Lucy Feldman recently wrote a post for the Wall Street Journal called “Three Approaches to Thriller Writing”. She discusses three authors who are hot this month, Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me, Blake Crouch, the author of Dark Matter, and the man she calls “The Franchise Player”, James Patterson. You can find the article here. https://www.wsj.com/articles/three-approaches-to-thriller-writing-1469122570
Lisa Scottoline kicked off her book tour for Damaged at The Poisoned Pen. Damaged is the latest Rosato & DiNunzio novel.
We have pictures from this program, beginning with Scottoline signing books in the back room. That’s quite a few books to sign!
Then, there’s that long walk from the front of the store.
Patrick Millikin introduced Lisa Scottoline.
The blurb on the Web Store’s page says, “Damaged finds Mary DiNunzio, partner at the all-female law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio, embroiled in one of her most heartbreaking cases yet.” Here’s Lisa talking about the book.
It was a full house for the event.
I’ve been in one of those signing lines for Lisa Scottoline. She’s funny and kind.
Michael Koryta appears at the Poisoned Pen at 7 PM on Thursday, Aug. 18 on his book tour for Rise the Dark.
But, before he appears here, he appeared at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch. This article appeared in Shelf Awareness on July 1.
Image of the Day: Michael Koryta, Bronx Bomber
photo courtesy New York Yankees
On Tuesday night, suspense author Michael Koryta threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium before the game against the Texas Rangers. (Shelf Awareness judged it a strike!) He also signed copies of his most recent book, Last Words (Little, Brown), and some 10,000 fans were given cards for downloading an e-book version of Koryta’s The Last Prophet, the first e-book promotion of its kind in major league sports.
Now, Koryta will be here at the store pitching to readers. If you’d like a signed copy of Rise the Dark, you can purchase it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2blguR3
Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist, now brings us Surrender, New York, in which one of the characters is an expert on Laszlo Kreizler, the Alienist. Release date is August 23.
You can read Michael Connelly’s review of the dense thriller in The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/2aV1MvO
In the August 2016 edition of the Midmonth BookNotes, you’ll find the latest novels and mysteries in romance, the latest by Robyn Carr, Camille Aubray, Brenda Novak and so much more…Click here to view the PDF.
Following her award nominations, Beth Cato will be appearing at the Poisoned Pen to discuss Breath of Earth, her alternate history set in San Francisco in 1906. She’ll be at the Poisoned Pen on Monday, August 22 at 7 PM.
AZCentral.com just published an excellent interview with Cato by Michael Senft. Here’s the link if you would like to read it. https://bit.ly/2aTgMuh
Beth Cato
Even if you can’t get to the Poisoned Pen on August 22, you can order a signed copy of Beth Cato’s Breath of Earth through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2aUIrRn
Kristopher Zgorski is the writer/owner of the blog BOLO Books, https://bolobooks.com/. “The blog name comes from the common police acronym meaning “be on the look out.” (or “be on the lookout” ““ depending on your source). This is especially appropriate in this case, as this blog will focus on books in the mystery and thriller genre.” Kristopher recently joined the team at the eZine Shots (based in the UK) as a US contributor and his reviews often re-run in Crimespree Magazine. He also has a regular column ““ Central Booking ““ in Deadly Pleasures Magazine.
Kristopher and I, along with fellow blogger Dru Ann Love, have worked on a couple projects together on our blogs. When he asked if I still wanted some book suggestions for “Every Summer Has a Story”, I was eager to see what he would suggest for readers.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I can still remember reading this book over the July 4th weekend in 2004. I was instantly gripped by the writing within this novel and the group of young boarding school students who inhabit it. To this day, The Secret History remains the “modern” book I have read the most times (only Jane Eyre exceeds this). I try to revisit it every other year or so and every time I find something new that impresses me.
The “In Death” Series by JD Robb
Everybody knows that JD Robb is the crime fiction pen name of Nora Roberts. This series makes for perfect summer reading. Almost every book in the very long-running series (I think we are up to 50+ novels at this point) is compulsively readable without becoming too demanding. The characters (including the villains) are always fascinating. And Nora’s romantic side shows through in some of the sexiest scenes found in crime fiction.
The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns
Perfect for those that love a book they can get lost in, The Burn Palace is almost impossible to describe. It’s the story of a town filled with corruption and mysticism. Imagine Stephen King writing a novel with Harper Lee and having James Michener heading up the research team. Dobyns’ prose reads like poetry, where every word is chosen for maximum impact. By the end, readers will feel like they know these characters and will be sad to have to let them go.
Thank you, Kristopher.
These items, including the unabridged audio book of Stephen Dobyns’ The Burn Palace, are available through The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/ Don’t forget to check with us when looking to purchase books.
The best way to find new authors or crime novels is still to talk with the staff at The Poisoned Pen. They’ll be glad to talk to you about your interests and help you find books you might like. But, if you can’t get into the store from where you live, or it’s the middle of the night and you’re looking for something new, try my favorite website, Stop, You’re Killing Me! https://www.stopyourekillingme.com
Looking for a list of award winners? You’ll find the Edgars, Agathas, Macavities, and others listed. You can only remember the name of the character you like, but not the author? The index for the site is by author or character. Are you looking for a mystery set in the 1920s? Try the Historical Index. Find mysteries set in Oklahoma or Greece. That’s the Location Index. There’s a Genre Index to help you find Police Procedurals or Thrillers.
For those of us who enjoy reading crime novels in order, though, there’s nothing like clicking on an author’s name, finding the complete list of a series, award nominations and wins, and everything is in order.
You may have seen them on Reddit, but, if not, Atlas Obscura (www.atlasobscura.com) recently shared them in an article. Here’s the story of Abigail Goldman’s miniature crime scene dioramas. Or, as she says, a “Dieorama”. https://bit.ly/2b8eCJH
