Fiction Review

Mary Anna Evans, author of the Faye Longchamp mysteries, will be at The Poisoned Pen on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2:00 PM. She’ll be signing the latest in her archaeological mystery series, Catacombs. You can order copies of Evans’ books, including Catacombs, though the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2IrcqLo

With Evans’ appearance at the bookstore, it’s the perfect time to share a link to an article she wrote for CrimeReads, “On Archaeology and Crime Fiction”. You can find the article here. https://bit.ly/2nraOMY

Here’s the summary of Evans’ Catacombs.

What secrets lie deep beneath the surface?

A deafening explosion rocks a historic Oklahoma City hotel, sending archaeologist Faye Longchamp-Mantooth crashing to the marble floor of the lobby. She’s unhurt but shaken—after all, any time something blows up in Oklahoma City, the first word on everyone’s lips is the same: bomb.

Faye is in town for a conference celebrating indigenous arts, but is soon distracted by the aftermath of the explosion, which cracks open the old hotel’s floor to reveal subterranean chambers that had housed Chinese immigrants a century before. Faye is fascinated by the tunnels, which are a time capsule back to the early 20th century—but when the bodies of three children are discovered deep beneath the city, her sense of discovery turns to one of dread…

You might be familiar with Ann Cleeves’ books in the Shetland Island series, or her Vera Stanhope series. Maybe you’ve watched “Shetland” or “Vera”. Cleeves has also written other books. She just released the first in the new Two Rivers series, The Long Call. That book is the selection of this month’s British Crime Club. You can order copies of Cleeves’ books, including The Long Call, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2ku5KGF

It’s truly an honor to interview Ann Cleeves.

I feel a little funny asking you this question, but some readers may not be familiar with your work. Ann, would you introduce yourself to readers, please?

I’m a crime writer who’s been very, very lucky.  For the first twenty years of publication, I had very little commercial success.  That meant I could practice my craft without any pressure at all and I still had time to spend with my daughters as they were growing up.  Writing was an escape and a joy ““ and it still is. In those early days, I was supported by libraries and by my family. For more than forty years I was married to Tim, an ornithologist, who spent his career working for a conservation charity.  I met him in Shetland and his work took me to some of the beautiful places that act as a backdrop to my stories. I still live in my little house in Whitley Bay, a seaside town on the north-east coast.

Your best-known books are set in the Shetlands and Northumberland. What attracted you to Devon for your new series?

I grew up in North Devon and I still have friends there.  When my husband suddenly died, nearly two years ago, I needed to run away, not just from the memories of our life together, but from the sympathy of the people who’d known us as a couple.  I ran to my old school friend and to a place I’d been very happy. We visited some of the beautiful beaches and small towns of my youth and talked for hours about the people we knew then. The Long Call developed out of those places and those conversations.

Would you introduce us to Matthew Venn?

Matthew grew up in a small evangelical community as the beloved only son of doting parents.  When he was eighteen, he lost his faith, at least the very rigid faith of his parents and he was cast out.  His way of dealing with the sudden lack of order was to join the police force. There he found the sense of duty, honour and service that he’d grown up with.  At the start of the novel, he’s looking in at the funeral of his father, not feeling that he’d be welcome to join in. He’s back in North Devon after living and working in the city of Bristol, and this is his first case in the Two Rivers region.  He’s more optimistic now, happier, married to Jonathan and living in the low, white house on the shore. I’m hoping that in future books, he’ll develop more of a sense of humour!

Tell us about The Long Call, without spoilers, please.

The Long Call begins with the body of a man found on a beach, Crow Point, a spit of sand at the point where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet.  At first the detectives think that the victim is a homeless man, but it seems his background is complex. He volunteers at The Woodyard, a community arts centre with a space for adults with a learning disability.  The Woodyard becomes the centre of the investigation, which makes life difficult for Matthew, because Jonathan was the leading light in creating the place, and he’s now the manager.

This is just my opinion. I see Jimmy Perez, Vera Stanhope, and, in The Long Call, Matthew Venn and his sergeant, Jen Rafferty, as troubled people, somewhat socially awkward. How do their experiences make them better investigators?

One of my favourite crime writers, Georges Simenon, says that the role of his detective, Inspector Maigret, is “˜to understand not to judge.’  It’s much easier to understand the pain of the victims’ families and the motives for murder, if the detective hasn’t had a trouble-free and undemanding life.  Like writers, I think good detectives have to be a little apart: observers, good listeners.

This will be your third series, after “Vera” and “Shetland” that’s adapted for television. What appeals to you when you see your characters and settings portrayed on screen?

Television is a very different form from prose and I’m delighted to leave the script-writing to the people who know what they’re doing!  I don’t feel precious about the adaptations. Once the books reach readers, they don’t belong to me any longer. Reading is a creative activity, and each reader brings their own history and prejudice to the story, the images they see in their minds will be different from the ones in mine.  Letting a TV production company interpret the novels, is just one step further in the process. Both Shetland and Vera are made by Silverprint Pictures and I think I’ve been very fortunate. The company has captured the atmosphere, place and central characters beautifully. I’m delighted that Silverprint has optioned The Long Call too.  I watch the shows like every other viewer.

Everyone takes a different path to publication. How did you become a published author?

I went to my local library and looked at the books most similar to mine and made a note of the publisher.  Then I sent out a letter and script. In those days, publishers still looked at unsolicited manuscripts and the third company I approached bought the novel.  It’s not that easy now!

If you had to recommend 5 books to a person so they could get a feel for your reading taste, what 5 would you pick?

The Lost Domain by Alain Fournier, Toxic Shock by Sara Paretsky, Scrublands by Chris Hammer, Maigret in Vichy by Georges Simenon, Slow Horses by Mick Herron.

Even though we might not recognize some of the titles, what books were your favorites as a child?

I loved mysteries even as a child.  My favourite author was Malcolm Saville, who was great at writing place.  I very soon moved on to the short stories of Conan-Doyle and G K Chesterton.

*****

Ann, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions.

Ann Cleeves’ website is www.anncleeves.com

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves. Minotaur Books, 2019. ISBN 9781250204448 (hardcover), 384p.

James Sallis appeared at The Poisoned Pen on Tuesday, September 24, and, unfortunately, most of us missed the event. That doesn’t mean you have to miss his latest book. Sarah Jane is the Hot Book of the Week at the bookstore. You can order a signed copy of it, along with other books by Sallis, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mn23Di

Here’s the summary of Sarah Jane. (Just my opinion, but it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.)

A spare, sparkling tour de force about one woman’s journey to becoming a cop, by master of noir James Sallis, author of Drive.

Sarah Jane Pullman is a good cop with a complicated past. From her small-town chicken-farming roots through her runaway adolescence, court-ordered Army stint, ill-advised marriage and years slinging scrambled eggs over greasy spoon griddles, Sarah Jane unfolds her life story, a parable about memory, atonement, and finding shape in chaos. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she is named the de facto sheriff of a rural town, investigating the mysterious disappearance of the sheriff whose shoes she’s filling—and the even more mysterious realities of the life he was hiding from his own colleagues and closest friends. This kaleidoscopic character study sparkles in every dark and bright detail—a virtuoso work by a master of both the noir and the tender aspects of human nature.

Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire books, recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen, on book tour for Land of Wolves. If you missed the event, you missed a true storyteller in the oral tradition. He’s been at the bookstore with every one of his books. Barbara Peters, owner of The Pen, has been a supporter since the beginning. You can order copies of Johnson’s books, including signed copies of Land of Wolves, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Qmogf5

Here’s the summary of the latest Longmire story, Land of Wolves.

The new novel in Craig Johnson’s beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.

“It’s the scenery—and the big guy standing in front of the scenery—that keeps us coming back to Craig Johnson’s lean and leathery mysteries.” 
—The New York Times Book Review

Recovering from his harrowing experiences in Mexico, Sheriff Walt Longmire returns to Absaroka County, Wyoming, to lick his wounds and try once again to maintain justice in a place with grudges that go back generations. When a shepherd is found dead, Longmire suspects it could be suicide. But the shepherd’s connection to the Extepares, a powerful family of Basque ranchers with a history of violence, leads the sheriff into an intricate investigation of a possible murder.

As Walt searches for information about the shepherd, he comes across strange carvings on trees, as well as play money coupons from inside Mallo Cup candies, which he interprets as messages from his spiritual guide, Virgil White Buffalo. Longmire doesn’t know how these little blue cards are appearing, but Virgil usually reaches out if a child is in danger. So when a young boy with ties to the Extepare clan arrives in town, the stakes grow even higher.

Even more complicating, a renegade wolf has been haunting the Bighorn Mountains, and the townspeople are out for blood. With both a wolf and a killer on the loose, Longmire follows a twisting trail of evidence, leading to dark and shocking conclusions.

*****

Even better, you can watch Barbara Peters and Craig Johnson in conversation. Enjoy the stories!

It may seem a little early to plan your November calendar, but author Tori Eldridge has an exciting announcement. If you don’t plan now, you might not get in. Eldridge, author of the forthcoming The Ninja Daughter, will be at The Poisoned Pen on Saturday, November 23 at 2 PM. You can pre-order her book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2m3UelF

Here’s Tori Eldridge’s email announcement about the event.

I’m so excited about my Poisoned Event on Saturday, November 23rd for The Ninja Daughter. I have family in Scottsdale (immigrated from North Dakota!) and ninja friends from the Quest Martial Arts Chandler dojo.

I’ve encouraged everyone to pre-order The Ninja Daughter from your store so you can get an idea of minimum headcount. No doubt, many of them will still wait to buy when they arrive.

The dojo and I are doing something very special to promote the bookstore event. I’m coming out of teaching retirement to teach a special workshop at their school the night before the Poisoned Pen event. The price of admission is proof of purchase for one book from your store! They just announced the workshop on Facebook today. I think a few ninja might even travel in from out of state.

Here’s the event webpage for the Bojutsu Training.

And, here’s the summary of The Ninja Daughter.

The Ninja Daughter is an action-packed thriller about a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja with Joy Luck Club family issues who fights the Los Angeles Ukrainian mob, sex traffickers, and her own family to save two desperate women and an innocent child. After her sister is raped and murdered, Lily Wong dedicates her life and ninja skills to the protection of women. But her mission is complicated. Not only does she live above the Chinese restaurant owned by her Norwegian father and inspired by the recipes of her Chinese mother, but she has to hide her true self from her Hong Kong tiger mom who is already disappointed in her daughter’s less than feminine ways, and who would be horrified to know what she had become. But when a woman and her son she escorted safely to an abused women’s shelter return home to dangerous consequences, Lily is forced to not only confront her family and her past, but team up with a mysterious—and very lethal—stranger to rescue them.

It seems appropriate to follow the announcement of the Library of Congress/Poisoned Pen Press partnership with Martin Edwards’ article, “The Golden Age Detective Fiction Renaissance”. You can find it at CrimeReads, https://crimereads.com/the-golden-age-detective-fiction-renaissance/.

After you read that, you might be interested in Edwards’ own novel set in that period, in 1930, Gallows Court. You can order Edwards’ books, including a signed copy of Gallows Court, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2lC6utB

Martin Edwards doesn’t summarize his latest novel in his piece for CrimeReads, but here’s the description.

“Superb—a pitch-perfect blend of Golden Age charm and sinister modern suspense, with a main character to die for. This is the book Edwards was born to write.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

London, 1930

Sooty, sulphurous, and malign: no woman should be out on a night like this. A spate of violent deaths—the details too foul to print—has horrified the capital and the smog-bound streets are deserted. But Rachel Savernake—the enigmatic daughter of a notorious hanging judge—is no ordinary woman. To Scotland Yard’s embarrassment, she solved the Chorus Girl Murder, and now she’s on the trail of another killer.

Jacob Flint, a young newspaperman temporarily manning The Clarion‘s crime desk, is looking for the scoop that will make his name. He’s certain there is more to the Miss Savernake’s amateur sleuthing than meets the eye. He’s not the only one. 

Flint’s pursuit of Rachel Savernake will draw him ever-deeper into a labyrinth of deception and corruption. Murder-by-murder, he’ll be swept ever-closer to its dark heart—an ancient place of execution. Twisted family relationships add to a trust-no-one narrative positively reeking with atmosphere.

When Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, discussed Elevator Pitch with author Linwood Barclay, she said he was “weaponizing technology”. He responded that he thinks he’s going to write about a toaster next. No matter what he chooses to write about, you can order copies of Barclay’s books, including a signed copy of Elevator Pitch, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Ohv2BY

Here’s the summary of Elevator Pitch.

“One hell of a suspense novel.” â —Stephen King

The New York Times bestselling author of A Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach—a heart-pounding tale in which a series of disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.

It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world—and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment—is plunged into chaos.

Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men in women working in offices across the city refuse leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.

Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its ribbon-cutting on Thursday.

With each diabolical twist, Linwood Barclay ratchets up the suspense, building to a shattering finale. Pulsating with tension, Elevator Pitch is a riveting tale of psychological suspense that is all too plausible . . . and will chill readers to the bone. 

*****

Would you like to experience the conversation with Linwood Barclay? Check out the video of the recent event.

The following news release will be of interest to everyone who appreciates classic crime novels.

*****

Classic American crime novels will see new life in a new publishing collaboration between the Library of Congress and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks. The Library of Congress Crime Classics series will feature a rich and diverse selection of books originally published between the 1860s and the 1960s, the Library announced today.

Titles are drawn from the Library’s collection of hard-to-find and out-of-print books, with cover designs inspired by images from the Library’s collections.

The series will launch in Spring 2020 with the publication of three books: “That Affair Next Door” by Anna Katharine Green (1897), “The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope” by C. W. Grafton (1943) and “Case Pending” by Dell Shannon (1960).

Series editor and mystery expert Leslie S. Klinger, a two-time Edgar®-winner for his critical and editorial work, has selected lesser known titles that represent a range of genres, from “cozies” to police procedurals. Along with the original text of the novel, each book includes a contextual introduction by Klinger, as well as a brief author biography, notes, recommendations for further reading and discussion questions for book clubs and classrooms.

“Early American crime fiction is not only entertaining to read, it also sheds light on the culture of its time,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “It’s fascinating to read these books and reflect on the evolution of our society’s perceptions of race, gender, ethnicity and social standing.”

Each of the three spring titles represents a “first.” Green’s “That Affair Next Door” features the first female detective—Amelia Butterworth—to appear in a series, long predating Miss Marple. C. W. Grafton, father of detective novelist Sue Grafton and author of “The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope,” is one of the first crime writers to add humor to the hard-boiled style of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Dell Shannon, author of “Case Pending,” is not only one of the first women to write police procedurals, she also boldly depicted a Mexican-American detective working in a Los Angeles that had not forgotten the 1943 “zoot suit” riots targeting young Chicanos.

Poisoned Pen Press President Robert Rosenwald, who publishes the successful British Library Crime Classics series in the United States, is delighted with the collaboration. His grandfather, Lessing Rosenwald, donated his extraordinary collection of 2,653 rare books to the Library of Congress.

“My family has deep roots at the Library of Congress,” he said. “It’s an honor to continue the Rosenwald tradition of sharing books from the past with readers of the present.”

The award-winning crime and mystery publisher founded in 1997 became an imprint of Sourcebooks in January 2019. Sourcebooks, the largest woman-owned trade book publisher in North America, is led by founder and CEO Dominique Raccah, who was recently named Publisher of the Year by “The Strand Magazine.”

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with the Library of Congress on the reissue of classic American mysteries and helping readers rediscover these great stories,” Raccah said. “Poisoned Pen Press is a legendary and award-winning publisher, and we are thrilled to work with the Library of Congress to create a new way for readers to discover great American mysteries.”

*****

For more, check out the information about the three books to be published in spring 2020. https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-19-091/

What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Don’t believe us? Check out Kim Ode’s review in The Orlando Sentinel. https://bit.ly/2kH2yaV

Now that you’ve read the review, you can order Barr’s books, including a signed copy of What Rose Forgot, though the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2kH2SXb

Here’s the Web Store summary of What Rose Forgot.

* POPSUGAR’s “New Thrillers That Should Be on Your Radar This Year”
* Women.com’s “12 New September Books Worth Canceling Plans For”

In New York Times bestselling author Nevada Barr’s gripping standalone, a grandmother in her sixties emerges from a mental fog to find she’s trapped in her worst nightmare

Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog, only to discover that she’s been committed to an Alzheimer’s Unit in a nursing home. With no memory of how she ended up in this position, Rose is sure that something is very wrong. When she overhears one of the administrators saying about her that she’s “not making it through the week,” Rose is convinced that if she’s to survive, she has to get out of the nursing home. She avoids taking her medication, putting on a show for the aides, then stages her escape.

The only problem is—how does she convince anyone that she’s not actually demented? Her relatives were the ones to commit her, all the legal papers were drawn up, the authorities are on the side of the nursing home, and even she isn’t sure she sounds completely sane. But any lingering doubt Rose herself might have had is erased when a would-be killer shows up in her house in the middle of the night. Now Rose knows that someone is determined to get rid of her.

With the help of her computer hacker/recluse sister Marion, thirteen-year old granddaughter Mel, and Mel’s friend Royal, Rose begins to gather her strength and fight back—to find out who is after her and take back control of her own life. But someone out there is still determined to kill Rose, and they’re holding all the cards.

Starz is adapting Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad crime novels for television. They just released the trailer, based on the first two books in the series, In the Woods and The Likeness. Although not all of us have Starz, we can read the books. The Poisoned Pen makes them available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2m02JOs

Here’s the summary of the first in the series, In the Woods.

The bestselling debut, with over a million copies sold, that launched Tana French, author of The Witch Elm and “the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years” (The Washington Post). 

“Required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence and ingenious plotting.” —The New York Times

Soon to be a Starz series

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric and stunning in its complexity, In the Woods is utterly convincing and surprising to the end.

*****

And, here’s the trailer for “Dublin Murders”.