Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Don Bentley & MP Woodward for a virtual event to The Poisoned Pen. Bentley is the author of Tom Clancy Zero Hour. MP Woodward’s The Handler is a debut. Both men have interesting personal backgrounds. You’ll enjoy learning about them. But, first, check out the books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the summary of Tom Clancy Zero Hour.

Jack Ryan, Jr. is the one man who can prevent a second Korean War in the latest thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

When the leader of North Korea is catastrophically injured, his incapacitation inadvertently triggers a “dead-man’s switch,” activating an army of sleeper agents in South Korea and precipitating a struggle for succession.

Jack Ryan, Jr. is in Seoul to interview a potential addition to the Campus.  But his benign trip takes a deadly turn when a wave of violence perpetrated by North Korean operatives grips South Korea’s capital.  A mysterious voice from North Korea offers Jack a way to stop the peninsula’s rush to war, but her price may be more than he can afford to pay.

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Tom Clancy was the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than eighteen books. He died in October 2013.

Don Bentley spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot, and while deployed in Afghanistan was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor. Following his time in the military, Bentley worked as an FBI special agent focusing on foreign intelligence and counterintelligence and was a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team member.

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Here’s MP Woodward’s The Handler.

A disgraced former CIA operative must go back in the field with only his ex-wife as his handler in this electrifying thriller from a former intelligence officer.

Meredith Morris-Dale is a CIA case officer and a damn good one…even if this last mission did go terribly wrong. Now she has been summoned back to Langley where she expects to be fired. Instead, she is met by the Deputy Director with stunning news. 

A single well-placed CIA mole in Iran’s uranium enrichment program has kept the terrorist nation from building a bomb by sabotaging the performance of their covert centrifuge arrays. But after losing his daughter in an airliner shootdown, the mole wants out—leaving the world on the brink. His one demand: a reunion with the only handler he ever trusted, John Dale—Meredith’s disgraced, fired, wayward ex-husband. As Meredith and John struggle through their fraught relationship, a craven CIA political hierarchy, Russian interference, and the rogue spy’s manipulation, they must reach deep within their shared connection to maintain, recover, or kill the asset.

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M. P. Woodward is a veteran of both US intelligence ops and the entertainment industry. As a naval intelligence officer with the US Pacific Command, he scripted scenario moves and countermoves for US war game exercises in the Middle East. In multiple deployments to the Persian Gulf and Far East, he worked alongside US Special Forces, CIA, and NSA. Today, Woodward runs international distribution marketing for Amazon Prime Video, having launched Amazon’s original video content in more than forty countries through more than one hundred cable, wireless, and broadband partnerships. He collaborates closely with content creators and distributors in driving viewer awareness and engagement. He is currently developing the international distribution strategy for the upcoming serial adaptation of The Lord of The Rings.

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Enjoy this conversation about military thrillers.

It never hurts to remind you of the authors about to appear at The Poisoned Pen. There’s a full slate just in the next week. Don’t forget to check the Web Store for books by these authors. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Check out this schedule.

Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen tag teamed to talk with Peter Spiegelman about his background and his new book, A Secret About a Secret. There are signed copies of the book through the Web Store. https://tinyurl.com/6px6dvjz

Here’s the description of A Secret About a Secret.

A hypnotic literary mystery thriller about a murder at a secluded research facility and the secrets that it exposes. “¢ “Cyber thievery, lust, corporate espionage, and a host of deleterious secrets comprise the chords of this sweeping, riveting symphony.  A bold and original thriller by a masterful storyteller.” —Elizabeth Brundage, author of The Vanishing Point

Looming high above the cliffside along a remote coastline, Ondstrand House is the headquarters of the shadowy biotech firm Ondstrand Biologic. When the body of the organization’s most gifted young scientist, Allegra Stans, is discovered in a walk-in refrigerator—her neck has been broken—Agent Myles is called in to investigate. Myles works for Standard Division, the most feared element of a vast state security apparatus, and he’s been dispatched to the brooding manor, a massive stone campus that once housed a notorious boarding school, to do what Standard Division agents do best—complete the task at hand.

As his investigation proceeds, Myles discovers that “gifted scientist” is only one thread in the complicated fabric of Allegra’s life. There are darker strands as well—of ambition, manipulation, and bitter grievance—all woven into a pattern of secrets, each presenting a reasonable motive for murder. It appears everyone has something to hide, including Allegra’s colleagues, lovers, and former lovers—even the very halls of Ondstrand House itself.

Questions continue to pile up: What interest does Standard Division, an organization best known for intelligence gathering and clandestine international operations, have in this seemingly straightforward case? Could the killing have anything to do with the sprawling estate’s sordid past? And what, exactly, is this research facility researching? Before long, another murder is discovered, and Myles finds himself an increasingly unwelcome presence in an ever more hostile landscape with few allies and fewer answers.

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PETER SPIEGELMAN is the author of Black Maps, Death’s Little Helpers, Red Cat, Thick as Thieves, and Dr. Knox. Prior to his career as a writer, Spiegelman spent nearly twenty years in the financial services and software industries. He lives in New York City.

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Enjoy the conversation.

Steve Berry’s latest thriller is a standalone, The Omega Factor. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen welcomed him to the bookstore for a recent in-person event, and Diana Gabaldon was guest host. You’ll be able to watch the event below. You can also order a copy of the book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/39bS0K6

Here’s the description of The Omega Factor.

“Dan Brown fans will want to check this one out” (Publishers Weekly): The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalized, dismantled, or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold?  

Enter UNESCO investigator, Nicholas Lee, who works for the United Nations’ Cultural Liaison and Investigative Office (CLIO). Nick’s job is to protect the world’s cultural artifacts—anything and everything from countless lesser-known objects to national treasures. 

When Nick travels to Belgium for a visit with a woman from his past, he unwittingly stumbles on the trail of a legendary panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, stolen in 1934 under cover of night and never seen since. Soon Nick is plunged into a bitter conflict, one that has been simmering for nearly two thousand years. On one side is the Maidens of Saint-Michael, les Vautours—the Vultures—a secret order of nuns and the guardians of a great truth. Pitted against them is the Vatican, which has wanted for centuries to both find and possess what the nuns guard. Because of Nick the maidens have finally been exposed, their secret placed in dire jeopardy—a vulnerability that the Vatican swiftly moves to exploit utilizing an ambitious cardinal and a corrupt archbishop, both with agendas of their own.  

From the tranquil canals of Ghent, to the towering bastions of Carcassonne, and finally into an ancient abbey high in the French Pyrenees, Nick Lee must confront a modern-day religious crusade intent on eliminating a shocking truth from humanity’s past. Success or failure—life and death—all turn on the Omega Factor.

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Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of sixteen Cotton Malone novels, five stand-alone thrillers, and several works of short fiction. He has 25 million books in print, translated into over 40 languages. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, an organization dedicated to historical preservation. He serves as an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and was a founding member of International Thriller Writers, formerly serving as its co”‘president.

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Berry’s background about the Ghent Altarpiece is fascinating. Enjoy the event.

Australian author Sulari Gentill may have a hit on her hands with The Woman in the Library, if reviews are any indication. In a recent virtual event, she talked with Barbara Peters, her editor and the owner of The Poisoned Pen about writing and her book. You might want to listen to the beginning of that conversation before you decide which copy of The Woman in the Library you want to order from the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3Q6L3u9 Peters discusses the two formats at the beginning of the conversation.

Here’s the summary of The Woman in the Library.

In every person’s story, there is something to hide…

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

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After setting out to study astrophysics, graduating in law and then abandoning her legal career to write books, SULARI GENTILL now grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of Australia.

Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair mysteries have won and/or been shortlisted for the Davitt Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her stand-alone metafiction thriller, After She Wrote Him won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel in 2018. Her tenth Sinclair novel, A Testament of Character, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel in 2021.

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Enjoy the thoughtful conversation about writing.

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) announced the recipients of their 2022 awards recently at Thrillerfest. Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees. And, for those of us who are readers, there’s another list of books to look for in The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*** denotes winner

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Megan Abbott ““ THE TURNOUT (Penguin/Putnam)
***S. A. Cosby ““ RAZORBLADE TEARS (Flatiron Books)
Alice Feeney ““ ROCK PAPER SCISSORS (Flatiron Books)
Rachel Howzell Hall ““ THESE TOXIC THINGS (Thomas & Mercer)
Alma Katsu ““ RED WIDOW (Penguin/Putnam)
Eric Rickstad ““ I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM (Blackstone Publishing)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

***S. A. Cosby ““ RAZORBLADE TEARS (Macmillan)
Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White
Samantha Downing ““ SLEEPING DOGS LIE (Audible Originals)
Narrated by Melanie Nicholls-King and Lindsey Dorcus
Rachel Howzell Hall ““ HOW IT ENDS (Audible Originals)
Narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Gregg Hurwitz ““ PRODIGAL SON (Macmillan)
Narrated by Scott Brick
Nadine Matheson ““ THE JIGSAW MAN (HarperCollins)
Narrated by Davine Henry

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Abigail Dean ““ GIRL A (HarperCollins)
Eloísa Díaz ““ REPENTANCE (Agora Books)
***Amanda Jayatissa ““ MY SWEET GIRL (Berkley)
David McCloskey ““ DAMASCUS STATION (W.W. Norton & Company)
Eric Redman ““ BONES OF HILO (Crooked Lane Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Joy Castro ““ FLIGHT RISK (Lake Union)
Aaron Philip Clark ““ UNDER COLOR OF LAW (Thomas & Mercer)
C. J. Cooke ““ THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES (Berkley)
***Jess Lourey ““ BLOODLINE (Thomas & Mercer)
Terry Roberts ““ MY MISTRESS’ EYES ARE RAVEN BLACK (Turner Publishing Company)

BEST SHORT STORY

S.A. Cosby ““ “Not My Cross to Bear” (Trouble No More, edited by Mark Westmoreland, Down & Out Books)
William Burton McCormick ““ “Demon in the Depths” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
***Scott Loring Sanders ““ “The Lemonade Stand” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Jeff Soloway ““ “The Interpreter and the Killer” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
John Wimer ““ “Bad Chemistry” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Maureen Johnson ““ THE BOX IN THE WOODS (HarperCollins)
Nova McBee ““ CALCULATED (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
Ginny Myers Sain ““ DARK AND SHALLOW LIES (Penguin Young Readers)
***Courtney Summers ““ THE PROJECT (Wednesday Books)
Krystal Sutherland ““ HOUSE OF HOLLOW (Penguin Young Readers)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Greig Beck ““ THE DARK SIDE: ALEX HUNTER 9 (Pan Macmillan)
John Connell ““ WHERE THE WICKED TREAD (John Connell)
Wendy Dranfield ““ LITTLE GIRL TAKEN (Bookouture)
***E.J. Findorff ““ BLOOD PARISH (E.J. Findorff)
S. E. Green ““ MOTHER MAY I (S. E. Green)
Andrew Kaplan ““ BLUE MADAGASCAR (Andrew Kaplan)
Karin Nordin ““ LAST ONE ALIVE (HarperCollins)

2022 ThrillerMasters: Frederick Forsyth Diana Gabaldon

Richard O’Rawe’s latest novel, Goering’s Gold, has received excellent reviews from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen says he loved the latest book, and he enjoyed his last conversation with O’Rawe. O’Rawe was back for a recent virtual event. You can order Goering’s Gold through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/38NzE1S

Here’s the description of Goering’s Gold.

“I clamor for the next installment of Richard O’Rawe’s rollicking series of heist novels featuring James ‘Ructions’ O’Hare.” — Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review

“Mr. O’Rawe … has written the most riotous caper novel since his own ‘Northern Heist,’ and with luck, there will be more adventures ahead. “—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

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…

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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.

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Enjoy the conversation between Richard O’Rawe and Patrick Millikin.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Mike Lawson to the bookstore for a virtual event. Lawson signed copies of his latest book, Redemption, and there are a few signed copies still available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3zkvSaS

Here’s the description of Redemption, a standalone thriller.

Convicted of insider trading, Jamison Maddox reluctantly accepts a mysterious job that soon takes an ominous twist, sending him on the run from powerful and deadly forces in the latest thriller from Barry Award and Edgar Award finalist Mike Lawson.

With his reputation permanently marred by an insider trading conviction, Jamison Maddox, a young Wall Street broker, reluctantly takes a job doing research for a small company in the sleepy town of Redemption, Illinois. He’s never heard of the company, or of the town, but he’s out of money and options. Though Jamison notices right away that everyone in Redemption is in some way related to one another, the big city boy chalks it up to small town ways. And as for the company’s seemingly extreme security practices, Jamison was planning on minding his own business anyway.

But when he falls in love with a beautiful and enigmatic colleague, Gillian, Jamison begins to realize that he may be doing illegal work for the company. So when she asks him to run away with her, he agrees wholeheartedly. The two set off across the country, hoping to secure some money and go into hiding. The company is soon on their tails, pursuing them with the single-minded goal of silencing them forever.

If Jamison hadn’t realized how dangerous these people really are, he now realizes they will stop at nothing to protect the company. And he has no idea that his lover, a stunning woman shrouded in mystery, is as dangerous as the people he’s running from. 

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Mike Lawson is a former senior civilian executive for the U.S. Navy. He is the author of fifteen novels starring Joe DeMarco and three novels with his protagonist Kay Hamilton.

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Enjoy the conversation between Mike Lawson and Barbara Peters.

James Lee Burke’s Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. There are still some signed copies available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3Nkmzfp

Patrick Millikin from the bookstore admits it’s an honor to host Burke for a virtual event. Burke says he’s published forty novels and two collections, and he’s never changed. He’s still using material from the Bible. Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a personal story, and Millikin and Burke talk about that in the event.

Here’s the summary of Every Cloak Rolled in Blood.

In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic Holland family saga with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling earthly and supernatural outlaws.

Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight.

Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next.

Drawn from James Lee Burke’s own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family.

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James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Edgar Award, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He has authored forty novels and two short story collections. He lives in Missoula, Montana.

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Enjoy the conversation with one of our great authors, James Lee Burke.