Martin Edwards’ latest nonfiction title, The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, is this week’s Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. You can find it in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2wi5UVX

Michael Dirda’s recent review in The Washington Post includes reasons you should want to read this book. https://wapo.st/2wplvSI It’s called “How many of the top 100 crimes novels of the early 20th century have you read?” He says, “To my mind, Edwards particularly shines in the prefatory essays to his 24 categories, in which he mentions some of his own favorite books, such as Henry Wade’s “Lonely Magdalen” — about the murder of a nameless prostitute — and Robert Player’s twisty “The Ingenious Mr. Stone,” which “signaled the end of the era” or, most intriguing of all, Cameron McCabe’s “The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor,” described by Julian Symons as “the detective story to end detective stories.”

Still undecided? Here’s the summary of the book from the Web Store.

This book tells the story of crime fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century. The diversity of this much-loved genre is breathtaking, and so much greater than many critics have suggested. To illustrate this, the leading expert on classic crime discusses one hundred books ranging from The Hound of the Baskervilles to Strangers on a Trainwhich highlight the entertaining plots, the literary achievements, and the social significance of vintage crime fiction. This book serves as a companion to the acclaimed British Library Crime Classics series but it tells a very diverse story. It presents the development of crime fiction-from Sherlock Holmes to the end of the golden age-in an accessible, informative and engaging style.

Readers who enjoy classic crime will make fascinating discoveries and learn about forgotten gems as well as bestselling authors. Even the most widely read connoisseurs will find books (and trivia) with which they are unfamiliar-as well as unexpected choices to debate. Classic crime is a richly varied and deeply pleasurable genre that is enjoying a world-wide renaissance as dozens of neglected novels and stories are resurrected for modern readers to enjoy. The overriding aim of this book is to provide a launch point that enables readers to embark on their own voyages of discovery.

The Poisoned Pen has a few signed copies of Mark Sullivan’s Beneath a Scarlet Sky available. With the current news about the book, you might want to call the bookstore at Toll Free: (888) 560-9919 to check on the status if you want to order a copy.

Film rights to Lake Union Publishing’s Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan have been acquired by Pascal Pictures, with Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland attached to play the lead.

An April Kindle First selection, published under the Lake Union Publishing imprint of Amazon Publishing on May 1, 2017, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is now a #1 Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and USA Todaybestseller.

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath A Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.

It follows 17-year-old, real-life hero Pino Lella as he guides hunted Jews out of northern Italy over the rugged winter Alps into Switzerland. The saga continues when Pino is then recruited to become a spy for the Italian Resistance. Working undercover as a driver for a mysterious and powerful Nazi general, Pino gains access deep inside the German High Command but also witnesses the atrocities of the war firsthand.

When he first heard snippets of Pino Lella’s story at a dinner party more than 11 years ago, Mark Sullivan was unable to shake the image of an Italian teenager leading refugees to safety across perilous mountain ridges, and he became determined to tell the tale of this anonymous, unsung hero. Sullivan spent weeks in Italy with Pino, listening to the 79-year-old recount in painstaking detail the most fraught and eventful years of his life. And for the next nine years, Sullivan interviewed historians and Holocaust experts and dug through war archives in Germany, Italy, the U.S., and Great Britain.

As a result of these incredible interviews and research, Beneath A Scarlet Sky is more than just a novel based on true events—it is a piece of history, and Pino’s own memories have given this book its realism, its heart, and its shattering sense of loss and tragedy. It is truly a tale unlike any other—a story of courage and intrigue, love and redemption—and one that can finally be shared.

Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Mark has received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. He lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana.

Karin Slaughter was just here at The Poisoned Pen, and she signed copies of her latest novel, The Good Daughter, as well as Matchup, the collection from the International Thriller Writers. You can order copies of either or both books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

In fact, she signed lots and lots of copies of the books.

Here’s Karin Slaughter signing for a fan.

And, here’s a photo of her with two generations of Slaughter fans.

You’ll really want to watch and listen to Karin Slaughter’s conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. In fact, you’ll want to hear her comments about Matchup. You can watch the event on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7649323

Normally, I’d say Lisa Scottoline is on book tour for Exposed, her latest novel, and you should order it through the Web Store. However, The Poisoned Pen sold out of all the copies of the book. (I’m sure we’ll be getting more in.)

Just check out the photo of the standing room only crowd to see why it’s sold out.

However, in the meantime, you can buy signed copies of the funny collection of essays written with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. It’s called I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool. https://bit.ly/2x1KAQz

Best of all, though. you’ll want to watch the Livestream of Lisa Scottoline’s appearance at The Poisoned Pen. I guarantee you’ll laugh. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7624948

As I mentioned a couple days ago, Susan Elia MacNeal was recently here on book tour for  her latest Maggie Hope mystery, The Paris Spy. You can still buy signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2vx93Oh

Here’s John Charles from The Poisoned Pen as he interviews MacNeal.

Cathy Cole, who handles the Pinterest page for The Poisoned Pen is on the left in the back row, next to author Paige Shelton.

Here’s MacNeal signing books.

If you missed the event, or the previous blog post, you can watch it on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7624943

The most recent Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen is Benjamin Percy’s The Dark Net. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2fDa0Rm

Here’s the description of the book, a teaser to tempt you to read the book.

Hell on earth is only one click of a mouse away…

The Dark Net is real. An anonymous and often criminal arena that exists in the secret far reaches of the Web, some use it to manage Bitcoins, pirate movies and music, or traffic in drugs and stolen goods. And now an ancient darkness is gathering there as well. This force is threatening to spread virally into the real world unless it can be stopped by members of a ragtag crew:

Twelve-year-old Hannah — who has been fitted with the Mirage, a high-tech visual prosthetic to combat her blindness– wonders why she sees shadows surrounding some people.

Lela, a technophobic journalist, has stumbled upon a story nobody wants her to uncover.

Mike Juniper, a one-time child evangelist who suffers from personal and literal demons, has an arsenal of weapons stored in the basement of the homeless shelter he runs.

And Derek, a hacker with a cause, believes himself a soldier of the Internet, part of a cyber army akin to Anonymous.

They have no idea what the Dark Net really contains.

Set in present-day Portland,The Dark Net is a cracked-mirror version of the digital nightmare we already live in, a timely and wildly imaginative techno-thriller about the evil that lurks in real and virtual spaces, and the power of a united few to fight back.

Susan Elia MacNeal’s latest Maggie Hope mystery, The Paris Spy, is the selection for the History/Mystery Book Club. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2vx93Oh

Here’s the description.

American-born spy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope secretly navigates Nazi-occupied France to find two brave women during the darkest days of World War II in the latest novel in this New York Timesbestselling series—”a treat for WWII buffs and mystery lovers alike” (Booklist, on The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent).

Maggie Hope has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she’s working undercover for the Special Operations Executive in the elegant but eerily silent city of Paris, where SS officers prowl the streets in their Mercedes and the Ritz is draped with swastika banners. Walking among the enemy is tense and terrifying, and even though she’s disguised in chic Chanel, Maggie can’t help longing for home.

But her missions come first. Maggie’s half sister, Elise, has disappeared after being saved from a concentration camp, and Maggie is desperate to find her—that is, if Elise even wants to be found. Equally urgent, Churchill is planning the Allied invasion of France, and SOE agent Erica Calvert has been captured, the whereabouts of her vital research regarding Normandy unknown. Maggie must risk her life to penetrate powerful circles and employ all her talents for deception and spycraft to root out a traitor, find her sister, and locate the reports crucial to planning D-Day in a deadly game of wits with the Nazi intelligence elite.

Advance praise for The Paris Spy

“You will grieve with Paris. You will be outraged by the destruction. You will be terrified for all the heroes, be there with them every step, and care desperately that they succeed and survive. And perhaps above all, like me, you will be overwhelmed with their sacrifice for the freedom we still enjoy.”—Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series and the William Monk series

“This has to be Maggie Hope’s most exciting adventure yet. Vivid and fast-paced, crammed with authentic detail, The Paris Spy is an extraordinary trip through the edgy drama of wartime Paris, skillfully plotted and studded with cameos by real historical figures.”—Jane Thynne, author of the Clara Vine series

“The Paris Spy is a mystery you won’t put down until the absolutely stunning conclusion. Only Susan Elia MacNeal—and the extraordinary Maggie Hope—could wrap such a tale of courage and betrayal around a secret that will cost lives and honor to protect.”—Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and the Bess Crawford series.

*****

You can watch and listen to Susan Elia MacNeal discussing the book with John Charles from The Poisoned Pen. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7624943

If you’re interested, here’s where you can read about and sign up for one of our Book Clubs. https://poisonedpen.com/book-clubs/

Augustus Rose is the author of a debut novel, The Readymade Thief, which is the August selection of The Poisoned Pen’s First Mystery Book Club. You will get it if you’re a member of that book club, or you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. Here’s the link to order it. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Check out the description of the book.

“A kickass debut from start to finish.” —Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad

Betrayed by her family after taking the fall for a friend, Lee finds refuge in a cooperative of runaways holed up in an abandoned building they call the Crystal Castle. But the façade of the Castle conceals a far more sinister agenda, one hatched by a society of fanatical men set on decoding a series of powerful secrets hidden in plain sight. And they believe Lee holds the key to it all.

Aided by Tomi, a young hacker and artist with whom she has struck a wary alliance, Lee escapes into the unmapped corners of the city—empty aquariums, deserted motels, patrolled museums, and even the homes of vacationing families. But the deeper she goes underground, the more tightly she finds herself bound in the strange web she’s trying to elude. Desperate and out of options, Lee steps from the shadows to face who is after her—and why.

A novel of puzzles, conspiracies, secret societies, urban exploration, art history, and a singular, indomitable heroine, The Readymade Thief heralds the arrival of a spellbinding and original new talent in fiction.

*****

Of course it’s on the blog because it’s one of this month’s picks. But, it’s also here because Augustus Rose has three book suggestions. He’s recommending three books that you can order through the Web Store. You can watch the video now. https://bit.ly/2vMGGyz

Because Barbara Mertz, who wrote under the name Elizabeth Peters, became ill and died in 2013, she was never able to finish the last Amelia Peabody mystery, The Painted Queen. Her good friend, Joan Hess, did finish writing the novel.

You can order a copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2uGm71H

Here’s the summary.

Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.

Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—”Murder”—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: “Judas.” Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.

It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?”—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.

But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.

For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.

*****

The Painted Queen is on The New York Times Bestseller List. Gregory Cowles discussed the book in the column, “Inside the List”. https://nyti.ms/2huYtnN