Nelson DeMille discusses The Maze

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Nelson DeMille recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to discuss his latest book, The Maze. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, also took the opportunity to introduce a new author, Taylor Moore, author of Firestorm, who is a Nelson DeMille fan. If you’re a fan as well, there are signed copies of The Maze available in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3yHrC4l There are also signed copies of Moore’s second book, Firestorm, in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3QG7BBO

Here’s the summary of The Maze.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille returns with a blistering thriller featuring his most popular series character, former NYPD homicide detective John Corey, called out of retirement to investigate a string of grisly murders much too close to home.

In his dazzling #1 bestseller, Plum Island, Nelson DeMille introduced readers to NYPD Homicide Detective John Corey, who we first meet sitting on the back porch of his uncle’s waterfront estate on Long Island, convalescing from wounds incurred in the line of duty. A visit from the local Chief of Police results in the legendary Detective Corey becoming involved in the investigation of the murders of a married couple who were scientists at the top-secret biological research facility on Plum Island.

Fast forward through six more bestselling John Corey novels and The Maze opens with Corey on the same porch, but now in forced retirement from his last job as a Federal Agent with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Corey is restless and looking for action, so when his former lover, Detective Beth Penrose, appears with a job offer, Corey has to once again make some decisions about his career—and about reuniting with Beth Penrose.

Inspired by, and based on the actual and still unsolved Gilgo Beach murders, The Maze takes the reader on a dangerous hunt for an apparent serial killer who has murdered nine—and maybe more—prostitutes and hidden their bodies in the thick undergrowth on a lonely stretch of beach.

As Corey digs deeper into this case, which has made national news, he comes to suspect that the failure of the local police to solve this sensational case may not be a result of their inexperience and incompetence—it may be something else. Something more sinister.

The Maze features John Corey’s politically incorrect humor, matched by his brilliant and unorthodox investigative skills along with the surprising and shocking plot twists that are the trademark of the #1 New York Times bestselling author, Nelson DeMille.

Nelson DeMille is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels, six of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. His novels include The Deserter (written with Alex DeMille), The Cuban Affair, Word of Honor, Plum Island, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, and The General’s Daughter, which was made into a major motion picture, starring John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe. He has written short stories, book reviews, and articles for magazines and newspapers. Nelson DeMille is a combat-decorated US Army veteran, a member of Mensa, Poets & Writers, and the Authors Guild, and past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, who honored him as 2015 Thriller Master of the Year. He lives on Long Island with his family.

Taylor Moore jumped at the opportunity to ask questions of Nelson DeMille. Enjoy the conversation.

David Baldacci’s Latest Memory Man Novel

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David Baldacci recently “visited” The Poisoned Pen virtually to discuss his latest Memory Man novel, Long Shadows. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, admits she didn’t see the ending coming, so you might want to pick up a copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3T6Dsx6

Here’s the description of Long Shadows.

From the author of The 6:20 Man, “Memory Man” Amos Decker—an FBI consultant with perfect recall—delves into a bewildering double homicide in this new thriller in David Baldacci’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
 
When Amos Decker is called to South Florida to investigate a double homicide, the case appears straightforward: A federal judge and her bodyguard have been found dead, the judge’s face sporting a blindfold with two eye holes crudely cut out, a clear sign that she’d made one too many enemies over her years on the bench.
 
What at first seems cut and dry is anything but: Not only did the judge have more enemies than Decker can count—from violent gang members, drug dealers, and smugglers to a resentful ex-husband—but the bodyguard presents additional conundrums that muddy the waters even further. Who was the real target in this vicious attack?
 
Meanwhile, Decker must contend with a series of unsettling changes, including a new partner—Special Agent Frederica “Freddie” White—and a devastating event that brings Decker’s own tragic past back to the present . . . and forces him to reckon with his future. As potential witnesses start disappearing, Decker and White are inexorably pulled down a twisted tunnel of secrets, crimes, and scandal—at the end of which lies Decker’s deadliest threat yet.

DAVID BALDACCI is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.

Enjoy the conversation between David Baldacci and Barbara Peters.

Marcie R. Rendon discusses Sinister Graves

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Marcie R. Rendon, author of the Cash Blackbear mysteries. Signed copies of Rendon’s latest novel, Sinister Graves, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3TgPd3C

Here’s the description of Sinister Graves.

“Marcie Rendon is writing an addictive and authentically Native crime series propelled by the irresistible Cash Blackbear—a warm, sad, sharp, funny and intuitive young Ojibwe woman. I want a shelf of Cash Blackbear novels! To my delight I have a feeling that Rendon is only getting started.”
—Louise Erdrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Night Watchman

Set in 1970s Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation, Pinckley Prize”“winner Marcie R. Rendon’s gripping new mystery follows Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman, as she attempts to discover the truth about the disappearances of Native girls and their newborns.

A snowmelt has sent floodwaters down to the fields of the Red River Valley, dragging the body of an unidentified Native woman into the town of Ada. The only evidence the medical examiner recovers is a torn piece of paper inside her bra: a hymnal written in English and Ojibwe.

Cash Blackbear, a 19-year-old Ojibwe woman, sometimes helps Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, on his investigations. Now she knows her search for justice for this anonymous victim will take her to the White Earth Reservation, a place she once called home.

When Cash happens upon two small graves in the yard of a rural, “speak-in-tongues kinda church,” Cash is pulled into the lives of the malevolent pastor and his troubled wife while yet another Native woman dies in a mysterious manner.

Marcie Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, a Pinckley Prize-winning author, playwright, poet, freelance writer, and a community arts activist. Rendon was awarded the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award for 2020. She is a speaker on Native issues, leadership, and writing. Her second novel in her Cash Blackbear mystery series, Girl Gone Missing, was nominated for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Rendon was recognized as a 50 over 50 Change-maker by Minneapolis AARP and Pollen in 2018. She lives in Minneapolis.

Enjoy the conversation with Marcie Rendon about the Red River, her Cash Blackbear series, and Sinister Graves.

Jenn McKinlay & The Plot and the Pendulum

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed popular author Jenn McKinlay to the bookstore to talk about her suitably spooky mystery, The Plot and the Pendulum. It’s just perfect for Halloween with a spooky mansion, the connection to Edgar Allan Poe, a skeleton, a library, and a hidden room. There are signed copies of The Plot and the Pendulum in the Web Store. https://tinyurl.com/2p9ee2cy

Here’s the summary of the latest Library Lover’s Mystery, The Plot and the Pendulum.

Halloween is approaching in Briar Creek, and things get spooky when a skeleton is found and connected to a decades-old cold case, in the newest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Killer Research.

Library director Lindsey Norris is happy to learn the Briar Creek Public Library is the beneficiary of the Dorchester family’s vast book collection. However, when Lindsey and the library staff arrive at the old Victorian estate to gather the books, things take a sinister turn. One of the bookcases reveals a secret passage, leading to a room where a skeleton is found, clutching an old copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, using the distinctive 80s era clothing worn by the deceased to determine a time frame, and discovers that Briar Creek has an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989. A runaway bride went missing just weeks after her wedding. No suspects were ever arrested and the cold case remains unsolved. Lindsey and the crafternoon crew decide that justice is overdue and set about solving the old murder mystery, using some novel ideas to crack the case.

Jenn McKinlay is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. Her work has been translated into multiple languages in countries all over the world. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with kids, pets, and her husband’s guitars.

Conversations with Jenn McKinlay are always fun. Enjoy this one!

Candace Robb Discusses A Fox in the Fold

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Candace Robb returned virtually to The Poisoned Pen to discuss the fourteenth Owen Archer mystery, A Fox in the Fold. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, took the opportunity to discuss the cover designs, and historical mysteries and novels set in the medieval times. You can order a signed copy of A Fox in the Fold through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3ErDTgP

Here’s the summary of A Fox in the Fold.

Owen Archer suspects an old adversary is on his tail as he seeks to solve the mystery surrounding a dead body found on the road to York.

“A standout . . . Robb reinforces her place among the top writers of medieval historicals” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review 

October, 1376. Owen Archer is summoned by sheriff Sir Ralph Hastings regarding a stripped and bloodied body discovered on the road north to York. Could it be connected to an attack on a carter and his labourers who were transporting stone destined for St Clement’s Priory? The carter fled, but his men stayed to fight and are now missing. Is the victim one of them?

At first Owen believes the catalyst for murder and menace in York is the arrival of the political pariah William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. But he soon suspects that a formidable and skillful adversary from his past has arrived in the city, thrusting him and his family into grave danger, and his investigation becomes a race to uncover the truth before his old nemesis destroys all he holds dear.

Candace Robb has read and researched medieval history for many years, having studied for a Ph.D. in Medieval & Anglo-Saxon Literature. She divides her time between Seattle and the UK, frequently visiting York to research the series. She is the author of eleven previous Owen Archer mysteries and three Kate Clifford medieval mysteries.

If you’re a fan of British history, you’ll enjoy this conversation.

Leslie S. Klinger & Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin recently welcomed Leslie S. Klinger for a live appearance at The Poisoned Pen. Patrick questioned him about his latest book, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Complete Annotated Edition. Barbara talked with him about the Library of Congress Crime Classics because Klinger is the series editor. You can find Klinger’s books in the Web Store, including signed copies of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. https://bit.ly/3CgqPYU

It sounds funny to say here’s the description of the completed annotation edition.

 The definitive edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s immortal tale of depraved murder and unrelenting horror, introduced by Joe Hill, annotated by Edgar-winner Leslie S. Klinger, & illustrated with over 100 color images

There’s no question that The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most influential texts of all time. The now-iconic tale, which has confounded and thrilled readers for more than a century, was described by one scholar as the only detective-crime story in which the solution is more terrifying than the problem. And even as its plot gets continually reinterpreted and reimagined in literature, film, and theater, the main themes persist, as do the titular characters, now so familiar as to have become a part of the English language.

This new edition gives the classic tale of depraved murder and unrelenting horror its most complete and illuminating presentation yet. Heavily illustrated with over a hundred and fifty full color images from the history of this cultural touchstone—including reproductions of rare books, film stills, theatrical posters, and the true-life people associated with the adventure—and extensively annotated by Edgar Award winning editor and noted Victorian literature expert Leslie S. Klinger, this thorough and authoritative approach is both an invaluable resource for scholars and a sumptuous treat for fans of the text.

Introduced by a compelling and erudite essay from bestselling novelist and short story writer Joe Hill, this complete illustrated and annotated edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the ultimate tribute to an enduring classic, combining revelatory and surprising information and in-depth historical context with beautiful illustrations and photographs. It is sure to please anyone interested in the Victorian era, mystery fiction, and horror tales.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Victorian author born in Scotland in 1850. He is best known for his novels Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He died in Samoa in 1894.

Leslie S. Klinger is considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Frankenstein, and H. P. Lovecraft. Klinger is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars and Treasurer of the Horror Writers Association. His nonfiction works have won numerous awards.

Enjoy the conversation.

Ian Rankin & The Latest Rebus Novel

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Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed Ian Rankin in advance of publication of his latest Rebus novel, A Heart Full of Headstones. The American edition is due out on October 18, and there will be signed copies of the British edition when it’s released in November. You can order either or both editions through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3V6q39H

Here’s the American edition.

Here’s the British edition.

Check out the summary of the new John Rebus novel.

In a brand-new series installment, New York Times bestselling author, Ian Rankin, returns to his legendary detective—it’s not the first time Rebus has taken the law into his own hands, though it may be the last.

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

But what drove a good man to cross the line?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke may well find out. Clarke is tasked with the city’s most explosive case in years, an infamous cop, at the center of decades of misconduct, has gone missing. Finding him will expose not only her superiors, but her mentor John Rebus. And Rebus himself may not have her own interests at heart, as the repayment of a past debt places him in the crosshairs of both crime lords and his police brethren.

One way or another, a reckoning is coming ““ and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders…

Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of John Rebus. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been adapted for radio, the stage and the screen.

Rankin is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards, including the Diamond Dagger, the UK’s most prestigious award for crime fiction. In the United States, he has won the celebrated Edgar Award and been shortlisted for the Anthony Award. In Europe, he has won Denmark’s Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and the German Deutscher Krimipreis.

He is the recipient of honorary degrees from universities across the UK, is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature, and has received an OBE for his services to literature.

Website: IanRankin.net
Twitter: @Beathhigh
Facebook: IanRankinBooks

I was lucky enough to hear Ian Rankin when he was the guest at a Poisoned Pen conference. You’ll want to listen to his conversation.

Peter Robinson, RIP

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Hodder & Stoughton announces the death of Peter Robinson

Hodder & Stoughton are sad to announce that the crime writer Peter Robinson died suddenly on 4th October after a brief illness. He was best-known for his DCI Banks novels ““ first published 35 years ago, and brought to television by Left Bank Productions with Stephen Tompkinson as Banks ““ with 8.75 million books sold by his UK publishers Hodder & Stoughton and Pan Macmillan. A long-time Torontonian, Robinson was born in Leeds and much of his fiction was deeply rooted in a very contemporary Yorkshire, where the beauty of the Dales always co-existed with poverty and crime in his fictional town of Eastvale. Peter received the Grand Master Award from the Crime Writers of Canada in 2020, and won many prizes for his work from around the world, where his fiction has been translated and published in 20 countries and reached number one on the bestseller list numerous times.

Peter Robinson’s editor, Hodder Managing Director Carolyn Mays, said: “˜Peter was a combination of all the best bits of his detective Alan Banks ““ thoughtful and passionate about justice, he had fine taste and a totally down to earth view of the world. His humour was wry and very dry. He was a Yorkshireman to the core; much that he did was done without fanfare, like the scholarship he created at the University of Leeds, where he himself took his first degree, to sponsor students through an English Literature and Creative Writing course.

“˜Peter Robinson was an immensely talented writer over a very wide range, from poetry, to short stories, noir thrillers to more literary works. He was in fact Dr Robinson, with a PhD in literature, and we saw glimpses of that, and sometimes his poetry, in his novels ““ as well of course of his very eclectic love of music, shared by Banks. His novels are superbly plotted (one reviewer said he had the precision of Swiss watchmaker) and the settings are vivid and fully real, but it’s the richness and depth of his characters that keep the readers ““ including me ““ coming back for more.

“˜I’ve lost track of the very many happy meals the Robinson team, his agent and old friend David Grossman, and I have shared with Peter and his wife Sheila, putting the world to rights and trying to persuade him ““ always unsuccessfully ““ to give away a little bit more about what was going to happen next in Banks’s love life. The last of those was in May this year when we met for the first time since the pandemic. With typical generosity, Peter and Sheila drove around Yorkshire to feed and entertain me. Peter promised a delivery date for his new novel, and as he always did, kept to it. Standing in the Shadows is perhaps his finest work yet, and publishing it in March next year will be a bittersweet experience for a great many of us.

“˜Our hearts are with his family and friends, his agents David Grossman and Dominick Abel, the many thousands of fans who will miss his work so much, and most of all with his beloved wife, Sheila, to whom he dedicated every single book he wrote.’

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, had the chance to talk with Peter Robinson in May 2020. Here’s the conversation.

Check the Web Store if you’re looking for Peter Robinson’s books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/browse/filter/t/peter%20Robinson/k/keyword

May he rest in peace.

Megan Shepherd & Malice House

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Malice House is Megan Shepherd’s first book for an adult audience. She’s known for her “gothic vibe” with young adult books. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, talked with Shepherd, and said Malice House is the store’s Notable New Fiction book for October. There are signed copies of the book in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3fS5UnG

Here’s the description of Malice House.

From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd comes a complex tale of dark magic, family secrets, and monsters that don’t stay on the page.

“A propulsively charming nightmare, pooling like spilled ink across your imagination.” — Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Hide

“Haunting and beautifully written . . . an exploration of the mysterious power of stories.” —Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Last to Vanish

“One step away from our world lies another: a land of violent fantasies, of sharp-toothed delights. . . .”

Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father’s remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not on the list. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in the house that her father warned her was haunted. Clearly just dementia whispering in his ear . . . right?

Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jump-start her art career. However, everyone in the nearby vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father’s obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three a.m. bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven’s bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, she must race to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets—completely rewriting everything she ever knew about herself in the process.

Enjoy the conversation about Malice House, bookstores, bibliomysteries, and gothic novels.