Fiction Review

Military thrillers, espionage and secrets were the topics when Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, hosted authors Marc Cameron and Walt Gragg. Cameron’s latest book is Tom Clancy Code of Honor and Gragg is the author of The Chosen One. Signed copies of both books are available through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/ You can watch the entire event, but, first, here are the summaries of both books.

As President of the United States, Jack Ryan has faced many challenges, but none have been as personal as this and never has he been this helpless in the face of evil in the latest entry in Tom Clancy’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Father Pat West, S.J. was a buddy of the young Jack Ryan when they were both undergraduates at Boston College. Father West left a comfortable job in the philosophy department at Georgetown to work with the poor in Indonesia. Now he’s been arrested and accused of blasphemy against Islam.

President Ryan is desperate to rescue his old friend, but he can’t move officially against the Indonesians. Instead he relies on the Campus team to find out who is framing the priest.

There’s one other twist to the story. President Ryan discovers a text on his private cell phone from the priest warning about a coming attack against America…

*****

Here’s The Chosen One.

A fundamentalist Islamic army is on the march in the Middle East, and the fight to stop the spread of madness will take everything the American military can muster, in this novel from the author of The Red Line.

Two months ago, a new leader arose in the Islamic world, the Mahdi—or the Chosen One. He has rallied fundamentalist Muslim forces across the Middle East who have driven deep into Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Standing against them is an allied force made up primarily of the American military. 

It’s a desperate fight. From armored battles in the desert to American carriers desperately dodging waves of cruise missiles, the Mahdi proves to have many tricks up his sleeve. 

Marine Lieutenant Sam Erickson is in the thick of the fighting. He and his company have fought their way from a landing on the Mediterranean shore to the outskirts of Cairo. Now he finds himself at a critical juncture, but can he make the sacrifices necessary for the greater good?

*****

Now, if you would like to watch the event, here it is.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted two of her author friends, Dana Stabenow and Laurie R. King. There’s a short conversation with Stabenow about her forthcoming Kate Shugak book, No Fixed Line. There will be signed copies of that 22nd book in the series available through the Web Store, along with Stabenow’s other books. https://bit.ly/2F9m0Bq Dana Stabenow will be back at The Poisoned Pen on Saturday, January 11 at 2 PM for the publication party for No Fixed Line.

Here’s the summary of No Fixed Line.

It is New Year’s Eve, nearly six weeks into an off-and-on blizzard that has locked Alaska down, effectively cutting it off from the outside world. But now there are reports of a plane down in the Quilak mountains. With the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board—responsible for investigating aviation incidents) unable to reach the crash site, ex-Trooper Jim Chopin is pulled out of retirement to try to identify the aircraft, collect the corpses, and determine why no flight has been reported missing. But Jim discovers survivors: two children who don’t speak a word of English. Meanwhile, PI Kate Shugak receives an unexpected and unwelcome accusation from beyond the grave, a charge that could change the face of the Park forever.

*****

The longer conversation was between Barbara Peters and Laurie R. King. The two discuss both of King’s characters, Kate Martinelli and Mary Russell. But, King’s latest novella is a Kate Martinelli title, Beginnings. Check for signed copies of Beginnings, and King’s other books. https://bit.ly/2yDn27l

Here’s the description of Beginnings.

INSPECTOR KATE MARTINELLI has worked the SFPD’s Homicide Detail for nearly thirty years. She knows all about how a cop builds a case bit by bit to create a clear story from the scattered pieces of evidence. Until the day her fifteen-year-old daughter, Nora, happens to ask about an aunt she’d never met. Kate’s kid sister died in the 1980s, a wild young woman who lost control of a car and hit a tree, end of story … except it isn’t. Because once Kate begins to look, seeking to reassure Nora that it was only a senseless accident and not the suicide a small town’s gossip made it, she starts to find pieces that don’t fit the picture. Holes in the evidence. Mismatched fragments that change the story Kate has told herself all these years-the story that for her, was the beginning of everything.

What did happen in Diamond Lake that night? Was it an accident, or a hushed-up suicide? Or was her sister’s death something darker yet?

*****

Now, you can watch the entire event with both authors.

The Poisoned Pen is closed today for Thanksgiving. Feel free to browse the Web Store, though, if you’re doing some early shopping! https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Ace Atkins has been waiting to set one of the Spenser books in Hollywood. Finally, with Robert B. Parker’s Angel Eyes, he had his chance. If you’re a fan of Parker’s books, you’re going to want to listen to the conversation between Atkins and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

Atkins has now written eight of the Spenser books. You can find them in the Web Store, including a signed copy of Robert B. Parker’s Angel Eyes. https://bit.ly/2OpsMdT

Here’s the summary of Robert B. Parker’s Angel Eyes.

In the latest thriller featuring the legendary Boston PI, Spenser heads to the City of Angels to meet old friends and new enemies in a baffling missing person case that might shake Tinseltown to its core.

Gabby Leggett left her Boston family with dreams of making it big as a model/actress in Hollywood. Two years later, she disappears from her apartment. Her family, former boyfriend, friends–and the police–have no idea where she is and no leads. Leggett’s mother hires Spenser to find her, with help of his former apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, now an L.A. private eye.

Spenser barely has time to unpack before the trail leads to a powerful movie studio boss, the Armenian mob, and a shadowy empowerment group some say might be a dangerous cult.

It’s soon clear that Spenser and Sixkill may be outgunned this time, and series favorites Chollo and Bobby Horse ride to the rescue to provide backup. From the mansions of Beverly Hills to the lawless streets of a small California town, Spenser will need to watch his step. In Hollywood, all that glitters isn’t gold. And not all those who wander are lost.

*****

Here’s your chance to listen to the entire conversation. If you’re a fan of the Spenser books, you won’t want to miss it.

If you haven’t read Tracy Chevalier’s books, you probably recognize her name as the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. She’s also the author of the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen, A Single Thread. You can find signed copies of that book in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/34itSO0

Here’s the description of A Single Thread.

“A buoyant tale about the path to acceptance and joy–beginning, like all journeys, with one brave step.”–People

“The best-selling novelist has done a masterful job of depicting the circumstances of a generation of women we seldom think about: the mothers, sisters, wives and fiances of men lost in World War I, whose job it was to remember those lost but not forgotten.”–Associated Press

Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2019 (TIME) | Best Books of Fall (PopSugar) | 5 Books Not To Miss (USA TODAY) | 50 Best Books of the Year (GOOD HOUSEKEEPING) | One of the New York Post‘s Fall Novels Everyone’s Talking About | 13 Fall Best New Books Written by Women (Parade) | One of the New York Times Book Review’s New & Noteworthy | One of Chicago Sun Times’ “Books Not to Miss” | One of Real Simple‘s Best Books of 2019 So Far

1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fiancé, Violet Speedwell has become a “surplus woman,” one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled eggs and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother’s place and into the town of Winchester, home to one of England’s grandest cathedrals. There, Violet is drawn into a society of broderers–women who embroider kneelers for the Cathedral, carrying on a centuries-long tradition of bringing comfort to worshippers.

Violet finds support and community in the group, fulfillment in the work they create, and even a growing friendship with the vivacious Gilda. But when forces threaten her new independence and another war appears on the horizon, Violet must fight to put down roots in a place where women aren’t expected to grow. Told in Chevalier’s glorious prose, A Single Thread is a timeless story of friendship, love, and a woman crafting her own life.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted what she referred to as a quartet of authors. First she interviewed Hank Early (Echoes of the Fall) and Scott Graham (Arches Enemy) , and then Margaret Mizushima (Tracking Game) and Paula Munier (Blind Search) who both write K-9 mysteries. Signed copies of these books by all the authors can be found in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

The best introduction to the authors and their works is the video. Barbara Peters’ interviews are always interesting. Here’s your chance to “meet” the authors.

If there is anyone who knows Golden Age Mysteries, books written in the 1920s and 1930s, it’s Martin Edwards. “He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, a former chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, and current President of the Detection Club.” If you search under his books in the Web Store, you’ll find a number of anthologies he edited for British Crime Club Classics and Sourcebooks/ Poisoned Pen Press. https://bit.ly/2lC6utB

So, you’ll want to check out Edwards’ article for The Strand Magazine, “10 Undervalued Golden Age Mysteries”. https://strandmag.com/10-undervalued-golden-age-mysteries/ You might recognize some titles such as Agatha Christie’s Curtain. Then, you’ll want to check the Web Store for those books. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Then, I hope you come back a week from Monday when Martin Edwards shares books you might want to give as gifts, and dreams of a few books he would like to receive.

Three Poisoned Pen Press authors were panelists at the recent 6th Annual Women in Intrigue Conference hosted by the Orange County Sisters in Crime in Costa Mesa, CA. If you’re looking for gift ideas, maybe you’ll want to check the Web Store for titles by Wendall Thomas, Mary Anna Evans, and Betty Webb. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Are you getting ready for the holidays? Here’s a note from Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

A Holiday Booknews

To make your holiday shopping easy — Thanksgiving is late this year and shortening up your time — I have listed    Free gift wrap, Poisoned Pen logo merchandise, a membership in our Mystery of the Month Club which can be customized for the recipient, books for holiday reading, gift book ideas, puzzles, books & beverage combos, Best American Writing 2019 in several fields, gift ideas spread over a wide range of subjects, and my annual roundup of new cookbooks, always winners. Here is the link to the Holiday Booknews   Don’t forget you can sign anyone up for our Enews which is free.

Readers love lists, and there are often lists of books toward the end of the year. Bookstores love lists because readers will often pick up books through the Web Store when they discover titles they might have missed. As you peruse a couple lists here, don’t forget the Web Store is available for your purchasing needs. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

CrimeReads just put together their list of “The 10 Best Crime Novels of the Decade”. https://crimereads.com/the-10-best-crime-novels-of-the-last-decade/ Those titles, with summaries, are interesting, but I found the attached list of “Notable Selections” even better. Don’t forget to browse those selections as well.

You’ll notice that CrimeReads did not include any books published in 2019, and they gave their reasons. However, Library Journal just released their list of Best Crime Fiction of 2019. In the United States, that magazine has a great deal of influence because libraries buy books based on the reviews in that journal. If you’re interested in this year’s crime fiction, check out the list from Library Journal. https://bit.ly/2QEWOvF

Then, don’t forget to check the Web Store! https://store.poisonedpen.com/