Fiction Review

A Gardiner and Renner novel. If you’re a fan of Lisa Black’s series, you’ll recognize the names of her series characters. If you haven’t yet discovered her books, you can read about the forthcoming title, Every Kind of Wicked, after her book “Distractons” post. Her books, and the ones she suggests, are available to order through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Black introduced the characters of Maggie Gardiner and Jack Renner in her acclaimed suspense novel That Darkness and continued their story in Unpunished, Perish, Suffer the Children, and Let Justice Descend. As a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now she is a latent print examiner and crime scene analyst for the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes.

Lisa is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, and she is a Certified Crime Scene Analyst and Certified Latent Print Examiner. She has testified in court as an expert witness more than sixty-five times. Her books have been translated into six languages. She lives near Fort Myers, Florida. Visit her on Facebook, Twitter, or at www.lisa-black.com.

Now, check out Lisa Black’s book “Distractions”.

*****

Once I got over the disappointment of cancelled trips, I became quite comfortable with quarantine–but then, I’m still going to work regularly with only slightly truncated hours and I’m not trying to home-school young children, so I can afford to be. I work at a police department as a CSI and latent print examiner, so I’m “˜essential.’ First time in my life I’ve been accused of that!

            Yes, my husband lost his job, but I think we’ll be okay for at least a couple of months. And not being able to go to church, community orchestra practice, or friends’ homes has freed up a lot of time to write blogs and work on a marketing strategy for my August release. I tear up at every PSA that speaks of how we’re all in this together, but I also feel guiltily giddy at having finished a book last week.

            And more free time, of course, means more time to read. Here’s my list:

Checkmate, by Karna Small Bodman, one of my blog partners in Rogue Women Writers.

Brilliant scientist Dr. Cameron Talbot is working on a new missile defense system and everyone wants to get their hands on it, her teammate, their business rival, a jihadist angered at the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir. National Security Council agent Hunter Daniels sees the benefits of the system and works with her to keep it safe, but this is no meet-cute romance; Cammy is too strong–and wary–to fall easily.  

Chase Darkness With Me, by Billy Jensen.

I wanted to read this because I’m plotting out a book that revolves around a group of “˜citizen detectives’ trying to solve a cold case. Billy Jensen has a podcast called Holes, which examines less-well-known cold cases, and I wanted to learn about the techniques used. I enjoyed it, but it did seem to jump around quite a bit, hopping from story to story and that made it a little difficult to follow. But he did some amazing things, making large use of social media to spread photos and stories until information surfaced. 

The Assassins by Gayle Lynds, another Rogue Women Writer.

Six different assassins from six different countries–the variety is one of the most fun things about this book–steal a stone tablet as Bagdad falls. (I really liked that it was a stone tablet instead of a painting! Let sculpture have its glory.) Ten years later, government agent Judd Ryder returns from overseas a bit early and makes the uncomfortable discovery that he has a double who’s been impersonating him. The double is instantly murdered, but who was the target? He teams up again with Eva Blake, whom we met in The Book of Spies, since someone is using them as bait to bring the biggest, baddest assassin out of hiding. I liked that the characters were realistic and the action, non-stop.

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, by Mark Seal.

My August release deals with scammers, a personal vendetta of mine, so I had to read this true story of a German expat who conned his way through the States for thirty years. During the last twelve he convinced uber-rich and not-wealthy Americans alike that he was a descendent of the John D. Rockefeller, with all the riches that family commands. Oh, and it turns out he also murdered a few people to do it. I’m always fascinated by grifters–how they can be such good actors, put so much attention and intelligence into their research, while so callous that they’ll take innocent people’s emotions, money and lives without the slightest shred of remorse. 

*****

The sixth book in Lisa Black’s Gardiner & Renner series, Every Kind of Wicked, will be released on August 25. You can pre-order it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3giyQks

In this mesmerizing new novel from bestselling author Lisa Black, the discovery of a young man’s corpse leads forensics expert Maggie Gardiner and Cleveland detective Jack Renner into a dark and dangerous web of lies . . .

Life and death have brought Maggie Gardiner full circle, back to the Erie Street Cemetery where she first entered Jack Renner’s orbit. Eight months ago, she learned what Jack would do in the name of justice. More unsettling still, she discovered how far she would go to cover his tracks. Now a young man sprawls atop a snowy grave, his heart shredded by a single wound. A key card in the victim’s wallet leads to the local university’s student housing—and to a grieving girlfriend with an unsettling agenda.
 
Maggie’s struggle to appease her conscience is complicated by her ex-husband, Rick, who’s convinced that Jack is connected to a series of vigilante killings. Also a homicide detective, Rick investigates what seems like a routine overdose on Cleveland’s West Side; but here, too, the appearance belies a deeper truth.
 
Rick’s case and Jack’s merge onto the trail of a shadowy, pill-pushing physician who is everywhere and nowhere at once, while Maggie and Jack uncover a massive financial shakedown hiding in plain sight. And when Rick’s bloody fingerprint is found at another murder scene, Maggie’s world comes undone in a violent, irreversible torrent of events . . .

*****

The fifth in the series, Let Justice Descend, will be released in paperback on June 30.

Forensics expert Maggie Gardiner and Cleveland detective Jack Renner believe in delivering justice. One follows the rules. The other follows a darker path . . .

Three days before a key election, U.S. Senator Diane Cragin is electrocuted on her own doorstep—a shocking twist in an already brutal political race. The obvious culprit is Cragin’s rival Joey Green, a city official who’s had his hand in every till in town for the past twenty years. But after discovering a fortune in cash in Cragin’s safe, Maggie and Jack suspect they’ve stepped into a much bigger conspiracy—and they’d better watch their backs.
 
Dogged by a reporter on the verge of discovering the truth about Jack’s deadly brand of justice, Maggie and Jack plow through a city seething with corruption. As one murder leads to another, and another, their only chance to stop a killer requires trusting each other. Easier said than done . . .
 
Praise for Lisa Black and Her Gardiner and Renner Thrillers

“A must read!” —Charles Todd
 
 “Black keeps the suspense high throughout.” —Publishers Weekly

“Well-plotted and paced . . . with a pair of intriguing protagonists.” —Booklist

“One of the best storytellers around.” —Tess Gerritsen

One thing about virtual book chats. They allow readers to eavesdrop on authors from all over the world. Peter Robinson was in Toronto for a recent conversation. Books in Robinson’s DCI Alan Banks series, the television series, Yorkshire, where to be during Covid-19. As always, Barbara Peters, owner of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, has a wide-ranging conversation with the featured author. Robinson’s latest book, Many Rivers to Cross, and many of his other ones, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3gjsaSU

Here’s the summary of Many Rivers to Cross.

Peter Robinson, the acclaimed author of the bestselling series Stephen King calls “the best now on the market,” returns with a gripping, emotionally charged mystery in which the revered detective Alan Banks must find the truth about a murder with possible racial overtones—and save a friend from ruin.

In Eastvale, a young Middle Eastern boy is found dead, his body stuffed into a wheelie bin on the East Side Estate. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team know they must tread carefully to solve this sensitive case, but tensions rise when they learn that the victim was stabbed somewhere else and dumped. Who is the boy, and where did he come from?

Then, in a decayed area of Eastvale scheduled for redevelopment, a heroin addict is found dead. Was this just another tragic overdose, or something darker?

To prevent tensions from reaching a boiling point, Banks must find answers quickly. Yet just when he needs to be at his sharpest, the seasoned detective finds himself distracted by a close friend’s increasingly precarious situation. Banks needs a break—and gets one when he finds a connection to a real estate developer who could be the key to finding the truth.

With so many loose ends dangling, there is one thing Banks is sure of—solving the case will come at a terrible cost.

*****

Enjoy the conversation!

Kate White went from editor of Cosmopolitan to writing thrillers. Her latest novel is Have You Seen Me?. You can order copies of her books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2A2jRKu

Here’s the summary of Have You Seen Me?

From New York Times bestselling author Kate White comes a gripping novel about one woman’s dangerous quest to recover lost memories someone would rather she never find.

The key to her missing memories could bring relief—or unlock her worst nightmares.

On a cold, rainy morning, finance journalist Ally Linden arrives soaked to the bone at her Manhattan office, only to find that she’s forgotten her keycard. When her boss shows, he’s shocked to see her—because, he explains, she hasn’t worked there in five years.

Ally knows her name, but is having trouble coming up with much beyond that, though after a trip to the psychiatric ER, she begins to piece together important facts: she lives on the Upper West Side; she’s now a freelance journalist; she’s married to a terrific man named Hugh. More memories materialize and yet she still can’t recall anything about the previous two days. Diagnosed as having experienced a dissociative state, she starts to wonder if it may have been triggered by something she saw. Could she have witnessed an accident—or worse—had something happened to her?

Desperate for answers, Ally tries to track where she spent the missing days, but every detail she unearths points to an explanation that’s increasingly ominous, and it’s clear someone wants to prevent her from learning where those forty-eight hours went. In order to uncover the truth, Ally must dig deep into the secrets of her past—and outsmart the person who seems determined to silence her.

*****

You might enjoy the conversation between Kate White and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, who have been friends for quite a while.

Mariah Fredericks’ Jane Prescott mysteries are set in New York City in the early twentieth century, and the author has a degree in history, so it’s not really a surprise that her suggested book distractions are set in the past. You can find Fredericks’ books, and her suggestions, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Mariah Fredericks was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives today with her family. She is a graduate of Vassar College with a BA in history. She has written several novels for young adults; her novel Crunch Time was nominated for an Edgar in 2007. A Death of No Importance, her first Jane Prescott mystery, was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. The third Jane Prescott book, Death of an American Beauty, was released in April. Fredericks’ website is https://www.mariahfredericksbooks.com/

Check out Fredericks’ book “Distractions”.

*****

The Mirror and the Light was the last book I bought in a bricks and mortar store before shutting my own castle door on the plague. The store was deserted and I had the sad feeling that it would be some time before I browsed a “New Releases” table again.

On the other hand—the final book in Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy was finally out! For historical fiction nuts, that’s like new Star Wars. It doesn’t even have to be great to be enjoyable. Nonetheless, I was entranced by the very first line: “Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away.” Knowing a different head is severed at the end of the book, you’re already in deep with Mantel who knows you know and says, Come on this glorious, terrible journey with me one last time.

(Is every step of that journey pure bliss? I might be one of those readers who feels there’s a lot of wandering over old territory. For me, Cromwell is more fascinating when he has Henry and his women to play off of. His fortunes turn on these characters and without them, he can seem impregnable. But then Mantel gives you a scene where Cromwell is examining what may or may not be the remains of Thomas Becket and you’re reminded that no one explores the lethality of court life better.)

I’m a passionate re-reader, especially in times of stress. One of my perennials is David Handler’s Hoagy and Lulu series about the celebrity ghost writer whose clients are nearly all killed or killers and his basset hound partner. For me, there is nothing not to love about these books. They’re witty, gossipy, steeped in 80s New York detail, and I never feel insulted by the resolution. Handler is brilliant at doing quick vivid sketches for his cast of suspects—no easy task. After a long absence, Hoagy and Lulu are back. Their latest is The Man in the White Linen Suit.

Finally, I’m having a good old wallow in 1911 New York with Nancy Bilyeau’s Dreamland. Inspired by the life of Peggy Guggenheim, the novel follows a Gilded Age heiress through her summer adventure in Coney Island, which includes trying to clear her artist boyfriend of murder. The novel is wonderfully generous with period detail, from wondrous bookshops to high teas and the sights and sounds of the boardwalk. For a New Yorker who can’t wander her city right now, it’s a perfect escape.

*****

You can order Mariah Fredericks’ Jane Prescott mysteries through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3cVrFN0

Death of an American Beauty is the third in Mariah Fredericks’s compelling series, set in Gilded Age New York, featuring Jane Prescott.

Jane Prescott is taking a break from her duties as lady’s maid for a week, and plans to begin it with attending the hottest and most scandalous show in town: the opening of an art exhibition, showcasing the cubists, that is shocking New York City.

1913 is also the fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, and the city’s great and good are determined to celebrate in style. Dolly Rutherford, heiress to the glamorous Rutherford’s department store empire, has gathered her coterie of society ladies to put on a play—with Jane’s employer Louise Tyler in the starring role as Lincoln himself. Jane is torn between helping the ladies with their costumes and enjoying her holiday. But fate decides she will do neither, when a woman is found murdered outside Jane’s childhood home—a refuge for women run by her uncle.

Deeply troubled as her uncle falls under suspicion and haunted by memories of a woman she once knew, Jane—with the help of old friends and new acquaintances, reporter Michael Behan and music hall pianist Leo Hirschfeld—is determined to discover who is making death into their own twisted art form.

What’s it like to be an author with a new book out, now forced to do virtual tours, and whatever it takes to sell books? So many of us have enjoyed the Poisoned Pen’s virtual tours with authors in the last couple months. Laura Hankin, author of Happy and You Know It, did a musical video to talk about it from the author’s point of view. And, she includes a shout-out to independent book stores.

Here’s Laura Hankin’s Happy and You Know It, available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2WOvxJK

“It’s what would happen if the women from The Nanny Diaries met the women from Sex and the City in the social-media age. I devoured it in less than 48 hours.”—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost

A dark, witty page-turner about a struggling young musician who takes a job singing for a playgroup of overprivileged babies and their effortlessly cool moms, only to find herself pulled into their glamorous lives and dangerous secrets….
 
After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for wealthy infants on New York’s Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy.
 
There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her flawless life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the stylish women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix.
 
Filled with humor and shocking twists, Happy and You Know It is a brilliant take on motherhood ““ exposing it as yet another way for society to pass judgment on women ““ while also exploring the baffling magnetism of curated social-media lives that are designed to make us feel unworthy. But, ultimately, this dazzling novel celebrates the unlikely bonds that form, and the power that can be unlocked, when a group of very different women is thrown together when each is at her most vulnerable.

When I asked Angie Kim to write a book “Distractions” piece, she had not yet won the Edgar Award for Miracle Creek. Because Miracle Creek went on to win the Edgar for Best First Novel by an American Author, Kim will forever be known as Edgar Award-winning author Angie Kim. You can order a copy of the hardcover, paperback, large print or audiobook through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3e6FVmh

Angie Kim moved as a preteen from Seoul, South Korea to the suburbs of Baltimore. She attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, then practiced as a trial lawyer at Williams & Connolly. Her stories have won the Glamour Essay Contest and the Wabash Prize for Fiction, and appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Salon, Slate, The Southern Review, Sycamore Review, Asian American Literary Review, and PANK. Kim lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and three sons.

Look for Kim’s book suggestions in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

First, may I point out how perfect the title of this blog is? Because the one thing I’ve been consistently hearing from everyone is how distracted we have all been. So many book recommendations I’ve seen in recent days have focused on older titles, and I confess that I’ve also been finding comfort in re-reading old favorites. There’s no risk of disappointment in that—after all, you already know you love it—and even better, it’s easy. And if you do get distracted (and you know you will), it’s fine; you can skim, skip ahead to that passage you underlined or earmarked, or even abandon.

But here’s the thing: there’s so much cocooning and nostalgia you can take before you get sick of them, before you start wondering what you might be missing out on and craving something new. At least that’s the way it’s been for me. This turn has only come in the last week or so, coincidentally (or causally?) around when everyone started discussing whether/how to ease the quarantine restrictions. With that in mind, here are some new releases from the past few weeks that I’ve read and loved, page-turners that will snap you out of that re-reading slump. (Listed in order I read them!)

THE IMPERFECTS by Amy Meyerson:

Who doesn’t love stories about world-famous, priceless diamonds? Inspired by the true story of the Florentine Diamond—a 137-carat yellow gemstone that went missing from the Austrian Empire a century ago—this is an expertly-plotted mystery about a hilariously dysfunctional family whose lives are upended when their beloved grandmother dies, leaving them the Florentine Diamond.

PRETTY THINGS by Janelle Brown:

I was in a writing slump when I first picked up Janelle Brown’s fourth novel, and it took me right out of it! The prose is gorgeous, and it inspired me to get back to writing myself. Told in dual narratives by a glamorous Instagram influencer and a scam artist, two women keeping devastating secrets from each other, this twisty novel will keep you guessing until the ending.

TAKE ME APART by Sara Sligar:

Another beautifully-written novel about two fascinating women, Sara Sligar’s debut explores mental illness, violence, and the nature of obsession. When a young archivist is hired to make sense out of the chaotic personal effects of a renowned photographer who died years earlier, she becomes obsessed with her life and the circumstances of her mysterious death. One of the most satisfying endings I’ve read in some time; it made me cry.

THE BOOK OF V by Anna Solomon:

I love the structure of Anna Solomon’s third novel, which tells the life stories of three women across three centuries: a Brooklyn mother in 2016, a U.S. senator’s wife in DC in the 1970s, and the Bible’s Queen Esther in Ancient Persia. It explores similar themes in all three women’s lives—power and powerlessness, sex and desire, friendships and family—and converge. It’s ambitious, it’s feminist, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

*****

Here’s Miracle Creek, the Edgar Winner for Best First Novel by an American Author.

WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

The “gripping… page-turner” (Time) hitting all the best of summer reading lists, Miracle Creek is perfect for book clubs and fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng

How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.

A powerful showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Chapter by chapter, we shift alliances and gather evidence: Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?

“A stunning debut about parents, children and the unwavering hope of a better life, even when all hope seems lost” (Washington Post), Miracle Creek uncovers the worst prejudice and best intentions, tense rivalries and the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. It’s “a quick-paced murder mystery that plumbs the power and perils of community” (O Magazine) as it carefully pieces together the tense atmosphere of a courtroom drama and the complexities of life as an immigrant family. Drawing on the author’s own experiences as a Korean-American, former trial lawyer, and mother of a “miracle submarine” patient, this is a novel steeped in suspense and igniting discussion. Recommended by Erin Morgenstern, Jean Kwok, Jennifer Weiner, Scott Turow, Laura Lippman, and more– Miracle Creek is a brave, moving debut from an unforgettable new voice.

*****

A month ago, Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, had a chance to talk with Angie Kim.

Actually, Francine Mathews, author of the Merry Folger Nantucket Mysteries, was talking about “A Tide of Murder: Detective Novels Set on New England’s Cape and Islands” for CrimeReads, https://bit.ly/2Tj3noi. She’ll also be talking about Nantucket and her latest mystery, Death on Tuckernuck, when she appears for a virtual event on Saturday, June 6 at 1 PM MST. You’ll be able to “attend” at the Poisoned Pen’s Facebook page.

Here’s the latest Merry Folger Nantucket mystery. There are signed copies available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Zf0o3T

In the Category 3 winds of a late-season hurricane, Nantucket police detective Merry Folger and her team attempt a rescue off the secluded island of Tuckernuck—only to discover a deadly secret.
 
As a Category 3 hurricane bears down on Nantucket, Dionis Mather and her father have their work cut out for them. Their family business is to ferry goods and people back and forth from Tuckernuck, the private island off Nantucket’s western tip, a place so remote and exclusive that it is off the electric grid. As caretakers of the small plot of sand in the middle of the Atlantic, the Mathers are responsible for evacuating Tuckernuck’s residents, who range from a stubborn elderly native who refuses to leave her family home to the abandoned summer house pets of an absentee NFL quarterback. But as the storm surge rises and the surf warnings mount, Dionis has to make a choice: abandon whatever—or whoever—was left behind, or risk her own life by plunging back into the maelstrom. Even she has no idea what evil the hurricane is sheltering.
 
When the coast guard notifies the Nantucket police of a luxury yacht grounded in the shoals off Tuckernuck’s northern edge—with two shooting victims lying in the main cabin—detective Meredith Folger throws herself into an investigation before the hurricane sweeps all crime-scene evidence out to sea. Merry is supposed to be on leave this weekend, dancing at her own wedding, but the Cat 3 has thrown her blissful plans into chaos. As her battered house fills with stranded wedding guests and flood waters rise all over Nantucket Island, Merry has her own choice to make: How much should she risk in order to bring a criminal to justice?

Tracy Clark is the author of three Chicago mysteries featuring cop turned PI, Cass Raines. She just won the Sue Grafton Memorial Award for the second in the series, Borrowed Time. The third one, What You Don’t See, will be released next week. Even with these “Distractions”, she took time to talk about books for us. You can order Tracy Clark’s books, and the books she suggests, through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Tracy Clark is the author of the highly acclaimed Chicago Mystery Series featuring ex-homicide cop turned PI Cassandra Raines, a hard-driving, African-American protagonist who works the mean streets of the Windy City dodging cops, cons, killers, and thugs. She received Anthony Award and Lefty Award nominations for her series debut, Broken Places, which was also shortlisted for the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List, named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Books of the Year. In addition to her Cass Raines novels, Tracy’s short story “For Services Rendered,” appears in the anthology Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African”‘American Authors. A native of Chicago, she works as an editor in the newspaper industry and roots for the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks equally. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, PI Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and a Mystery Writers of America Midwest board member. Find Tracy on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @tracypc6161, or visit her online at TracyClarkBooks.com.

*****

These are tough times for all of us. Locked in. Locked down. Masks on. Gloves on. A killer virus, but no vaccine. Washington in chaos, no firm hand on the wheel. Gangs of marauding toilet paper hoarders hitting the grocery stores like locust swarming over a field of young wheat. Toilet paper? Really? I would think in a crisis like this, food might be the better selection, but whatevs, nobody asked me. Anyway, where was I? Oh, pandemic. So in our current situation, when everyone’s stressed and worried and they’ve got too much to do, but only four walls to look at 24/7 because we’re all self-isolating, I turn to things I know are going to smooth out the rough edges. Ginger snaps. Love “˜em. Prime Video. I’m going back and re-watching all the Poirot episodes. I’m now halfway through season two. I’m also writing my next book. Eeek. Can’t talk about it. And reading. When I’m not writing, when I’m not eating the snaps (with an ice-cold glass of skim milk). When I’m not watching Poirot or adulting in the real world, I’m reading. I’m a reader. I’ve been a reader since I first turned the pages on that old Jack and Jill catastrophe. Hill? Pail of water? What the heck were they thinking? Where were their parents?

So, in a crisis, I read, but I read when things are going great, too. I’m reading this post now while I’m writing it. Reading is my jam. You will never see me without a book on my person, either in a back pocket, in my bag, or on my phone. Yep, I’ve got my entire Kindle library right at my fingertips. Ain’t technology grand? Oh, quick note. If you call me while I’m reading on my phone, I’m gonna have to get back to you.

So, here are a few recommendations for when you’ve binge-watched everything and the brownies run out. I’ve also tossed in a couple of plays that I reread all the time just because they’re awesome and they make me happy. Try them. They might make you happy too.

They All Fall Down, Rachel Howzell Hall.

This one’s great. It’s a take on Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE or TWELVE LITTLE INDIANS, or whatever title they slip in. A group of people brought together in a remote setting, each with a secret. But it goes beyond pastiche and offers some really interesting twists. Hall also authors the Lou Norton series, featuring an African American female police detective in Los Angeles. Excellent. Run, don’t walk. Tell Rachel I sent you.

Vanishing in the Haight, Max Tomlinson.

I had the privilege of reading an early copy of this one and loved it. Colleen Hayes, an ex-con, jailed for killing her ex, is hired by a wealthy dying man to find out who killed his teenage daughter in Golden Gate Park years earlier. The whole thing takes place in 1978, which is so cool. It brought back memories of the “˜70s. Taut writing. Colleen is tough, resourceful, wounded. Loved her. It doesn’t release until September, but it’s available for pre-order. Hint, hint.

Pauper and Prince in Harlem: A Ross Agency Mystery, Delia Pitts.

This is a classic PI story featuring a tough, troubled, complicated PI, SJ Rook. In this one, Rook has to solve the case of a tragic shooting of a young boy. A drive-by killing. It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s Harlem. The neighborhood crackles with unease and a growing feeling of dread, but Rook works the streets, chasing down every lead. From first page to last, it’s a riveting journey. Lovely writing.

The Ninja Daughter, Tori Eldridge.

This falls squarely into the kickass category, which I love on so many levels. Anyway, Lily Wong rescues women from vulnerable situations, abusive husbands, etc. That’s her thing. She’s an advocate, a champion of the underdog, a modern-day superhero, minus X-ray vision and that flying stuff. However, she is, wait for it, A NINJA! I know, right? She’s ripping out ankle bones, breaking noses, incapacitating bad guys three times her size. And her near and dear call her Dumpling. I loved this book. It’s Zen with a KICK. Good story. Wonderful main character. Side note. If you get your keister kicked by a tiny woman named Dumpling, you may as well just pack it up and move out of town.

Dead Land, Sara Paretsky.

Well, because it’s Paretsky. Just released. Yep. On my Kindle.

Now my old standby plays. For the first, AS YOU LIKE IT. I enjoy it for the comforting rhythm of the iambic pentameter. Five feet, long, short. Rolls off the tongue like butter. Helps me with my sentence rhythms, though I fall waaaay short of Will’s brilliance. I like Shaky’s other works, mostly the comedies, but AYLI is my fav. Favorite line: “Sell while you can, you are not for all markets.” Cracks me up every time.

THE GIN GAME, DL Coburn. Fonsia, Fonsia, Fonsia. (Add head shake here).

I could recommend oh so many more wonderful books but haven’t the time. Hit me up on FB or Twitter, or something, or snag me at the next conference, I’ll give you a list.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Happy reading!

*****

For “Happy reading”, check for Tracy Clark’s “Distractions” in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Borrowed Time, Tracy Clark’s second Chicago mystery, won the Sue Grafton Memorial Award.

In Tracy Clark’s electrifying new mystery featuring Cassandra Raines, the former Chicago cop turned private investigator looks into a suspicious death as a favor to a friend—and makes some powerful enemies . . .

Sitting in cold cars for hours, serving lowlifes with summonses . . . being a P.I. means riding out a lot of slow patches. But sometimes the most familiar paths can lead straight to danger—like at Cass’s go-to diner, where new delivery guy Jung Byson wants to enlist her expertise. Jung’s friend, Tim Ayers, scion of a wealthy Chicago family, has been found dead, floating in Lake Michigan near his luxury boat. And Jung is convinced there’s a murderer on the loose . . .

Cass reluctantly begins digging only to discover that Jung neglected to mention one crucial fact: Tim Ayers was terminally ill. Given the large quantities of alcohol and drugs found in his body, Ayers’ death appears to be either an accident or suicide. Yet as much as Cass would like to dismiss Jung’s suspicions, there are too many unanswered questions and unexplained coincidences. 

Why would anyone kill a dying man? Working her connections on both sides of the law, Cass tries to point the police in the right direction. But violence is escalating around her, and Cass’s persistence has already attracted unwanted attention, uncovering sinister secrets that Cass may end up taking to her grave.

*****

What You Don’t See will be released on May 26.

Former cop Cass Raines knows the streets of Chicago all too well. Now she’s a private investigator and getting an exclusive glimpse into how the other half lives—and how they die . . .

Wealth. Power. Celebrity. Vonda Allen’s glossy vanity magazine has taken the Windy City by storm, and she’s well on her way to building a one-woman media empire. Everybody adores her. Except the people who work for her. And the person who’s sending her flowers with death threats . . .
 
As Vonda’s bodyguard, off-duty cop Ben Mickerson knows he could use some back-up—and no one fits the bill better than his ex-partner on the police force, Cass Raines. Now a full-time private eye, Cass is reluctant to take the job. She isn’t keen on playing babysitter to a celebrity who’s rumored to be a heartless diva. But as a favor to Ben, she signs on. But when Vonda refuses to say why someone might be after her, and two of her staff turn up dead, Ben and Cass must battle an unknown assailant bent on getting to the great lady herself, before someone else dies.
 
Cass finds out the hard way just how persistent a threat they face during the first stop on Vonda’s book tour. As fans clamour for her autograph, things take an ugly turn when a mysterious fan shows up with flowers and slashes Ben with a knife. While her ex-partner’s life hangs in the balance, Cass is left to find out what secrets Vonda is keeping, who might want her dead, and how she can bring Ben’s attacker to justice before enemies in the Chicago Police Department try to stop her in her tracks . . .

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently had a book chat with one of my favorite people – notice I said one of my favorite people, not just a favorite author. Hank Phillippi Ryan has won five Agatha Awards, in addition to the Anthony, Macavity, Daphne du Maurier, and Mary Higgins Clark Award for her bestselling mystery novels. As an investigative reporter, her work has resulted in new laws, criminals sent to prison, homes saved from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution for victims and consumers. Along with her 36 Emmys and 14 Edward R. Murrow awards, Hank has received dozens of other honors for her ground-breaking journalism. A former president of Sisters in Crime and founder of MWA University, she lives in Boston with her husband, a nationally renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorney. She is the author of Trust Me, and the Jane Ryland series (The Other Woman, The Wrong Girl, Truth be Told, Say No More and What You See). And, she is kind (unless she’s investigating you, I’m sure.)

Ryan’s latest book, The Murder List, a USA Today bestseller, will be released in June in paperback. Here’s The Murder List.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

“An exhilarating thrill ride that keeps you turning pages…Ryan deftly delivers a denouement as shocking as it is satisfying.”–Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s next book, The First to Lie, is scheduled for August release. You can pre-order it now, and order her other books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e

Here’s the summary of The First to Lie.

Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling cat and mouse novel of suspense that will have you guessing, and second-guessing, and then gasping with surprise.

We all have our reasons for being who we are—but what if being someone else could get you what you want?

After a devastating betrayal, a young woman sets off on an obsessive path to justice, no matter what dark family secrets are revealed. What she doesn’t know—she isn’t the only one plotting her revenge.

An affluent daughter of privilege. A glamorous manipulative wannabe. A determined reporter, in too deep. A grieving widow who must choose her new reality. Who will be the first to lie? And when the stakes are life and death, do a few lies really matter?

*****

Enjoy the book chat between Hank Phillippi Ryan and Barbara Peters as they talk about thrillers, the news, and the current world situation.

There are two weeks worth of “Distraction” book posts lined up for the blog, but there is also a wealth of videos thanks to The Poisoned Pen’s virtual events. These virtual events give you the chance to listen to so many of your favorite authors. Today, there’s a virtual event with Jeffery Deaver for the release of his second Colter Shaw novel, The Goodbye Man. In Deaver’s conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, he introduces Colter Shaw in his first book, The Never Game.

You can order both books, including a signed copy of The Goodbye Man through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/30e1laZ

Here’s the summary of The Goodbye Man.

In this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling master of suspense, reward-seeker Colter Shaw infiltrates a sinister cult after learning that the only way to get somebody out . . . is to go in.

In the wilderness of Washington State, expert tracker Colter Shaw has located two young men accused of a terrible hate crime. But when his pursuit takes a shocking and tragic turn, Shaw becomes desperate to discover what went so horribly wrong and if he is to blame. Shaw’s search for answers leads him to a shadowy organization that bills itself as a grief support group. But is it truly it a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult with a growing body count? Undercover, Shaw joins the mysterious group, risking everything despite the fact that no reward is on offer. He soon finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden . . . and to make sure that he or those close to him say “goodbye” forever.

*****

Here’s the virtual event, the conversation between Jeffery Deaver and Barbara Peters.