Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Steve Cavanagh to the bookstore. There are signed copies of Cavanagh’s new book, Witness 8, available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3RapJ9a

Here’s the description of Witness 8.

NSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Author of the “unguessable and unputdownable” (Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Kill For Me, Kill for You, the master of psychological thrillers Steve Cavanagh returns.

What if the witness was more twisted than the killer?

Something is wrong with Ruby Johnson.

A former resident of the ultra-elite Manhattan upper class, Ruby now works as a maid in the type of houses she used to live in. Unassuming, she sees everyone’s dirty secrets from the inside of their beautiful, renovated brownstones. But when Ruby witnesses a murder, she has wicked plans in mind that don’t involve telling the authorities the truth.

Eddie Flynn, streetwise ex con-artist-turned-defense attorney, is the only lawyer in New York City willing to take on hopeless cases. And none is more hopeless than John Jackson’s—the gun that killed his neighbor found, with Jackson’s DNA, in his own home. Flynn and his unconventional team will need to use every trick they know to keep an innocent man from being locked up. But to save his client’s life, Eddie must first protect his own, as the scariest organized criminals in the city are out for his head.

Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Megan Miranda, Witness 8 is a fresh knockout page-turner from an author who is “the real deal” (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

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Steve Cavanagh is the bestselling and award-winning author of several books, including the Eddie Flynn series and Kill for Me, Kill for You. A former lawyer, he was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he still lives. Find out more at SteveCavanaghAuthor.com.

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Enjoy the conversation with Steve Cavanagh.

The British Library Crime Classics are popular books at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, with the introductions by Martin Edwards. They’re published by Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press. This week, Dana Stabenow reviews Mary Kelly’s The Spoilt Kill, which is available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3BuXBcx

Mary Kelly’s The Spoilt Kill beat out John le Carre’s Call for the Dead for the Gold Dagger Award in 1961, and now I know why. This book is exquisitely written, with a totally character-driven plot in a fully realized workplace setting (a commercial pottery). The detective is undercover on a case of industrial espionage and the pottery’s accountant is found murdered by, well, let’s just say by clay.

But this is one of those books that is about far more than its mystery. I’ll excerpt one sample for you.

“…But you heard what Dart said. “You have to have these things.” Have to. Obligation. England the great mercantile nation, rolling in prosperity, measures poverty against a new list of basic possessions. And it’s no longer a pity to be poor, a misfortune, it’s a disgrace, a stigma, a reflection on your character, a condition you daren’t permit to be seen, like syphilis. Perhaps I exaggerate.”

No, he doesn’t. Who says we need that enormous TV, that flashy car, that McMansion? That is a passage that could have been written today and be just as relevant now as it was then. The sheer pettiness of the motive for the espionage rings horribly true.

Be aware, this is not a light-hearted read and there is no HEA, but on a level of craft it reads as well as le Carre himself ever did. I especially recommend it to my writing friends.

N.B.: I will say this and no more in criticism [SPOILER]:

Nicholson is meant to have been disappointed in love at the end, but my feeling is he really dodged a bullet there.

Kerry Greenwood, author of the historical detective Phryne Fisher mysteries, died last week, according to ABC News. https://ab.co/4jpXNdt.

Australian author Kerry Greenwood, who died in Melbourne on March 26 aged 70. (Supplied: Allen & Unwin)

Although Greenwood was Australian, her Phryne Fisher mysteries were published here in the United States by Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks.

Over the course of her career, The Poisoned Pen bookstore published a number of blog pieces about her books, the fashion in the shows, the Phryne Fisher shows themselves.

Kerry Greenwood. May she rest in peace.

Guest host Liana de la Rosa recently welcomed Melissa Marr to The Poisoned Pen. Marr is the author of A Course in Magic series, including the latest book, The Reluctant Witch. There are signed copies available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4iWN8qz

Here’s the description of The Reluctant Witch.

The Magicians meets One Last Stop in the sequel to Remedial Magic by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr!

After discovering she’s a witch and being whisked away to the magical land of Crenshaw, Ellie wants nothing more than to spend time with her new wife, Prospero, who has magically altered Ellie’s memories to convince her of exactly that.

Prospero herself is guilt-wracked after erasing Ellie’s memories and being forced into a sham marriage with the woman she loves for real. But Crenshaw is dying, poisoned by Prospero’s enemies who want their community to return to the human world, and she will do anything to save it.

The most powerful witch in anyone’s memory is in Prospero’s home, in her bed, with no idea that she’s a prisoner there… yet.

As the very fabric of their world is being destroyed, Ellie and Prospero must find a way to work together and save the world, and themselves.

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Melissa Marr writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into over 25 languages and been bestsellers in the US (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as overseas. Wicked Lovely, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller and evolved into an internationally bestselling multi-book series with a myriad of accolades. If she’s not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.

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Enjoy the conversation with Melissa Marr.

If you’ve been following the blog for a few years, you may be aware of Dana Stabenow’s project, Storyknife.

Overlooking Cook Inlet and the heart-stopping grandeur of the Aleutian Mountain Range, Storyknife Writers Retreat, a literary nonprofit located in Homer, Alaska, hosts residencies for women from Alaska, across the United States, and internationally. Our mission is to give women writers the time and space to explore their craft without distraction. Storyknife provides women with a community to support their efforts, lifting their voices.

Here’s the latest about Storyknife.

https://blog.stabenow.com/2025/04/01/welcome-to-the-first-storyknife-writers-of-2025/

Patrick King from The Poisoned Pen welcomed debut author Allison Gunn for a virtual event. There are still copies of Nowhere available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3E78vGz

Here’s the description of Nowhere.

Mare of Easttown meets The Outsider in this spine-tingling and twisty debut about a series of disappearances in a small, fundamentalist town and what one broken family must do to remain together as dark forces close in.

After losing her young son in an accident, Rachel Kennan throws herself into her career as police chief of a small Virginia town to avoid focusing on her grief. Meanwhile, her husband, Finn, a washed-up writer whose alcoholism led to the devastating tragedy that changed everything, struggles to redeem himself before his family completely falls apart. Their two daughters are the only things keeping Rachel and Finn together, but the girls have demons of their own.

At the same time, a disturbing crime rocks their tightknit, religious community, sending Rachel chasing leads in a place that does not take kindly to outsiders. When an ominous force in the forest starts calling to the children, fear spawns hate among the townspeople, placing the Kennan family directly in the line of fire. Left with no choice but to rely on each other, Rachel and Finn must come together to face threats inside and out.

A haunting family saga and a disquieting horror debut, Nowhere draws from Appalachian folklore to caution us that true terror is what we bury in our own hearts.

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Allison Gunn is a professional researcher, writer, and podcaster with a penchant for all things whimsical and strange. An alum of the University of Maryland, she has extensively studied marginalized communities as well as Appalachian folklore and the occult. She currently resides in the wonderfully weird land of West Virginia with her twin daughters, a precocious pup, and one seriously troubled tabby. Nowhere is her first novel. 

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Enjoy meeting Allison Gunn, a debut author.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed two British authors for a virtual event at the bookstore. C.B. Everett’s latest book is The Other People. Jess Kidd launches a series with Murder at Gulls Nest. Both books are available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the summary of The Other People.

A group of strangers gathered at a mysterious country house are in a race against time to stop a serial killer in this twisty, high-concept thriller that combines Agatha Christie with Shutter Island.

Ten strangers.

An old dark house.

A killer picking them off one by one.

And a missing girl who’s running out of time…

And then there was one.

Ten strangers wake up inside an old, locked house. They have no recollection of how they got there. In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman. But a killer also stalks the halls of the house and soon the body count starts to rise. Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them? And who—or what—lurks in the cellar?

Forget what you think you know.

Because while you can trust yourself, can you really trust The Other People?

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C.B. Everett is the pen name for author Martyn Waites. He trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama and worked as an actor for many years before becoming a writer. His novels include the critically acclaimed Joe Donovan series, The Old Religion, and The White Room. In 2013, he was chosen to write Angel of Death, the official sequel to Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, and in 2014 won the Grand Prix Roman Etranger for Born Under Punches. He has been nominated for every major British and French crime fiction award and has also enjoyed international commercial success with eight novels written under the name Tania Carver.

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Here’s the description of Jess Kidd’s Murder at Gulls Nest.

From Jess Kidd, the bestselling author of Things in Jars who “is so good it isn’t fair” (Erika Swyler, nationally bestselling author), the first in a cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears.

I believe every one of us at Gulls Nest is concealing some kind of secret.

1954: When her former novice’s dependable letters stop, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in Frieda’s letter, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent.

A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it’s time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.

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Jess Kidd is the award-winning author of Murder at Gulls Nest, The Night Ship, Himself, Mr. Flood’s Last Resort, and Things in Jars. Learn more at JessKidd.com.

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Enjoy the conversation with C.B. Everett and Jess Kidd.

John Charles from The Poisoned Pen welcomed Susan Meissner back to the bookstore for a virtual event. Meissner’s latest book, A Map to Paradise, is available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3DNUiOU

Here’s the summary of A Map to Paradise.

1956, Malibu, California: Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation.

Then one early morning Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone?

As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own. But it’s a fragile pact and one little spark could send it all up in smoke…

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Susan Meissner is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper and an award-winning columnist. She is the award-winning author of The Nature of Fragile Things, The Last Year of the War, As Bright as Heaven, A Bridge Across the Ocean, Secrets of a Charmed Life, A Fall of Marigolds, and Stars over Sunset Boulevard, among other novels.

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Enjoy the conversation with Susan Meissner.

Deb Lewis from The Poisoned Pen is sharing her April picks, along with the links to purchase the books from the Webstore.

THE MAID’S SECRET by Nita Prose

This bestselling series continues with Head Maid Molly Gray about to marry her beloved Juan Manuel when the theft of a valuable treasure left to her by her grandmother unravels surprising secrets in her past. If you have read other books in this series you know the appeal is in Molly’s point of view and the skilled way all is not how it seems, at least to her (and those of us reading along with her). Who is hiding what? Enjoy the ride. (There are signed copies on order in the Webstore.)

VERA WONG’S GUIDE TO SNOOPING (ON A DEAD MAN) by Jesse Q Sutanto

I couldn’t wait for this sequel to the 2023 hit, VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERS. Vera’s feeling bored and luckily for us, a murder gets dropped in her lap….an influencer who no one claims to know. Vera’s on the hunt and I recommend both books highly. 

THE MATCHMAKER by Aisha Saeed

As a former caterer, I couldn’t resist this story about a successful matchmaker whose client’s weddings are being sabotaged. An intriguing look at matchmaking along with a secret romance, the pages fly by in this one. 

MURDER AT GULLS NEST by Jess Kidd

A former nun goes to a small seaside town to investigate the disappearance of her pen pal. The beginning of a new series, this is the kind of mystery I adore – no one is as they seem, including our sleuth. 

THE DEATH OF US by Abigail Dean 

I picked this up because Stephen King wrote a glowing endorsement, and I am so glad I did. Twenty five years after a young couple experiences the worst at the hands of a serial killer, he is caught and they re-unite to see him brought to justice. A love story wrapped in a thriller, this one doesn’t disappoint. 

MURDER BY CHEESECAKE by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

A cozy mystery written by a literary agent continuing the wonderful characters from THE GOLDEN GIRLS! If you need more quality time with the remarkable ladies from the TV show THE GOLDEN GIRLS and a fun look back at Miami in the 1980’s this is for you. When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, the mayhem begins. All the zinger one liners you remember, this is the start of a fun new series.