Fiction Review

Pat King from The Poisoned Pen welcomed Darcy Coates and Brian McAuley to the bookstore. Coates traveled from Australia to discuss How Bad Things Can Get. Brian McAuley’s new book is Breathe In, Bleed Out. There are still a few signed copies available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of Darcy Coates’ How Bad Things Can Get.

The Blair Witch Project meets Fyre Fest in this bloody new thriller from the queen of scares, Darcy Coates!

It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage…and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is simple: five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun.

A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She’s spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood, and her identity is a closely held secret.

But then the true history of the island is revealed…along with its sinister connection to Ruth’s past. As guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they’ve really been invited to paradise…or whether something much darker—and far bloodier—is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire’s light.

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Darcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of Hunted, The Haunting of Ashburn House, Craven Manor, and more than a dozen horror and suspense titles. She lives on the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cats, and a garden full of herbs and vegetables. Darcy loves forests, especially old-growth forests where the trees dwarf anyone who steps between them. Wherever she lives, she tries to have a mountain range close by.

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Here’s the summary of Breathe In, Bleed Out.

“Brian McAuley keeps you guessing the whole gory, satisfying way through this one. Come to this retreat for the blood. Stay for the healing.” 

—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I Was a Teenage Slasher? 

It’s a Midsommar night’s Scream in this blood-soaked thriller set at a remote healing retreat from horror author Brian McAuley.

Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way… even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start.

Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. As the body count rises and Hannah’s sanity frays, she’ll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good.

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BRIAN MCAULEY is an author and WGA screenwriter who has written everything from family sitcoms (Fuller House) to psychological thriller films (Dismissed). His debut novel, Curse of the Reaper, was named one of the Best Horror Books of 2022 by Esquire. His holiday slasher novella, Candy Cain Kills, earned praise from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews. His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Dark Matter, Nightmare, Shortwave, and Monstrous Magazines. In addition to his writing, Brian is a clinical assistant professor of screenwriting at ASU’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School. Connect with him on social media @BrianMcWriter.

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Enjoy the conversation with Darcy Coates and Brian McAuley.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, has welcomed William Kent Krueger to the bookstore, either in person or virtually, for every book. His 21st Cork O’Connor mystery is Apostle’s Cove. There are signed copies available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/465eplw

Here’s the description of Apostle’s Cove.

The New York Times bestselling Cork O’Connor Mystery series—a “master class in suspense and atmospheric storytelling” (The Real Book Spy)—continues with Cork O’Connor revisiting a case from his past and confronting mysterious deaths in the present.

A few nights before Halloween, as Cork O’Connor gloomily ruminates on his upcoming birthday, he receives a call from his son, Stephen, who is working for a nonprofit dedicated to securing freedom for unjustly incarcerated inmates. Stephen tells his father that decades ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for a brutal murder that Stephen is certain he did not commit.

Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth.

At the same time, Cork’s seven-year-old grandson has his own theory about the investigation: the Windigo, that mythic cannibal ogre, has come to Tamarack County…and it won’t leave until it has sated its hunger for human blood.

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William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as twenty acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Spirit Crossing, Fox Creek, and Lightning Strike. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.

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Enjoy William Kent Krueger’s discussion with Barbara Peters.

I’m a little late in sharing Oline Cogdill’s review of We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry. I was waiting to see if there were signed copies available through The Poisoned Pen. You can still order signed copies at the Webstore, https://bit.ly/4lYekGj. Thank you to Cogdill for her review. It originally appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

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Book review: Find out why ‘We Don’t Talk About Carol’ in insightful debut mired in secrets

‘We Don’t Talk About Carol’ by Kristen L. Berry; Bantam; 336 pages; $30

Technology has made keeping family secrets more difficult. Ancestry databases and DNA testing have brought many secrets to the forefront, not to mention revealing unknown and perhaps unwanted relatives. But there still are old-school ways of uncovering confidences — a stray letter, a hidden photograph, an odd comment that just slips out.

That setup propels “We Don’t Talk About Carol,” Kristen L. Berry’s insightful debut, which tackles racism, family, community, motherhood and decades of secrets wrapped in a solid plot filled with believable characters and situations.

Sydney Singleton was 13 years old the first time she found the “sepia-tinged” photograph of a girl about her age in a “badly tarnished” frame, hidden in a drawer at her grandmother’s Raleigh, North Carolina, home. Sydney didn’t recognize the girl, who looked a lot like her and was pictured with her grandmother. When Sydney asked her grandmother about the girl, the older woman took the frame, turned it face down on top of the refrigerator and said only, “We don’t talk about Carol.”

The photograph surfaces again 26 years later when Sydney, her mother and sister are cleaning out the home of her grandmother, who recently died at age 91. This time, she gets more information, although scant. Carol was her late father’s sister who vanished when she was around 17 years old. Carol’s disappearance was fraught with complications. Sydney’s grandmother believed Carol may have run away, seeking a singing career in Detroit, so she didn’t involve the police. But during that same time period in the 1960s, six other Black teenage girls had disappeared from the same area of Raleigh.

Sydney, who spent a decade as a crime reporter, plunges into investigating what happened to those teenagers as well as to her long-lost aunt. Her investigation brings up memories of when she became obsessed with another disappearance, which she covered. But Sydney pulls on her skills as a journalist, interviewing the victims’ families, culling through news stories to get an idea of what was going on during that time frame, and reading an old diary that was hidden in a crevice in her grandmother’s home.

As she attempts to piece together her extended family, Sydney also must concentrate on her immediate family. Her strong marriage is under stress due to the difficult fertility treatments she is undergoing. The relationships with her sister and her mother also are strained.

Berry melds the myriad personal stories and intense character studies into a powerful plot, showing how the disappearance of the girls affected their families, immediate neighbors and community as a whole for decades.

“We Don’t Talk About Carol” marks the beginning of a new talent.

Sara Cate brought along a couple friends to discuss her new book, The Good Girl Effect, the first book in her Salacious Legacy series, the second generation of her Salacious Players’ Club books. But, she assured readers they can read this one without reading the previous series, but fans of the previous series will want to jump into the new series. You can order copies of The Good Girl Effect through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/47ioTAl

Here’s the description of The Good Girl Effect.

His praise is forbidden—his touch irresistible

Jack St. Claire is desperate. A grieving single father, he buries himself in his work—running a brand-new kink club in Paris. Instead of handling his grief, he’s built a fortress around his heart, and it’s time he hired someone to help him take care for his daughter before things get worse.

Camille Aubert wasn’t looking for a new job. She just wanted to return a lost love letter she’d found within the pages of a book. But when she’s mistaken for a job candidate and hired as Jack’s live-in nanny, something tells her this is exactly where she needs to be.

Shortly after arriving, Camille discovers a strange room in the apartment that sparks her curiosity—and hints at a dark, mysterious side to Jack that she’s desperate to uncover. The lines between professional and personal blur dangerously as the heat between them becomes impossible to ignore. She’s drawn to the broken man who hides his grief in ropes and bondage, and she challenges him in ways he never thought possible.

Caught between her growing feelings for Jack and the ghosts of his past, Camille must decide: can love heal a heart still grieving, or will their passion destroy them both?

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Sara Cate is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, forbidden romance. Her stories are known for their heart-wrenching plots and toe-curling heat. Living in Arizona with her husband and kids, Sara spends most of her time working in her office with her Goldendoodle by her side.

You can find more information about her at www.saracatebooks.com.

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Here’s the streamed event with Sara Cate.

After the owner of The Poisoned Pen, Barbara Peters, welcomed the audience, Ashley Winstead acted as guest host for Stacy Willlingham. Willingham’s new thriller is Forget Me Not. Signed copies are available in the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/7rr38hdj

Here’s the summary of Forget Me Not.

A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist… until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard’s owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary’s contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister’s disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.

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Stacy Willingham is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of psychological suspense. Her books include A Flicker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things,Only If You’re Lucky and Forget Me Not.

Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, has sold over one million copies in North America alone. It was the winner of Strand Magazine’s Best Debut Award and a finalist for the Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mystery & Thriller award, and ITW’s Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated in more than thirty languages.

Before turning to fiction, Stacy was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and dog.

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Enjoy the discussion with Stacy Willingham.

Deb Lewis made some book selections of books she’d like to recommend for September reading. The links should send you to the right pages, but if not, check out the books on the Website. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Is a debut author’s blockbuster bestseller about to ruin her life? A glamorous book tour becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase in this new and captivating thriller by “master of suspense” (Publishers Weekly) and USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan. Signed copies are on order.

A Slowly Dying Cause by Elizabeth George

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley are back in the next Lynley novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

The unmissable new mystery in the Thursday Murder Club series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman, now streaming on Netflix

Who’s got time to think about murder when there’s a wedding to plan?

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman   (the buzz around the Netflix release is incredible!)

The first installment in the beloved and New York Times bestselling series from Richard Osman, also author of We Solve Murders

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

Dinks and Drinks: A Pickleball Cocktail Book

Raise a glass to the joy of pickleball! This collection of 40+ delicious pickleball-inspired drink recipes is perfect for anyone who loves the game—and a well-crafted courtside cocktail.

Sheepdogs by Elliot Ackerman

Two Misfits. One Mission. Zero Back-Up. • When a high-stakes heist goes wrong, an ex-CIA operative and a special operations pilot find themselves in the middle of a game of espionage and survival as they navigate a treacherous web of deception and shifting loyalties in a globe-spanning, action-packed thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of 2034.

“Move Sheepdogs to the top of your list!”—Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A thriller and comedy in one, it’s a wild ride.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Thank you to Oline Cogdill for sharing her reviews from the South Florida Sun Sentinel. This week, she reviews Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan and The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan. Both books are available in the Webstore, https://store.poisonedpen.com/. There are signed copies of The Witch’s Orchard available.

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Book reviews: Hopelessness and hope in ‘Salt Bones’; ‘Witch’s Orchard’ unpacks small-town secrets

‘Salt Bones’ by Jennifer Givhan; Little, Brown; 384 pages; $29

The toxicity of the land surrounding moribund El Valle on the edge of the Salton Sea flows into the relationships of family, friends and neighbors who live in the area on the California/Mexican border in Jennifer Givhan’s outstanding “Salt Bones.”

It works well as a story of family drama, revenge, compromise, folklore, loss and limitations. It is both a novel about hopelessness and hope, as Givhan moves her characters on a journey of self-realization and anticipation of the future. Givhan also works in a look at Mexican and indigenous cultures.

Malamar “Mal” Veracruz always wanted to leave El Valle but never could quite make that leap. Here is where she raised her two daughters, where parents and extended family live. And here is where her teenage sister went missing years ago. The police did little to help, believing the Mexican American teenager was “loose,” perhaps leaving Through the years, Mal has endured her mother’s inexplicable loathing toward her and her younger brother, Benny, who was born the night her sister vanished. Her mother’s disdain makes Mal even more determined to protect her daughters, to give them goals beyond the area. Her sister’s disappearance has always weighed on Mal but lately even more so. Mal’s recent dreams about the legend of a horse-headed woman intensify when another girl vanishes.

Givhan’s strong storytelling and affinity at creating a complete world shine in “Salt Bones.”

The Witch’s Orchard’ by Archer Sullivan; Minotaur; 320 pages; $28

Mountain people have their own ways and culture, hanging onto old traditions and how they speak, as Archer Sullivan persuasively shows in “The Witch’s Orchard.”

This series debut takes a deep look at small-town secrets, isolated people and folklore helmed by the insightful private investigator Annie Gore, who “gets” these mountain people quite well as she grew up among them.

Ten years ago, three girls younger than 6 vanished weeks apart in broad daylight from the Appalachian town of Quartz Creek, North Carolina, “a little run-down mountain town.” One child, Olivia, came back but was nonverbal, so she was unable to say where she had been or with whom.

Max Andrews was 8 years old when his 4-year-old sister, Molly, was taken from their home while he was in the middle of a piano lesson and their mother was gardening. The disappearances affected all the families, but especially Max’s family. Three years later, Max’s mother killed herself; his father got rid of most furniture and personal items in the house. He now seldom sleeps there.

Max has never been able to move forward. Now 18, he still lives in the family home and keeps a thick scrapbook of the disappearances. He tries to ignore the numerous college acceptance letters he’s received, most of which are offering a full scholarship. Through the years, Max has saved his allowance and money from odd jobs to hire a private investigator to find Molly.

Annie, a former Air Force special investigator, tells Max she doubts she will discover what happened to Molly. But he insists. Annie’s presence seems to draw out secrets as she tries to earn the trust of the residents.

Sullivan delivers a complete representation of the North Carolina region as well as the insular town’s myths and struggles. The author overlays the bleak downtown’s empty storefronts, the rundown houses and harsh economics with the landscape’s sheer beauty.

Annie makes a formidable heroine with her rough childhood and military background combined to shape her. Her intelligence and insight shine in “The Witch’s Orchard.” A sequel would be most welcomed.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Ellen Crosby to discuss her thirteenth Wine Country Mystery, Deeds Left Undone. Signed copies of the book are still available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/4mUJ0tv

Here’s the description of Deeds Left Undone.

It’s harvest time and trouble is fermenting for Virgina winemaker Lucie Montgomery in this warm-hearted, twisty mystery featuring small-town rivalries, buried secrets and full-bodied murder.

When a vineyard accident during harvest season leaves Lucie Montgomery without a valuable employee, it’s her worst nightmare. But before she can search for a replacement, there’s more bad news: Paul Merchant, her winery manager’s husband, is found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool.

Police rule Paul’s death an accident, but his wife insists he was murdered because of his leadership of Don’t Pave Paradise, a conservationist group lobbying to keep the region’s beautiful country roads unpaved. And six weeks ago, Paul’s predecessor also died under mysterious circumstances.

As Lucie is drawn into investigating Paul’s death, she discovers more than one motive for the crime—and more than one person in their close-knit community who wanted Paul dead. And when she finds an old photo of a beautiful local heiress who died tragically in a fire eighty years ago among Paul’s papers, she starts to wonder if the modern-day crime might have roots in the past.

Either way, someone is determined to make sure Lucie, who’s agreed to continue the work of Don’t Pave Paradise, hits a dead end before she even gets started. Even if it means committing murder. Again.

Ellen Crosby’s Wine Country novels are “compulsively readable” (Publishers Weekly) and “a treat for oenophile mystery fans” – if you haven’t met Lucie before, curl up with a glass of wine and jump right in!

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Ellen Crosby is the author of the Mary Higgins Clark Award-nominated Wine Country mysteries, the Sophie Medina mysteries, and Moscow Nights, a standalone. Previously she was a freelance feature writer for The Washington Post, Moscow correspondent for ABC News Radio, and an economist at the US Senate. She lives in Virginia.

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Enjoy Ellen Crosby’s conversation with Barbara Peters.

John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently hosted Darcie Wilde for a virtual event. Wilde’s latest book, The Heir, features a young Princess Victoria as an amateur sleuth, before she became Queen of England. You can order a copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/45Liug1

Here’s the description of The Heir.

For fans of The Crown, Young Victoria, and all things British royalty is a new mystery set in 1830s London and starring none other than the young Princess Victoria – future Queen of England – as a rebellious amateur sleuth.

Destined for a life beyond her wildest dreams, born fifth in succession to the throne, and determined to get to the bottom of a most foul puzzle, the future queen vows to solve the mystery of a dead man scandalously discovered on the grounds of Kensington Palace—by her!

The young Victoria remembers nothing but Kensington Palace. Arriving as a baby, she has been brought up inside its musty, mold-ridden walls. Others may see the value of Kensington’s priceless artifacts and objets d’art, but the palace is a jail cell for young Victoria. Raised with an incredibly strict regimen to follow, watched at all times by her mother, the controlling, German-born Victoire, and Victoire’s prized advisor, the power-hungry Sir John Conroy, the bright 15-year-old is allowed no freedom at any time—except that which she steals or wheedles for, always in the company of Conroy’s resentful daughter, Jane.

But one fateful afternoon, Victoria slips away from her mother to ride out on her beloved gelding, Prince. With reluctant Jane in tow, the princess gallops out from the palace green. But what would normally be an uneventful trot around very familiar terrain presents the mutinous princess with a most bewildering sight—a dead man, and on the grounds of the palace, no less.

Determined to get to the bottom of the inscrutable puzzle, young Victoria is met with shocking disrespect and any number of obstacles. Sir John lies to her, her uncles and aunts join with her mother to stonewall her questions and curtail her movements. But Victoria will not be deterred. With Jane Conroy as a tentative and untrustworthy ally, Victoria’s first “case” is underway . . .

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Darcie Wilde is the award-winning author of stylishly adventurous historical mysteries and romances, including the Rosalind Thorne Mysteries, a Regency-set series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen, as well as the Regency Makeover Trilogy. She has also written, under the name Sarah Zettel, Locus and Philip K. Dick Award-winning novels, including Fool’s War, a New York Times Notable Books of the Year selection. She lives in Michigan and can be found online at DarcieWildeRomance.com.

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Enjoy John Charles’ conversation with Darcie Wilde.

We’re lucky to have two reviews from Oline Cogdill today. Cogdill is a correspondent for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Both books she reviews, Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores, and The Felons’ Wife by Polly Stewart are available to order through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

‘Happy Wife’ by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores; Bantam; 320 pages; $30

Programs such as “Beyond the Gates,” “The Gilded Age,” “The Real Housewives” franchise and assorted others thrive because it’s satisfying to know that money and status don’t guarantee class, taste or good behavior — sometimes just the opposite.

And these scenarios can make for enjoyable tales, as Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores show in their highly entertaining debut “Happy Wife.”

Set in the wealthy enclave of Winter Park, Florida, “Happy Wife” showcases its mansions, high-end restaurants and the small but superb Morse Museum, while giving bits of the history of this “city frozen in a shiny, glittery snow globe” that’s surrounded by Orlando. The authors guide their breezy story through the countless canals that small tours and kayakers enjoy and the awkward visits with the numerous rich women’s cliques.

Nora Somerset isn’t exactly a “Happy Wife,” but she does love her wealthy, older husband, Will, whose money and status as a successful lawyer have brought her into this rarefied group of Winter Park residents. The couple live in a “sprawling lakefront estate.” For the first time, the 28-year-old Nora doesn’t have to worry about money — her last job was as “an aimless swim instructor slash receptionist” at a country club where the couple met two years after his divorce. They care deeply about each other; their only arguments are over Will’s workaholic tendencies.

The problem is that the social circle’s members, especially the women, have no respect for Nora. They see her as “something between arm candy and dinner theatre,” treating Nora as “a strange interloper.” She is “the Ghost of Christmas Future, a harbinger of younger second wives yet to come.” Her only friend is her next-door neighbor, Este, whose new wealth and bluntness also have made her an outsider.

Then Will disappears after a lavish party that Nora throws for his 46th birthday. Naturally, Nora is suspected in his disappearance, especially when the lead detective seems unusually close to Will’s business partner and “in love with the lore” of Winter Park.

“Happy Wife” moves at a brisk pace, enhanced by the self-indulgent, gossipy characters — “status-obsessed social snipers.”

While the supporting characters are a shallow bunch, they also are unfailingly realistic, as anyone who’s seen a “Real Housewives” episode will recognize. Nora is especially a standout. The other women want to believe she’s a gold digger, but the authors shape her as a grounded, intelligent woman who appreciates her newfound wealth but is not blinded by money. Nora’s caring relationship with Will’s daughter, Mia, is thoughtfully explored. The teenager genuinely likes her stepmother but is constantly manipulated by her mother.

Lavender, a screenwriter and showrunner for “The Flight Attendant,” and Shores, a communications consultant, deliver a seamless story with “Happy Wife,” the first of a planned series of standalone mysteries set in Winter Park.

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‘The Felons’ Ball’ by Polly Stewart; Harper; 240 pages; $30

Polly Stewart’s wickedly plotted second novel delves into family legacy, how adult children reconcile with their parents’ pasts, and how they forge their own futures while getting out from under their parents’ control. “The Felons’ Ball” combines both a tidy plot with a character-driven story.

It’s common knowledge around Ewald, Virginia, that the Macready family became powerful and wealthy from its moonshine enterprises. Going back at least a couple of generations, the Macreadys “bought” their liquor-making products from their own family farm supply store, then delivered the product to bars, restaurant and private buyers along the Southeast.

The business was still strong when Trey Macready and his best friend, Ben Marsh, took over. That was before the federal raids that started the end to the moonshine (though Trey maintains it was time to quit once he and his wife, Rosemary, had children).

Now the owners of a lucrative contracting business, the two friends like to fondly remember their history with the annual Felons’ Ball, which gives them a chance to boast about the old days, their skirting of the law and audacious adventures. They love telling stories about being wild teenagers instead of what they are now — “middle-aged businessmen, thinning on the top and soft around the middle … pretending to be bad guys one day out of the year.”

This year, the event is a double party as the Felons’ Ball falls on Trey’s 50th birthday. But the evening ends with Ben murdered on his boat.

The Macreadys are devastated about Ben, especially youngest daughter, Natalie, who has been having a clandestine affair with him. Natalie, who found Ben’s body, teams up with Ewald’s new sheriff, Hardy Underwood, to try to find Ben’s estranged son and figure out who might have killed him.

Natalie knows her family and Ben never really gave up moonshining — those canning jars full of amber liquid are a clue. But she never knew how far deep they were still into the illegal liquor business, or how dark and dangerous it was.

“The Felons’ Ball” also works as a coming-of-age tale for Natalie, whose family viewed her as too immature and weak to be considered the adult she is. She perpetuated this by relying on her family’s money for her car and housing and to establish her yoga studio. Now she has to grow up.

“The Felons’ Ball” is a well-choreographed, entertaining story.