The 6th Extinction by James Rollins

by

 

rollins

Tenth Anniversary of Sigma, Tenth Book in the Sigma Force series: THE SIXTH EXTINCTION

 

In my biggest book to date in scope and excitement, Commander Gray Pierce and Painter Crowe battle on opposite sides of the planet to save it from a brilliant madman.

 

The new novel is full of frightening facts about who we are as a species today and where we’re headed. It also delves into historical mysteries going back to a time when Antarctica was once green and full of life.

 

But most of all, it’s a nonstop thrill ride like no other. I knew I had to make this tenth Sigma book spectacular, touching upon everything that I love about the

Sigma series: historical mysteries, cutting-edge science…and yes, strange and wondrous landscapes full of the monstrous and the beautiful.

 

In THE SIXTH EXTINCTION, I unveil new hidden worlds found on our planet:  one born out of the ancient past, another that offers a view into our future.

 

As a newsletter exclusive, here’s one of those species from the ancient past, a deadly little organism that you’ll encounter in the new book (along with many others). This sneak peak into this book’s bestiary is only available here. Feel free to print it up and I’d be happy to sign it at one of my tour stops (see my appearances below).

 

 

unnamed

A Must See Event! Jeff Abbot signs Inside Man – Appearing with Megan Abbott – Tuesday July 1st 7 PM

by

Not to Miss!  Jeff Abbott’s INSIDE MAN

Image

@ the Poisoned Pen

Thriller Award”“winner Abbott draws on Shakespeare’s King Lear for his outstanding fourth Sam Capra novel (after 2013’s Downfall). When Steve Robles, an old friend of Sam’s, is shot dead outside the Miami bar that Sam runs, Sam, a former CIA agent, resolves to find Steve’s killer. Under the name Sam Chevalier, Sam goes “inside” the luxurious Varela family compound in Puerto Rico, where Steve was working a security job for frightened Cordelia Varela. Meanwhile, Cordelia’s father, patriarch Rey Varela, is dividing his shipping empire—which is not entirely legitimate—among his three children, playing one against the other.

 

Ben Winters: Meet the Author – Tuesday July 22nd 7PM

by

WORLD OF TROUBLE

benwinters

author photo by Mallory Talty 

 

Ben H. Winters is the author of seven novels, including most recently Countdown City (Quirk), an NPR Best Book of 2013 and the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award. Countdown City is the sequel to The Last Policeman, which was the recipient of the 2012 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America; it was also named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Amazon.com and Slate. World of Trouble, the third in the Last Policeman Trilogy, comes out in July of 2014.

 

Ben’s other books Literally Disturbed (Price Stern Sloan), a book of scary poems for kids; the New York Times bestselling parody novel Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Quirk) and a novel for young readers, The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman (HarperCollins), which was a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of 2011 as well as an Edgar Nominee in the juvenile category. In the summer of 2014 he will publish the final book in the Last Policeman trilogy.

 

Ben has also written extensively for the theater, and was a 2009-2010 Fellow of the Dramatists Guild; his plays for young audiences include The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere , A (Tooth) Fairy Tale and Uncle Pirate, and his plays for not-young audiences include the 2008 Off-Broadway musical Slut and the “jukebox musical” Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, which is produced frequently across the country and around the world.  Ben’s journalism has appeared in The Chicago Reader, The Nation, In These Times, USA Today, the Huffington Post, and lots of other places.

 

Ben grew up in suburban Maryland, went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, and has subsequently lived in six different cities—seven if you count Brooklyn twice for two different times. Presently he lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with his wife Diana, a law professor, and their three children.

Familiar faces, places fill Kahn’s latest thriller

by

May 29, 2014 FACE VALUE by Michael Kahn will be available starting Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014. 260 pages, Poisoned Pen Press.

Familiar faces, places fill Kahn’s latest thriller

 

FaceValue

By: Lora Wegman 

lora.wegman@molawyersmedia.com

May 29, 2014

 

What puts a chill up your spine? Murder? Financial deception? Toiling at a big law firm?

If it’s all three, you’ll likely enjoy “Face Value,” St. Louis attorney Michael Kahn’s latest legal thriller.

Kahn, of counsel at Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan in St. Louis, has been writing the Rachel Gold mystery series for more than two decades. “Face Value” is the ninth installment. The title refers to the novel’s intriguing premise: What if you could catch a killer by reading facial expressions, down to the smallest tells?

The thing is, as this story sets out, there’s no apparent evidence that there even is a killer. A big-firm associate named Sari — a former law clerk for our protagonist Rachel — falls from the eighth floor of a downtown St. Louis parking garage, and her death is ruled a suicide. The mystery comes in after the memorial service, when a co-worker tells Rachel he believes Sari was murdered.

The co-worker, a mailroom employee named Stanley, isn’t relying on mere instinct. Stanley has Asperger’s, and while socially challenged, he’s a genius who has taught himself to read emotions by analyzing minute facial expressions. He’s convinced Sari wasn’t depressed, just agitated, and wouldn’t have jumped.

Rachel, Stanley and others embark on a quiet investigation to figure out who at the law firm has something to hide. This involves the creation of an elaborate video tribute to the victim, requiring recorded interviews of seemingly everyone at the firm so their reactions can be put under Stanley’s mental microscope.

The execution of this project gives Kahn the opportunity to paint some unflattering but amusing peripheral characters. Take for instance, the introduction of the unfortunately named Dick Neeler, a firm partner/marketing flack:

Neeler was, in short, the perfect tool for getting the law firm’s higher-ups to approve the Sari Bashir tribute video proposal. Better yet, he was sufficiently clueless to serve as the figurehead for the project without ever suspecting any ulterior motive.

“This is super,” Neeler said. “A beautiful homage to her and, frankly, a terrific opportunity for the firm. … This really hits a home run with our diversity goals, too. A tribute for an Arab associate. Like, wowie wow wow, eh?”

“She was an American citizen,” I said.

“Sure, but she was also Muslim. Allah and all that nutty stuff. It works.”

The whole video tribute thing feels a little far-fetched — surely this would require a prohibitive amount of money and effort — but it’s a convenient plot device that lets the story get on with the face analyzing.

This story is less of a thriller than a personality assessment exercise. There are few scenes that are truly tense or harrowing, although the story builds to its climax in typical mystery-novel fashion and doesn’t disappoint.

We don’t get much of the recently widowed Rachel’s personal life in this installment. There are a few scenes of her interacting with her young son and her mother, but Kahn seems to forgo deeper character development in favor of keeping the mystery plot moving. This makes for a quickly paced story but not much in the way of emotional connection.

Missourians, especially attorneys, should enjoy Kahn’s depictions of places and people, and anyone who’s spent time in St. Louis will appreciate the use of real-life settings — Washington University, Soldiers’ Memorial, the Women’s Exchange, and the Bellerive and St. Louis country clubs, to name just a few.

If you haven’t read Kahn’s previous novels, it’s not a problem to jump into the series at this point. There are references to previous happenings — for instance, Rachel and longtime pal Benny reminisce about the bizarre case of Graham Marshall, which longtime readers will remember from the first book in the series — but those slide into the current story without need of background knowledge.

 

“Face Value” by Michael Kahn will be available starting Tuesday. 260 pages, Poisoned Pen Press.