Fiction Review

The first half of June is full with virtual events at The Poisoned Pen. Please check back regularly, though. The schedule changes and additional authors may be added to the schedule. Check the Web Store for the authors’ books, including signed copies. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

I seldom recommend a book here, but Sarah Stewart Taylor’s The Mountains Wild, the novel that launches her new series, is on my pile of favorites read so far this year. You might want to pre-order the June release through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2M5Mx8a

SARAH STEWART TAYLOR is the author of the Sweeney St. George series and the Maggie D’arcy series. Taylor grew up on Long Island in New York and was educated at Middlebury College in Vermont and Trinity College in Dublin. She lived in Dublin, Ireland in the mid-90s and she now lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries.

Here’s Sarah Stewart Taylor’s book “Distractions”, suggestions you can order through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

Like many of you, I struggled at first to find the focus to even finish a novel. But as we’ve gotten used to this strange new normal, I’ve found that my reading has settled into two categories: books I’ve been meaning to read and books I found I wanted to re-read. In the first category, I’m embarrassed to say that it took the great Barbara Neely’s passing to make me finally go and get a copy of Blanche on the Lam. I’m sorry I waited so long. The clever and resourceful Blanche White was a terrific companion and the Southern Gothic cast of characters and Blanche’s ingenuity added up to a fun and very distracting read. 

I adore Denise Mina’s Alex Morrow series but I’ve somehow never read her Paddy Meehan novels. I was missing out. I loved the first in the series, Field of Blood.

As an Irish crime fiction obsessive, I loved Mina’s treatment of the nuances of religion and Irish heritage in Glasgow and her description of Paddy’s awakening to herself as a journalist and a detective. I also have that great feeling of more books ahead of me to read. (Field of Blood may be hard to find, but I highly recommend the Alex Morrow series and they are available at The Poisoned Pen.)

I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere of Jane Harper’s Australian Outback novel, The Dry. I’ve been meaning to catch up with her Aaron Falk series, which now contains three books, and the second one, the suspenseful and Rashomom-like Force of Nature was a tense and diverting read.

Falk is an increasingly complex hero and I was happy to be back with him — and his partner Carmen Cooper — as they tried to figure out what happened to a woman lost on a corporate retreat in the wilderness. It’s a great premise: five women go into the mountains and only four come out. Harper uses the tensions and relationships between the women to create a dark and entertaining thriller. 

My re-reads have included a lot of my old standbys, though I find that I’ve been picking out books on the psychologically grimmer end of the spectrum! One book I revisit every few years is Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and I had fun falling back into the world of Hampden College.

There was something about the isolation of the fictional college in Tartt’s reverse whodunit, and the dangerously insular world of a group of students who chose to spend most of their time together that just felt right for the moment. 

*****

Here’s Sarah Stewart Taylor’s own book, the first in a new series, The Mountains Wild. It’s a June 23 release.

“With its evocative Dublin setting, lyrical prose, tough but sympathetic heroine, and a killer twist in the plot, Sarah Stewart Taylor’s The Mountains Wild should top everyone’s must-read lists this year!” — New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie

In a series debut for fans of Tana French and Kate Atkinson, set in Dublin and New York, homicide detective Maggie D’arcy finally tackles the case that changed the course of her life.

Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D’arcy’s family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin’s movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: no trace of her was ever found.

The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin’s scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland, awakening all the complicated feelings from the first trip. The despair and frustration of not knowing what happened to Erin. Her attraction to Erin’s coworker, now a professor, who never fully explained their relationship. And her determination to solve the case, once and for all.

A lyrical, deeply drawn portrait of a woman – and a country – over two decades – The Mountains Wild introduces a compelling new mystery series from a mesmerizing author.

Michael Barson recently interviewed Martin Edwards for an article that appeared at CrimeReads. It’s called “Martin Edwards on the Enduring Popularity of Traditional Mysteries.” You can find it here, https://bit.ly/2XD0HDc.

“In the U.S., Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks publishes the Crime Classics, which have re-presented the work of such authors as John Dickson Carr, E.C.R. Lorac, George Bellairs and R. Austin Freeman.“

Barson “talked to series consultant—and the 2020 recipient of British crime writing’s highest honor, the CWA Diamond Dagger—Martin Edwards, author of the Lake District Mysteries and the Rachel Savernake Golden Age mysteries, whose involvement with the BLCC began in 2014 with The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude.”

CASTLE SKULL by John Dickson Carr, with an Introduction by Martin Edwards, was released by Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks as part of the British Library of Crime Classics on May 5, 2020.

Here’s the summary of Castle Skull, which you can order through the Web Store. You can also order the other British Library of Crime Classics, and Martin Edwards’ own books through the Web Store as well. Search under “Martin Edwards”. https://bit.ly/2w0viRd

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.

And so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris. Entreated by the Belgian financier DAunay to investigate the gruesome and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schädel, in which a small group of suspects are still assembled.

As thunder rolls in the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the maze-like passages and towers of the keep.

This new edition of John Dickson Carr’s spirited and deeply atmospheric early novel also features the rare Inspector Bencolin short story ‘The Fourth Suspect’.

I can’t wait for Linda Castillo’s new Kate Burkholder novel, Outsider. If you’re smart, you’ll pre-order the July 7 release. Signed copies will be available, through the Web Store. You can also order copies of Castillo’s other books there. https://bit.ly/2TDPi4M

Linda Castillo is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Burkholder novels, including Sworn to Silence which was adapted into a Lifetime Original Movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and a nomination for the RITA. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next novel.

Even in all the turmoil of moving and building a house, Linda Castillo did make time to talk about book “Distractions” for us. Look in the Web Store for her suggestions. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

While we’re in the midst of this unsettling and uncertain time, reading is the one thing we can count on—for so many things.  Escapism.  Comfort.  Hope.  Laughter.  Or, at the other end of the entertainment spectrum, maybe you’re in the mood for adventure.  Travel to an exotic land.  The intellectual challenge of a twisty mystery.  Or an old-fashioned thrill ride. Whatever the case, reading sweeps us away and delivers us to the places we want to go.

I don’t often re-read novels.  I made an exception for William Fortstchen’s ONE SECOND AFTER.  Talk about a thrill ride, and a storyline that’s all the more meaningful—and frightening—in light of the challenging times we face today.  ONE SECOND AFTER is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in the aftermath of an electromagnetic pulse that catapults the United States back into the dark ages.  It’s a scary and entertaining story of survival that held me spellbound.

I’m a little late to the party with this one, but CJ Box’s THE HIGHWAY was a fantastic read.  There aren’t many books that truly surprise me or contain some twist I wasn’t expecting.  Not the case with THE HIGHWAY.  This one moves at the speed of light, grips you tightly, wraps you in suspense, and then comes the twist at the most unexpected moment.  It’s a dark and scary crime novel you won’t be able to put down.

I’m currently reading Long Bright River by Liz Moore and it’s so good I want to give it a shout out.  It’s a thought-provoking crime novel set in Philadelphia about two sisters.  One of the sisters is a cop, the other lives on the street—and goes missing.  This story is moody and fresh with a strong sense of place.  It’s also a moving story and it swept me in from the get go.

I would be remiss not to mention the books on my towering TBR stack.  I’m anxiously awaiting Lisa Unger’s CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45, which will be released on October 6.  Everything she writes is pure dynamite and I know this one will be well worth the wait.  I’m also looking forward to reading Jennifer Hillier’s LITTLE SECRETS, which was released on April 21, and Heather Gudenkauf’s latest, THIS IS HOW I LIVED, which is out on May 12.

*****

I’m sure readers are looking forward to Linda Castillo’s Outsider as well.

Linda Castillo follows her instant New York Times bestseller, Shamed, with Outsider, an electrifying thriller about a woman on the run hiding among the Amish.

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa.

Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life. She’s desperate for protection, and the only person she can trust is Kate—but can Kate trust her? Or will Gina’s dark past put them all in danger?

As a blizzard bears down on Painters Mill, Kate helps Gina go into hiding on Adam’s farm. While the tough-skinned Gina struggles to adjust to the Amish lifestyle, Kate and state agent John Tomasetti delve into the incident that caused Gina to flee. But as Kate gets closer to the truth, a killer lies in wait. When violence strikes, she must confront a devastating truth that changes everything she thought she knew not only about friendship, but the institution to which she’s devoted her life.

Martin Walker’s latest Bruno, Chief of Police novel, The Shooting at Chateau Rock, is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. There are signed copies of that book, and copies of Walker’s other books, available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2K7FkC1

Here’s the summary of The Shooting at Chateau Rock.

When a local’s troubling death is linked to a Russian oligarch and his multinational conglomerate, Bruno faces one of his toughest cases yet, one that brings together a French notary and a rock star–and, of course, Bergerac red and white.

It’s summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a Périgordian sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited, and their father’s estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer never gets his life of luxury–he dies before moving in. Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins the investigation that leads him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The companies are based in Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg, but Bruno finds a weak spot in France: the Russian’s France-based notaire and insurance agent. As Bruno is pursuing this lead, the oligarch’s daughter turns up in the Périgord, and complications ensue, eventually bringing the action to the château of an aging rock star. But, as ever, Bruno makes time for lunch amid it all.

*****

If you’d like to watch Martin Walker in conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, click on the link below, or check the bookstore’s Facebook page.

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.