If you love horror fiction, you’re going to want to learn about the Haunted Library Horror Classics. Leslie S. Klinger, the anthologist, has edited the first six books from the Horror Writers’ Association. The first two are out already, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux and The Beetle by Richard Marsh. The books are available through the Web Store. If you search for Leslie Klinger in the Web Store, you can find these books, and other ones edited by the Edgar Award winner. https://bit.ly/35bbtDZ
Klinger discusses the Haunted Library Horror Classics, affordable paperbacks published by Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press. He chats about his vast knowledge and research in the video with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. The two experts share fascinating stories of copyright and court cases and books.
It’s fascinating to learn what authors did before they turned to writing as a career. When I asked mystery writer Cheryl Hollon to write a “Distractions” piece, I also learned her background.
Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for oil painting and creating glass art. Cheryl and her husband live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.
Look for Hollon’s books, including her June release, Still Knife Painting, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3cSGRK3. Don’t forget to look in the Web Store for Cheryl Hollon’s book “Distractions”. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
*****
In these interesting times, I’m reading across a wider range of authors than normal. I usually stick to nonfiction while I’m writing the first draft of a book, then switch to mysteries while I’m revising.
In times of stress, I fall back on some old favorites. I had read my two top picks last summer, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin followed by To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. So at the start of my confinement, I pulled out another favorite comfort read.
Gaudy Night, Dorothy L. Sayers
I’m always reading, so for nonfiction, I dive into books about writing and this year, I snagged a personally autographed copy of Murder Your Darlings by Roy Peters Clark. Helpfully, it’s a book of reviews on writing books. But I’m over the moon enjoying a funny novelistic narrative about the battle to save the Florida panther.
Cat Tale, Craig Pittman
I have a quotation by Maya Angelo taped to my inspiration whiteboard: “Every Storm Runs Out of Rain.” That comforts me and the fact that I have almost a dozen books pre-ordered. The next Inspector Gamache, All the Devils are Here, by Louise Penny is coming on September 1st and a new domestic suspense, Confessions on the 7:45, by local author Lisa Unger on October 6th. The one I’m looking forward to the most is the new Vera Stanhope to be released on September 8th. Don’t even think of contacting me on that day. I’ll be in my blanket fort with this book and maybe even a flashlight. Definitely a fine glass of wine.
The Darkest Evening, Ann Cleeves
A debut author is my next book to read. This is based on the life of Nancy Wake, arguably the greatest female spy of all time and inarguably of WW II. I’m definitely in the mood for a tense spy thriller. Imogen Kealey is the pseudonym of American screenwriter Darby Kealey and British novelist Imogen Robertson. That alone has my interest.
Liberation, Imogen Kealey
In between writing, revising, blogging and virtual meetings, I’m working complicated puzzles. This one nearly drove me insane as the print below each famous author was tiny, tiny, tiny. It was good to reminisce the plots and characters from all the books I’ve read.
And now, a bit about my new series:
Artist Miranda Trent inherits her uncle’s farm located in eastern Kentucky ““ right smack dab in the Daniel Boone National Forest. She starts a cultural adventure business which combines an outdoor painting class followed by a southern cooking lesson and paired with a moonshine tasting. She calls it Paint-n-Shine.The first book in the series, Still Knife Painting, releases on June 30, 2020.
Isn’t this a gorgeous cover!
*****
As mentioned earlier, Cheryl Hollon’s Still Knife Painting can be pre-ordered through the Web Store. Check out her other books there as well. https://bit.ly/3cSGRK3
The other day, Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, caught up with C.J. Box for Virtual Independent Bookstore Day. They had the chance to talk about Box’s latest writing project, as well as the TV series to be made from his Cassie Dewell books. Of course, they also chatted about books, older ones and forthcoming titles. Look for Box’s books, as well as the titles suggested, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Author Sheila Connolly died on April 20 in her beloved Ireland, where she bought a cottage and moved last year. Cozy mystery readers may recognize many of her mystery series. She wrote the Orchard mysteries, the Museum mysteries. the County Cork ones, the Relatively Dead series, and, under the name of Sarah Atwell, a glassblowing mystery series. In the last few years, she wrote the Victorian Mystery series in which she could use some of that knowledge she had of Victorian houses. Many of those mysteries are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3cMZi2L
I can think of no finer tribute than to share a piece Sheila wrote. In 2014, when her second County Cork mystery, Scandal in Skibbereen came out, she wrote a guest post about her love of Ireland.
*****
I fell in love with Ireland the second day I was there.
Not the first day. When my husband and I took our daughter to England and Wales, we tacked on Ireland. After all, my father’s parents both came from there, and it was so close, how could we not?
We stepped off a plane and headed for the place my grandmother was born—and of course we got lost. Like most Americans we didn’t realize that driving in Ireland consisted mainly of following winding two-lane roads (on the wrong side) and avoiding the occasional sheep in the road. Signs are few and far between, and if you ask for instructions you’re usually told something like “turn left at the sixth lane, and if you go past the creamery you’ve gone too far.” While we did finally find the tiny townland we were looking for, it was not a promising start.
Then we set off again for the village of Leap, a tiny place in West Cork overlooking Glandore Harbor on the south coast, a few miles from where my father’s father was born. By the time we arrived it was getting dark, and it had started raining—hard. We stopped at the hotel (the only one in town) and all eight of its rooms were booked by fishermen, but they sent us around the corner to a family who had a couple of rooms available. Then we went back to the hotel for dinner, which was everything we’d ever heard about Irish food: grey meat, mashed potatoes and carrots, all swimming in murky liquid. It kept raining.
Tired and damp and discouraged, after dinner we retreated to our room and went to bed. The next morning I was the first to wake up, and I slid out of bed and pulled back the curtains to find a view of sunshine and sparkling water with gliding swans, and cows grazing on the hill, and I almost cried. That’s when I fell in love with Ireland.
And if that wasn’t enough, I discovered that the pub across the street was called Connolly’s. That’s the place that became Sullivan’s pub, the heart of Buried in a Bog.
But it took ten years to get that book published. I hadn’t even started writing when first saw the pub, but the village made a lasting impression on me, and I used the setting for the second book I ever wrote a couple of years later, with the pub at its center (the less said about that first book, the better). That book never sold, but I refused to give up on it: I rewrote it and changed the major characters not once but twice, but never the setting. Third time’s the charm, it seems: Buried in a Bog was published in 2013 and became a best seller.
Why do I write about Ireland? I write cozy mysteries, which is what I’ve always loved to read. Most cozies are set in small towns, but American cozy writers hadn’t really ventured abroad with their stories. But since most of Ireland (with the exception of the biggest cities) is one small town, where everybody knows everyone else, and their entire family history, I thought it was perfect for cozies.
I once told someone that visiting Ireland was putting on an old shoe: it’s like slipping into something that just fits right, like it’s been yours forever and knows your foot. Ireland felt like home, even though I’d never seen it before. And I keep going back.
My main character, Maura Donovan, was born in Boston and raised by her widowed Irish-born grandmother. She has no interest in Ireland, having seen her share of down-and-out immigrants in Boston. But her grandmother insists that Maura visit Ireland, as her last wish, so Maura goes reluctantly, and there she finds a home and relatives she never knew she had and friends—in short, more than she ever expected. In fact, there’s one point in Buried in a Bog when Maura is overwhelmed by events and is reduced to rare tears, and she demands, “why is everybody being so nice to me?” She’s angry and confused, and unable to handle simple kindness and others looking out for her, a near-stranger. But that’s the way it is in Ireland, particularly if you have any Irish in you.
By the second book, Scandal in Skibbereen, Maura has begun to settle in. The book opens with the arrival of pushy New Yorker Althea Melville, who’s searching for a lost painting, and she can’t understand why everybody isn’t jumping to help her, and she thinks she has to deceive them to get what she wants. It falls to Maura to explain that things don’t work like that in Ireland; people are more than willing to help you, but you have to ask, not demand. By the end of the book even Althea has come around to that point of view.
There’s only one problem with writing murder mysteries set in Ireland: few murders take place there (except in Dublin). I met with a sergeant at the local police (garda) station, who told me that they’d had all of three murders in their district in the past decade, and in each of those cases they’d known who did it. I apologized to him for inflating their crime rate, at least on paper.
What I enjoy most about writing this series is exploring the contrast between insider and outsider, the past and the present, the old and the new. You find all of these side by side in Ireland, and sometimes I have to shake myself and wonder, what decade am I in? The townland where my grandmother was born is still using the mail box installed during Queen Victoria’s reign, and the church holiday bazaar is still raffling off a truckload of firewood. Time seems slower there. The nights are darker and quieter. It’s beautiful and peaceful, and, yes, there are plenty of rainbows.
I’m still in love with the place. I hope I can let readers see what I see there.
*****
Ah, Sheila. You always allowed your readers to see the Ireland you loved. May you rest in peace.
I discovered D. M. Quincy’s books with the first Atlas Catesby mystery, Murder in Mayfair. It was only after I read all three of the historical mysteries in the series that I learned she also writes historical romances as Diana Quincy. Her Night with the Duke will be released September 29. But, she doesn’t discuss mysteries or romances with her book “Distractions” today. You can find Quincy’s suggestions, and her own books, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
D. M. Quincy is an award-winning journalist who–after covering many unsolved murders–decided to conceive her own stories in which a brilliant amateur detective always gets the bad guy (or girl). As a US Foreign Service brat, D. M. was bitten by the travel bug practically at birth, and like her protagonist Atlas Catesby, tries to visit far-flung places as often as she can. When she isn’t hunched over her laptop researching ways for her villains to kill people, D. M. devours foreign television mystery series on Netflix and plots her next travel adventure. She lives in Virginia with her family.
Thank you, Diana, for your book “Distractions”.
*****
None of the books on my list were published recently because I rarely manage to read new releases in a timely fashion. But here are the new-to-me novels I’ve read and loved recently. You’ll notice, there are no mysteries on this list. Although I love mysteries, I tend to stay away from them while I’m writing because I don’t want any bits from the books I’m reading to influence what I put down on the page.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Probably my favorite book of my year (the book’s been out for a while.) Owens is a zoologist and her knowledge of the natural world imbues this story with authenticity. Emotional, beautifully-written and evocative, this story of a girl who grows alone up in the swamp only to be accused of murder, stayed with me for a long time.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I have been meaning to read Ann Patchett for quite a while and now I’m mad at myself for waiting so long. But, on the plus side, that delay means I can indulge in Patchett’s backlist. This story has an almost fable-like quality, complete with a wicked stepmother and disenfranchised children. But it’s really about family—not just your blood family, but also those you meet along the way who become emotionally indispensable to you throughout your life.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Alaskan wilderness, the backdrop of this novel, is a major character in this novel about survival, love and marital dysfunction. Hannah’s own personal knowledge of Alaska—she once lived there—adds a level of emotional purity to the storytelling.
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Here’s another book that’s been on my Kindle for a while. Amid the romance and upheaval of revolution, Cleeton’s poignant novel beautifully captures the longing Cuban expatriates have for the country they fled after Fidel Castro came to power, many of them never expecting their exile to last a lifetime.
*****
Thank you, Diana. If you’re interested in ordering D. M. Quincy’s Atlas Catesby mysteries, you can find them here in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2x1W9Nz
Murder at the Opera is the most recent release in the series.
When a nobleman’s mistress is gunned down on the steps of the Covent Garden opera house, brilliant adventurer Atlas Catesby discovers a sinister family connection that compels him to investigate.
London, 1815. Amateur sleuth Atlas Catesby is about to discover the dark side of the bright lights. His long-awaited night at the opera with Lady Lilliana ends abruptly when a notorious courtesan is shot to death in Covent Garden.
The infamous victim was the mistress of the powerful Marquess of Vessey. Atlas believes that the marquess–his former brother in law–is responsible for the long-ago death of Atlas’s sister, Phoebe. Atlas seizes the opportunity to potentially avenge his sister’s death. But his inquiry is complicated when Phoebe’s grown son implores Atlas to help prove Vessey’s innocence.
Plunging into the cutthroat backstage life of the theatre community, the adventurer and the noblewoman soon discover that ruthless professional rivalries can escalate into violence, setting the stage for death in Murder at the Opera, D. M. Quincy’s third riveting Atlas Catesby mystery set in Regency England.
*****
If you’re a fan of historical romances, you might want to check out Diana Quincy’s September release, Her Night with the Duke. The Poisoned Pen takes preorders through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3bshLS9
Desire knows no reason…
When Lady Delilah Chambers finds herself stranded at a country inn on a rain-swept evening, she’s forced to fend off a group of ruffians with the help of a handsome gentleman. Irresistibly drawn to each other, Leela and the stranger spend one reckless night in each others’ arms—and then go their separate ways. But the very next day Leela receives the shock of her life when she meets the duke who is set on wedding her beloved stepdaughter.
When it finds two destined hearts…
One night isn’t enough with a woman as fierce, fiery, and brilliant as Leela. Elliot Townsend, Duke of Huntington, cannot believe his good fortune when their chance encounter leads to an unforgettable evening of passion. Yet Hunt’s luck runs out when he is introduced to his prospective mother-in-law. Dowagers aren’t supposed to look like this…
Leela and Hunt are determined to keep each other at arm’s length, which should be easy enough for two intelligent adults with reputations to uphold. The problem is all logic is lost when it comes to a passion that refuses to be ignored.
What author do you think of when you think of Italy? If you said, Donna Leon, you selected the right answer. Leon recently answered questions about Italy, the culture and the environment for CrimeReads. You can find the article, “Donna Leon on Italian Culture” here, https://bit.ly/3czRj9e.
And, you can find Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries in the Web Store, including the 29th in the series, Trace Elements. https://bit.ly/3cxq4w8 Check out the description below.
From theNew York Times bestselling author ofUnto Us a Son is Given, comes one of her most dark and thrilling mysteries yet.
A woman’s cryptic dying words in a Venetian hospice lead Guido Brunetti to uncover a threat to the entire region in Donna Leon’s haunting twenty-ninth Brunetti novel.
When Dottoressa Donato calls the Questura to report that a dying patient at the hospice Fatebenefratelli wants to speak to the police, Commissario Guido Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, waste no time in responding.
“They killed him. It was bad money. I told him no,” Benedetta Toso gasps the words about her recently-deceased husband, Vittorio Fadalto. Even though he is not sure she can hear him Brunetti softly promises he and Griffoni will look into what initially appears to be a private family tragedy. They discover that Fadalto worked in the field collecting samples of contamination for a company that measures the cleanliness of Venice’s water supply and that he had died in a mysterious motorcycle accident. Distracted briefly by Vice Questore Patta’s obsession with youth crime in Venice, Brunetti is bolstered once more by the remarkable research skills of Patta’s secretary, Signora Elettra Zorzi. Piecing together the tangled threads, in time Brunetti comes to realize the perilous meaning in the woman’s accusation and the threat it reveals to the health of the entire region. But justice in this case proves to be ambiguous, as Brunetti is reminded it can be when, seeking solace, hereads Aeschylus’s classic playThe Eumenides.
As she has done so often through her memorable characters and storytelling skill, Donna Leon once again engages our sensibilities as to the differences between guilt and responsibility.
I hope you’re enjoying the notes the authors are sending to us while we’re all at home. Each one puts their own spin on their introduction to their “Distractions”. It’s fascinating to see the books the authors are picking. Hank Phillippi Ryan is giving us a wide variety of suggestions. Those books can be found in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Today, Hank Phillippi Ryan is The Poisoned Pen’s featured author. Hank is on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, winning 36 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. Nationally bestselling author of 11 thrillers, Ryan’s also an award-winner in her second profession—with five Agathas, three Anthonys, the Daphne, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Critics call her “a master of suspense.” Her highly-acclaimed TRUST ME is an Agatha nominee and was chosen for numerous prestigious Best of 2018 lists. Hank’s current book is THE MURDER LIST: an Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee. Watch for THE FIRST TO LIE, coming in August.
Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books are available through the Web Store. You can even pre-order her forthcoming book, The First to Lie. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e
Thank you, Hank.
*****
So how are you reading these days? Are you totally focused, letting go of reality by putting yourself inside a book? Are you wrapping yourself in old favorite, because you are certain of how they end, unlike the world? Or are you trying something new, hoping that novelty will distract you?
My theory is that we want a little of each: something we rely on, but also something that’s new. So in the spirit of “if you liked this, you’ll like that” readalikes, here’s a way to have both.
Do you love the intense spy versus spy of The Charm School (Nelson DeMille) and Day of the Jackal (Frederick Forsyth)? If you have not read them, lucky you. Start with those. But if they’re already your faves, you’ll revel in a new secret mission book. Cara Black’s fabulous Three Hours in Paris (a woman sharpshooter is sent to kill Hitler) is just what you need.
If a twisted surprising domestic suspense is your go-to, start with SJ Watson”˜s seminal Before I Go To Sleep, and Clare Mackintosh’s simmering I Let You Go. ( There are so many wonderful ones: The Last Mrs. Parrish (Liv Constantine), and The Couple Next Door (Shari Lapena) and The Wife Between Us (Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks)). Then move on to brand new super-twisty books like Jennifer Hillier”˜s Little Secrets, and Hannah Mary MacKinnon”˜s Sister Dear. They will keep you guessing every second.
Are you going back to the classics? I’ve thought about rereading all the Agatha Christies. Good idea, right? So start with the iconic Murder on the Orient express, which still surprises and amazes me every time. And then try Andrew Wilson’s Agatha Christie-as-main-character novels—try A Talent for Murder, which is clever and terrific.
Remember Herman Wouk’s riveting Winds of War? A big saga is always reassuring, with characters you can love and hate, and immensely high stakes. Maybe try that classic again. And to prove that other generations lived through horrific times, do not miss Charles Todd’s chilling and perceptive inspector Rutledge series, beginning with A Test of Wills.
And I cannot resist two non-fiction books for all of us who think about words every day. Andy Martin’s Reacher Said Nothing, a super close-up examination of how Lee Child wrote Make Me. It’s a revelation. And do not miss the droll and fabulous Dreyer’s English, by the Benjamin Dreyer , the editor extraordinaire. He gives us grammar lessons–with sophistication and humor.
It’s always safe inside a book, right? We can solve someone else’s problems, and live in another time. We can stop if the adventure is too stressful—it’s just a story! And even read the ending first.
Cannot wait to share reading choices with you in person.
*****
If you didn’t find anything to read in Hank Phillippi Ryan’s list, you’re not trying hard enough. Or, maybe you’re waiting for Ryan’s own books. You can find them in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e
The Murder List is Ryan’s current book.
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.
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.
*****
Maybe you want to pre-order Ryan’s August release, 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?
While we’re all in isolation, the Virtual Events at The Poisoned Pen have proven to be popular. If you can’t make it when the conversation with an author is live, you can catch it at your convenience. The schedule is updated continually, so keep checking back on the Web Site. https://poisonedpen.com/ Then, after you’ve watched your favorite author, or an author new to you, check for their books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
As I said, the schedule is updated often. Here are The Poisoned Pen’s virtual events, as of now.
Martin EdwardsMarcia ClarkJenn McKinlayLis WiehlMary Kay AndrewsAmanda QuickJeffery Deaver
Thomas Kies, author of the Geneva Chase mysteries, is a little luckier than many of us. He admits it in his “Distractions” post when he talks about his location for quarantine or “social distancing”. I think you’ll enjoy his post. His latest book, Graveyard Bay, and the others in the series, can be found in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2VH6SoP
Author of the Geneva Chase Mystery Series, Thomas Kies lives and writes on a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina with his wife, Cindy, and Lilly, their shih-tzu. He has had a long career working for newspapers and magazines, primarily in New England and New York, and is currently working on his next novel. (Or, with what’s going on, and so many authors saying they’re having a hard time writing, let’s hope he’s working on his next novel.)
If I have to live in exile during these trying times, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do so on a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina. The beach is only a short walk from our home, my office overlooks our front lawn, and the weather this time of year is perfect.
Nonetheless, I find the news Covid-19 to be overwhelming and I’m having a difficult time concentration on my own writing. So reading some books I’ve picked up over the last year while at various mystery conferences is proving to be a pleasant distraction.
First up was HEAD WOUNDS by Dennis Palumbo whom I met for the first time at Thrillerfest last summer.
The book begins with “Miles Davis saved my life.” You have to love that for a first line. Like Mr. Palumbo, his protagonist Daniel Rinaldi is a psychologist but Rinaldi, unlike Mr. Palumbo, has an uneasy relationship with the police force. In HEAD WOUNDS, Rinaldi is bieing hunted by a madman who is systematically targeting all the people who are close him. The book is a nail-biter from beginning to end.
While in Dallas for Bouchercon, I picked up BELOW THE FOLD by R.G. Belsky.
Like my own protagonist, Geneva Chase, Mr. Belsky has created Clare Carlson, a female journalist. Except Clare has left the shrinking newspaper business and is now producing news for television. In BELOW THE FOLD, a homeless woman is found murdered. Traditionally barely a blip in a news cycle, Clare digs more deeply and finds a connection to a group of wealthy people, some of whom are murdered and some become suspects. I kept wondering how in hell Mr. Belsky was going to tie that up. I’m happy to say that he did a great job.
I’ve had the pleasure of running into Stephen Mack Jones a couple of time now and I can vouch that he’s a great guy and a fantastic writer. . The latest was at the Virginia Festival of the Book where I scored a copy of LIVES LAID AWAY.
A non-stop mystery thriller that starts off with a dead girl dressed like Marie Antoinette found thrown off the Ambassador Bridge. Former cop, August Snow, traverses the underbelly of Detroit in a gun-blazing plot that includes immigration and human trafficking. It was a definite page-turner.
Lastly, I finally had a chance to read Joseph Finder’s mystery JUDGEMENT.
The main character is a by-the-book judge, Juliana Brody, who makes a serious mistake in the very first chapter, a one night stand. Juliana is a mother and wife and it’s the first time she’s ever strayed. With a jolt, she realizes the trouble she’s in when the man that she had an affair with, a man that she didn’t think she’d ever see again, shows up in her courtroom. The plot takes her from the fear of losing her husband, to seeing her family put in mortal danger. It made me wonder what rules I’d break to save my family.
Now, I’m halfway through Annie Hogsett’s latest mystery THE DEVIL’S OWN GAME and enjoying it very much.
It’s nice to be around her characters, Tom, Allie and Otis. The book starts right out the gate with a crackerjack murder and brings back a very nasty criminal mastermind, Tito Ricci. It’s also a page-turner that I fear I will finish much too quickly.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
*****
You stay safe and healthy as well, Tom. And, thank you.
Thomas Kies’ latest book is Graveyard Bay. Here’s the summary of the book. Don’t forget. You can find his books, and all the books he discussed, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Time is running out…
The nude bodies of a corrupt judge and a Jane Doe are found under the icy, black waters at Groward Bay Marina, chained to the prongs of a mammoth fork lift. A videotape points to Merlin Finn, a ruthless gang leader with a proclivity for bondage and S&M who had recently broken out of prison. In the videotape, he’s wearing a black leather bondage mask.
With the newspaper she works for about to be sold and her job in jeopardy, journalist Geneva Chase investigates pill mills, crooked doctors, and a massive money laundering scheme in an attempt to identify the murdered woman and find the killer. Along the way, she finds herself working with a disgraced New York cop and a host of other unlikely characters with ties to the criminal underworld.
Geneva is clearly hot on the killer’s trail, but when she is kidnapped and held at the mercy of the criminals she hoped to stop, it looks like her chance to uncover the darkness that has seeped through her hometown may be lost forever.
The tenth book in Jeffrey Siger’s Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, The Mykonos Mob, was released a year ago. It has just been rereleased in paperback under the title Island of Secrets. Both copies, and other books in the series, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2jC3gpp
For an article in Bookreporter.com, Jeffrey Siger looks back at an earlier book in the series. Mykonos After Midnight was a warning about the future. Now, in this article, Siger talks about the island, and the consequences of activities there. He has accurately forecast the future before. You might want to read his recent article, https://bit.ly/34LQxmZ.
And, of course, if you haven’t already read The Mykonos Mob, pick up Island of Secrets. Here’s the summary.
“A perfect setting and first-rate storytelling.” —Ragnar Jónasson, bestselling author of The Dark Iceland series
From international bestselling author, Jeffrey Siger, comes another heart-stopping story of corruption and intrigue.
The case begins for Athens’ Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis with a literal bang when a corrupt former police colonel who runs a protection racket on Mykonos is gunned down. Suddenly, Kaldis is face-to-face with Greece’s top crime bosses on an island whose natural beauty and reputation as an international playground belies the corruption lurking just beneath the surface.
While Kaldis and his Special Crimes unit wrestle for answers, his wife, Lila, meets an American expat named Toni, a finder of stolen goods and a piano player in a gender-bending bar who has a zest for life and no apparent regard for rules. As Lila and Toni bond over a common desire to mentor young island girls trapped in an exploitative and patriarchal culture, they soon find that their efforts intersect with Kaldis’ investigation in ways that prove to be dangerous for all involved…
