Fiction Review

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed bestselling author Douglas Preston back to the bookstore. This time, he came with his daughter Alethia. She’s his co-author for the book Paradox, although Douglas did read an excerpt of their very first collaboration. Signed copies of their new book, Paradox, are available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/yrek55yu

Here’s the summary of Paradox.

One of the holiest relics in Christendom, inexplicably defaced…

A paranoid old prospector, ritualistically murdered…

A controversial exobiologist, tortured and dismembered…

When a reclusive man is found dead under grisly circumstances in the Colorado wilderness, CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord, whom we met in the New York Times bestseller, Extinction, team up again on their most enigmatic and dangerous case yet. Their investigation uncovers a trail of bizarre killings, baffling money transfers, and a fanatical secret society.

And all the while, the resurrected Neanderthals, who vanished into the Colorado mountains, seem to be biding their time for something…spectacular.

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DOUGLAS PRESTON has published over forty books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which more than thirty have been New York Times bestsellers, a half-dozen reaching the #1 position. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He also writes nonfiction pieces for the New Yorker. He worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He is president emeritus of the Authors Guild and serves on the Advisory Board of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe.

ALETHEIA PRESTON is a reformed lawyer originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. After working as a prosecutor in San Francisco, she moved into private practice as a trial attorney before embarking on a journey as a writer. She is a lover of thriller and science fiction novels and has been an avid reader and writer in both genres since she was a little girl.

An admitted adrenaline junkie, Aletheia spends much of her free time outdoors finding ways to risk her life, from skiing and mountaineering to paragliding and winter camping. She is also a PADI certified deepwater and wreck scuba diver. Fluent in Italian and Spanish, she spent much of her childhood in Florence, Italy. She and her cat Mochi live in Bozeman, Montana.

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Enjoy the conversation with Douglas and Aletheia Preston.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Spencer Quinn back to the bookstore. It was the book launch for the latest Chet and Bernie mystery, Cat on a Hot Tin Woof. Quinn talks about the background of the books. There are signed copies of the book in the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/4asmpre3

Here’s the description of Cat on a Hot Tin Woof.

Join Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of fiction” (Boston Globe), and his human partner Bernie as they scramble to solve a case exposing the dark side of internet fame.

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family’s income is on the line.

The case presents a slew of challenges for Chet and Bernie. For one thing, a potential witness is a pig named Senor Piggy who may be in possession of an important piece of evidence. For another, it seems like a possible perp has been killed twice—and there’s evidence implicating Bernie in the crime.

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Spencer Quinn is the pen name of Peter Abrahams, the Edgar-award winning author of many novels, including the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, The Right Side, and Oblivion, as well as the New York Times bestselling Bowser and Birdie series for younger readers. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Diana—and Dottie, a loyal and energetic member of the four-pawed nation within.

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I think you’ll enjoy the conversation about the Chet and Bernie books.

That’s how author Sadie Kincaid describes her new “dark Mafia romance”, The Auction. Her elevator pitch is “Beauty and the Beast” meets Batman. If that entices you, there are still a few signed copies left in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/yc4rrzx9

Here’s the description of The Auction.

The queen of dark mafia romance, Sadie Kincaid, begins her new explosively sexy Wages of Sin series with The Auction. Order your deluxe hardcover limited edition with stunning cover effects, stamped foil case, lush matching endpapers, and decked-out floral edges today.

Beauty and the Beast meets organized crime in this tense slow-burn romance with scorching spice, thrilling suspense, and life-altering secrets. 

I was trained to be a pawn, but I will rise as a queen.
My life has never been my own. After the death of my parents, I was saved by my grandfather, with the promise that he would turn me over to the Brotherhood on my twenty-first birthday.

I was kept away from the outside world so I could one day be sold to the highest bidder—pure and unsullied. Penance for my parents’ alleged crimes.

That’s how I come to be sold at an auction.

And who buys me but the reclusive billionaire, Lincoln Knight?

Some say that he’s a monster, more dangerous than any of the evil men from the Brotherhood. That he wears a mask to cover his scars. But I believe he’s hiding more than just his face behind his mask. 

My fate is sealed when he takes me to his crumbling mansion deep in the woods. I’m trapped. Entirely at his mercy.

I have to escape.

But something here isn’t what it seems.

Lincoln isn’t what he seems. Maybe he’s not a monster at all. I’m drawn to him in a way that I can’t explain. Until I discover that his secrets go far beyond his mask.

He’s everything I’ve been taught to fear, but what if everything I’ve ever known has been a lie?

Perfect for readers who love:

• Scorching hot spice
• Masked men
• Morally grey alpha heroes
• Determined heroines
• Gothic vibes
• Fiery slow burns
• Beauty and the Beast, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights inspo
• God of Malice, Ruthless Creatures, and The Kiss Thief
• possessive romance
• jealous possessive romance
• obsessive / stalker romance
• dark possessive romance books
• OTT possessive alpha romance

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Sadie Kincaid is an Amazon #1 bestselling spicy romance author. She lives in the UK with her husband, and sons.Sadie writes feisty heroines and morally grey, swoon-worthy alphas with filthy mouths, who would burn the world down for the ladies they love. For more information on Sadie”s upcoming releases including exclusive teasers, excerpts, and more, join her Facebook reader group: Sadie”s Ladies and Sizzling Alphas. 

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Enjoy the conversation with Sadie Kincaid.

Patrick Millikin welcomed Willy Vlautin back to The Poisoned Pen for a virtual appearance on release day for his new novel. Before they discussed the book, Millikin and Vlautin talked about music and books. There are signed copies of The Left and the Lucky available through the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/4jtrdxnr

Here is the description of The Left and the Lucky.

Recipient of the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize

“One of America’s greatest storytellers.”—Jonathan Evison

The acclaimed Willy Vlautin returns with a heartbreaking and tender novel about two young brothers, the vicissitudes of fate, and unexpected connection—a beautiful and bittersweet portrait that illuminates the power of friendship and how it can save lives in multiple ways.

Eddie Wilkens is a workaholic house painter in his early forties. His wife has left him to her regret, and his main employee, Houston, is a loafer and scoundrel who barely shows up for work. Unassuming and self-reliant, Eddie is thoughtful man who rarely gets angry, despite life’s frequent provocations, but he is ruled by a guilt that he has carried for nearly twenty years.

Next door, a woman and her two sons move in with her frail and aging mother. The youngest boy, Russell, eight-years-old, is quiet and small for his age and lives in constant terror of his increasingly lost and troubled fifteen-year-old brother, Curtis. As their mother struggles to keep the family together and the grandmother’s health begins to faulter they find themselves unable to protect Russell and themselves from Curtis’s cruelty, which threatens to explode in frenetic violence.

Though neither knows it, Russell and Eddie will become each other’s saving grace.

While Russell’s home life disintegrates he begins waiting in Eddie’s backyard for him to get off work. Eddie offers the boy small acts of kindness: he feeds him, gives him jobs to do, listens to his dreams of escape, and offers Russell a glimpse into a world of hope and humor. A world of misfit painters, a derelict muscle car, an old dog, and the comradery and companionship of Eddie and his crew. In return, Russell gives Eddie a reason to carry on and helps him lay to rest the guilt that has plagued him for half of his life.

Together, this makeshift father and son begin to build better life, daring to trade the bleakness and cynicism around them for hope and friendship.

From a writer revered for his thoughtful and compassionate portrayal of realistic American life, The Left and the Lucky is a heartbreakingly honest examination of how circumstance shapes our lives, and how the luck of finding someone who needs us can transcend bitter loneliness and prevent us from giving up on dreaming of a better life.

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Willy Vlautin is the author of the novels The Motel Life, Northline, Lean on Pete, The Free, Don’t Skip Out on Me, The Night Always Comes, and The Horse. He is the founding member of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines.

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Enjoy Millikin’s conversation with Willy Vlautin.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed C.S. Harris for a virtual chat about the latest in her Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series. There are signed copies of When the Wolves Are Silent available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/46zcuuar

Here’s the description of When the Wolves Are Silent.

A brutal string of ritualistic killings terrorizes a city already shaken by economic and political turmoil in this chilling new historical mystery from C. S. Harris, USA Today bestselling author of Who Will Remember.

London, 1816: When a notorious young aristocrat is burned alive on a windswept hill popular with neo-Druids, former cavalry officer Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, finds himself plunged into a murder investigation shadowed by tales of ancient human sacrifices and long-buried secrets. 

The victim, Marcus Toole, was the only son and heir of a prominent nobleman. His closest friend—Sebastian’s own nephew, Bayard—claims to have passed out drunk before the attack and remembers nothing. But when Sebastian and his brilliant wife, Hero, delve deeper into the sordid activities of Bayard and his friends, they come to realize that Bayard may not be as innocent as he pretends. Following a tangled trail that leads from a disaffected former soldier-turned-highwayman to a beautiful, courageous journalist and a Jamaican-born fencing master with ties to a radical political movement, Sebastian begins to suspect that Bayard and his friends are being targeted in revenge, by victims who believe they have no other recourse.

Then two more of Bayard’s friends are killed, their murders staged to echo the ritual sacrifices of the ancient Celts. With the palace shaken by the fear of riots and one horrifying death following another, Sebastian must race to stop a ruthless plot that threatens the lives of innocents and could rip his troubled nation apart.

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C. S. Harris is the USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries; as C. S. Graham, a thriller series coauthored by former intelligence officer Steven Harris; and seven award-winning historical romances written under the name Candice Proctor.

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Enjoy the conversation about British history and Harris’ latest book.

Victoria Zackheim is an author and editor, as well as in negotiation to be executor of Anne Perry’s estate, not the literary executor. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, discussed estates and literary estates at the beginning of the program. Anne Perry left nine chapters of this Daniel Pitt novel. Perry’s editor at Random House asked Zackheim to finish Death Times Seven. There are copies of the book signed by Victoria Zackheim available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/hhkz6d82

Here is the description of Death Times Seven.

Two violent crimes challenge the investigative skills of young Daniel Pitt and his wife, Miriam, in the final novel of iconic mystery writer Anne Perry’s beloved Daniel Pitt series.

“A towering achievement from a towering talent—superb!” —Jeffery Deaver, author of the Colter Shaw series

1913: Junior attorney Daniel Pitt must step in for his friend, fellow attorney Toby Kitteridge, whose parents have been brutally attacked. Toby’s mother is dead and his father, a village vicar, is barely alive. With Toby returning to the family home in rural Ipswich, struggling with grief and disbelief, Daniel remains in London to substitute for Toby and defend Peter Ward, on trial for the sexual assault and murder of a young woman.

Daniel is convinced that Ward is innocent, yet the evidence seems to prove otherwise. Eager to assist, his pathologist wife, Miriam fford Croft, offers her forensics expertise and exposes a community of fellow pathologists who may have purposefully omitted information from their autopsy reports. Despite Miriam’s involvement in the case, Daniel finds himself distracted by his desire to help Toby, who is too distraught to investigate the attack on his parents. And when the evidence points to Toby’s father as the killer of Toby’s mother, Daniel faces two of the greatest challenges of his young career: proving the innocence of both Peter Ward and Reverend Kitteridge. One mistake in London and a blameless man will hang. One mistake in Ipswich and Toby’s father will go to prison for life.

Death Times Seven, the seventh and final novel in Anne Perry’s Daniel Pitt series, was completed by Victoria Zackheim, an author and editor as well as Perry’s close friend. Rich in intrigue and courtroom drama, this engrossing novel marks a fitting finale to the career of an author widely praised as the queen of historical crime fiction.

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Anne Perry was the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. She was also the author of a series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt’s son, Daniel, as well as the Elena Standish series; a series of five World War I novels; twenty-one holiday novels; and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Byzantine Empire. Anne Perry died in 2023.

Victoria Zackheim is the author of two novels, including The Curtain Falls in Paris, and editor of seven anthologies. Zackheim is also an essayist and playwright and teaches creative nonfiction and memoir in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. She is a frequent conference speaker and writing instructor.

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Two people who knew Anne Perry well, in conversation.

Jess Lourey’s latest book, The Verdant Cage, is a Dystopian Young Adult thriller. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore https://tinyurl.com/3r5vap9x. Although Shannon Baker’s latest book is Scorched Line, Baker reminded the audience she was there to talk with Lourey.

Here’s the description of The Verdant Cage.

“The deft prose is enlivened by action sequences, as well, which are sure to draw readers into the central mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

The Wall was built to keep them safe. Or so they thought.

For as long as seventeen-year-old Apothecary Rose Allgood can remember, the towering stone Wall surrounding Noah’s Valley has protected her people. No one leaves. No one fights. And no one questions why.

But their paradise has been hiding its thorns. When Rose’s mother becomes the Valley’s first murder victim and her twin brother is swiftly condemned, she alone is searching for the killer. Determined to find the truth and forced to ally with the son of her nemesis to solve the crime, Rose follows a trail of hidden messages, forbidden knowledge, and whispers of a past no one dares remember.

The deeper she digs, the more certain Rose becomes that her mother’s death was no accident. That the Wall isn’t just keeping something out.

It’s keeping something in.

Fans of The Hunger Games, The Grace Year, and The Maze Runner will devour The Verdant Cage—a chilling dystopian thriller about what it takes to rebel when you discover your entire world is a lie.

***Don’t miss out on the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last. This breathtaking collectible is only available on a limited first print run in the U.S. and Canada only, a must-have for any book lover.

The Verdant Cage series is best enjoyed in order.
* Book #1: The Verdant Cage
* Book #2: Coming Soon

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Jess Lourey writes about secrets. A bestselling author twice shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Goodreads Choice Award, she’s also won the ITW Thriller, Minnesota Book, and Anthony Awards. Her work spans young adult, crime fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and book club fiction. She’s also a TEDx presenter who shares the vulnerable story of her path to becoming a writer.

Her books have reached over a million readers and been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and the occasional foster puppy, but those goobers are a lot of work).

Visit jesslourey.com for updates, access to her newsletter, and more information on her VIP reader group.

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Enjoy Baker’s interview with Jess Lourey.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Ally Condie for her first visit to the bookstore. Condie, the author of Reese’s Book Club pick, The Unwedding, was there to talk about her new book, The Girls Trip. There are signed copies of The Girls Trip available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/ydcep7an

Here’s the description of The Girls Trip.

From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and instant USA Today bestseller The Unwedding, a novel of suspense and friendship about three friends who decide to disappear from their lives for a few days while on a trip to a national park—only to have one of them vanish.  
 
Hope, Ash, and Caro met at an online book club. Over the past two years, they’ve been there for each other in every way—except in person. When each of their lives reach a crossroads, they decide to meet in real life at the gorgeous Sonnet Resort at Eden National Park.  
 
Hope, an actress, has become entirely too famous and needs to get away from it all. Ash, a successful online entrepreneur, isn’t sure what has happened to her marriage. Caro, a doctor, has lost a patient and doesn’t know if she wants to carry on or start all over. And none of them are telling each other the full story …

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Ally Condie is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Matched Trilogy, and of many other books (including the Edgar Award Finalist, Summerlost). The Unwedding was her adult debut novel, a Reese’s Book Club Pick, and a USA Today bestseller. A former English teacher, she enjoys hiking with her family in the mountains near their home in Utah.

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Enjoy the conversation with Ally Condie.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed authors V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke to the bookstore. Schwab and Clarke are the authors of The Ending Writes Itself. It’s a debut mystery from the authors, writing together for the first time. There are signed copies of the book still available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/mvaurymk

Here’s the description of The Ending Writes Itself.

A PROPULSIVE DEBUT MYSTERY FROM EVELYN CLARKE, THE BRILLIANT AND DIABOLICAL CREATION OF CAT CLARKE AND V.E. SCHWAB

Six authors.

One private island.

Seventy-two hours to write the ending that will change their lives.

Named one of the Most Anticipated Mysteries of 2026 by GoodReads, Marie Claire, and Page Six.

“In the running for the best mystery of 2026. With a trove of tropes that mystery lovers will love, it will remind you, in the best way, of Agatha Christie.”—Stephen King

Arthur Fletch, one of the world’s bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead . . . and his last book is unfinished.

Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch’s agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter––for a mind-boggling sum––they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch’s magnum opus.

It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.

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It was a dark and stormy night (well, it was actually an unusually warm evening in Edinburgh, Scotland) when New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab proposed an absurd idea to longtime friend and screenwriter Cat Clarke: that they should write a book together. V had made quite a name for herself, with more than 20 books, including the Shades of Magic series, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, but had sworn she’d never co-write a novel, let alone one without fantasy. While Cat, following a tumultuous career as an editor and the author of several YA novels, including Girlhood and Entangled, had fled the publishing industry to work in the even more tumultuous film industry, swearing she’d never return to books. And yet, fate—and an irresistible idea—made liars of them both. That night, as they switched from tea to something stronger, Evelyn Clarke was born.

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Enjoy this fast-paced, enjoyable conversation.

Barbara Peters welcomed John Sandford back to The Poisoned Pen on release day for Revenge Prey. This is a little shift for Sandford, a chase thriller all the way through. There are a few signed copies of Revenge Prey still available through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/55rs3vct.

Here’s the description of this fast-moving book.

Lucas Davenport must track down a ruthless Russian hit team, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

Leonard Summers—not his real name—is on the run. A former high-ranking Russian intelligence officer who defected to the U.S. after providing critical information about Russian spies in U.S. government service, Leonard,  his wife Martha, and son Bernard have spent the past year holed up in a CIA facility near Washington. After the CIA makes a deal with the U.S. Marshal Service’s Witness Protection Program (WPP), Leonard’s family is transported to Minneapolis. The plan is to hide them in a wooded Minneapolis suburb that resembles their former home and dacha near Moscow.

The Summers are received at their destination by Lucas Davenport and fellow marshal Shelly White. Unbeknownst to them, the WPP group has been tracked by a Russian hit team. And while nobody in the WPP has ever been attacked…Leonard might be the first victim. As shots are fired and enemies dodged, Lucas must move quickly to uncover where the leak is coming from, before the hit team can strike again.

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John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of thirty-four Prey novels; two Letty Davenport novels; four Kidd novels; twelve Virgil Flowers novels; three YA novels coauthored with his wife, Michele Cook; and three other books.

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John Sandford’s conversation with Barbara Peters is fascinating. Enjoy the chat.