We’re off to England this week. Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Finch recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen. Winspear was here on release date for her latest Maisie Dobbs novel, In This Grave Hour. Finch appeared on the last day of his book tour for the prequel to his Charles Lenox mysteries, The Woman in the Water. Signed copies of both mysteries are available in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

The Poisoned Pen filmed the appearance for Livestream. You can watch and listen to the entire program. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8131744

You also might be interested in Patrick Anderson’s review in The Washington Post of The Woman in the Water. Anderson called the book “An elegant mystery novel.”  https://wapo.st/2E5oSOM

C.J. Box’s 18th Joe Pickett novel, The Disappeared, is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Box’s books, including signed copies of The Disappeared, can be found in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2IYwWEQ

And, while supplies last, a signed copy of The Disappeared comes with a special collectible.

Here’s the description of The Disappeared.

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett has two lethal cases to contend with in the electrifying new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author C. J. Box.

Wyoming’s new governor isn’t sure what to make of Joe Pickett, but he has a job for him that is extremely delicate. A prominent female British executive never came home from the high-end guest ranch she was visiting, and the British Embassy is pressing hard. Pickett knows that happens sometimes–these ranches are stocked with handsome young cowboys, and “ranch romances” aren’t uncommon. But no sign of her months after she vanished? That suggests something else.

At the same time, his friend Nate Romanowski has asked Joe to intervene with the feds on behalf of falconers who can no longer hunt with eagles even though their permits are in order. Who is blocking the falconers and why? The more he investigates both cases, the more someone wants him to go away. Is it because of the missing woman or because he’s become Nate’s advocate? Or are they somehow connected? The answers, when they come, will be even worse than he’d imagined.

We’re losing too many crime fiction authors, at a rapid pace. Thriller writer Philip Kerr is the most recent author, dying March 23 of cancer.

Kerr’s publisher shared the following information.

Nearly thirty years ago, Philip Kerr’s debut novel March Violets introduced the character of Bernie Gunther, a sardonic, hard-drinking detective tackling the dark depths of Nazi and post-war era Germany.  March Violets would become the first installment in the original Berlin Noir trilogy, which was published in the United States in 1993 and included The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem. Thirteen years later, due to reader love and demand, Kerr returned to the world of Bernie Gunther in The One from the Other. Kerr would go on to write nine additional Bernie Gunther novels: A Quiet Flame, If the Dead Rise Not, Field Gray, Prague Fatale, A Man Without Breath, The Lady from Zagreb, The Other Side of Silence, Prussian Blue, and Greeks Bearing Gifts, which will be published in April 2018.

Kerr was a winner of both a Barry Award and the British Crime Writers’ Association’s Ellis Peters Historic Crime Award for If the Dead Rise.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 22, 1956, Kerr studied law and philosophy at the University of Birmingham.  Following university, Kerr worked as a copywriter for several advertising agencies. In addition to his Bernie Gunther novels, Kerr wrote two nonfiction books, fifteen adult novels (including the Scott Manson series), and ten children’s fiction books (including the Children of the Lamp series). He lived in London and is survived by his novelist and journalist wife Jane Thynne and their three children.

PHILIP KERR, 1956 – 2018. May he rest in peace.

This past weekend, the attendees of Left Coast Crime in Reno, Nevada for “Crime on the Comstock” voted for the Lefty Award winners. The awards are presented for mysteries published in 2017. Congratulations to all of the winners. Readers can find the books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Ellen Byron’s A Cajun Christmas Killing won the Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery.

The Lefty for Best Historical Mystery (Bruce Alexander Memorial) went to Rhys Bowen for In Farleigh Field.

Best Debut went to Kellye Garrett’s Hollywood Homicide.

And, William Kent Krueger won the Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories) for Sulfur Springs.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Robert Anglen just reviewed C.J. Box’s The Disappeared for AZCentral. You can read the review online, https://bit.ly/2G3r3EA.

Box will be appear at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center, 6110 N. Scottsdale Road, on Monday, March 26 at 7 PM. Doors open at 6 PM. Admission is free, but it’s $27 for a copy of The Disappeared. Can’t make it? You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2DPwrZZ

If you haven’t yet checked out Robert Anglen’s article, here’s the summary of The Disappeared.

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett has two lethal cases to contend with in the electrifying new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author C. J. Box.

Wyoming’s new governor isn’t sure what to make of Joe Pickett, but he has a job for him that is extremely delicate. A prominent female British executive never came home from the high-end guest ranch she was visiting, and the British Embassy is pressing hard. Pickett knows that happens sometimes–these ranches are stocked with handsome young cowboys, and “ranch romances” aren’t uncommon. But no sign of her months after she vanished? That suggests something else.

At the same time, his friend Nate Romanowski has asked Joe to intervene with the feds on behalf of falconers who can no longer hunt with eagles even though their permits are in order. Who is blocking the falconers and why? The more he investigates both cases, the more someone wants him to go away. Is it because of the missing woman or because he’s become Nate’s advocate? Or are they somehow connected? The answers, when they come, will be even worse than he’d imagined.

Let’s talk about the New York Times Best Seller list for April 1. You might want to take a look at the Fiction list, and Poisoned Pen’s Web Store if you’re interested in signed copies. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

The Rising Sea by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown is new at the number 1 position. Here’s Clive Cussler signing copies of The Rising Sea at the bookstore.

Kristin Hannah dropped in to sign copies of The Great Alone. Her novel is at #2 on April 1.

Brad Meltzer made an appearance at the bookstore to talk about The Escape Artist. It’s at #3, but debuted at #1 on the list.

Here’s Barbara Peters, owner of the Poisoned Pen, with A.J. Finn. Finn is the author of The Woman in the Window. It’s currently #5. He also stopped in at the bookstore.

Fifty Fifty by James Patterson and Candice Fox will be at the tenth position on April 1. Both authors were here this month. Now’s the time to pick up a copy signed by both authors.

The Poisoned Pen – the place to be for authors and readers alike (although we all know authors are readers, too).

Patrick Millikin’s recent interview with authors Willy Vlautin and J. Todd Scott is really one you should listen to on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8122126

Their melancholy books could be soundtracks. In fact, Vlautin sings the title song for his book, Don’t Skip Out On Me. And, the three men spend time talking about what would be the background music for Scott’s High White Sun. You can buy signed copies of both books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the authors read from their books, and, in Vlautin’s case, sing. Check out the Livestream link. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8122126

Sue Grafton’s Y is for Yesterday. Matt Haig’s How to Stop Time. Jack Carr’s The Terminal List. Those are all titles we’ve talked about here on the blog. Haig and Carr both appeared at The Poisoned Pen. You can check the Web Store to order copies. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

What else do these books have in common? Authors Brad Thor and Harlan Coben were just with Megyn Kelly on Today, talking about their recommendations for spring reading. They were enthusiastic about these titles, and others. You can watch the segment here. Then, check back with The Poisoned Pen to order your own picks for spring reading.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COjc0cBDRc?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Paige Shelton is now a regular visitor to the Poisoned Pen, as an author who moved to Arizona, and as an audience member. How could we resist sharing CriminalElement‘s .GIFNotes about her new book, Lost Bones and Old Bones? The new Scottish bookshop mystery is due out April 3, but you can order a signed copy now. https://bit.ly/2DGtk6G

Here’s the actual description of the book.

A delightful new mystery featuring bookseller and amateur sleuth Delaney Nichols, set in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at the Cracked Spine in the heart of town. The shop is a place filled with curiosities and surprises tucked into every shelf, and it’s Delaney’s job to research the rare tomes and obscure artifacts that people come to buy and sell. When her new friends, also students at the medical school, come to the shop to sell a collection of antique medical books, Delaney knows she’s stumbled across a rare and important find indeed. Her boss, Edwin MacAlister, agrees to buy the multivolume set, perhaps even to keep for his own collection.

But not long after the sale, one of Delaney’s new friends is found murdered in the alley behind the Cracked Spine, and she wonders if there is some nefarious connection between the origin of these books and the people whose hands they fell into. Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice. During her investigation, Delaney she finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse—she and discovers that they belonged to a long-dead doctor whose story and ties to thepast crimes of Burke and Hare might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in a victim on the slab herself.

*****

And, here’s the link to Adam Wagner’s fun .GIFNotes. https://bit.ly/2GIQMDb

We’re over halfway through March, and, with the Poisoned Pen Bookstore’s schedule as busy as it’s been, I haven’t even had the chance to mention the recent releases from Poisoned Pen Press. Any and all five books can be ordered through the Web Site. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

“Following Return to Umbria, Wagner’s fifth series outing features a likable amateur sleuth who carefully analyzes other people. Rich in details of the food and culture of Italy’s Lombardy region, this atmospheric mystery will be appreciated by fans of Martin Walker’s French-flavored “Bruno” mysteries. Readers of Frances Mayes’s Under the Tuscan Sun may enjoy the colorful descriptions.”
— Library Journal

“George V’s visit to India in 1911 provides the backdrop for Gaind’s excellent sequel to 2016’s A Very Pukka Murder … Golden age fans will appreciate how Sikander works his way through an array of suspects. Once again, Gaind successfully blends detection with history.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The middle volume in Gaind’s Maharaja Mystery trilogy is both an homage to vintage British whodunits of the 1930s and a wry comedy of manners.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Edwards (Continental Crimes) has done mystery readers a great service by providing the first-ever anthology of golden age short stories in translation, with 15 superior offerings from authors from France, Japan, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Holland, Mexico, Russia, and elsewhere; even Anton Chekhov makes a contribution .”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“If you’re wondering who can give Stephanie Plum a run for her money, meet Tai Randolph.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Mystery fans will welcome wisecracking characters that aren’t trite and a twisting plot that isn’t tired.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Drawing on historic facts and figures of 1870s Colorado, Parker tells a gripping tale of love, greed and murder in the Old West, with a cast of convincing, larger-than-life characters, including a brief appearance from Bat Masterson himself. Inez is a woman well ahead of her time and a welcome addition to the genre, as is Parker, who has left enough loose ends to beckon readers to the next Leadville mystery.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)