Fiction Review

Kate Ellis, author of the Wesley Peterson mysteries, had an interesting newsletter this week. It focused on Devon and textile mills, and her descriptions seemed to work perfectly with the Agatha Christie and English country house focus this week. Here’s what she had to say in her newsletter.

“As I live in the north of England I’m familiar with textile mills and their archaeology. I’m also fortunate enough to live near a large cotton mill lovingly restored by the National Trust and visiting the property has given me an insight into the noise and atmosphere of a working mill. I’ve watched the large water wheel go round and thought “˜what if a body was to get caught up in that?’ Many crime novels, I find, are triggered by the question “˜what if?’

“You might wonder what all this has to do with the beautiful county in the south west of England where my Wesley Peterson novels are set, but Devon also has an impressive industrial history. The cloth trade thrived there until the nineteenth century and the fine houses built by many wealthy cloth merchants can still be seen in the county’s historic towns. Woollen mills, however, eventually fell into decline although some survive today as heritage attractions (rather like Petherham Mill in The Burial Circle) ““ although without my fictional mill’s murderous history. I couldn’t resist including a supernatural element in the story because of the Victorian interest in spiritualism and contacting the “˜other side’. This fascination with death became quite an obsession and ostentatious mourning was made fashionable by Queen Victoria herself who spent many years grieving for her late husband, Prince Albert. In the nineteenth century people saw death as a constant companion and if you walk around any old churchyard (I love visiting historic churches) you will see elaborate memorials to the dear departed. One thing, however, we would definitely find macabre today is the fashion for photographing the dead, alone or posed with living relatives. Of course I was very tempted to include this in The Burial Circle (with an added twist of course) ““ and I can resist everything except temptation, as a great man once said!

“Queen Victoria’s reign saw the rise of the Burial Club. As a crime writer, the very name “˜Burial Club’ whetted my curiosity and my research told me that they were set up for poor families who feared they wouldn’t be able to give their loved ones a decent funeral at a time when death rates (particularly for children) were high. For a weekly payment the club covered funeral expenses, regardless of how long the person had been a member, relieving people of the fear of seeing their loved ones buried in a pauper’s grave. However, human nature being what it is, the system was sometimes abused. Knowing a sick child was unlikely to survive for long, some people enrolled them in several clubs at once, all of which would pay out with no questions asked. One man was said to have put his child in nineteen clubs, thus making a large profit when the unfortunate infant died. This gave rise to the suspicion that people were enrolled in clubs before being murdered. Perhaps my imaginary “˜secret’ burial circle in Petherham might not be so far fetched after all.”

It’s not always easy for The Poisoned Pen to get Kate Ellis’ books from England. Check the Web Store for availability. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Today’s post seems particularly appropriate to follow yesterday’s blog about the 100th anniversary of the publication of Agatha Christie’s first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Connie Berry is our guest author today. She’s the author of the two Kate Hamilton mysteries, A Dream of Death and A Legacy of Murder. They are both country house mysteries available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2w8VlGd You’ll also want to check the Web Store for the English country house mysteries that she lists. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

That’s exactly what she’s going to talk about today – English country house murders. Thank you, Connie.

AN ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MURDER

by Connie Berry

One of the best things about these troubling days of social separation is more time to read, and what could provide a better escape from reality than an old-fashioned English country house murder mystery? An isolated setting; a limited number of guests (each with his or her own demons); a colorful cast of suspicious characters below stairs; a gentleman detective (often with a bumbling sidekick); a complex plot, usually involving the placement of bedrooms; and a body—what more could we ask for? Well, how about locked doors, hidden rooms, secret passages, and the ghosts of the past?

Generations of escape-fiction fans have turned to mysteries set in the great country houses of England. The first modern detective novel, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868), was set in a country house in Yorkshire.

Called the finest detective story ever written by Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton, The Moonstone introduced a number of elements that have become classics of the genre—the private detective, a plethora of red herrings and false suspects, a reconstruction of the crime, and a final twist.

Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, was set in an English country house, and she went on to write at least ten more with similar settings.

Other classic mystery writers joined the party—Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, P. D. James, Georgette Heyer, Patricia Wentworth, Josephine Tey, Martha Grimes, and Elizabeth Peters, to name a few. Interest in the English country house setting was magnified by post-WW2 nostalgia. By 1955, one county house was demolished every five days in Britain, victims of death duties and the financial demands of a way of life no longer sustainable.

Here is a short list of my favorite country house mysteries—all readily available as e-books and audible recordings as well as traditional print versions:

The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christine
The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
The Body In The Library by Agatha Christie
Clouds Of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
Tied Up In Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Crime At Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird
Curious Affair Of The Third Dog by Patricia Moyes
An English Murder by Cyril Hare
A Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet
The Intrigue At Highbury by Carrie Bebris
Murder at Madingly Grange by Caroline Graham
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Twelve Clues Of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
Murder On A Mystery Tour by Marian Babson

But how about writing a mystery set in an English country house? April could be the new NaNoRiMo. After all, Shakespeare is reputed to have written both King Lear and Macbeth in 1602, during a self-imposed exile from the London plague.

 Here are a few possible scenarios from history to spark your imagination:

1. The cash-strapped aristocrat who can’t say no to a ridiculously extravagant guest

Setting: Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, country seat of Sir Henry Lee, Master of the Armory during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Background: Every summer the queen would leave her London palaces and embark on a “progression” through the countryside with a mile-long train of carriages, carts, and courtiers—three hundred souls to house, feed, and entertain.

In 1602 when Sir Henry Lee learned of the queen’s intention to grace him with her presence, he wrote to Sir Robert Cecil, complaining the visit would bankrupt him. Would regicide save the day?

2. An attempt to impress that goes horribly wrong

Setting: Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, the county home of Robert Dudley, 1st East of Leicester and Elizabeth’s reputed favorite. 

Background: In 1575 Dudley welcomed the queen with an extravagant pageant that included music, masques, dancing, elaborate banquets, a fireworks display, and a volley of cannonballs that went awry, setting fire to several houses in a nearby village. Imagine one of Kenilworth’s footmen, intent on revenge.

3. The country house host who turns out to be halfway ’round the twist

Setting: Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, inherited in the eighteenth century by Captain Frances Blake Delaval, who threw house parties famous for gambling, scandalous behavior, and practical jokes.

Background: Guests at Delaval Hall might be undressing in their assigned bedroom when mechanical hoists would raise the bedroom walls, exposing them to their hosts. In one room, a four-poster bed could be lowered into a tank of water. In another, guests would wake to find the room upside down, with chairs and tables stuck to the ceiling. Is humiliation a motive for murder—or a red herring?

4. A spy for the WW2 Axis powers, intent on bumping off Winston Churchill

Setting: Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, the same country house where Queen Elizabeth I was an unwelcome guest more than three hundred years earlier.

Background: Churchill’s family home, Chartwell, was set on a hill south of London, an easy target for German aircraft; and his country retreat, Chequers, had an entrance road clearly visible by moonlight. Ditchley Park, surrounded by foliage and lacking a visible entrance road, was an ideal alternative when the moon was high. What would happen if a German spy insinuated himself into the household? Who would notice and save the world as we know it?

As you might have guessed, history is my favorite backdrop for murder, and there’s never a shortage of background material. Myths, legends, history’s mysteries, and real-life scandals—all can be found in the iconic English country house.

I write the Kate Hamilton Mysteries, set in the modern-day UK and featuring American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton and Detective Inspector Tom Mallory of the Suffolk Constabulary.

 Book One, A Dream of Death, is set in a country house hotel in the Scottish Hebrides, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Book Two, A Legacy of Murder, features Finchley Hall, a crumbling stately home in Suffolk, famous for the unearthing in 1810 of an Anglo-Saxon treasure trove known as The Finchley Hoard.

Book Three, to be published in the spring of 2021, centers around Hapthorn Lodge, home to a reclusive widow who decides to sell her husband’s collection of art and antiques. I’m not sure where Book Four will take Kate and Tom, but one day I know they’ll visit his Uncle Nigel, owner of Fouroaks, a country house in the wilds of Devon.

*****

Look for Connie Berry’s mysteries, and your favorite English country house mysteries, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

While HarperCollins provided the above information, and additional information below, The Poisoned Pen is the place you should look for Agatha Christie novels. What better time for an Agatha Christie fix than right now? They’re familiar, somewhat comforting mysteries, perfect to read while staying home. Check the Web Store for Agatha Christie books. Now might be a good time to introduce them to a teen in your family as well. https://bit.ly/3bK6uMU

“New research has revealed that an estimated 32 million Americans have read an Agatha Christie book and in 2019 alone over 900,000 people bought an Agatha Christie book in the US.  Additionally, Agatha Christie is the introduction to mysteries for 3 out of every 10 readers in the nation.

The research was commissioned by HarperCollins to mark the centenary of Christie being in print and was conducted by an independent research agency. It included 4,500 nationally representative fiction readers in the UK, US and Australia.

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist in history. With over one billion books sold in English and another billion in over 100 languages, her popularity has never waned; last year her English language sales exceeded two million copies.”

“2020 marks 100 years since Christie’s debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a Hercule Poirot mystery, was first published.  The story was serialised in The Times’ (London) weekly edition from February to June 1920 and later published as a novel in America in October 1920.  The book was the result of a challenge between Agatha and her older sister, who bet that Agatha couldn’t write a detective novel.  While she was working in a dispensary during World War I, Agatha came up with the idea for the story using her knowledge of poisons.

After that, she conquered the publishing world for more than 50 years, releasing works that defined the genre including And Then There Were None, the world’s best-selling crime novel.”

The centenary year will see celebrations across the book world and beyond, culminating in the release of 20^th Century Studios’ highly anticipated film adaptation of Death on the Nile directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot.

Do you know the plot summary of Death on the Nile? Here’s the description as it appears in the Web Store.

DIRECTED BY AND STARRING KENNETH BRANAGH

Following the success of Murder on the Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh returns to direct and star in this adaptation of the classic Hercule Poirot mystery for the big screen, also starring Gal Gadot.

Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on a journey to Egypt in one of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Death on the Nile.

The tranquility of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl who had everything . . . until she lost her life.

Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: “I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.” Yet in this exotic setting nothing is ever quite what it seems.

*****

Thank you to HarperCollins for some of the above information. They also provided the following “Surprising Facts About Agatha Christie”.

Agatha Christie’s personal life was just as interesting as her professional work. During World War I, she worked firstly as a VAD nurse, and then as a qualified dispenser in the pharmacy at Torquay’s wartime hospital, where she acquired her knowledge of poisons. It was during this time that she devised the plot for her first detective story ““ a result of a bet from her elder sister Madge, who said she could never do it – and where she created Hercule Poirot, inspired by the Belgian refugees in her home town.

In 1922, she spent 10 months travelling the world with her first husband Archie, on a research mission for the British Empire exhibition. During this Grand Tour, she learnt to surf in South Africa and Hawaii, and is credited with being the first Western woman to stand up on a surfboard.

She was also an amateur archaeologist. Over two decades, she attended digs in the Middle East and North Africa with her second husband Max Mallowan, living on the excavation sites where aside from writing her novels, she photographed the artefacts and cleaned them using her own face cream.

STATS

• Over 2 billion books published, with as many published in foreign languages as in English.
• Outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.
• Her books continue to sell 4,000,000 copies every year.
• A writing career spanning six decades, with 66 crime novels, 6 non-crime novels and over 150 short stories.
• The most successful female playwright of all time, holding a world record as the only female playwright to have three plays running simultaneously in London’s West End.
• Wrote around 25 plays, of which the most famous, The Mousetrap, is the longest running play in the world, having debuted in 1952.
• Since first publication, her books have been published in over 100 languages, making her the most translated writer of all time. Currently she is published in 57 languages and in over 100 countries.
• Her work includes Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and the genre-defining And Then There Were None.
• Created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, two of the most famous detectives of all time.
• Received a DBE in 1971.

It’s not too late to pull out your calender and plan to attend The Poisoned Pen’s upcoming virtual author events, live on Facebook. A number of authors are scheduled to appear to discuss their new books. Check the Web Store to order or pre-order copies of those books, many of them signed. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Matthew Quick, author of Hour of the Assassin, kicks it off at 6 PM MST on Wednesday, April 1. The first half of April features a full slate of authors. Check out the list below, and the varying times of the events. Hope you can join Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen.

Check out our Virtual Events!

Although I already mentioned Don Winslow’s upcoming book event for The Poisoned Pen, I didn’t have the short book trailer from the publisher to share at the time. If you want to own a signed copy, it doesn’t hurt to order it now, before release date. You can order it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2UH0ehJ

Winslow’s “virtual” event will happen on Monday, April 6th at 5pm, actually the day before the book is released. Don Winslow will discuss his work with Patrick Millikin and Barbara Peters via Facebook Live. Tune in to watch it in real time, or catch it anytime thereafter. It will also be added to the Youtube Channel. 

Here’s the summary of Broken.

“One of America’s greatest storytellers.” ““ Stephen King

No matter how you come into this world, you come out broken . . . 

In six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption, Broken is #1 international bestseller Don Winslow at his nerve-shattering, heart-stopping, heartbreaking best. In Broken, he creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, the lost souls driving without headlights through the dark night on the American criminal highway.

With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, humor, action and the highest level of literary craftsmanship, Winslow delivers a collection of tales that will become classics of crime fiction.

James Rollins was in the middle of his book tour for The Last Odyssey when The Poisoned Pen had to close down live book events. But, he came back to the bookstore to sign copies of the book, so he had a conversation with Barbara Peters, the owner of the bookstore. You can still order a signed copy of the book, with free shipping to a U.S. address. Check the Web Store to order a copy. https://bit.ly/2t0Yumn

Here’s the summary of The Last Odyssey.

To save the world and our future, Sigma Force must embark on a dangerous odyssey into an ancient past whose horrors are all too present in this page-turning thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins that combines cutting-edge science, historical mystery, mythology, and pulse-pounding action.

For eons, the city of Troy—whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer’s Iliad—was believed to be myth, until archaeologists in the nineteenth century uncovered its ancient walls buried beneath the sands. If Troy was real, how much of Homer’s twin tales of gods and monsters, curses and miracles—The Iliad and The Odyssey—could also be true and awaiting discovery?

In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern-day researchers stumble on a shocking find: a medieval ship buried a half-mile below the ice. The ship’s hold contains a collection of even older artifacts—tools of war—dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain’s cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold map imbedded with an intricate silver astrolabe. The mechanism was crafted by a group of Muslim inventors—the BanÅ« MÅ«sā brothers—considered by many to be the Da Vincis of the Arab world—brilliant scientists who inspired Leonardo’s own work.

Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus’s famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea. It is the subterranean world of Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell. In mythology, Tartarus was where the wicked were punished and the monstrous Titans of old, imprisoned.

When word of Tartarus spreads—and of the cache of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there—tensions explode in this volatile region where Turks battle Kurds, terrorists wage war, and civilians suffer untold horrors. The phantasmagoric horrors found in Homer’s tales are all too real—and could be unleashed upon the world. Whoever possesses them can use their awesome power to control the future of humanity.

Now, Sigma Force must go where humans fear to tread. To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell.

*****

You might not have been able to see this event live, but you can watch the conversation on The Poisoned Pen’s YouTube page. If you’re interested in Troy and history, you’ll really want to listen to this. https://bit.ly/2UPUL8q

Suszanne Chazin, author of the Jimmy Vega mysteries, agreed to write a guest post, not an easy job when it’s hard to concentrate right now. Chazin’s latest, Voice with No Echo, is released on Tuesday, March 31. You can order copies of Chazin’s books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/39pGzs3

*****

                He said/She said: Why I love male and female leads in mysteries 

     I’ve been binge-reading some of my favorite mystery series while we’re in lock-down here in New York: Dennis Lehane’s old Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro novels, S.J. Rozan’s Bill Smith/Lydia Chin books and the Russ Van Alstyne/Clare Fergusson series by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Notice a pattern? All of them have both male and female protagonists. Just like my Jimmy Vega series, which features a homicide detective and his immigrant-activist girlfriend solving crimes in upstate New York. 

     Some people read a mystery series for the breathless action, the bravado of the main character or the cleverness of the crime. I’ve always been drawn to series where the crime is almost secondary to the sexual tension between the main protagonists. It doesn’t matter whether they end up romantically involved or even stay romantically involved. Just having these sorts of questions running through a story keeps me turning pages and waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. Will they sleep together? If they do, will they regret it? Will they stay together? Will someone or something come along to break them up? 

    Here’s my favorite story arc (and one I use in the Jimmy Vega series): the two main characters each have a stake in the crime. They start off actively disliking each other. But as the action moves along, they find they have more in common than they first realized. Dislike slowly evolves into grudging respect and finally, romance (or at least, a sense of romantic connection). There are often a ton of false steps in between and often, over the course of a series, their relationship moves up and down with each new crime or moment of self-discovery. 

     In Jimmy’s case, he’s a 43-year-old county homicide detective in upstate New York, wrestling with the death of his mother, the estrangement of his teenage daughter and a sense of rootlessness from abandoning his Puerto Rican heritage in favor of his (now ex) wife’s Jewish culture. He’s called in to a small town in his jurisdiction to help investigate the death of a Hispanic woman found in a reservoir. In the victim’s handbag, he finds a photograph of a young child and a note: Go back to your country. You don’t belong here. Was this a hate crime? And if so, where is the child? 

     To solve the mystery, Jimmy needs help from the Hispanic community. He turns to the head of the local immigrant advocacy center, a Harvard-educated attorney named Adele Figueroa, a woman as fiery and complex as Jimmy. Adele, like Jimmy, is New York born and Hispanic. But their backgrounds differ. Jimmy is the child of a Puerto Rican single mother. He knew poverty and discrimination growing up, but he never lived in fear of being deported. Adele’s parents, by comparison, were teachers in Ecuador who came to the United States without papers and worked themselves to death to give her and her sister a better life. She wants to solve this crime and find the perpetrator as much as Jimmy, but her background makes her naturally suspicious of the police.  

     Of course, the sparks fly. That’s where the fun comes in. Jimmy and Adele don’t share the same politics, world view or faith in the law. There are things Jimmy, as a cop, can’t tell Adele and things that Adele, who feels an allegiance to her (often-undocumented) clients can’t share with Jimmy. Yet, they must work together, not just in one book, but throughout my whole series. 

     Writing about Jimmy and Adele is by far, the most fun I have with each of my books. (My fifth just came out and my sixth is due out next year). I love writing mysteries full of red herrings and action. I love when readers write me that they never guessed the ending. But for me, the relationship between my main characters is what always keeps me going. 

     The challenge for a series writer of course, is to keep it fresh. If two characters fall in love, then what? I solve the dilemma by creating new dilemmas. Is there a decision Adele must make that will impact Jimmy? Is there a secret Jimmy is keeping from Adele? For instance, in my second Jimmy Vega novel, Adele has an opportunity to take a new job in Washington, DC that might potentially take her out of Jimmy’s life forever. In my third book, Jimmy makes a tragic mistake that threatens to imperil not only his career but hers. There are tough decisions in each book that characters have to make—with repercussions that will follow them throughout the series. Sometimes, even I don’t know the outcomes until I write them. 

     Just as our real-life relationships are always evolving, so too, do fictional ones. How do characters cope with changes to their personal lives and careers? Does one crave intimacy more than the other? Is one more secretive? Is one more daring? A satisfying relationship in a mystery series grows as the series grows. That’s what makes it fun to watch. 

     Life is challenging right now, I know. We need our friends and families to help keep us sane. But what we also need right now is escape. Suspense, thrills, and yes—romance. What better way to find it while we are social distancing than watching characters make up and break up while solving a good mystery? 

*****

Here’s the description of Voice with No Echo.

A long-buried family secret and a chance encounter with an estranged sibling force police detective Jimmy Vega to confront his deepest fears in this gripping new mystery by award-winning author Suzanne Chazin . . .

It’s spring in Lake Holly, New York, a time of hope and renewal. But not for immigrants in this picturesque upstate town. Raids and deportations are on the rise, spurring fear throughout the community. 
 
Tensions reach the boiling point when the district attorney’s beautiful young bride is found hanging in her flooded basement, an apparent victim of suicide. But is she, wonders Vega? If so, where is her undocumented immigrant maid? Is she a missing witness, afraid to come forward? Or an accessory to murder?
 
Vega gets more help than he bargained for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement sends an investigator to help find—and likely deport—the maid. It’s Vega’s half-sister Michelle, the child who caused his father to leave his mother. Now an ICE agent, Michelle tangles with Vega and his girlfriend, immigrant activist Adele Figueroa. The law is the law, Michelle reminds Vega. And yet, his heart tells him he needs to dig deeper, not just into the case but into his past, to a childhood terror only Michelle can unlock.
 
While Vega searches for the demon from his youth, he discovers one uncomfortably close by, erecting a scheme of monstrous proportions. It’s a race against the clock with lives on the line. And a choice Vega never thought he’d have to make: Obey the law. Or obey his conscience. There’s no margin for error . . .

*****

“¯ “¯Suzanne Chazi n”¯is a former journalist and the award-winning author of two suspense series. Her latest stars Hispanic homicide detective Jimmy Vega, an upstate New York cop wrestling with the new suburban melting pot and his own complicated place in it.  

The series has received glowing reviews for its authentic portrayal of immigrants and its timely and realistic storylines. Suzanne drew inspiration for the books from her volunteer work with immigrants and her own childhood as a first-generation American. Voice with No Echo, the fifth and latest installment, will be released March 31st. 

Suzanne’s prior mystery series stars Georgia Skeehan, a New York City firefighter-turned-fire-investigator solving arsons in the macho world of the FDNY. USA Today called the series, inspired by her husband, an FDNY veteran, “searing and emotionally explosive.”    When she’s not writing, Suzanne can be found burning dinner, helping with homework and trying to find her muse beneath two feet of laundry. Find her at: www.suzannechazin.com. 

It’s no April Fool’s joke that Matthew Quirk will discuss his latest book, Hour of the Assassin, for a Poisoned Pen virtual event on Wednesday, April 1 at 6 PM MST.

And, even if you can’t attend an in-person event right now, you can still order a signed copy of Quirk’s latest book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RP7yZj If you pre-order books, it helps the author, so you might want to consider ordering Hour of the Assassin now.

Matthew Quirk will be discussing Hour of the Assassin with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen via Skype and it will be broadcast live on our Facebook Channel. Watch in real time and submit questions for Matthew, or catch it later on FB or Youtube!

Here’s the description of Hour of the Assassin.

“Quirk has earned his spot in the front ranks of thriller writers. Opens with a bang and keeps exploding for three hundred pages.” —David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author of A Minute to Midnight

Framed and on the run for his life, a former Secret Service agent discovers how far some men will go to grasp the highest office in the land in this electrifying tale from the author of The Night Agent—a propulsive political thriller reminiscent of the best early Baldacci and Grisham novels.

As a Secret Service agent, Nick Averose spent a decade protecting the most powerful men and women in America and developed a unique gift: the ability to think like an assassin. Now, he uses that skill in a little-known but crucial job. As a “red teamer,” he poses as a threat, testing the security around our highest officials to find vulnerabilities—before our enemies can. He is a mock killer, capable of slipping past even the best defenses.

His latest assignment is to assess the security surrounding the former CIA director at his DC area home. But soon after he breaches the man’s study, the home’s inner sanctum, Nick finds himself entangled in a vicious crime that will shake Washington to its foundations—as all the evidence points to Nick.

Nick knows he’s the perfect scapegoat. But who is framing him, and why? To clear his name, he must find the truth—a search that leads to a dark conspiracy whose roots stretch back decades. The prize is the most powerful position in the world: the Oval Office.

To save himself and the people he loves, Nick must stop the men who rule Washington before they bury him along with their secrets. 

“This one is a gritty, intense political thriller, filled with nuance and dire exploits. Totally entertaining. A treat from start to finish. —Steve Berry, author of The Malta Exchange

Don Winslow may have been forced to cancel his book tour for his new book, Broken, but he’ll be available for Poisoned Pen fans and readers with a virtual event. The “virtual” event will happen on Monday, April 6th at 5pm. Don Winslow will discuss his work with Patrick Millikin and Barbara Peters via Facebook Live. Tune in to watch it in real time, or catch it anytime thereafter. It will also be added to the Youtube Channel. 

Don Winslow will be signing copies of Broken as originally planned, and we’re still accepting orders for signed first edition copies!  Make sure you pre-order a copy of Broken through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2UH0ehJ

Here’s the description of Broken.

“One of America’s greatest storytellers.” ““ Stephen King

No matter how you come into this world, you come out broken . . . 

In six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption, Broken is #1 international bestseller Don Winslow at his nerve-shattering, heart-stopping, heartbreaking best. In Broken, he creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, the lost souls driving without headlights through the dark night on the American criminal highway.

With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, humor, action and the highest level of literary craftsmanship, Winslow delivers a collection of tales that will become classics of crime fiction.

*****

When Winslow was forced to cancel the actual book tour, the headline in Deadline read, “Coronavirus Scare Prompts Don Winslow To Cancel “˜Broken’ Book Tour.” Fortunately, he’s doing the virtual book tour, and now you can even watch the event the day before release date for Broken.

You’ll probably appreciate this comment in Mike Fleming Jr.’s article in Deadline. Fleming quotes Don Winslow. “I remember when my career started and no one showed up to see me on tour. One bookseller, Barbara Peters of Poisoned Pen, actually bought a copy of my book from her own store because she felt so bad for me. Independent bookstores stayed with me until my “˜overnight success’ in my mid-50s. I will always be grateful to independent bookstores and I don’t make this decision lightly because I know they will be deeply impacted. Ultimately there is nothing more important than the safety of everyone during this difficult time and that is why I made this decision. However, I truly feel like several of the short novels in Broken represent my best work as a writer and I hope people will seek out and order the book.”

*****

Consider supporting The Poisoned Pen and an author who supports independent bookstores. Check the Web Store, and pre-order a copy of Broken. https://bit.ly/2UH0ehJ

Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse). Elizabeth George (Inspector Lynley). Caroline Graham (Inspector Barnaby). James Runcie (Grantchester). G.K. Chesteron (Father Brown). The characters might be more familiar to fans of English village mysteries than the authors are. In Olivia Rutigliano’s recent article for CrimeReads, she talks about “Quaint English Village Murder Mystery TV Shows with a Million Seasons, For Your Binge-Watching Pleasure During These Hard Times”. You can find the article here. https://bit.ly/2UBaCHX

After you’ve escaped into some of these TV shows, you might want to explore the written world created by the authors. Check The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store for their books, and make your pleasure last even longer. https://store.poisonedpen.com