Fiction Review

Authors Tasha Alexander and Andrew Grant joined The Poisoned Pen’s owner, Barbara Peters, for an event at the bookstore. Alexander’s latest Lady Emily mystery is The Sisterhood. Grant’s latest Jack Reacher novel is Exit Strategy. There are signed copies of both books available through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the summary of the nineteenth Lady Emily mystery, The Sisterhood.

Lady Emily investigates the murder of a glamorous debutante in the next irresistible mystery of Tasha Alexander’s New York Times bestselling series.

London, 1907: When the Season’s most accomplished and elegant debutante, Victoria Goldsborough, collapses and dies at her engagement ball, the great and good of London Society prepare to mourn the tragic loss of an upstanding young woman. But all is not what it seems, and after a toxic beverage is revealed to be the cause of death, the king himself instructs Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves to unearth the truth.

Who would want to harm one of the most popular women of the year? Is it her fiancé with whom she had an unusually brief courtship; a rival for his affections bitter at being cast aside; her best friend who is almost certainly hiding a secret from Colin and Emily; a disappointed suitor with a hidden gambling habit; or a notorious jewel thief who has taken a priceless tiara from the Goldsborough home? When a second debutante succumbs to poison, the race is on to find a ruthless killer.

Emily and Colin’s investigation leads to a centuries old tomb in the center of London with a mysterious link to another death dating back to Roman times and the violent reign of Boudica, ancient Britain’s fearsome warrior queen. As the stakes rise and the clock ticks down, Emily must find the killer before they strike again.

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TASHA ALEXANDER is the author of the New York Times bestselling Lady Emily mystery series. The daughter of two philosophy professors, she studied English literature and medieval history at the University of Notre Dame. She and her husband, novelist Andrew Grant, live on a ranch in southeastern Wyoming.

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Check out the description of Exit Strategy.

Jack Reacher will make three stops today. Not all of them were planned for. The page-turning new Jack Reacher thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.

Don’t miss the hit streaming series Reacher!

First—a Baltimore coffee shop. A seat in the corner, facing the door. Black coffee, two refills, no messing around. A minor interruption from two of the customers, but nothing he can’t deal with swiftly. As he leaves, a young guy brushes against him in the doorway. Instinctively Reacher checks the pocket holding his cash and passport. There’s no problem. Nothing is missing.

Second—a store to buy a coat. Nothing fancy. Something he can ditch when he heads to warmer climates. Large enough to fit a man the size of a bank vault. As he pulls out his cash, he finds something new in his pocket. A handwritten note. A desperate plea for help.

Third—wherever this bend in the road takes him. Impressed by the guy’s technique and intrigued by the message, Reacher makes it his mission to find out more . .

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Lee Child is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Jack Reacher series and the complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have been sold in one hundred territories. A native of England and a former television director, Lee Child lives in England and Wyoming.

Andrew Child, who also writes as Andrew Grant, is the author of RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, Invisible, and Too Close to Home. He is the #1 bestselling co-author of the Jack Reacher novels The Sentinel, Better Off Dead, No Plan B, The Secret, In Too Deep, and Exit Strategy. Child and his wife, the novelist Tasha Alexander, live on a wildlife preserve in Wyoming.

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Enjoy the discussion with Tasha Alexander and Andrew Child.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, hosted Jess Armstrong and Charles Finch at the bookstore recently. Their new books are both set in England. Armstrong’s latest book is The Devil in Oxford. Finch’s latest book in the Charles Lenox series is The Hidden City. There are signed copies of both books available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of The Devil in Oxford.

The Devil in OxfordA Ruby Vaughn MysteryRuby Vaughn Mysteries #3

Jess Armstrong  Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing GroupFiction / Mystery & Detective – Women Sleuths / Romance – Historical – 20th Century / Gothic
Forthcoming demand:

Description

Bio

Details

Reviews

Set after the Great War, Jess Armstrong’s USA Today bestselling and award-winning series is historical gothic murder mystery at its best, and Ruby Vaughn returns in The Devil in Oxford.

If someone were to ask American heiress Ruby Vaughn how exactly the occult came to play such a large role in her life, she would immediately point to her octogenarian housemate and employer, Mr. Owen. Together, the pair run a rare book shop in Exeter. Mr. Owen’s penchant for arcane, unusual—and occasionally illegal—books has been known to get Ruby into her fair share of trouble. And after the last year, she is looking forward to spending a quiet holiday in picturesque Oxford while Mr. Owen attends the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. Secretly, Ruby is also looking for a holiday from her confounding feelings for Ruan Kivell, the intriguing folk healer Pellar that she met in Cornwall.

When Mr. Owen secures two tickets to an upcoming exhibition of artifacts amassed by disgraced scholar Julius Harker, Ruby reluctantly agrees to attend. The evening turns out to be more eventful than either of them bargained for. Harker’s dead body is discovered amongst the collection, his business partner is hastily arrested, and Ruan arrives…wanting to speak with Ruby. It seems both the arcane and her Pellar have followed Ruby to Oxford.

The murder case is suspicious at best, but the last thing Ruby wants is another investigation. That is, until an old friend comes begging for Ruby’s help. It soon becomes painfully clear that there is more going on in Oxford than meets the eye. Ruby and Ruan will have to uncover the dark secrets of the competitive world of antiquities while trying to understand the peculiar force that keeps drawing them back together.

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JESS ARMSTRONG is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ruby Vaughn Mysteries. Her debut novel, The Curse of Penryth Hall, won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. She has a master’s degree in American history but prefers writing about imaginary people to the real thing. Jess lives in New Orleans with her historian husband, two children and ever growing number of pets and plants. When she’s not working on her next project, she’s probably thinking about cheese, baking, on social media, or some combination of the above.

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Here’s the summary of The Hidden City.

Against the vividly drawn backdrop of Victorian London, amateur sleuth Charles Lenox must unlock a mystery concealed in the architecture of the city itself, in this new novel from acclaimed author Charles Finch.

It’s 1879, and Lenox is convalescing from the violent events of his last investigation. But a desperate letter from an old servant forces him to pick up the trail of a cold case: the murder of an apothecary seven years before, whose only clue is an odd emblem carved into the doorway of the building where the man was killed. When Lenox finds a similar mark at the site of another murder, he begins to piece together a hidden pattern which leads him into the corridors of Parliament, the slums of East London, and ultimately the very heart of the British upper class.

At the same time, Lenox must contend with the complexities of his personal life: a surprising tension with his steadfast wife, Lady Jane, over her public support of the early movement for women’s suffrage; the arrival of Angela Lenox, a mysterious young cousin from India, with an unexpected companion; the dizzying ascent of his brother, Sir Edmund Lenox, to one of the highest political posts in the land; the growing family of his young partners in detection, Polly and Dallington; and the return of the problems that have long bedeviled one of his closest friends, the dashing Scottish physician Thomas McConnell.

Featuring a beloved cast of characters, a top-notch puzzle, and Finch’s trademark humor and richness of historical detail, The Hidden City is a novel by a master at the top of his form.

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Charles Finch is a novelist and literary critic, author of the beloved Charles Lenox mysteries, following one of the earliest private detectives in Victorian London. The books have appeared multiple times on the USA Today bestseller list. He has written numerous essays, articles, and reviews for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Slate, New York, and The Guardian, and was honored with the 2017 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle. He subsequently served on the NBCC’s board, and has also been a board member of the arts colony Ragdale and was one of three judges for the 2021 Pen-Faulkner Prize. He lives in Los Angeles with his family.

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Enjoy the conversation with Jess Armstrong and Charles Finch.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Jesse Kellerman for a virtual event. Kellerman wrote Coyote Hills with his father Jonathan Kellerman. There are signed copies of Coyote Hills available through the Website. https://bit.ly/4olXOSD

Here’s the description of Coyote Hills.

The electric new Clay Edison thriller from the New York Times bestselling, acclaimed father-son duo who write “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King)

Clay Edison has left behind the Alameda County coroner’s office to strike out on his own as a private investigator. He’s perfectly happy working low-stakes embezzlement cases—that is, until PI Regina Klein calls him with a mystery only he can solve. The son of a wealthy couple has washed up dead on the shores of San Francisco Bay with drugs in his system and a head injury. The police are calling it an accident. But the parents are adamant something’s not right—and as Clay digs deeper, he uncovers a horrifying tangle of betrayal and lies.

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Jonathan Kellerman has lived in two worlds: clinical psychologist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty crime novels. His unique perspective on human behavior has led to the creation of the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Coyote Hills, The Lost Coast, The Burning, Half Moon Bay, A Measure of Darkness, Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California.

Jesse Kellerman won the Princess Grace Award for best young American playwright and is the author of Sunstroke, Trouble (nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Novel), The Genius (winner of the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle), The Executor, and Potboiler (nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel). He lives in California.

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Enjoy the conversation with Jesse Kellerman.

Thank you to critic Oline Cogdill for her review of The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin. You can order copies through The Poisoned Pen’s website. https://bit.ly/3LgXKou

Book review: ‘The Vanishing Place’ uncovers a New Zealand spot so hidden that few can escape from it

‘The Vanishing Place’ by Zoë Rankin; Berkley; 384 pages; $30

Deep in New Zealand’s bush is “The Vanishing Place,” a place so hidden that few people can escape from it and practically no one can find it, as Zoë Rankin so evocatively describes in her fascinating debut.

The rich scenery of New Zealand and Scotland become facets in themselves while informing the gripping plot and shaping the believable characters who inhabit these lands. “The Vanishing Place” works as a story about reinventing oneself and living off the grid, as well as about family bonds and reconciling the past with the present.

Two decades ago, Effie was “a bush girl,” who lived isolated deep in New Zealand’s wilderness with her parents and three siblings — no modern conveniences, no formal education, no medical help when her mother died in childbirth. After a violent incident, Effie escaped and reinvented herself as a police officer in Scotland, but her mind was “never free of the bush.”

Her friends and colleagues know a little about her past, but not everything. Then, Effie is contacted by Lewis, a childhood friend who is one of two people who know her background. Now, a police officer in New Zealand, Lewis needs her help. A girl about 8 years old has stumbled out of the bush, covered in blood, refusing to speak except to say her name is Anya.

Anya looks exactly as Effie did as a child. Lewis suspects Anya also has been raised deep in the wilderness and, judging by the blood, may have witnessed a murder. Reluctantly, Effie returns to New Zealand to help Anya, who may be her niece.

Rankin immerses “The Vanishing Place” in scenery, beginning with a harrowing scene in Scotland as the story moves to New Zealand. Rankin skillfully alternates her story from Effie’s childhood to now, allowing the plot to unravel at the perfect pace.

Behind the plot

Australian-centered mysteries such as those by Jane Harper have become increasingly popular, but so have those based in New Zealand. Interest in New Zealand mysteries dates back to Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh’s classic detective novels during the Golden Age of Mysteries, predominantly in the 1920s and ’30s. The Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel is a prestigious honor for Kiwi writers. More recent New Zealand mystery authors include Jacqueline Bublitz, Paul Cleave, Becky Manawatu, J.P. Pomare, Rose Carlyle, among others. You can also get a glimpse of New Zealand with the 11-season TV series, “The Brokenwood Mysteries.”

Wednesday, November 5, Alex DeMille will appear for a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen at 5 PM MST. DeMille will discuss The Tin Man, written with his father, Nelson DeMille. There are signed copies of the book available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/47Ow5E2. This is Nelson DeMille’s final novel. Fortunately, Oline Cogdill also reviewed the book. Cogdill shares her review, published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Book review: ‘The Tin Men’ is a fitting tribute to late co-author & a new chapter for his son

‘The Tin Men’ by Nelson and Alex DeMille; Simon & Schuster; 384 pages; $29

Despite the highly entertaining plot and the rip-roaring action, “The Tin Men,” by the father-and-son duo of Nelson and Alex DeMille, comes with sadness. During the writing of this military thriller, Nelson DeMille passed away on Sept. 17, 2024, at age 81, leaving his son to finish the manuscript they had been working on.

As is fitting, Alex DeMille leads off “The Tin Men” recounting how he worked with his father on their series about Army criminal investigators Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor and how this third novel was concluded.

“The Tin Men” is a fitting tribute to Nelson DeMille’s rich career, which was filled with gripping bestsellers that captivated even those readers not always drawn to thrillers. “The Tin Men” moves briskly and is seamlessly punctuated by believable characters and elaborate-but-realistic military craft, while showing how artificial intelligence can be useful or manipulated to be diabolical.

The intelligent, unrelenting team of Scott and Maggie often are called to take on the tough assignments. The two arrive in the Mojave Desert to investigate the malfunction of D-17s — killer robots called “tin men.” During military testing, “tin men” killed an Army computer scientist. The robots’ speed and capabilities outmatch those of the human soldiers, putting an Army ranger regiment in danger. Scott and Maggie need to find out who is manipulating the robots’ software.

The authors keep the action on full speed as Scott and Maggie go through numerous physical and emotional trials. The DeMilles are careful to keep the story believable — the duo knows how to make smart, quick decisions.

“The Tin Men” is an apt legacy for the late Nelson DeMille and a new path for Alex DeMille.

Patrick Millikin recently welcomed one of his favorite authors back to The Poisoned Pen, Joe R. Lansdale. Lansdale latest Hap and Leonard novel is Hatchet Girls. You can still order a signed copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/435pken

Here’s the description of Hatchet Girls.

Your next dose of pitch-black comedy, mystery, and mayhem has arrived as Hap and Leonard find themselves in a vicious and ridiculous situation—just as the best friends may finally be calling it quits.

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn’t be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case: both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives: Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with fiancee, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group’s mission and the plans they have already set in place for helter-skelter esque mayhem.

Life changes, midnight sneaks, and dark encounters with misguided dames who yell “Chop, Chop,” lead Hap and Leonard into one of their darkest adventures yet.

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Joe R. Lansdale is the author of nearly four dozen novels, including Rusty Puppy, the Edgar-award winning The Bottoms, Sunset and Sawdust, and Leather Maiden. He has received nine Bram Stoker Awards, the American Mystery Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature. He lives with his family in Nacogdoches, Texas.

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Enjoy Joe R. Lansdale’s conversation with Patrick Millikin.

Check out Deb Lewis’ picks for November reading. And, don’t forget to check the Webstore where there are all kinds of “Hot New Signed Books”. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s Deb’s list from The Poisoned Pen.

The Kings Ransom by Janet Evanovich

“Thriller master” (Mystery and Suspense Magazine) Janet Evanovich takes you on a global hunt to track down missing masterpieces in this action-packed and steamy sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Recovery Agent.

Wild Instinct by T Jefferson Parker

A gripping high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker (“A marvel…hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out.” —Gregg Hurwitz)

The Devil In Oxford by Jess Armstrong

Set after the Great War, Jess Armstrong’s USA Today bestselling and award-winning series is historical gothic murder mystery at its best, and Ruby Vaughn returns in The Devil in Oxford.

Puzzle Mania! by NYT Games, edited by Joel Fagliano

From New York Times Games, home of Wordle and Connections, comes a collection that transforms your favorite digital games into a beautifully designed book that’s perfect for solo play, family game night, or gifting to puzzle-obsessed friends.

“A screen-free version of all their favorite New York Times games . . . Tailor-made to be a great white elephant gift.” —The Skimm Gift Guide

Murder Among The Stacks by Rosie A Point, Charles Timmerman 

A cozy mystery story combined with themed word search puzzles creates an interactive and charming whodunit experience in this fun new format that invites you to solve the case as you uncover clues.

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu 

Award­-winning author Ken Liu returns with his first scifi thriller in a brand-new series following former “orphan hacker” Julia Z as she is thrust into a high-stakes adventure where she must use her AI-whispering skills to unravel a virtual reality mystery, rescue a kidnapped dream artist, and confront the blurred lines between technology, selfhood, and the power of shared dreams.

John Charles recently welcomed Jill Beissel and Jenn McKinlay for an event at The Poisoned Pen. Beissel’s new book is Glitter and Gold. Jenn McKinlay’s latest book, Witches of Dubious Origin, has been called a “enchanting cozy fantasy”. There are signed copies of both books available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of Glitter and Gold.

A suspenseful, female-driven adventure mystery set in the Arizona wilderness, Glitter & Gold explores friendship, betrayal, and a deadly treasure hunt—perfect for fans of Danielle Trussoni.

After her mother’s death, Delaney Byrne faces escalating debts and a sister to support. Their home is burglarized, hinting at her mother’s obsession with a hidden treasure in Arizona’s mountains. When her estranged best friend, Joss, proposes one final treasure hunt, Delaney is skeptical but desperate.

As they delve into the wilderness, Delaney and Joss navigate a maze of old betrayals and hidden dangers. Each clue they uncover draws them closer to the treasure but deeper into risk. Delaney vows not to repeat her mother’s mistakes, but the mountain’s perils are relentless, and trust is scarce.

Blending the high-stakes intrigue of Jane Harper’s The Dry with the atmospheric danger of Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game, Glitter & Gold is an adventure mystery about survival, buried secrets, and the price of chasing fortune and family across unforgiving terrain.

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Jill Beissel is a seasoned writer hailing from Phoenix. By day, she crafts compelling advertising copy; by night, she delves into fictional worlds.

Her stories explore the intricate dance between mothers and daughters and unravel the layers of female friendships, all set against atmospheric backdrops that keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Outside her worlds of words, Jill enjoys moments with her husband and two young kids, loses herself in riveting reads, sips on coffee, and secretly hopes for more rain showers in Phoenix—a true pluviophile in the heart of the desert.

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Heres the summary of Witches of Dubious Origin.

When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded.

Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.

With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide whether or not she’s ready to embrace her destiny.

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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.

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Enjoy the conversation with Jill Beissel and Jenn McKinlay.

John Charles recently welcomed Ellery Adams and Colleen Cambridge to The Poisoned Pen. Both authors have multiple series, but they appeared to discuss their new books. Adams’ latest one is The Tattered Cover. Cambridge’s new book is Two Truths and a Murder. There are signed copies of both books available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

The Tattered Cover is in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series.

It was a dark, rainy night at Nora Pennington’s Miracle Books when a mysterious death brings the Secret, Book, and Scone Society into the Halloween season on the trail of a murderer . . .

As the residents of Miracle Springs, North Carolina, select their costumes, plan parties, and get excited for a night of tricks or treats, Nora joins in on the festivities by hosting medium memoirist Lara Luz at the bookstore. Charismatic and compelling, Lara mesmerizes the audience with her life story. Struck by a bolt of lightning as a child, she was pronounced dead only to be resurrected with the ability to connect with those on the other side.

Lara performs a reading for a select group of bookstore patrons when the encroaching storm knocks out the power. In the sudden darkness, howling cold winds intensify, and Lara clutches her heart, collapsing dead without warning. But Nora doesn’t believe she died of natural causes. Not one member of the psychic’s reading group—which includes the town’s widower pharmacist, an urgent care nurse, a mystery author, and even truculent Deputy Hollowell—were admirers of Lara.

Nora confirms this when she stumbles upon Lara’s journal in the aftermath of her death. For within its leathery bound pages are the medium and her clients’ deepest and darkest secrets, written in code. Now, Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society must sift through the suspects and their motives to uncover which one of them is a killer before he or she is tempted to strike again . . .

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Ellery Adams is the USA Today & New York Times bestselling author of over forty mystery novels. Ellery grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound but now writes from her home in central North Carolina. She considers herself “baked in the North and buttered in the South.” She loves rescue animals, jigsaw puzzles, coffee, black licorice, college football, reading on rainy days, wood-burning fires, and porch swings. To see her complete bibliography, as well as reading guides and bibliotherapy lists, please visit ElleryAdamsMysteries.com or find Ellery on Instagram @elleryadams.

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Colleen Cambridge’s Two Truths and a Murder is the latest in her Phyllida Bright mystery series.

Agatha Christie’s trusted housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, has become an amateur sleuth in her own right, using her little grey cells to solve crimes. When a party game leads to murder, she decides to crash the investigation in this latest sparkling mystery from Colleen Cambridge.

While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Genevra Blastwick.

What she does observe at the party is that Genevra craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Genevra introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Genevra remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie.

The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Genevra may have been the target, which means someone at the party is a killer—twice over. A chilling thought. With Genevra in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Genevra and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road . .

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Colleen Cambridge is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the American in Paris Mysteries, the Lincoln’s White House Mystery series, and the Phyllida Bright Mysteries, the first of which, Murder at Mallowan Hall, was an Agatha Award finalist and an Indie Next Pick. The first American in Paris Mystery, Mastering the Art of French Murder, was both an Indie Next Pick and a LibraryReads selection. An accomplished historian whose meticulously researched novels appeal to fans of historical fiction and mysteries alike, she also writes under the pennames C.M. Gleason, Colleen Gleason, and Alex Mandon. She lives in the Midwest and can be found online at ColleenCambridge.com.

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Enjoy the conversation with Ellery Adams and Colleen Cambridge.

Patrick King, science fiction and fantasy selector for The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted a virtual event with Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Killer, authors of crime fiction set in a science fiction universe. There are copies of the Saga Double, Apprehension/Red Star Hustle available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/48Icjem

Here’s a little background.

Red Star Hustle Aran, a happy-go-lucky high-class escort, is on the run after he’s framed for the assassination of his famous filmmaker client. The last thing he needs is to fall for the studly and noble clone of a murderous puppet monarch while he’s trying to stay one step ahead of an ace bounty hunter, who is trying to keep a fatal secret from her toxic boss/mom, which means she can’t stop to worry about a little thing like whether her target might actually be innocent. Set within a universe of epic mech battles, and billions of human-made wormholes that make traveling to a distant star as easy as walking through a door or scheduling car service. This science fiction thriller by Nebula Award–winning author Sam J. Miller is a crisscross of heartbreak, addiction struggles, queer messiness, and resisting evil empires, coming together in a space-hopping fight with the whole damn galaxy.

Apprehension A family vacation arranged by Bonnyjean, a grieving mother, her son-in-law Jax, and her six-year-old grandson Tristan, quickly becomes disastrous as Tristan is kidnapped by a terrorist operation that is hoping to affect the planet’s upcoming elections between rival parties. They believe Bonnyjean was given a secret by the double agent who died in her arms. However, not only is this a deadly misunderstanding, but it’s also a dangerous one as Bonnyjean was last on Nahatanau when she was a special forces operative. Unfortunately, that was over thirty years ago, but she won’t let the years nor her bad hip get in the way of rescuing her grandson. Beloved Hugo Award–winning author Mary Robinette Kowal has crafted an intricate mystery of mistaken identity on an alien planet.

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Sam J. Miller’s books have been called “must reads” and “bests of the year” by USATODAY, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and Oprah Daily, among others, and have been translated into nine languages. They’ve also been banned in Florida and stolen by AI. His work has won the Nebula, Locus, Shirley Jackson, and Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, as well as the Astounding Award. He’s also the last in a long line of butchers. Sam lives in New York City, and at SamJMiller.com.

Mary Robinette Kowalis the author of the bestselling Lady Astronaut Universe, The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers,andThe Glamourist Histories series. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor, and Asimov’s. Mary Robinette, a professional puppeteer, lives in Tennessee. Visit at MaryRobinetteKowal.com.

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Enjoy the conversation.