Fiction Review

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Julie Carrick Dalton back to the bookstore for a virtual event. Peters was interested in talking about Dalton’s background before they talked about Dalton’s latest book. There are signed copies of that novel, The Forest Becomes Her, available in the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/bdd5b3bp

Here’s the description of The Forest Becomes Her.

The perfect choice for your next book club: Julie Carrick Dalton’s The Forest Becomes Her is a timely, unforgettable novel about three women from different generations navigating the complexities of family, grief, the impacts of our choices, and our deep connections to the natural world beneath our feet.

In historic, bucolic Concord, Massachusetts, a centuries-old forest has been removed to make way for a new, eco-friendly housing development. The locals are upset by the destruction, but out-of-towners like Hazel Stoddard are flocking to put down roots in their new guilt-free dream homes.

Soon a tragedy leaves Hazel unmoored in her new life, and she begins to feel the pull of the absent forest. Hazel is not alone—her neighbors, real estate agent Stella Flint and teenage environmentalist Polly Bauer, each have their own trauma and relationship to the land. The three women are drawn together to save the last remaining oak tree, or they risk losing themselves to lingering shadows that only they can see.

In The Forest Becomes Her, Julie Carrick Dalton evocatively explores the power of multigenerational female relationships, the ever-evolving female form, humanity’s connection to our changing world, and the unexpected mysteries of nature.

---

As a journalist, JULIE CARRICK DALTON has published more than a thousand articles in The Boston Globe, BusinessWeek, The Hollywood Reporter, Orion Magazine, Electric Literature, and other publications. A former beekeeper and organic farmer, she is a frequent speaker on the topic of writing fiction in the age of climate crisis and is a member of the teaching faculty at Drexel University’s MFA Program. When she isn’t reading, writing, or teaching, you can probably find her skiing, swimming, kayaking, working in her garden, or trying to keep track of her four children and two dogs.

---

Enjoy the conversation about Dalton’s book and the environment.

Barbara Peters welcomed Chris Bohjalian for a virtual event forThe Poisoned Pen. Two thirds of the signed copies of The Amateur are already sold, so if you’re interested, order your signed copy now through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/abhtfnc6

Here’s the description of The Amateur.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant: When a young woman, a golf prodigy, kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club, the investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs, predatory men, and a teenager on trial.

1978: It is the first Thursday in August and temperatures are flirting with ninety when Mira Winston, eighteen years old, drives a golf ball from her tee toward the practice net near the clubhouse and caddy shack. The golf ball, weighing 1.6 ounces, tears through the net, traveling 150 miles per hour, and slams, with sickening force, into the temple of a high school junior named Kenny Foster, rupturing an artery and unleashing a torrent of blood. Kenny brings his hand to the side of his head, then topples onto his side. He’s dead before the ambulance even arrives.

In the wake of this terrible accident—and everyone, at first, agrees it was an accident—Mira looks for comfort in all the wrong places: In her lover, Theo Catton, a married man three decades her senior. In her mother, a well-kept woman with secrets of her own. In the dead caddy’s little sisters, girls bewildered by grief. But when the investigators look more closely at the torn net, when a detective recalls Mira’s history of recklessness, and when Kenny’s father spies Mira with her married lover, the affluent and mannered community turns on this once-promising young woman. A gripping story that takes the reader from the sun-soaked greens of a tony Westchester country club to the fluorescent-lit stand of a county courtroom, The Amateur asks: What happens when one small moment—a swing, a ball, a piece of string—changes the course of an entire life?

---

Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including The Princess of Las Vegas, The Lioness, Hour of the Witch, Midwives, and The Flight Attendant, which was a Max series starring Kaley Cuoco. His other books include The Guest Room; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; and The Double Bind. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. His novels have been selections of Oprah’s Book Club. He is also a playwright (The Club, Midwives, and Wingspan). He lives in Vermont with his wife, photographer Victoria Blewer, and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Litsy, and Goodreads, @chrisbohjalian.

---

You’ll want to listen to Chris Bohjalian talk about his book.

Patrick Millikin welcomed George Pelecanos for a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen. It’s been fourteen years since the last book in the Derek Strange series. Millikin referred to the series, and the new book, The Blue Flame, as a love letter to D.C. The conversation touched on Pelecanos’ work on TV shows, such as “The Wire”, as well as Pelecanos’ books. You can order a copy of The Blue Flame through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/eahxs5sj.

Here’s the description of The Blue Flame.

Private investigator Derek Strange returns in a riveting drama about revenge, greed, and redemption—from bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer for HBO’s The Wire and Treme, George Pelecanos.

He was curious. It was the cop in him. That flame was still alive.

The neon “Strange Investigations” sign may be flickering in disrepair outside his office, but private investigator Derek Strange is still accepting new cases. When a flashy drug lawyer hires him to prove an alibi for an accused murderer, Strange can’t help getting drawn into the darkness.

In his hunt for answers, he stands his ground against some of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous criminals, and a police department that doesn’t entirely welcome his interference. As the violence escalates and claims another victim, the raised stakes force Strange to question his own moves. Are his instincts still intact?

The Blue Flame is signature Pelecanos: tough, smart, rich with details of a time and place—and at its core, exposing the good and bad that exist side by side in so-called heroes and villains alike.

---

George Pelecanos is the bestselling author of twenty-three novels and story collections set in and around Washington, D.C.  He was a writer and producer on HBO’s The Wire, The Pacific, Treme, The Deuce, We Own This City, and the feature film D.C. Noir.  He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

---

Enjoy the conversation with George Pelecanos.

Critic Oline Cogdill recently reviewed Jennifer Hillier’s forthcoming novel, Heart of Glass, for the South Florida Sun Sentinel before sharing it with us. Hillier will appear live at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore on Wednesday, August 26 at 7 PM MST. You can preorder a signed copy of Heart of Glass through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/ymjyu5n6

Thank you, Oline, for sharing the review.

---

Book review: Deliciously chilling ‘Heart of Glass’ unlocks memories, secrets and a longing for the past

‘Heart of Glass’ by Jennifer Hillier; Minotaur; 368 pages; $29

So many bad things — murders, poisonings, unexplained deaths — have happened through the years in Seaside, Washington, that an encounter with a serial killer wasn’t even shocking. Some residents wonder if the lovely-sounding Seaside could be cursed, as author Jennifer Hillier explores in her deliciously chilling “Heart of Glass.”

Barb is all too familiar with the dark side of Seaside because 25 years ago she and her two best friends, Lorelei and Nicolette, were engulfed by that darkness. As usual, the girls were spending the evening at Wonderland, the local amusement park, flirting with boys, eating ice cream and just being teenagers, escaping from their dysfunctional homes. A few days later, Lorelei’s body was found in a cranberry bog; Sam Figg, a handsome stranger who had been seen with the girls confessed to the murder of Lorelei and four other young women.

The past 25 years have been endless “guilt and shame” for Barb, who still lives in Seaside, working as a freelance reporter. She and Nicolette, once inseparable, haven’t spoken for decades. And Wonderland, once Seaside’s popular tourist attraction and major source of income, has long been closed.

But the quiet times seem to be over. Figg, nicknamed the Carnival Killer, announces in a just-released documentary that, while he did commit four murders, he did not killed Lorelei. A firm that bought the Wonderland site is days away from reopening the park. And a body that may be a missing reality star has washed up on the beach.

One resident notes in the book that she’d thought Seaside was “finally past all this dark stuff.”

Hillier smoothly incorporates memories, secrets and a longing for the past in her clever “Heart of Glass,” as she makes both Seaside and the shadow of Wonderland as much characters as her people.

Although “Heart of Glass” is not a sequel, Hillier focused on the park in “Wonderland” (2015). She uses her new novel to connect the past with the future. The friend’s murder left a permanent stain on Barb’s heart, a situation that Hillier treats with sensitivity and realism, while adding myriad surprises.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Rhys Bowen for a virtual event on publication day for The Castle in the Glen. There are signed copies available in both hardcover and paperback, so I’ve linked to the Website so readers can access both books. https://tinyurl.com/eum98r8h

Here’s the description of The Castle in the Glen.

A ghostwriter plunges into danger as she unravels the dark secrets of a powerful Scottish family in a thrilling novel of romance and mystery by the bestselling author of Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure.

Australian writer Emma Callander has been recruited to complete the final historical mystery in a series by celebrated author Iris Blackburn. It’s 1965, and Iris’s memory is fading. She’s certain that only Emma can do justice to her novel about a murder on the Isle of Skye. When Emma ventures to Scotland for research, she discovers the story is not fiction at all but rather a true crime, unsolved for more than fifty years.

It was 1904 when a couple’s suspicious drowning led to the disappearance of a mysterious young woman the locals called the Wild Girl. To this day the mystery is unforgettable, especially among the descendants of an aristocratic family who’ll do anything to keep their secrets buried. From the misty Highlands to a medieval castle, Emma and Tony Gordon, Iris’s handsome lawyer, work ever more closely to uncover them.

But while Iris may be known for her fiendishly clever twists, there’s one not even Emma could have seen coming.

---

Rhys Bowen is The New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure, The Rose Arbor, The Paris Assignment, Where the Sky Begins, The Venice Sketchbook, Above the Bay of Angels, The Victory Garden, The Tuscan Child, and In Farleigh Field, the winner of the Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel and the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Bowen’s work has won sixteen honors to date, including multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Her books have been translated into many languages, and she has fans around the world, including more than seventy thousand Facebook followers. A transplanted Brit, Bowen divides her time between California and Arizona. For more information, visit www.rhysbowen.com.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Rhys Bowen.

Gregg Hurwitz was guest host for the Poisoned Pen virtual event where Lisa Gardner debuted her new book, You’ll Be Sorry. Patrick Millikin also mentioned Hurwitz’s new novella, “The Delivery”. You can order a signed copy of You’ll Be Sorry through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/3u875pb2.

Here’s the summary of You’ll Be Sorry.

A newlywed couple each with their own secrets. An abandoned lodge with a horrific decades-old mystery. And a small mountain town where everyone believes they know their neighbors, in this thriller from a master storyteller.

“Chilling, gripping.” —Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True

For Raquel and Theo Collins, it appeared to be love at first sight. Raquel, a renowned interior designer, and Theo, a brash financial wizard met and married in a matter of months, only to confront a terrible tragedy. Now, unbearably aware of the distance between them, they’ve come to a remote town in New Hampshire to begin anew.

Perched on a ledge with stunning views, the Dixon’s family lodge was once a crown jewel of the mountains. Until late one August night, when both parents and their four children vanished, leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints, and a mystery that has endured for thirty years. Now, its latest occupants, the Collinses, are arriving, and the former grand lodge is once more stirring to life.

For Amanda Grady, following in her father’s footsteps as the recently appointed Shereford police chief, it’s good to see a fresh start for the derelict Dixon place. However, not everyone is happy about a new family in the old home and its hidden past may have returned with a vengeance.

When a stray dog leads to the discovery of a skeleton on the property, Raquel and Theo face a daunting choice of what to believe, who to trust, and how to survive. Because in the tiny village of Shereford the time has come. The local residents, the new neighbors, and the fledgling police chief must work together to unravel the terrifying events that happened one night thirty years ago, or …

You’ll be sorry.

---

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. Her novel, The Neighbor, won Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers.  She has also been honored for her work with animal rescue and at-risk children.  An avid hiker, gardener and cribbage player, Lisa lives with her family in New England

---

Enjoy Lisa Gardner in conversation with Gregg Hurwitz.

John Charles welcomed Kristin Harmel for her first visit to The Poisoned Pen. Harmel’s new book is Meet Me In Paris, a departure for her. It’s her first contemporary novel in twelve years. It’s sort of a “Love Actually” story. You can order a signed copy of Meet Me in Paris through the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/2ft327xp

Here’s the description of Meet Me in Paris.

Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names and The Winemaker’s Wife, returns with a captivating new novel about several intertwined stories of love, loss, courage, and redemption set over the course of one magical week in Paris.

Nine Americans in Paris. Seven intertwined love stories. One City of Light.

Love Actually meets The Notebook in a tale of love, loss, and finding your way home, all set over the course of one life-changing week in Paris.

Julia Glover has brought her twenty-three-year-old daughter, Piper, to Paris for the first time—but they know it will also be their last trip here together. Julia is dying, and as the mother and daughter desperately try to make memories together as the clock ticks down, the world opens up around them. Piper meets a cute French waiter, who might just understand her better than anyone she’s ever met, and Julia meets a man at a dive bar and struggles with how to tell him the truth about her future.

Rock star Jackson Quick’s glory days are behind him. He had a handful of hit songs thirty years ago, but he hasn’t toured in a decade. This week, he’ll launch his reunion tour in Paris, the city where it all began. But he wants more out of life than being defined by fame. When he meets a woman who finally sees him for who he is at his core, the ground shifts beneath his feet.

Henry McGee has been writing hit songs for decades—including Jackson Quick’s biggest hit, City of Light. But his secret is that every love song he’s ever written is for a woman named Celeste, whom he loved a lifetime ago, when they were both teenagers in Paris during World War II. He has spent eighty years believing she died—but when a letter arrives telling him the opposite, he’s on the first flight to France. Can he break through the haze of her dementia, using the songs he’s written all these years, to remind her of who they once were to each other—and to tell her he came back for her?

Henry’s granddaughter, Melody, has just discovered that her husband of twenty years, Gilles, a French cosmetics executive, is having an affair. When she confronts him, he tearfully apologizes and begs her to forgive him. But can she? And, perhaps even more importantly, does she want to? Or is there a different kind of life out there for her if she chooses to be alone?

These intertwining stories—plus several others—unfold over a few breathtaking spring days, as an unforgettable group of Americans in Paris must find their way to their own versions of happily ever after in the City of Light.

---

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, The Paris Daughter, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Book of Lost Names. She is published in more than thirty languages and is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series, Friends & Fiction. She lives with her husband and son in Orlando, Florida.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Kristin Harmel.

Thanks to Oline Cogdill for sharing her review of The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos. Pelecanos will be the guest author for The Poisoned Pen on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 4 PM MST for a virtual event. You can catch the event on the bookstore’s Facebook and YouTube pages. You can also order a signed copy of The Blue Flame through the Webstore, https://shorturl.at/AWfWY

Here’s Cogdill’s review, originally published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Book review: Friendship, conspiracies & community at heart of George Pelecanos’ ‘The Blue Flame’

‘The Blue Flame’ by George Pelecanos; Cardinal; 256 pages; $29

When George Pelecanos introduced Derek Strange in 2001’s “Right as Rain,” the private detective was at a pivotal time in his life, firmly established in his career after decades as a cop in Washington, D.C. He was youngish and devoted to finding justice for his clients.

In a stroke of genius, Pelecanos’ subsequent novels took Derek back to the 1970s when, after receiving a “lump-sum payday” on one of his first cases, he hung a neon sign that read “Strange Investigations” outside his office. It was important, he said, for the neighborhood’s younger residents “to see a Black man turning the key of his front door in his own shop every day.”

Through the years, that neon sign has become a talisman for Derek, as Pelecanos shows in “The Blue Flame.”

This latest novel catches up with the private detective 50 years after he first launched his career. That sign is still his touchstone, but it’s now in disrepair, some letters “gone dark” long ago. The sign no longer signifies “strong or successful; it said faded or on its last legs.”

Business is off and Derek can’t afford to repair the sign. But his devotion to justice and doing what is right has not faded and propels the incisive plot of “The Blue Flame,” in which he’s hired by wealthy drug lawyer Billy Lake.

Billy wants Derek’s help to prepare his defense of Antone Anthony for drug distribution (which he freely admits) and murder (which the nonviolent Antone denies). Billy hires Derek because he believes the aging detective will “do just enough,” that Derek won’t have the energy to “turn over too many rocks.” Obviously, Billy underestimates Derek, who has no intention of “just putting in his time” and cashing the paychecks. Overturning rocks is a Derek specialty.

The novel evolves into a look at the bonds of friendship, at conspiracies and at the importance of community in a tightly wound plot.

Reed Farrel Coleman hosted his friend Charles Salzberg at The Poisoned Pen. They discussed Salzberg’s new book, The Beginning of Everything. There are signed copies of the book available through the Webstore, https://shorturl.at/P6vRA

Here’s the description of The Beginning of Everything.

Josh Green has a secret.

Since he was a child, Josh has had troubling visions that allow him to see into other people’s pasts due to his extrasensory perception. Frightened by this ability, he’s told no one about it, except his best friend, Tony. When Tony’s college-age stepdaughter suddenly vanishes, he asks Josh to help him find her, as well as determine the circumstances of her disappearance. For the first time, Josh is forced to embrace his psychic ability to help trace the young woman’s steps. Eventually, this leads him to not only learn why she’s missing, but where she is. Following a trail that unravels familial secrets, Josh finds himself in the middle of a very complicated web.

---

Charles Salzberg is a former journalist. His work has appeared in articles in Esquire, The New York Times, Redbook, GQ, and Travel + Leisure. He is also the author of From Set Shot to Slam Dunk: The Glory Days of Basketball in the Words of Those Who Played It, Soupy Sez: My Zany Life and Times, and a number of other nonfiction books. His first novel, Swann’s Last Song, was nominated for a Shamus Award as was Second Story Man, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, and Canary in the Coal Mine. His novel Devil in the Hole was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. He’s been a visiting professor of magazine and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and taught writing at Sarah Lawrence, Hunter College, the Writer’s Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a founding member. He has also served on the board of the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Charles Salzberg and Reed Farrel Coleman.

John Charles recently welcomed Nancy West for a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen. West said she had just less than six months to write Agatha Christie: The Mother of the Cozy Mystery. The event has 100 vignettes. You can order a copy of the book through the Webstore, https://shorturl.at/SltHZ

Here’s the summary of Agatha Christie: The Mother of the Cozy Mystery.

Embark on a journey through the life behind the mother of cozy mysteries like Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None with this captivating literary biography and stunning celebration of Agatha Christie.

Step into the world of history’s most legendary mystery and crime writer—Agatha Christie!

Through one hundred short entries, you’ll get an intimate glimpse into the life, mind, and works of the mother of the cozy mystery. Featuring quotes about—and from—the literary genius and excerpts from her suspenseful stories, this beautifully crafted biography celebrates Christie’s literary brilliance and timeless creations. With each page, you’ll discover the experiences that shaped her classic detective novels, short stories, and plays, from her early years to her lasting impact on popular culture.

Whether you’re a longtime Christie admirer or just beginning your literary adventure, uncover the unexpected mysteries behind the “Queen of Crime” with Agatha Christie!

---

Nancy West is professor of English at the University of Missouri and the author of Kodak and the Lens of Nostalgia, and Tabloid, Inc.: Crimes, News, Narratives, as well as the Booklist and Library Journal star-reviewed Masterpiece: America’s Fifty-Year-Old Love Affair with British Television Drama. West’s books have earned her appearances on PBS’s American Experience and the BBC’s The Genius of Photography, as well as keynote talks at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; the London School of Design; and the Amon Carter Museum. She is a regular contributor to Written By magazine, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

---

Enjoy Nancy West’s conversation with John Charles.