The Mystery Writers of America recently announced the nominees for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction and nonfiction. Check out the list, and then check the Webstore for copies of the books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Congratulations to all the nominees!

BEST NOVEL

Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster – Simon Element – Marysue Rucci Books)
An Honest Man by Michael Koryta (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company – Mulholland Books)
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Macmillan Publishing – Minotaur Books)
Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski (Macmillan Publishing – Henry Holt and Co.)
The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji (Simon & Schuster)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Boomtown by A.F. Carter (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
Hide by Tracy Clark (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak (Hard Case Crime)

BEST FACT CRIME

In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child by Kim Cross (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux (Penguin Random House – Crown Currency)
Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt (Macmillan Publishers – St. Martin’s Press)
Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder by David Bordwell (Columbia University Press)
Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak (Macmillan Publishing – St. Martin’s Press)
Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)
Love Me Fierce in Danger – The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury Academic

BEST JUVENILE

Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Hachette Book Group – Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Publishers – Versify)
The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz & Iva-Marie Palmer (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown BFYR – Christy Ottaviano Books)
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Girl Forgotten by April Henry (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown BFYR – Christy Ottaviano Books)
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)
The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon (HarperCollins Publishers – Katherine Tegen Books)
Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmerman (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.

Play the Fool by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House – Bantam)
The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards (Crooked Lane Books)
Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
Past Lying by Val McDermid (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.

Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien (Macmillan Publishers – St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Johns (Crooked Lane Books)
The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell (Crooked Lane Books)

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Ariel Lawhon to the bookstore for her first in-person event with the Pen. Lawhon’s The Frozen River is sold out, so you’ll have to contact the bookstore to see if they have any available copies. Here’s the store’s phone number, 888-560-9919.

You might not be able to get a copy of The Frozen River immediately, but you’ll want to hear Lawhon’s story about the background of the book.

Here’s the description of The Frozen River.

GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

“Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive.”—The Washington Post

“Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine.” —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.
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See all editions of The Frozen River

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ARIEL LAWHON is a critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated in numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, Indie Next, Costco, Amazon Spotlight, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. Ariel splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.

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Enjoy the conversation with Ariel Lawhon.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Thomas Perry back to the bookstore to discuss his new book, Hero. There are signed copies of the book still available in the Webstore. http://tinyurl.com/bdzm6yw9

And, if you listen carefully to the beginning of the event, you’ll hear Peters welcome author John Sandford and his wife to the event. You never know who will be in the audience at the Pen.

Here’s the description of Hero.

A private security agent finds that being branded as the City of Angels’ latest hero could also make her its next victim.…

Justine Poole takes her job seriously providing security for wealthy and high-profile Hollywood stars. When she prevents a brazen robbery at the Beverly Hills home of two of her clients—killing two of the five armed robbers in the process—she is initially lauded in the media as a local hero. But the spotlight soon puts her in the crosshairs of the crime kingpin behind the burglaries.

Unable to stand the embarrassment of his lackeys having been defeated by a lone woman, Mr. Conger puts in a call to the one man who can make his problems disappear. Known for his swiftness and subtlety, Leo Sealy will kill anyone for a price. All he needs is a name and a face, any starting point to pick up his victim’s trail. Luckily for him, the local news is as eager as he is for any information about the heroic bodyguard—and quick to broadcast their findings, regardless of what it might mean for her safety. But Sealy isn’t prepared for just how quick and resourceful Justine can be. So begins a cat and mouse game between two people who know more about how to take down one’s enemies than anyone else in the business.

Justine finds herself up against both a hardened killer and a fickle media landscape that can just as soon turn on her as celebrate her in this high-stakes thriller from the author of The Old Man.

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Thomas Perry is the bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Murder Book, the critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series, The Old Man, and The Butcher’s Boy, which won the Edgar Award. He lives in Southern California.

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Enjoy the conversation with Thomas Perry.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Stacy Willingham for a live event at the bookstore. Willingham’s latest book is Only If You’re Lucky. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/47Evvph

Here’s the description of Only If You’re Lucky.

A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It’s a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

From the author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things comes a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

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STACY WILLINGHAM is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things and Only If You’re Lucky. Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, was a 2022 finalist for the Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mystery & Thriller award, and ITW’s Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated in more than thirty languages. Before turning to fiction, she was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and Labradoodle, Mako.

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Enjoy the discussion of Stacy Willingham’s book.

John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently talked with Andrea Penrose, an author who specializes in the Regency era. Her latest novel is a historical novel based on the life of Lady Hester Stanhope, The Diamond of London. The book will be released January 23, but you can order it now through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4aUoHGT

Here’s the summary of The Diamond of London.

Born into an illustrious family of swashbuckling war heroes and brilliant political leaders, Lady Hester Stanhope was a Regency-era adventuress who lived on her own terms and refused to conform.

Fans of Shana Abé, Theresa Ann Fowler, and Fiona Davis will be captivated by the unforgettable spirit at the heart of USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose’s dazzling new historical novel based on the real life of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), a British aristocrat, antiquarian, and adventurer who defied all conventional strictures of what a woman could and couldn’t do during the Regency era.

“What a life Lady Hester had!…Simply sparkles!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Diamond Eye

“Andrea Penrose’s impeccable research and attention to detail brings this unique and fascinating historical figure to sparkling life.” —Christine Wells, author of The Royal Windsor Secret

“A truly dazzling read!” —Eliza Knight, USA Today and international bestselling author of Starring Adele Astaire

Even with her privileged life, Lady Hester Stanhope knows that claiming the adventurous life she truly wants will not be easy, thanks to her eccentric father’s stifling grip. With the help of her renowned statesman uncle William Pitt the Younger, she takes on the glittering, treacherous heights of London Society. Her formidable intelligence, outspoken opinions, and headstrong determination gain the favor of the beau monde’s leading taste-maker Beau Brummell—and she quickly learns to bend the rules of the ton to her own advantage. And as her uncle’s hostess, she astutely uses her skills to preside over—and give advice to—the most influential figures of her day, rising to a position unequaled in society . . .

But when it comes to holy matrimony, Hester will settle for no less than a passionate match of equals—a search marked by challenges and heartbreak. Her affair with a charismatic naval officer tempts her with forbidden pleasures—even as it threatens her reputation. Her love for a sophisticated, brilliant diplomat offers the marriage of her dreams . . . and unsuspected betrayal. And as England is plunged into war, Hester’s world changes forever, causing her to find courage and strength amid loss, chart a completely unexpected future—and make a glorious legacy forever hers . . .

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Andrea Penrose is the acclaimed author of Regency-era historical fiction, including the USA Today bestselling Wrexford & Sloane mystery series, as well as Regency romances written under the names Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens. Published internationally in ten languages, she is a three-time RITA Award-finalist and the recipient of numerous writing awards, including two Daphne Du Maurier Awards for Historical Mystery and two Gold Leaf Awards. A graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Art and an M.F.A. in Graphic Design, Andrea fell in love with Regency England after reading Pride and Prejudice, and has maintained a fascination with the era’s swirling silks and radical new ideas throughout her writing career. She lives in Connecticut and blogs with a community of historical fiction authors at WordWenches.com. She also can be found at AndreaPenrose.com

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Enjoy the conversation about Penrose’s writing and Lady Hester Stanhope.

When Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen hosted Katia Lief, he asked her to talk about the background of her novel, Invisible Woman. You’ll want to watch the event, if you’re interested in the background. There are signed copies of Invisible Woman available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3SfkWnY

Here’s the description of Invisible Woman.

Other people kill their husbands. Not her.

“Absolutely a novel of its time–and a novel of women’s stories across time.”—Kirkus (starred review)

In Invisible Woman, a dangerous secret held for too long between estranged best friends rises to the surface, and a long marriage comes apart with devastating consequences.

Joni Ackerman’s decision to raise children, 25 years ago, came with a steep cost. She was then a pioneering filmmaker, one of the few women to break into the all-male Hollywood club of feature film directors. But she and her husband Paul had always wanted a family, and his ascending career at a premier television network provided a safety net. Now they’ve recently transplanted to Brooklyn, so that Paul can launch a major East Coast production studio, when a scandal rocks the film industry and forces Joni to revisit a secret from long ago involving her friend Val.  

Joni is adamant that the time has come to tell the story, but Val and Paul are reluctant, for different reasons. As the marriage frays and the friends spar about whether to speak up, Joni’s struggles with isolation in a new city, and old resentments about the sacrifices she made on her family’s behalf start to boil over. She takes solace, of sorts, in the novels of Patricia Highsmith—particularly the masterpiece Strangers on a Train, with its duplicitous characters and their murderous impulses—until the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred.

Invisible Woman is at once a literary thriller about the lies we tell each other (and ourselves), and a powerful psychological examination of the complexities of friendship, marriage, and motherhood.

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Katia Lief teaches fiction writing at The New School in Manhattan and lives with her family in Brooklyn. She is the author of A Map of the Dark and Last Night published under the pseudonym Karen Ellis. Earlier work includes USA Today and international bestselling novels Five Days in Summer, One Cold Night, and The Money Kill, which was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award.

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Here’s the event with Katia Lief.

Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed Jon Talton back to the bookstore for a live event. Talton’s latest book, set in 1930s Phoenix, is The Nurse Murders. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4b6FXc6

Here’s the description of The Nurse Murders.

A sadistic killer is terrorizing Phoenix, and he’s got Gene Hammons’ number…

It’s 1936, and private investigator Gene Hammons has more work than he can handle. A crime syndicate, J. Edgar Hoover, a wealthy family from back East, and a wily stalker all want something from him. His capable-but-drug-addicted brother, still a homicide detective, is as much a hindrance as a help. Luckily, Hammons finds a professional ally in Pamela Bradbury, a fellow gumshoe with some new tricks to teach him. When the two pair up, there doesn’t seem to be a case they can’t solve, from kidnapping to blackmail to an intricate gold-smuggling operation.

But then a young nurse with red hair is sadistically raped and killed, and Gene recognizes the signs of a “lust murderer,” having famously solved the case of the University Park Strangler years earlier. When he’s contacted by the killer, Hammons knows he and Pamela must work quickly to catch the brutal murderer before he strikes again. The two come to each other’s rescue more than once, and as deep feelings develop between them, it’s not lost on Gene that their relationship might well prove dangerous—especially for Pamela, with her lovely red hair.

Rich in atmosphere and authentic period detail, THE NURSE MURDERS is a gritty, nail-biting race to catch a killer in a city struggling to assert itself amidst the hardships, corruption, and political machinations of post-World War I America.

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Jon Talton is a fourth-generation Arizonan, the author of 12 novels, and a former columnist for the Arizona Republic. Talton now lives in Seattle, where he is the economics columnist for the Seattle Times and writes the blog Rogue Columnist.

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Enjoy the conversation about Phoenix history and Talton’s new book.

Amy Pease’s debut, Northwoods, has been called “perfect for fans of…William Kent Krueger”. So, Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Pease and Krueger as guest host for the event. You can find signed copies of Pease’s Northwoods in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3HeigRo

Here’s the summary of Northwoods.

“A riveting debut.” —People
“A novel you absolutely don’t want to miss.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author

The dark underbelly of an idyllic Midwestern resort town is revealed in the aftermath of a murder with ties to America’s opioid epidemic in this unputdownable and thrilling debut that is perfect for fans of James Lee Burke, William Kent Krueger, and Mindy Mejia.

Eli North is not okay.

His drinking is getting worse by the day, his emotional wounds after a deployment to Afghanistan are as raw as ever, his marriage and career are over, and the only job he can hold down is with the local sheriff’s department. And that’s only because the sheriff is his mother—and she’s overwhelmed with small town Shaky Lake’s dwindling budget and the fallout from the opioid epidemic. The Northwoods of Wisconsin may be a vacationer’s paradise, but amidst the fishing trips and campfires and Paul Bunyan festivals, something sinister is taking shape.

When the body of a teenage boy is found in the lake, it sets in motion an investigation that leads Eli to a wealthy enclave with a violent past, a pharmaceutical salesman, and a missing teenage girl. Soon, Eli and his mother, along with a young FBI agent, are on the hunt for more than just a killer.

If Eli solves the case, could he finally get the shot at redemption he so desperately needs? Or will answers to this dark case elude him and continue to bring destruction to the Northwoods?

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Amy Pease is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin and the Madison Writer’s Studio, and works as a nurse practitioner, where she is a nationally recognized HIV specialist. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children. Northwoods is her first novel.

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Enjoy the conversation about books, Wisconsin, and Amy Pease’s Northwoods.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Kate Brody to talk about her debut, Rabbit Hole. There are signed copies of Rabbit Hole available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3vtDs37

Here’s the description of Rabbit Hole.

A page-turning debut mystery that’s as addictive as a late-night Reddit binge, about a grieving woman obsessed with solving her sister’s cold-case disappearance via the true crime fandom

Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, My Favorite Murder, and Fleabag

Ten years ago, Theodora “Teddy” Angstrom’s older sister, Angie, went missing. Her case remains unsolved. Now Teddy’s father, Mark, has killed himself. Unbeknownst to Mark’s family, he had been active in a Reddit community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can’t help but fall down the same rabbit hole.

Teddy’s investigation quickly gets her in hot water with her gun-nut boyfriend, her long-lost half brother, and her colleagues at the prestigious high school where she teaches English. Further complicating matters is Teddy’s growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth who is eerily keen on helping her solve the case.

Bewitched by Mickey, Teddy begins to lose her moral compass. As she struggles to reconcile new information with old memories, her erratic behavior reaches a fever pitch, but she won’t stop until she finds Angie—or destroys herself in the process.

Rabbit Hole is an outrageous and heart-wrenching character study of a mind twisted by grief, a biting critique of the internet’s voyeurism, and an intriguing exploration of the blurry lines of female friendship.

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Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has previously appeared in Lit Hub and The Literary Review, among other publications. She holds an MFA from NYU. Rabbit Hole is her debut novel.

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Enjoy the conversation with Kate Brody.