Chris Pavone & Two Nights in Lisbon

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While Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Chris Pavone for a virtual event for the bookstore, author Karin Slaughter was the special guest host. Pavone’s latest international thriller is Two Nights in Lisbon. There are more signed copies of the book available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3sXRWUD

Here’s the description of Two Nights in Lisbon.

Tautly wound and expertly crafted, Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.

“I defy anyone to read the first twenty pages of this breakneck novel, then try to put it down for five minutes. This is smart suspense at its very best.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham

You think you know a person . . .

Ariel Pryce wakes up in Lisbon, alone. Her husband is gone—no warning, no note, not answering his phone. Something is wrong.

She starts with hotel security, then the police, then the American embassy, at each confronting questions she can’t fully answer: What exactly is John doing in Lisbon? Why would he drag her along on his business trip? Who would want to harm him? And why does Ariel know so little about her new—much younger—husband?

The clock is ticking. Ariel is increasingly frustrated and desperate, running out of time, and the one person in the world who can help is the one person she least wants to ask.

With sparkling prose and razor-sharp insights, bestselling author Chris Pavone delivers a stunning and sophisticated international thriller that will linger long after the surprising final page.

Chris Pavone is the author of The Paris Diversion, The Travelers, The Accident, and The Expats. His novels have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal; have won both the Edgar and Anthony awards; are in development for film and television; and have been translated into two dozen languages. Chris grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Cornell, and worked as a book editor for nearly two decades. He lives in New York City and on the North Fork of Long Island with his family.

This might be a conversation about living internationally, and thrillers, but there’s a great deal of humor. Enjoy!

Tori Eldridge’s Dance Among the Flames

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John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed Tori Eldridge for a live event at the bookstore. Eldridge talks about her background and her new book, Dance Among the Flames. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/38p01uA

Here’s the description of Dance Among the Flames.

Passion. Horror. Betrayal.

From the national bestselling author of the Lily Wong thriller series comes a “stunningly original” (F. Paul Wilson) dark journey into Brazilian mysticism about a desperate mother who rises from the slums to embrace Quimbanda magic amid her quest for the ultimate revenge. Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse.

Serafina’s quest begins in Brazil when she’s possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit. Fueled by power and enticed by Exú, an immortal trickster and intermediary to the gods, Serafina turns to the seductive magic of Quimbanda. It’s dangerous to dance in the fire. But when you come from nothing, you have nothing to lose.

Tori Eldridge is the national bestselling author and Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards finalist of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed. Her shorter works appear in the inaugural reboot of Weird Tales magazine and horror, dystopian, and other literary anthologies. Her horror screenplay The Gift—which inspired Dance Among the Flames—earned a semi-finalist spot for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship.
 
Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film, and earned a 5th degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian descent and was born and raised in Honolulu where she graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama. Tori’s deep interest in world culture and religions has prompted her to visit nine countries, including Brazil.

Enjoy the conversation with Tori Eldridge.

Richard O’Rawe’s Goering’s Gold

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On Thursday, June 2 at 12 PM (3 PM EDT), Richard O’Rawe, author of Goering’s Gold, will appear for a virtual event for The Poisoned Pen. The event will be on both the Facebook page and YouTube channel for the Pen. You won’t want to miss this. Sarah Weinman, in The New York Times Book Review crime and mystery column calls O’Rawe’s books, a “rollicking series of heist novels featuring James “Ructions” O’Hare (nicknamed for a synonym for “anarchy” or “commotion,” incredibly apt either way).” Check out the complete review here. https://nyti.ms/3wTedp5

You can order a copy of Goering’s Gold, with a signed bookplate, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/38NzE1S

Here’s the description of the book.

Ructions O’Hare returns in a thriller — based on one of history’s greatest unsolved heists — pitting him against the IRA, Interpol, and neo-Nazis . . .

When WWII ended, the allies discovered that a huge amount of gold bullion plundered by Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering had gone missing. Some believed the gold had been hidden in a train box car in Poland. Others that it was secreted in Lake Toplitz in the Austrian Alps. And a few thought it was buried in the Republic of Ireland, which was neutral during the war.

When ex-IRA soldier Ructions O’Hare stumbles on a piece of Nazi memorabilia once owned by Goering, he begins to think that those who suspect the gold was in Ireland just might be on to something.

But for Ructions to return to Ireland is easier said than done. For a start, the IRA is after him for not paying them a cut from a huge bank robbery he carried out in Belfast. And then there’s the Neo-Nazis, who believe that Goering’s gold rightfully belongs to them, and who are happy to kill anyone who gets in their way.

And as Ructions gathers clues to the gold’s location and, as his many adversaries realize he’s getting closer, it’s as if a noose is tightening around his neck…

Richard O’Rawe is a former IRA operative who was imprisoned for bank robbery in the Long Kesh penitentiary during the 1981 hunger strike by prisoners, which resulted in the death of ten prisoners. O’Rawe was the IRA’s press officer for the prisoners. He would later go on to write a bestselling book about the experience, Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike, as well as several other books inspired by his experiences in the IRA, including Afterlives: The Hunger Strike and the Secret Offer that Changed Irish History, and In the Name of the Son: The Gerry Conlon Story. Most recently, he is the author of the IRA-themed thriller, Northern Heist. He lives in Belfast.

Deon Meyer with Michael Connelly

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Deon Meyer, author of The Dark Flood, recently appeared virtually for The Poisoned Pen. Michael Connelly was the special guest host for the event. You’ll enjoy the humor and conversation between the two authors. You can find copies of The Dark Flood in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3MUeYUt

Here’s the description of The Dark Flood.

From internationally acclaimed crime writer Deon Meyer, a new thriller featuring superstar detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido in the wake of their impulsive pursuit of state corruption that has left their reputations hanging in the balance

Having jeopardized their careers in an unauthorized investigation that threatened to reveal the corruption in South Africa’s halls of power, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido have been demoted from the elite Hawks police unit. While waiting to be transferred from Cape Town to seemingly mundane duty in Stellenbosch, Griessel receives a disturbing, anonymous letter:  “I can only trust you and Captain Cupido. There is an adder in our bosom. Be careful of phone calls.”

Assigned to investigate the disappearance of Callie de Bruin, a young university student and brilliant computer programmer, they hit dead ends until the trail, including the death of a fellow officer, leads to a series of gun heists and the alarming absence of certain weapons from the police registry, the ramifications of which could be devastating.

As Griessel and Cupido intensify their search for de Bruin, real estate agent Sandra Steenberg confronts her own crisis: state corruption has caused the real estate market to crash, exacerbating the dire financial straits facing her family. When billionaire Jasper Boonstra contacts her to represent a major property he wants to sell, she pushes aside her concerns about his notorious reputation as playboy and swindler. And then Boonstra himself disappears, and Griessel is forced to juggle between Boonstra’s bitter wife, protective lawyer, and Steenberg, the last person to see him alive.

With propulsive and intricate plotting, sharp prose, and an ending that takes one’s breath away just when the dust seems to have settled,  The Dark Flood spotlights the state capture and corruption that has overtaken the country, lending political weight to a powerful story.

DEON MEYER is the internationally acclaimed, prizewinning author of thirteen thrillers, including The Last Hunt,  The Woman in the Blue Cloak,  Fever,  Icarus,  Cobra,  Seven Days, and the Barry Award-winning  Thirteen Hours . His books have been published in twenty-seven languages. He lives in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

As I said, enjoy the conversation.

Brian Klingborg, in Conversation

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Inspector Lu Fei returns in Brian Klingborg’s second mystery, Wild Prey. Barbara Peters welcomed Klingborg back for a virtual return to The Poisoned Pen. There are signed copies of his latest books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3anyk69

Here’s the description of Wild Prey.

“[A] taut thriller on a topical theme perfect for readers longing for an au courant successor to Eliot Pattison’s Inspector Shan Tao Yun mysteries” —Los Angeles Times

The search for a missing girl sends Inspector Lu Fei undercover into the wild corners of Myanmar, and the compound of the deadly and mysterious woman warlord responsible for the illegal trafficking of exotic animals and possibly more, in the next book from Brian Klingborg, Wild Prey.

Police Inspector Lu Fei has an unfortunate talent for getting himself into hot water with powerful and well-connected people. Which is why he’s been assigned to a backwater town in a rural area of Northern China and quietly warned to keep his head down. But while running a sting operation on the sale and consumption of rare and endangered animals, Lu comes across the curious case of a waitress who has gone missing. Her last known whereabouts: a restaurant frequented by local elites, owned by smooth-talking gangster, and known for its exotic — and highly illegal — delicacies.

As usual, Lu’s investigation ruffles some feathers, resulting in his suspension from the police force. Lu figures he’s reached a dead-end. Then he’s contacted by a mysterious government official in Beijing who wants him to go undercover to track down the mastermind behind an illegal animal trafficking network — and hopefully, the answer to the fate of the missing waitress. The mission will require Lu to travel deep into the lawless wilds of Myanmar, where he will risk his life to infiltrate the hidden compound of a mysterious and ruthless female warlord in a bloody and nearly hopeless quest for justice.

BRIAN KLINGBORG has both a B.A. (University of California, Davis) and an M.A. (Harvard) in East Asian Studies and spent years living and working in Asia. He currently works in early childhood educational publishing and lives in New York City. Klingborg is also the author of Kill Devil Falls.

Enjoy the conversation between Brian Klingborg and Barbara Peters.

Anthony Award Nominees 2022

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I’m a few days late with this since I was on vacation. However, I wanted to share the list of 2022 Anthony Award nominees because there are some excellent books on this list. Don’t forget to check the Web Store for these titles. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Attendees at Bouchercon in Minneapolis, Sept. 8-11, will vote on the books. Winners will be announced on Saturday, Sept. 10. Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Jenn McKinlay & Emmeline Duncan, in Conversation

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John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently hosted cozy mystery authors Jenn McKinlay and Emmeline Duncan. McKinlay’s fourteenth Cupcake Bakery mystery is Strawberried Alive. Double Shot Death is Duncan’s second Ground Rules mystery. You can order copies of both books through the Web Store, including signed copies of Strawberried Alive. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of Strawberried Alive.

The crew from the Fairy Tale Cupcakes shop risks getting burned when they set out to find a murderer who is terrorizing their town
 
Life is smooth as buttercream at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery, and newlyweds Mel and Joe are stopping to smell the flours. But things start to crumble one night when an unknown gunman takes a shot at Mel. Though the bullets miss their mark, the cupcake crew goes on high alert to figure out who would want to kill a small-town baker, and why.
 
When more business owners are attacked, things turn fatal, and locals begin to wonder if the killer could be one of their own. Every shop owner in town starts to fear it’s only a matter of time before they too become victims of the mystery murderer. Despite the cupcake crew’s superb baking skills, it will be anything but a piece of cake to catch the killer, as they try to prevent anyone else from being berried.

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.

Here’s the summary of Emmeline Duncan’s Double Shot Death.

With its entrepreneurial, 20-something protagonist, focus on a hipster-run food truck pod in Portland, Oregon, and real-world issues involving homelessness and gentrification, this second Ground Rules Mystery is a modern, fresh-voiced, and witty cozy featuring a sleuth who can make a perfect cup of coffee!
 
Fresh Brewed Murder is a fresh, updated cozy mystery that offers strong appeal to Millennial and Gen Z readers.

Sage Caplin is taking her Portland coffee cart on the road to a sustainable music festival, but murder is an unwanted special guest…

At Campathon, an annual eco-friendly festival held on a farm outside of Portland, fans celebrate the Pacific Northwest’s music scene in quintessential PDX style—with gourmet food carts, reusable utensils…and lots of coffee. How else to get through three days of nonstop entertainment? Sage has scored a coveted place for her Ground Rules coffee cart thanks to her new-ish boyfriend, Bax, who’s friendly with Maya, one of the musicians performing.

The festivities begin with a stream of customers, friends, and acquaintances stopping by for Ground Rules’ world-class blends, expertly brewed by Sage and her newest barista. But there are tensions between Maya and her former bandmates, who are on the cusp of making it big, and with Ian, the band’s manager. When Sage stumbles upon Ian’s dead body in the nearby woods—his hand still clutching one of her coffee mugs—it’s clear that someone’s grudge boiled over into murder. Can Sage work out who’s responsible before another innocent life fades out, and the curtain falls on Campathon, and maybe her own future, for good?

Emmeline Duncan is the Portland, Oregon-based author of the Ground Rules Mystery Series, as well as YA novels written under the name Kelly Garrett. She is a 2020 Oregon Literary Fellow, a board member of the Northwest Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and co-organizer of the Friends of Mystery’s Bloody Thursday lecture series. She’s also a member of Sisters-In-Crime, Willamette Writers, and SCBWI. Visit her online at EmmelineDuncan.com, on Instagram and Facebook as @writeremmelineduncan, and on twitter as @duncanemmeline.

Enjoy the conversation.

Jack Carr’s In the Blood

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Jack Carr’s In the Blood is the fifth Terminal List novel. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed him to The Poisoned Pen to talk about his past and his latest book. You can order a signed copy of it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3a7dPdP

Here’s the summary of In the Blood.

“‹”Take my word for it, James Reece is one rowdy motherf***er. Get ready!” —Chris Pratt, star of The Terminal List, coming to Amazon Prime

The #1 New York Times bestselling Terminal List series continues as James Reece embarks on a global journey of vengeance.

A woman boards a plane in the African country of Burkina Faso having just completed a targeted assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes later, her plane is blown out of the sky.

Over 6,000 miles away, former Navy SEAL James Reece watches the names and pictures of the victims on cable news. One face triggers a distant memory of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq—a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations…a woman Reece thought he would never see again.

Reece enlists friends new and old across the globe to track down her killer, unaware that he may be walking into a deadly trap.

Jack Carr is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and former Navy SEAL. He lives with his wife and three children in Park City, Utah. He is the author of The Terminal List, True Believer, Savage Son, The Devil’s Hand, and In the Blood. He is also the host of the Danger Close Podcast. Visit him at OfficialJackCarr.com and follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @JackCarrUSA.

Jack Carr is an excellent storyteller. Enjoy the event.

Dervla McTiernan’s The Murder Rule

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Dervla McTiernan came in from Perth, Australia, and she appeared in person for The Poisoned Pen. The Murder Rule is her first standalone novel. TJ Newman hosted McTiernan for the event. You can order a copy of The Murder Rule through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3sG6BE7

Here’s the description of The Murder Rule.

For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

 They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.

International #1 bestseller Dervla McTiernan’s first two novels, The Rúin and The Scholar, were critically acclaimed around the world. Dervla has won multiple prizes, including a Ned Kelly Award, Davitt Awards, a Barry Award and an International Thriller Writers Award, and has been shortlisted for numerous others. Dervla’s third book, The Good Turn, went straight to #1 in the bestseller charts, confirming her place as one of Australia’s best and most popular crime writers.

It’s been a few years since Dervla McTiernan has been in the U.S. Enjoy the conversation with her.