John Charles recently welcomed three mystery authors, all published by Crooked Lane Books, to The Poisoned Pen for a virtual Halloween event. He mentioned that they have the current books and backlist for Raquel Reyes, Gretchen Rue, and Marilyn Levinson, who writes as Allison Brook. You can find their books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s Raquel V. Reyes’ latest book, Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking.

It’s time for a savory soirée—but something sinister is stewing—in Raquel V. Reyes’s second delightful Caribbean Kitchen mystery, perfectly delicious for fans of Mia P. Manansala.

Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard. The body by the fake tombstone is the woman that was kicked out of the school’s Fall Festival the day before.

Miriam’s luck does not improve. Her passive-aggressive mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women’s Club annual gala. But this year, it’s not canapes and waltzes. Miriam and her girlfriends-squad opt for fun and flavor. They want to spice it up with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band. While making plans at the country club, they hear a volatile argument between the new head chef and the club’s manager. Not long after, the chef swan dives to his death at the bottom of the grand staircase.

Was it an accident? Or was it Beverly, the sous chef, who is furious after being passed over for the job? Or maybe it was his ex-girlfriend, Anastasia? 

Add two possible poisonings to the mix and Miriam is worried the food truck fun is going to be a major crash. As the clock ticks down and the body count goes up, Miriam’s life is put in jeopardy. Will she connect the dots or die in the deep freeze? Foodies and mystery lovers alike will savor the denouement as the truth is laid bare in this simmering stew of rage, retribution, and murder.

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Raquel V. Reyes writes Latina protagonists. Her Cuban-American heritage, Miami, and Spanglish feature prominently in her work. Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the first in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series, won a LEFTY for Best Humorous Mystery. It was nominated for an Agatha Award and optioned for film. Raquel’s short stories appear in various anthologies, including The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022. Find her across social media platforms as @LatinaSleuths and on her website LatinaSleuths.com

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Gretchen Rue’s latest book is Steeped to Death.

For fans of Laura Childs and Amanda Flowers, it’s teatime in Raven Creek—but a murder at the The Earl’s Study sets the stage for an intoxicating brew of small-town chicanery with a hint of the supernatural.

Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure—and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch. So when Eudora passes away and leaves everything to her niece—her Victorian mansion, her bookshop/tea store, The Earl’s Study, and one very chubby orange cat named Bob—Phoebe gets more than she bargained for. And she knows she’s in deep when a dead man is found on the shop’s back step, apparently killed while trying to break in.

Two suspects immediately emerge among the townspeople of Raven Creek, Washington. There’s village busybody Dierdre Miller, who seems desperate to buy Eudora’s house, and handsome PI Rich, one of Phoebe’s childhood friends—but how well does she really know him after all these years apart?

Phoebe knows she should leave it to the professionals, but as she starts to dig into the underbelly of Raven Creek, she begins to uncover the truth about Eudora. What’s more, her aunt might not have been the only witch in the family, as Phoebe soon discovers she has unique and unexpected gifts of her own.

Now, it’s just a matter of putting her newfound power to the test and cast a spell that could catch a killer.

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Gretchen Rue lives in the Canadian prairies, which affords her ample time to read during six months of winter. She plays cat mom to four mostly indifferent fur children, and plant mom to roughly 100 very demanding flora. When she isn’t sipping tea and working on her next novel, she enjoys swimming, hiking, and watching baseball. 

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Allison Brook’s latest book is Dewey Decimated.

Librarian Carrie Singleton is back on the case, alongside library ghost Evelyn, in the sixth installment of Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mysteries.

Carrie Singleton is just off a hot string of murder cases centered around the spooky local library in Clover Ridge, Connecticut. She could really use a break—but no such luck, as she; Smoky Joe, the resident cat; and Evelyn, the library’s ghost, are drawn into another tantalizing whodunit.

First, a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. But Alec has no intention of truly checking out, and his ghost makes itself at home in the library, greatly upsetting the patrons. Carrie and Evelyn work hard to keep Alec out of sight, but what was he doing in Clover Ridge to begin with? And why was he killed?

Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. Turn it into an upscale park? Sell it to a condo developer? Or keep it as protected land?

As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list? 

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A former Spanish teacher, Allison Brook writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young readers. She loves traveling, reading, knitting, doing Sudoku, and visiting with her grandchildren, Olivia and Jack, on FaceTime. She lives on Long Island with Sammy, her feisty red cat.

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Enjoy the conversation between the authors.

Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently “lurked” in the background for the recent conversation between authors Toni Anderson and Rachel Grant. Toni Anderson’s latest book is Cold Silence, and Rachel Grant’s is Into the Storm. Copies of their books are available through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here is the description of Cold Silence.

FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Shane Livingstone is frustrated when an injury sidelines him during an operation to catch a sadistic killer. A killer who auctions off vicious ways to torture his victims and screens the events for money on the dark web. When a teammate dies during the op, a devastated Shane vows to track down the monster responsible—but to do so he’ll need access to specialized skills he doesn’t possess.

A bloody game of cat and mouse…

As a white-hat hacker at Alex Parker’s security firm, Yael Brooks knows how to track predators through the darkest recesses of cyberspace. She can’t say no to Shane’s request…even though she fears her own secrets may put her at risk.

With a serial killer who makes it personal…

Shane and Yael must work together as a team if they hope to stop this psychopath. As they begin to grow closer, Shane demands Yael’s complete trust, but trust is the one thing Yael is reluctant to give. As the chase intensifies and more people die, it becomes obvious that the killer knows exactly who Yael is and plans to make both her and Shane pay the ultimate price for getting in his way.

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Here’s the summary of Into the Storm.

As a storm rolls in, a team of elite Navy SEALs arrives at a remote lodge for a wilderness training exercise that becomes terrifyingly real…

Xavier Rivera planned the exercise down to the smallest detail, but he didn’t plan the arrival of archaeologist Audrey Kendrick-a woman he shared a passionate night with before betraying her in the worst way.

As the storm is unleashed on the historic lodge it becomes clear the training has been compromised. Trapped by weather, isolated by the remote wilderness, and silenced as communication with the world has been severed, unarmed SEALs face an unexpected and deadly foe.

Audrey and Xavier must set aside their distrust and desire and work together to save a team under fire and survive in a battle against the wild.

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Enjoy the conversation between the two authors, Rachel Grant and Toni Anderson.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted Karen Odden, author of Under a Veiled Moon. Signed copies of Odden’s second Inspector Corravan are available through through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3VL71pw

Here is the description of Under a Veiled Moon.

In the tradition of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, a fatal disaster on the Thames and a roiling political conflict set the stage for Karen Odden’s second Inspector Corravan historical mystery.

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule. 

For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.

As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

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Karen Odden earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series, and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.

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Enjoy Karen Odden’s discussion of her books.

Rita Zoey Chin’s first novel is The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern, although she’s also the author of a memoir. You can find Chin’s novel in the Web Store, https://bit.ly/3D3GVGP

Here’s the description of The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern.

“The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern is a bittersweet and achingly tender coming of age novel. Like V. E. Schwab and Audrey Niffenegger, Rita Zoey Chin is an expert guide to that territory in which magic, loss, and possibility change not only the characters but the reader, too.” – Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble

The luminous story of a fiercely lonely young woman’s quest to uncover the truth behind her mother’s disappearance . . .

When 6-year-old empath Leah Fern—once “The Youngest and Very Best Fortune Teller in the World”—is abandoned by her beautiful magician mother, she is consumed with longing for her mother’s return.

Until something bizarre happens: On her 21st birthday Leah receives an inheritance from someone she doesn’t even know, and finds herself launched on a journey of magical discovery. It’s a voyage that will spiral across the United States, Canada, into the Arctic Circle and beyond—and help her make her own life whole by piecing together the mystery surrounding her mother’s disappearance.

The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern is an enchanting novel about the transcendent power of the imagination, the magic at the threshold of past and present, and the will it takes to love.

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Heres Chin’s short biography before the interview.

Rita Zoey Chin is the author of the widely praised memoir, Let the Tornado Come. She holds an MFA from the University of Maryland and is the recipient of a Katherine Anne Porter Prize, an Academy of American Poets Award, and a Bread Loaf scholarship.  She has taught at Towson University and at Grub Street in Boston. Her work has appeared in Guernica, Tin House, and Marie Claire. This is her first novel.

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Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, recently interviewed Rita Zoey Chin for Bookreporter.com. The interview is reprinted here, with Barson’s permission. You can find further information at https://bit.ly/3gcDlRR.

Interview: October 13, 2022

THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN, Rita Zoey Chin‘s debut novel, is a luminous coming-of-age story about a fiercely lonely young woman’s quest to uncover the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Chin talks about the differences between writing this book and her memoir, LET THE TORNADO COME IN; the aspects of the story that she couldn’t grasp at first and how she finally got a handle on them; the one piece of advice she would give to aspiring novelists; and what readers can expect from her second novel.

Question: You’ve written a memoir and a number of acclaimed short stories, but THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN is your first novel. In what ways did you have to retool your skill set to approach this ambitious story?

Rita Zoey Chin: From a literary perspective, my considerations while writing my memoir and novel were actually quite similar, because both books are narrative-driven, and I tend to think cinematically when I write. I gave a lot of thought to building the narrative arc, as well as imagery (I’m always thinking about imagery), character development and voice.

But the experience of writing these books was vastly different. With my memoir, I wove a braided narrative extracted from decades of life events. That required distance from my life, an objective engagement with some of the profound things that have happened to me. Writing my novel, on the other hand, was kind of the inverse of that. While my memoir was a process of paring down, I had to build everything up from scratch in my novel. I was already starting at a distance, and so much of the writing involved getting quiet so that I could get closer and observe my characters in their natural habitats, sort of how you gingerly move toward a deer to catch its eye before it bounds off into the woods.

Q: “A work of literary excellence… Deeply philosophical yet full of magic.” That is how one reviewer evaluated this book. How closely do you follow the reviews that this novel is just beginning to receive now?

RZC: Probably too closely! After sitting with this novel in my imagination for all these years, I’m eager for it to find its readers, and I’m especially grateful when someone connects with the book and takes the time to write a review. One reader who received an advance copy recently wrote that it was one of her favorite books of all time and that she felt as if I’d written it for her. That’s the kind of feedback I hold onto as a reminder that the eight years I spent working on THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN were worth it. But it’s a balancing act for me. When I retreat back into my writing cave to work on my next novel, I’ll distance myself from reading reviews so that I can focus on the new story taking shape without all those outside voices in my head.

Q: When you were young, did you read any books that might have set you on the path to eventually writing THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN?

RZC: So many! One is THE ALMOST ANYTHING YOU MIGHT ASK ALMANAC, which actually appears in the novel. A compendium of superstitions, astrological profiles, drawings of wildflowers, descriptions of weather extremes, a thoughtful page dedicated to witches, and so much more, this book really lit up my imagination as a child and made me feel as if I were holding magic in my hands.

Speaking of magic, I was endlessly enchanted by THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY when I was young, and I think THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN is the result of how my mind was shaped by my love of those magical odysseys.

Q: When you were writing the novel, was there any element to the story that kept eluding you? And if so, how did you finally arrive at the solution?

RZC: Yes, Essie East’s voice! For the longest time, I couldn’t hear it. I knew she was this cranky, haunted, somewhat misanthropic but ultimately good person, but whenever it came time for her to speak, I either heard crickets or superimposed the wrong voice onto her. So I had to get really quiet — to look away — and then, slowly, she started to appear. I’d be in the shower, and suddenly I’d hear a line from her, and I’d run to my notebook, dripping water everywhere, and get the line down before it eluded me again. Interestingly, she became one of my favorite characters.

Jeannie Starr’s story (Leah’s mother) eluded me for even longer. It wasn’t until my second draft that I understood her full story, and that understanding turned out to be key to the whole novel.

Q: The book received a starred review from the ALA’s Booklist, which will likely be seen by every librarian in the country. Who do you perceive to be the book’s primary audience? And is there a secondary one as well?

RZC: I think the book’s primary audience will be people who, at some level, believe in magic. Outside of that, my hope is that this book has something for everyone — and in particular, anyone who has ever felt like a misfit, who has suffered loss, who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and/or who appreciates a transformative journey — a spiral that moves both inward and out.

Q: If you were to address a room full of aspiring novelists who were about to embark on their first novel, what is the key lesson you’d like to impart based on your experience in writing THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN?

RZC: Be true, be true, be true! When I was writing THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN, I took well-meaning advice early on from someone I greatly admired (and still do), even though it ran counter to the most important aspects of my vision for the book. The result was a book that I wasn’t happy with, one that took me years to rewrite. I think taking edits when they ring true is such an important and helpful part of the process, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that everything I write in a book has to ring true to me above all else. Once I finished the rewrite and my agent sent it out on submission, I was at peace. I thought, No matter what happens now, I wrote the book I wanted to write — I gave it my best. In an unpredictable, highly subjective industry, the freedom in that is priceless.

Q: Are you already laying out the plans for your second novel? If so, can you provide a clue to what its theme will be?

RZC: I am! It’s still early days, but I can say that, like THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN, it lives in the realm of magical realism, though it will be a bit darker and lustier and will probably veer into scarier territory.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed John Connolly to the bookstore. He talked about The Furies, and his writing, including what he calls a costly mistake. There are signed copies of The Furies, the latest Charlie Parker novel, available in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3g886rg

Here’s the description of The Furies.

Chaos and murder arrive in Charlie Parker’s hometown of Portland, Maine, with two connected crimes in the latest novel in #1 nationally bestselling author John Connolly’s “flawless and highly suspenseful” (PopSugar) series.

From “a master of the macabre” (RT Book Reviews), private investigator Charlie Parker is unwittingly drawn into a world of vengeance. New York Times bestselling author John Connolly pits Parker against two separate—but vitally connected—investigations, which prove to be among the most complicated of his entire career.

In The Sisters Strange, criminal Raum Buker arrives in Portland, only for a shocking act of theft to threaten not only his own existence but those of his former lovers—the enigmatic sisters Strange.

And in the title novel, The Furies, Parker must protect two women under threat as Portland shuts down in the face of a global pandemic. Unbeknownst to him, however, these clients are more capable of taking care of themselves than anyone could have imagined.

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John Connolly is the author of the Charlie Parker series of thrillers, the supernatural collection Nocturnes, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, see his website at JohnConnollyBooks.com, or follow him on Twitter @JConnollyBooks.

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Enjoy the discussion with John Connolly.

David Rosenfelt returned to The Poisoned Pen after moving with his dogs to Maine. He appeared to talk about his latest Andy Carpenter novel, Santa’s Little Yelpers. You can order copies of that latest book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3yHW6TI

Here’s the summary of Santa’s Little Yelpers.

Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his humorous investigating team return in Santa’s Little Yelpers, the next Yuletide mystery in David Rosenfelt’s bestselling series.

‘Tis the season in Paterson, New Jersey: Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are surrounded by holiday cheer. It’s even spread to the Tara Foundation. The dog rescue organization, not used to having puppies, has their hands full with a recent litter. Eight puppies are a lot to handle, and Andy is relieved when his co-worker Chris Myers agrees to foster them.

Myers, a newer employee at the Tara Foundation, did time for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. When Myers discovers a key witness against him lied on the stand, he goes to Andy to ask for representation in getting the conviction overturned. Myers thinks they can have this wrapped up by Christmas, no problem.

But when the witness is murdered, and Myers is arrested for the crime, things go from bad to worse. Suddenly, it’s all elves on deck to make a list and check it twice, so they can prove Myers is innocent.

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DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of more than twenty Andy Carpenter novels, including One Dog Night, Collared, and Deck the Hounds; its spinoff series, The K-Team; the Doug Brock thriller series, which starts with Fade to Black; and stand-alone thrillers including Heart of a Killer and On Borrowed Time. Rosenfelt and his wife live in Maine with an ever-changing pack of rescue dogs. Their epic cross-country move with 25 of these dogs, culminating in the creation of the Tara Foundation, is chronicled in Dogtripping.

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Enjoy the conversation with David Rosenfelt and a great deal of laughter.