Fiction Review

Here is the registration link: https://thrillerwriters.org/virtual-thrillerfest-2020/

When S.C. Perkins’ first Ancestry Detective mystery came out a year ago, she introduced a series that combines genealogy with Texas history. Now, Murder Once Removed is available in paperback, and the second in the series, Lineage Most Lethal, will be released in July. You can find her books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/307IhgZ

S. C. Perkins is a fifth-generation Texan who grew up hearing fascinating stories of her ancestry and eating lots of great Tex-Mex, both of which inspired the plot of her debut mystery novel. Murder Once Removed was the winner of the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition.

She resides in Houston and, when she’s not writing or working at her day job, she’s likely outside in the sun, on the beach, or riding horses. Check out her website at https://scperkins.com/

Perkins’ book suggestions for “Distractions” can be purchased through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

There’s a silver lining in everything, at least I like to think so. For instance, at the start of our stay-at-home time, I felt certain I wouldn’t reach for my TBR pile, but I have. I also thought it might be hard to immerse myself in any book I read, yet that wasn’t the case, either.

Maybe it was the feel of the world slowing down a bit that helped? I don’t know, but these past strange months have turned out to be good for my reading, and I’ve embraced it.

Here are three books I’ve particularly enjoyed—and when I started writing this post, I realized they had a coincidental connection. Each has an underlying, life-affirming theme of the protagonists doing what they must to get through a dark situation before emerging as stronger, more self-aware people who look toward the future.

No matter if you’re reading for a distraction or not, you can’t ask for better than books that remind you to keep putting one foot in front of the other and hope for brighter days ahead.

The King’s Justice, by Susan Elia MacNeal (Maggie Hope series #9)

This is the ninth book in one of my favorite WWII-set mystery series and features former Churchill’s secretary-turned-secret agent Maggie Hope. It’s December of 1942 and Maggie’s emotions are so frayed from her previous two cases that she’s coping by living on the edge. She’s diffusing UXBs—unexploded bombs—smoking and drinking too much, and riding a motorcycle at high speeds through war-torn London. Yet when she’s pulled into the search both a missing violin and a potential copycat serial killer, Maggie has to face the demons in her past or let them consume her once and for all.

Without Sanction, by Don Bentley

Taking place in Austin, Texas, Washington, DC, and Syria, the action in this debut thriller was intense in the best way. Three months after a bloody ambush that left his sniper best friend permanently disabled, Defense Intelligence Agency operative Matt Drake is convinced to return to Syria—though his government backing doesn’t last long. With Washington and possibly his own mind turning against him, Matt must locate and rescue a captured American soldier as well as connect with a scientist asset who has created a devastating biological weapon before it’s too late for all of them.

All the Ways We Said Goodbye, by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

Truly one I couldn’t put down, this historical novel is written in three timelines and from the point of view of three women connected by war, love, and the Hótel Ritz in Paris. In 1914, Aurélie de Courcelles runs away from the Ritz and her mother to her family estate in Picardy, where she and her father attempt to thwart the Germans as she fights her attraction to a German officer. In 1942, Daisy Villon, raised at the Ritz by her renowned grandmother, puts everything at risk to deliver forged papers to save Jewish families as she falls for the handsome OSS forger. Then, in 1964, widow Barbara “Babs” Langford returns to the Ritz and possibly a new love as she tracks down the wartime legend of a mysterious French agent known as La Fleur who captured the heart of her late husband.

*****

Here’s S.C. Perkins’ mysteries. Murder Once Removed is the first in the series.

S.C. Perkins’ Murder Once Removed is the captivating first mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster uses her skills to solve murders in both the past and present.

Except for a good taco, genealogist Lucy Lancaster loves nothing more than tracking down her clients’ long-dead ancestors, and her job has never been so exciting as when she discovers a daguerreotype photograph and a journal proving Austin, Texas, billionaire Gus Halloran’s great-great-grandfather was murdered back in 1849. What’s more, Lucy is able to tell Gus who was responsible for his ancestor’s death.

Partly, at least. Using clues from the journal, Lucy narrows the suspects down to two nineteenth-century Texans, one of whom is the ancestor of present-day U.S. senator Daniel Applewhite. But when Gus publicly outs the senator as the descendant of a murderer—with the accidental help of Lucy herself—and her former co-worker is murdered protecting the daguerreotype, Lucy will find that shaking the branches of some family trees proves them to be more twisted and dangerous than she ever thought possible.

*****

Lineage Most Lethal is scheduled for a July 21 release.

In Lineage Most Lethal, the captivating second mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster grapples with a mystery rooted in World War II and espionage.

It’s the week before New Year’s Eve and genealogist Lucy Lancaster is ready to mix work and play at the beautiful Hotel Sutton, enjoying herself while finalizing the presentation for her latest client, hotel heiress Pippa Sutton.

Freshly arrived at the hotel—and determined not to think about Special Agent Ben Turner, who went radio silent on her after one date—Lucy is stopped in her tracks when a strange man comes staggering toward her. She barely has time to notice his weak, sweaty appearance before he presses a classic Montblanc pen onto her hand, gasps, “Keep them safe,” and collapses at her feet, dead.

When Lucy shows the fountain pen to her grandfather, an avid collector and World War II veteran, she’s in for another shock. Not only does Grandpa recognize the Montblanc, he also reveals a secret: he was an Allied spy during the war and the pen is both a message regarding one of his wartime missions and the key to reading a microdot left by the dead man.

On the microdot is a series of ciphers, some decrypted to form names. Could they be the descendants of Grandpa’s fellow spies? When two from the list end up murdered—including the chef at the Hotel Sutton—and Grandpa’s life is put in jeopardy, Lucy’s sure she’s right. And with Lucy’s and Pippa’s names possibly on the list, too, she’s got to uncover the past to protect those in the present.

With a secret Allied mission, old grievances, and traitors hiding behind every corner, Lucy must use her research skills to trace the list’s World War II ancestors and connect the dots to find a killer in their midst—a killer who’s determined to make sure some lineages end once and for all.

Joseph Kanon, author of The Accomplice, Leaving Berlin, Istanbul Passage, Los Alamos, and other thrillers and spy novels. Barbara Peters and Kanon had a low-key conversation about cities, lockdown, and how international cities have changed. You can order Kanon’s books through the Web Store, and, once you’ve seen some of those cities through the author’s eyes, you might want to listen to the book chat again. Here’s where you can find his books. https://bit.ly/32jNjnG

Here’s the book chat between Joseph Kanon and Barbara Peters.

Lucy Burdette is another one of those crime writers who chats about writing and life at Jungle Red Writers. Like Rhys Bowen, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Jenn McKinlay, she agreed to talk about her recent book “Distractions”. The eighth in her Key West Food Critic Mysteries, Death on the Menu, will be out in paperback at the end of July, while the tenth, in hardcover, will be released in August. That’s The Key Lime Crime. You can order Burdette’s books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Md4stM

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette has published 15 mysteries, including the latest in the Key West food critic mysteries. Her books and stories have been shortlisted for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Madison, CT and Key West, FL.

Check for Lucy Burdette’s book “Distractions” in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

My pandemic reading has been a disaster. My husband says I am like a teenager with my phone, checking, checking, checking for news. My reading muscles feel like they’ve been injured, and that any push to get past the injury will only make it worse. That translates to terrible concentration, and that means if the first page doesn’t grab me, forget about it. (A good lesson for a writer.)

That’s also why Julia Spencer Fleming’s new book HID FROM OUR EYES went right to the top of my stack. We fans waited a long time for this book and it was worth it. Number nine in the series, the book follows beloved characters Clare and Russ who are struggling to regain their balance as a couple and as individuals after the birth of their son. Three timelines are intricately woven together, with three stories of lovely young women murdered in their prime.

I love fiction set in India and Alka Joshi”s THE HENNA ARTIST was a doozy, with an engaging heroine who claws her way up from a very low point, the family she gathers around her, and astonishing details of India, especially Jaipur.

I was scheduled to hear Lily King talk about her new book WRITERS & LOVERS in Key West right before the city leaders closed down the town. King’s latest features a young writer/waitress in Boston wrestling with the recent death of her beloved mother, a disastrous love life, and many questions about the years she’s devoted to writing a novel. How could a writer resist lines like: “But I can’t go out with a guy who has written 11 1/2 pages in three years. That kind of thing is contagious.”

Next up on my list will be Elly Griffiths’ THE STRANGER DIARIES. I bought it a couple months ago, but her recent Edgar win moves it to the top of the pile.

*****

Now, let’s talk about Lucy Burdette’s Key West Food Critic Mysteries. As mentioned, the latest in the series, The Key Lime Crime, is due out in August.

National bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s tenth Key West Food Critic mystery is piping hot with pie-enthusiasts and murder suspects.

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef’s murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn’t help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it.

Meanwhile, Hayley’s home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley’s new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan’s crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island’s holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim–Au Citron Vert’s controversial new pastry chef–was a frontrunner in Sloan’s contest.

It’s bad enough that Hayley’s too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer’s kitchen?

Michael Connelly, whose first appearance as an author was at The Poisoned Pen, did his first virtual launch through the bookstore. Connelly signed copies of Fair Warning, the third Jack McEvoy thriller, for the bookstore, but you’ll have to order signed copies quickly. There’s no telling how fast they’ll sell out. Check the Web Store. https://bit.ly/36Lzv9J

Here’s Fair Warning.

The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar–until now.

Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered.
Jack investigates–against the warnings of the police and his own editor–and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. Undetected by law enforcement, a vicious killer has been hunting women, using genetic data to select and stalk his targets.

Uncovering the murkiest corners of the dark web, Jack races to find and protect the last source who can lead him to his quarry. But the killer has already chosen his next target, and he’s ready to strike.

Terrifying and unputdownable, Fair Warning shows once again why “Michael Connelly has earned his place in the pantheon of great crime fiction writers” (Chicago Sun-Times).

*****

You can watch the conversations. Barbara Peters discusses the show, “Bosch” with Michael Connelly, and then Patrick Millikin talks with him about Fair Warning. If you’d rather listen to the podcast, or there’s problems with the video, check out the podcast here. https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-kkwwx-dde2ce

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.