Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, grew up in the Chicago area. When David Ellis appeared at the bookstore, they started out by talking about Chicago and crime fiction authors. There are signed copies of Ellis’ latest book, The Best Lies, available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3LZkVRr.
Here’s the description of The Best Lies.
Bestselling and award-winning author David Ellis delivers a fast-paced, twisty thriller that will surprise readers at every turn.
Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family’s closet. He’s also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the dealer’s brutal syndicate.
Risk his life going undercover for the feds or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer—but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and “the one who got away.” Forced to walk a tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss, Leo’s trapped in a corner. But he has more secrets than anyone realizes, and a few more cards left to play …
David Ellis is a judge and a #1 New York Times-bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author of eleven novels of crime fiction, as well as nine books co-authored with James Patterson. In December, 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. Ellis lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.
Enjoy the conversation. And, if you’re familiar with Chicago, you’ll really enjoy it.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, stressed Matthew Hart’s knowledge of diamonds when she welcomed him for a virtual event. Hart’s latest book is The Lucifer Cut. There are signed copies of The Lucifer Cut available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4cTy4Hr.
Here’s the summary of The Lucifer Cut.
A heart-pounding ride through the perilous world of the modern gem trade, by the acclaimed author of Diamond.
When a New York diamond dealer and his wife are found dead in a chilling assassination, and a mysterious gem—the Lucifer Cut—goes missing, U.S. Treasury agent Alex Turner and his lover, the billionaire Russian diamond thief known as Slav Lily, are thrust into a web of global intrigue. Uncertain they can even trust each other, the two find themselves on the trail of a secret so lethal it threatens not only the world diamond trade but the national security of the United States.
In a fiction first, diamond expert Matthew Hart tears the curtain from the secretive world of lab-grown diamonds, where master “chefs” create astonishing gems in the 8,000-degree furnaces of their reactors. Finally one of them makes what no one thought possible—a fake so perfect not even experts can unmask it. But as Alex and Lily soon discover, its allure is even more profound than its beauty as a jewel, and the stone ignites a murderous race from New York to London and finally to Cape Town, as a deadly enemy tries to beat them to the diamond.
With knife-sharp dialogue and lacerating irony, Alex and Lily navigate an ever-shifting underworld and the storms of their own desire as they rush to unravel the enigma of the Lucifer Cut and the treacheries of the human heart.
Matthew Hart has written about diamonds for Vanity Fair, the Atlantic, and the Times of London. His award-winning Diamond: The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair was translated into six languages and made into a four-hour dramatic miniseries. He was a contributing editor of the leading New York diamond-trade publication, Rapaport Diamond Report. Matthew has traveled from the Arctic to Angola in pursuit of diamond stories. His first two thrillers, The Russian Pink and Ice Angel, are also available from Pegasus Crime. He lives in New York City.
Enjoy the discussion of diamonds and Hart’s The Lucifer Cut.
Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin welcomed debut author Gregg Podolski for a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen. There will be signed copies of Podolski’s first thriller, The Recruiter, available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4d5zE8Y.
Here’s the description of The Recruiter.
An action-packed debut from Gregg Podolski, The Recruiter is a thrilling and unique adventure through the European underworld.
When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.
He’s a criminal recruiter, searching for contract killers, hackers, gun smugglers, and any other assorted villains-for-hire a European crime boss might need. But, when the family he left behind in New Jersey is caught up in a client’s plot to monopolize the black market, Rick has to save them from two of his own top candidates: deadly assassins known only as Ghost and The Persian.
Fixing his own mess will require a set of skills he doesn’t have—not a problem, as finding qualified help is where he excels. But stepping into action, becoming the hero his family needs, that’s new territory. For a man who’s spent the last ten years being the best at helping the worst, this may be his last chance to do something right.
Gregg Podolski lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children. When not writing, he works as an executive recruiter for a family-owned staffing firm. He loves Philly sports, the Jersey Shore, and is one of the last people on the planet who still buys CDs. The Recruiter is his first novel. If you don’t like it, that’s cool. Just lie and say you do. Seriously, it will be our little secret.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Bruce Borgos to the bookstore. Borgos is the author of the Porter Beck mysteries, including the latest, Shades of Mercy. There are signed copies of Shades of Mercy available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3zSMxEV.
Here’s the summary of Shades of Mercy.
In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges—a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.
Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman’s job his father once did now that he’s returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local—local enough to call out Beck by name—and that means they are Beck’s problem.
Beck’s investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she’s a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there’s something Mercy that doesn’t sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she’s in danger and time is running out for all of them.
BRUCE BORGOS lives and writes from the Nevada desert where he works hard every day to prove his high school guidance counselor had good instincts when he said “You’ll never be an astronaut.” He has a degree in political science which mostly served to dissuade him from a career in law while at the same time tormenting his wife with endless questions about how telephones work. When not writing, you can usually find him at the local wine store. He is the author of The Bitter Past.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed May Cobb for a virtual event. Although Cobb participated to discuss her latest book, The Hollywood Assistant, she also answered questions about a previous book, The Hunting Wives because she had news to share about that one. There are signed copies of The Hollywood Assistant available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3zKmwYc.
Here’s the summary of The Hollywood Assistant.
Named a Most Anticipated Read of 2024 by Zibby Media ? Jordy’s Book Club ? Novel Suspects ? The Nerd Daily ? Pure Wow ? She Reads ? and more!
Offered a dream job in Hollywood with a famous director and his actress wife, an insecure woman becomes their personal assistant where their secrets and lies place her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.
Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.
The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.
When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around.
But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.
May Cobb is an award-winning author of The Hunting Wives, My Summer Darlings, A Likeable Woman, and Big Woods. Her books have received attention from Book-of-the-Month Club, the Today show, and Oprah Daily and have been optioned for film and TV. She has an MA from San Francisco State University and her essays and interviews have appeared in the Washington Post and Good Housekeeping. She currently lives in Austin with her family. Her novel The Hunting Wives is soon to be a series on STARZ.
Thriller writers Brian Freeman and Ryan Steck recently discussed their new books with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. Freeman wrote the new Jason Bourne book, Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Shadow. Steck’s latest book is Out for Blood. There are signed copies of both books available through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/.
Here’s the description of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Shadow.
When secrets from Bourne’s past come to light, he may be the next thing that’s buried in this latest entry in the legendary New York Times bestselling series.
It’s been over a decade since Nash Rollins recruited a brilliant, talented, but disaffected young man named David Webb to join Treadstone. Webb became the agent known as Cain—and later took on the identity of Jason Bourne.
That violent winter—which included Cain’s first mission for Treadstone—was also a story of betrayal in ways that David never knew. So after the injury that erased Bourne’s whole life, Nash lied about the circumstances of David’s recruitment to Treadstone. He was afraid that learning the truth might drive Bourne out of the agency forever.
But now, when Bourne meets a woman who recognizes him as David Webb, the secrets of those days begin to come out—and Bourne is forced to confront the dangerous ghosts of a past he doesn’t even remember.
Brian Freeman is the bestselling author of over twenty five novels, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His Audible original, The Deep, Deep Snow, hit the New York Times audio bestseller list. His novels have won the International Thriller Writers Award and the Macavity Award and been finalists for the Gold Dagger, Edgar, Anthony, and Barry awards.
Robert Ludlum was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 300 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He was the author of The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Chancellor Manuscript, and the Jason Bourne series—among other novels. Ludlum passed away in March 2001.
Here’s Ryan Steck’s Out for Blood.
“Set in Montana’s breathtaking Big Sky Country and packed with intense, hard-hitting action, Out for Blood reaffirms Ryan Steck’s prowess in the thriller genre, demonstrating once again why his character, former Marine Raider Matthew Redd, is a force to be reckoned with. If you’re looking for action, this one’s coming in hot!” — Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of the James Reece Terminal List seriesFrom the Real Book Spy, Ryan Steck, comes another riveting thriller full of “gutsy action and nonstop mayhem” (James Rollins) in the series that New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille describes as “intense, brutal, and faster on the draw than a gunslinger.”Winters in Montana can be deadly, but it wasn’t the cold that was killing Matthew Redd . . .Gavin Kline, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Intelligence Directorate, is escorting a high-value prisoner with the intel to bring down a global conspiracy when their plane comes under attack. In the aftermath, much of Kline’s team is dead, but he recovers a phone from a member of the hit team that reveals another attack is imminent. This time they’re going after the man who was instrumental in capturing the prisoner and foiling their plans: Matthew Redd.When Redd learns he’s in the crosshairs, he sends his family into hiding and heads for the mountains. He might be outnumbered, but the hit team will have to hunt him down on his own turf. With a snowstorm bearing down on Montana and no help in sight, Redd fights for survival in the harshest conditions. But when they take the fight to his hometown, he’ll need all his allies at his back to save what he holds most dear.A page-turning thriller set in the heart of Montana, Ryan Steck’s third action-packed Matthew Redd novel is perfect for fans of the hit show Yellowstone and readers of C. J. Box and Jack Carr.Hardcover special features:Signed editionIncludes bonus novella.
Enjoy the conversation with Brian Freeman and Ryan Steck.
John Charles recently welcomed Carley Fortune for an event at the Poisoned Pen. There are copies of her latest book, This Summer Will Be Different, available in the Webstore.
Here’s the description of This Summer Will Be Different.
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
A glorious and tantalizing new escape from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune.
This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won’t give into temptation. This summer will be different.
Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.
It’s easier said than done.
Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again.
If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it.
When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.
Carley Fortune is the New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake. She is an award-winning Canadian journalist who’s worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Toronto Life. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons.
Enjoy John Charles’ conversation with Carley Fortune.
Patrick Millikin welcomed Joe R. Lansdale back to The Poisoned Pen. They discussed Lansdale’s movies as well as his latest book, Sugar on the Bones. There’s a signed copy of Sugar on the Bones available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3SfHMvl.
Here’s the summary of Sugar on the Bones.
In this holy mess of a case for the “perpetual bad boy” (New York Times) sleuths in the beloved Hap and Leonard series, PI Duo Hap and Leonard investigate the untimely death of a woman whose family stood much to gain from her passing.
Minnie Polson is dead. Burned to a crisp in a fire so big and bad it had to be deliberate. The only thing worse is that Hap and Leonard could have prevented it. Maybe. Minnie had a feeling she was being targeted, shaken down by some shadowy force. However, when she’d solicited Hap & Leonard, all it took was one off color joke to turn her sour and she’d called them off the investigation. Wracked with a guilty conscience, the two PIs—along with Hap’s fleet-footed wife, Brett—tuck in to the case. As they look closer, they dredge up troublesome facts: for one, Minnie’s daughter, Alice, has recently vanished. She’d been hard up after her pet grooming business went under and was in line to collect a whopping insurance sum should anything happen to her mother. The same was due to Minnie’s estranged husband, Al, whose kryptonite (beautiful, money-grubbing women) had left him with only a run-down mobile home. But did Minnie’s foolish, cash-strapped family really have it in them to commit a crime this grisly? Or is there a larger, far more sinister scheme at work? Irreverent, wise-cracking, and full of atmosphere and bite, Sugar on the Bones is not to be missed.
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.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the conversation with Joe R. Lansdale.
When Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed T. Jefferson Parker, they started with talking about his earlier books and how he highlights California. His latest book is Desperation Reef. Parker gives the background of surfing. There are signed copies of Desperation Reef available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3Sa9Kc5.
Here’s the description of Desperation Reef.
In this 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), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before.
Jen Stonebreaker hasn’t entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband’s tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport.
When he’s not riding waves, modeling for surfing magazines, or posting viral content for his many fans, Casey Stonebreaker spends his days helping with the family restaurant — catching fish in the morning and bartending at night. Casey’s love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business.
Outspoken Brock Stonebreaker couldn’t be more different from his twin. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. Not everyone appreciates the work that Brock’s Breath of Life mission accomplishes, and threats to destroy his mission—and his family—swirl around him.
As the big-wave contest draws closer, a huge, late fall swell is headed toward the Pacific coastline. Jen’s fears gnaw at her — fear for herself, for her sons, for what this competition will mean for the rest of her life.
T. Jefferson Parker is the author of numerous novels and short stories, the winner of three Edgar Awards (for Silent Joe, California Girl, and the short story “Skinhead Central”), and the recipient of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery (Silent Joe). Before becoming a full-time novelist, he was an award-winning reporter. He lives in Fallbrook, California.
Enjoy Parker’s discussion of surfing, fear and Desperation Reef.
Pat King recently welcomed fantasy authors Sarah Beth Durst and Rebecca Thorne to The Poisoned Pen. Durst’s new book is The Spellshop. Thorne’s is Can’t Spell Treason without Tea. There are copies of both books available through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/.
Here’s the description of The Spellshop.
An Indie Next pick! A gorgeous hardcover edition featuring lavender sprayed edges! The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love.
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.
When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.
In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.
But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.
Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.
SARAH BETH DURST is the author of over twenty-five fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love, and Spark. She has won an American Library Association Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for the Andre Norton Nebula Award three times. She lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat.
Here’s the description of Rebecca Thorne’s You Can’t Spell Treason without Tea.
Now with beautiful jade sprayed edges and brand-new original art! In the tradition of Legends & Lattes, comes a cozy fantasy steeped in sapphic romance about one of the Queen’s private guards and a powerful mage who want to open a bookshop and live happily ever after…if only the world would let them.
All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.
But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town nestled in the icy tundra near dragon country, and open the shop of their dreams.
What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.
Rebecca Thorne is an author of all things fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic, such as the Tomes & Tea series. She thrives on deadlines, averages 2,700 words a day, and tries to write at least 3 books a year. (She also might be a little hyper-focused ADHD.)
After years in the traditional publishing space, Rebecca pivoted into self-publishing. Now, she’s found a happy medium as a hybrid author, and leans into her love of teaching by helping other authors find their perfect publication path.
When she’s not writing (or avoiding writing), Rebecca can be found traveling the country as a flight attendant, or doing her best impression of a granola-girl hermit with her two dogs. She’s always scheming to move to a mountain town and open a bookshop that serves tea.
Enjoy the conversation with Rebecca Thorne and Sarah Beth Durst.
