he’s swept up in a nightmare of escalating violence, he must question his own morality—and determine just how far he’s willing to go to save the woman he loves.

*****

And, you can “meet” Tom Hunt here, in his Livestream interview with Stephen Coonts.  https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8036637