Mark de Castrique will be speaking to readers at The Poisoned Pen via SKYPE on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 PM. He’s going to discuss his latest Sam Blackman mystery, Hidden Scars. Copies of the book are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2z8BbIZ

You can get a sneak peek at the book via the trailer on YouTube. https://youtu.be/rrzqgF4M5SE

Or, you can check out the summary of Hidden Scars.

asked by an eighty-year-old client to investigate the suspicious death of her brother, they warn her there is little chance of success. Paul Weaver died nearly seventy years earlier. The only documentation she has is the sole surviving copy of a coroner’s report stating his death was caused by an accidental fall while hiking.

There’s a red flag: local son Weaver knew every inch of the mountain trails. The returning World War II veteran had enrolled at Black Mountain College, a liberal local school with an international reputation for innovation, thanks to its stellar faculty and advisers like Buckminster Fuller and Albert Einstein. The college of the 1940s is currently being portrayed in a film being shot on the site of its former location. The plot is based on a book by a local author. The research behind both may provide a lead in the Weaver case.

One is drawn from movie crew member Harlan Beale, an octogenarian mountaineer who knew Weaver. In a late-night voice message, Beale tells Sam he’s found something to show him. Then Beale is discovered dead in the Black Mountain College Museum. His murder turns the cold case white hot. When a second killing follows, the question becomes how to separate dark doings in the present from dark days and hidden scars of the post-war past. In typical de Castrique fashion, the answers aren’t what you expect.

No-nonsense Nakayla and veteran Sam with his prosthetic leg love their investigations which always carry a thread from the past, and love each other. An interracial couple in the South, even the new South around Asheville, they’ve surrounded themselves with a terrific support team including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop, and use humor both to bind them all together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.

This week, The Poisoned Pen features a historical mystery as Hot Book of the Week. Will Thomas’ latest Barker and Llewelyn novel, Old Scores, is this week’s pick. Signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2fSYOwH

Here’s the summary of Old Scores.

In 1890, the first Japanese diplomatic delegation arrives in London to open an embassy. Cyrus Barker, private enquiry agent and occasional agent for the Foreign Service Office, is enlisted to display his personal Japanese garden to the visiting dignitaries.

Later that night, Ambassador Toda is shot and killed in his office and Cyrus Barker is discovered across the street, watching the very same office, in possession of a revolver with one spent cartridge.

Arrested by the Special Branch for the crime, Barker is vigorously interrogated and finally released due to the intervention of his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, and his solicitor. With the London constabulary still convinced of his guilt, Barker is hired by the new Japanese ambassador to find the real murderer.

In a case that takes leads Barker and Llewelyn deep into parts of London’s underworld, on paths that lead deep into Barker’s own mysterious personal history, Old Scores is the finest yet in Will Thomas’s critically acclaimed series.

Did you get a chance to meet David Lagercrantz when he was at The Poisoned Pen? He was on book tour for his best seller, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, the latest book in the Millennium series started by Stieg Larsson. Signed copies are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2xZE9iL

Here’s the summary.

Lisbeth Salander is back with a vengeance.

The series that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo continues as brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander teams up with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to uncover the secrets of her childhood and to take revenge.

Lisbeth Salander—obstinate outsider, volatile seeker of justice for herself and others—seizes on a chance to unearth her mysterious past once and for all. And she will let nothing stop her—not the Islamists she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the prison gang leader who passes a death sentence on her; not the deadly reach of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the world’s most insidious problems.

*****

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, interviewed David Lagercrantz, and the interview is available to watch on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7751274

And, if you can’t get enough, you can check out Jocelyn McClurg’s interview with Lagercrantz in USA Today. https://usat.ly/2y5vxsD

Martin Limon’s mysteries set in South Korea have never been more timely even though they’re set in the 1970s. He recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen, on book tour for the twelfth book in the series, The Nine-Tailed Fox. You can order signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2hOg6PN

Here’s the summary.

Martin Limón’s series set in 1970s South Korea, an era of heightened Korean sociopolitical tension, pits Army CID agents Sueño and Bascomagainst a mysterious woman who may be the leader of a gang—or a thousand-year-old creature.

Three American GIs have gone missing in different South Korean cities. Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, agents for the Army CID, link the disappearances to a woman locally rumored to be a gumiho, a legendary thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox disguised as a woman. George suspects that the woman is no mythical creature, but a criminal who’s good at covering her tracks.

Meanwhile, George and Ernie are caught in a power struggle between two high-ranking women in the 8th Army. Scrambling to appease his boss and stay one step ahead of a psychotic mastermind, George realizes he will have to risk his life to discover the whereabouts of his fellow countrymen.

*****

While Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, hosted, author Michael Koryta also participated in Martin Limon’s interview.

You can watch the interview via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7775046

I know many people think of The Poisoned Pen as a mystery bookstore. It’s that, and so much more. When Scott Kelly’s memoir, Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, is released in a couple weeks, we’ll have signed copies. You can order them through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2yZgKy5

Here’s the description.

A stunning memoir from the astronaut who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station–a candid account of his remarkable voyage, of the journeys off the planet that preceded it, and of his colorful formative years.

The veteran of four spaceflights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both life-threatening and mundane: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the catastrophic risks of colliding with space junk; and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home–an agonizing situation Kelly faced when, on a previous mission, his twin brother’s wife, American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot while he still had two months in space.

Kelly’s humanity, compassion, humor, and determination resonate throughout, as he recalls his rough-and-tumble New Jersey childhood and the youthful inspiration that sparked his astounding career, and as he makes clear his belief that Mars will be the next, ultimately challenging, step in spaceflight.

A natural storyteller and modern-day hero, Kelly has a message of hope for the future that will inspire for generations to come. Here, in his personal story, we see the triumph of the human imagination, the strength of the human will, and the infinite wonder of the galaxy.

*****

You can also hear about the book in Scott Kelly’s own words in the book trailer.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bcYFc1qXnU&

 

Readers who live in the Phoenix area had the opportunity to read Robert Anglen’s article about Nelson DeMille and his #1 bestseller, The Cuban Affair. It appeared in The Arizona Republic and at azcentral.com.

Here’s the link to the article. https://bit.ly/2wwvWBm

Here’s the information about the forthcoming event featuring Nelson DeMille.

What: Join author Michael Koryta in a discussion with bestselling thriller writer Nelson Demille on his new book, “The Cuban Affair”

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5

Where: Doubletree Hilton, 5401 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale

Admission: Free; $28 for the book.

Details: 480-947-2974, poisonedpen.com.

*****

Can’t make it to the event? You can still order a signed copy of The Cuban Affair through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2www7g0

I hope you checked out the posts from all of the mystery writers while I was on vacation, the guest blogs that talked about their summer reading. There were some wonderful book suggestions. You can pick up most of the books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Those authors talked about books from the past, the present, and, even some forthcoming titles. One of the authors, Cara Black, was in Paris when I was, and I saw her at WHSmith, where she talked about her latest mystery, Murder in Saint-Germain.

That really brings me to the point of this post. Cara appears at the Poisoned Pen when her new books are released. So, do a number of other authors. Nelson DeMille, author of the current #1 title on The New York Times Best Seller list, The Cuban Affair, will be here this week. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. tries to bring in the greatest authors with their latest books. And, she introduces readers to new authors. That’s why it’s always interesting to pick up Marilyn Stasio’s column in The New York Times. Her recent column, “The Latest and Greatest in Crime Fiction”, featured reviews of Attica Locke’s Bluebird, Bluebird, Anne Perry’s An Echo of Murder, and Julia Keller’s Fast Falls the Night. https://nyti.ms/2yxHgOc

All of those authors appeared just recently at The Poisoned Pen. Signed copies of their books are available through the Web Store. You can see the videos of their appearances on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen

Take advantage of The Poisoned Pen. Show up at the events to see “The Latest and Greatest”. Watch them on Livestream if you can’t get here. Buy their books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

It’s always a treat to meet “The Latest and Greatest” at The Poisoned Pen. I hope you can make it to the bookstore someday.

As you can tell by the blog title, Nelson DeMille’s The Cuban Affair is the Hot Book of the Week at the Poisoned Pen. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2xTOVsS

Here’s the description of the book.

From the legendary #1 New York Times bestselling author of Plum Island and Night Fall, Nelson DeMille’s blistering new novel features an exciting new character—U.S. Army combat veteran Daniel “Mac” MacCormick, now a charter boat captain, who is about to set sail on his most dangerous cruise.

Daniel Graham MacCormick—Mac for short—seems to have a pretty good life. At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.

One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients—a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.

What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution. With the “Cuban Thaw” underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash—by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich…or not at all.

Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.

*****

Nelson DeMille fans are invited to meet him on Thursday, October 5 at 7 PM at the Paradise Valley Doubletree Hilton, 5401 N. Scottsdale Road. Michael Koryta will interview DeMille, followed by the book signing. The program itself is free. Call the Poisoned Pen at 480-947-2974 for details.

Before turning to crime, Betty Webb was a journalist. She’s the author of the Lena Jones series set in Arizona, serious mysteries featuring a private investigator. Desert Vengeance is the most recent title from Poisoned Pen Press. On the lighter end of the scale, the Gunn Zoo mysteries are set in California. Betty’s volunteer work at the Phoenix Zoo led to these books. Puffin of Death is the latest title. Her website is https://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/. Webb’s books are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2jKnUCX

Thank you, Betty, for sharing the books you read.

*****

I read these books during my 9-day trip to Casper, Wyoming, to see the total eclipse.

 

“Sleeping in the Ground,” by Peter Robinson

I’ve always been a sucker for British mysteries, especially Robinson’s. Since I live in the desert, where the summer temps can ““ and often do — reach 120 F, Robinson’s chilly Yorkshire moors help cool me down. For the same reason, I’m a sucker for the Nordic authors, such Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s “My Soul to Take,” and Arnaldur Indridason’s “Silence of the Grave.” They’re all freezing up there.

“The Wine of Angels,” by Phil Rickman

I was turned onto Rickman by mention of his work in DorothyL. Again, a wonderful British mystery, this time using a female vicar for protagonist. Murder, sexism, class snobbery ““ this novel’s got them all. Rickman’s books also includes a certain amount of woo-woo, a genre I’ve always enjoyed, so this was a double delight.

“The Girl with all the Gifts,” by M.R. Carey

Since I mentioned woo-woo, I might as well mention one of the most popular of all the woo-woos ““ ZOMBIES! This terrific novel stars a young zombie child and her interaction with her teacher (whom she promises not to bite). It’s my favorite of the We’re-All-Doomed genre. Spoiler alert: I love happy endings, so I’m happy to tell you that both the zombie child and her teacher are still alive in the end (although a lot of other characters aren’t).

*****

Thank you, Betty. Check the Web Store for Betty Webb’s selections. https://store.poisonedpen.com/