Joan Hess died this past week. This may not have been the most recent photo of her, but it’s my favorite.

Hess is best known for her Arly Hanks mysteries, known as the Maggody mysteries, and the Claire Malloy mysteries, both series set in Arkansas. She also wrote the Theo Bloomer mysteries, under the pseudonym Joan Hadley. She wrote numerous short stories, and won the Agatha Award for “Too Much To Bare”. Then, this year, she finished a manuscript left by her good friend, Barbara Mertz. Mertz, who wrote as Elizabeth Peters, discussed and shared her notes with Hess so the final Amelia Peabody book, The Painted Queen, could be finished.

Hess was a member of Sisters in Crime and a former president of the  American Crime Writers League. Many of her novels, including The Painted Queen, can be ordered through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2hTEufD

Joan Hess, 1949-2017. May she rest in peace.

The current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen is Dean Koontz’ The Whispering Room, the latest book featuring Jane Hawk. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2i1wwoB

Here’s the summary of the book.

Jane Hawk—fiction’s most relentless, resourceful, stunning new heroine—continues her battle against a murderous conspiracy in the riveting sequel to The Silent Corner.

“No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.”

These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun—just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better.

In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide—and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals—Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But the ruthless people bent on hijacking America’s future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue—and become the nation’s most wanted fugitive—in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them.

Jane Hawk’s story continues in The Crooked Staircase.

Join Dana Stabenow at The Poisoned Pen on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2 PM when she’ll discuss and sign her new book, Silk and Song. If you can’t make it, you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2n0SklZ

Check out Stabenow’s website. She’s talking about the Silk Road’s market towns, via Rugs, ropes and rivets.

Here’s the summary of Dana Stabenow’s Silk and Song.

Beijing, 1322. Sixteen-year-old Wu Johanna is the granddaughter of the legendary trader Marco Polo. In the wake of her father’s death, Johanna finds that lineage counts for little amid the disintegrating court of the Khan. Johanna’s destiny—if she has one—lies with her grandfather, in Venice. So, with a small band of companions, she takes to the road—the Silk Road—that storied collection of routes that link the silks of Cathay, the spices of the Indies and the jewels of the Indus to the markets of the west. But first she must survive treachery and betrayal on a road beset by thieves, fanatics and warlords.

Join author Dana Stabenow and Poisoned Pen bookstore owner Barbara Peters on Saturday, from 12:00-2:00 PM as they recommend books. There will be specials and giveaways.

Agatha Christie is as popular as ever, with the new version of “Murder on the Orient Express”. Now, Ben Brantley, theater critic for The New York Times, discusses the show currently playing in London, “Witness for the Prosecution”. https://nyti.ms/2jBrJKK

Looking for some Agatha Christie books to read? Don’t forget to check out The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

The Washington Post recently announced their “10 best thrillers and mysteries of 2017”. I’m sure you’ll recognize some of these. https://wapo.st/2j6cPs8

Check out the Web Store for copies of the books. https://store.poisonedpen.com

If you’re looking for gifts for yourself or a crime fiction fan, The Poisoned Pen still has signed copies of some of the books.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted authors Stephen Coonts and Barrett Tillman. Signed copies of Coonts’ The Armageddon File and Tillman’s On Wave and Wing are available through the Web Store.  https://store.poisonedpen.com

David Baldacci’s latest novel, End Game, is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. There are signed copies available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2ivkGQL

Here’s the description of the new book.

#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci returns with his most breathtaking thriller yet…

Will Robie and Jessica Reel are two of the most lethal people alive. They’re the ones the government calls in when the utmost secrecy is required to take out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States. And through every mission, one man has always had their backs: their handler, code-named Blue Man.

But now, Blue Man is missing.

Last seen in rural Colorado, Blue Man had taken a rare vacation to go fly fishing in his hometown when he disappeared off the grid. With no communications since, the team can’t help but fear the worst.

Sent to investigate, Robie and Reel arrive in the small town of Grand to discover that it has its own share of problems. A stagnant local economy and a woefully understaffed police force have made this small community a magnet for crime, drugs, and a growing number of militant fringe groups.

But lying in wait in Grand is an even more insidious and sweeping threat, one that may shake the very foundations of America. And when Robie and Reel find themselves up against an adversary with superior firepower and a home-court advantage, they’ll be lucky if they make it out alive, with or without Blue Man . . .

PHENOMENAL PRAISE FOR DAVID BALDACCI’S #1 NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLING WILL ROBIE SERIES:

“Robie and Reel are complex characters, and anything they do is a pleasure to follow…Baldacci knows how to get readers to turn the pages.” —Associated Press

What do authors do when they’re in town for an event at The Poisoned Pen, and they have free time? Well, authors Laurie King and Ellen Crosby went shopping at the Desert Botanical Gardens with bookstore owner Barbara Peters. Actually, they were at the Chocolate and Chili Festival there.

Check out those bags that Laurie and Barbara are carrying.