Fiction Review

Joseph Finder had an intriguing article in The Washington Post on Sunday. It’s called, “The Trump era is posing some major challenges for thriller novelists.” https://wapo.st/2t5kIES

However, Finder has a book out (written before the Trump era), and signed copies of The Switch are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2t5PWM0

 

Susan M. Boyer won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel for Lowcountry Boil. Now, the sixth novel in the series is out, Lowcountry Bonfire. Susan was kind enough to agree to an interview.

Susan, would you introduce yourself to the readers?

Hey everyone! I’m Susan Boyer, and I write the Liz Talbot Mystery Series. I’m originally from North Carolina, but have lived in South Carolina for nearly thirty years. I’ve had a lifelong love affair with books, mysteries in particular. But before I wrote them, my day job was in computer business systems. My husband, Jim, and I have four grown children. We live in the Upstate of South Carolina, but spend a good bit of time in the Lowcountry, near Charleston.

I can’t believe you’re already up to #6 in the Liz Talbot series. Would you introduce us to Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews?

Liz Talbot was born and raised in the small town of Stella Maris, on the coast of South Carolina. She graduated from Clemson University (folks from South Carolina, I sent her brother, Blake, to Carolina) and she met her partner, Nate Andrews, there. After graduation, she and Nate interned with the same private investigator in Greenville, and later started their own firm. Nate grew up in Greenville, and he has some trouble with their eventual transition to the Lowcountry. Liz and Nate are very good at their job. But they have some challenges with her quirky extended family. Oh, and her best friend, Colleen, who’s been dead for eighteen years.  

Tell us about Lowcountry Bonfire, without spoilers.

Tammy Sue Lyerly, a Stella Maris resident, hires Liz and Nate because Tammy suspects her husband, Zeke, of infidelity. She’s hired them before, and they’ve caught Zeke red-handed engaging in some crazy shenanigans, but not adultery. But this time is different. The day after Liz and Nate deliver the incriminating photos, Tammy Sue piles his clothes inside his classic Mustang convertible and lights a match. When Zeke turns up dead, Tammy Sue is the prime suspect. Liz and Nate are hired by the town of Stella Maris to help with the investigation. They’re convinced Tammy Sue is innocent, but everyone liked Zeke. It’s a real puzzle who might’ve killed him.

Tell us about Stella Maris, please.

Stella Maris is an island in my imagination. It sits just north of Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina. The town that occupies the island is a quintessential small Southern town—a modern Mayberry—but it’s on a beautiful island. I created Stella Maris because I wanted Liz Talbot to have a small-town background, but I wanted her to live at the beach because I love the beach so much. I situated the town close enough to Charleston so that Liz could work many of her cases there. I knew I could only drop so many bodies in my small town before it became unbelievable.

Can you give us a hint about the next book in the series?

I’m working on that now. Lowcountry Bonfire takes place mostly in Stella Maris, with only a few scenes in Charleston. In the next book, Liz and Nate will be working in Charleston again. I have out my list of words that start with “bo” and I’m trying to zero in on a title. A couple I’m toying with are boondoggle and boomerang.

Your first book, Lowcountry Boil, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Tell us about learning about the nomination. I’m sure you remember where you were, and how you reacted. Who did you tell first?

Oh my stars! I’ll never forget that as long as I live. Jim and I were at our friends’ house watching the Super Bowl. I left the room to take the call, which came to my cell phone. I was so stunned and excited. I was jumping up and down. Of course I told Jim and our friends. Then I called Kendel Lynn, my editor at Henery Press.

When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?

It was my dream as a child. When it was time to go to college, I understood that I couldn’t study writing and then graduate and have a guaranteed paycheck publishing novels. Even then I knew publishing didn’t work that way. And I had no interest in journalism. I wanted to make things up. At first I thought I might teach English and write in the summer. But computer programming was more practical.

What authors have inspired you?

The list is so long. A few names that come immediately to mind are Charlaine Harris, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Sue Grafton.

It’s obvious you love South Carolina. Where do you take people when they come to visit?

In Greenville, we go downtown and have dinner in one of the Main Street restaurants, then drive up to the mountains. Sometimes we’ll see a musical at The Peace Center. In Charleston it’s usually the beach.

What author would you like to recommend who you think has been underappreciated?

I love Gretchen Archer’s casino capers. They’re hilarious escapism, but often she also works in thought-provoking topics. She’s sneaky like that.

*****

Susan M. Boyer’s website is https://www.susanmboyer.com/. Check the Web Store to order her books. https://bit.ly/2st2vPf

 

Miraculous Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards, is The Poisoned Pen’s Hot Book of the Week.

Here’s the summary from the Web Store.

Impossible crime stories have been relished by puzzle-lovers ever since the invention of detective fiction. Fiendishly intricate cases were particularly well suited to the cerebral type of detective story that became so popular during the ‘golden age of murder’ between the two world wars. But the tradition goes back to the days of Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins, and impossible crime stories have been written by such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham.

This anthology celebrates their work, alongside long-hidden gems by less familiar writers. Together these stories demonstrate the range and high accomplishment of the classic British impossible crime story over more than half a century.

*****

Interested? You can order a copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2t3aSnB

Fiona Barton will be at The Poisoned Pen on Saturday, July 22 at 2 PM to discuss her new novel of psychological suspense, The Child.

Here’s the summary of the book from the Web Store.

One of Time‘s “Top 10 Thrillers to Read This Summer”

The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense.

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?

As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.

But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn—house by house—into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women—and torn between what she can and cannot tell…

*****

Interested? For a quick sneak peek of the July 22 event, you can watch Fiona Barton talk about writing on Author Shorts. https://bit.ly/2sPT0Mx

And, you can pre-order The Child through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2t2W7RQ

James W. Ziskin and Christine Carbo were just at The Poisoned Pen for a discussion and signing.

Ziskin signed the latest Ellie Stone novel, Cast the First Stone. The Weight of Night is the latest mystery in Carbo’s series set in Glacier National Park.

Here are the authors discussing their books with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

There are signed copies of Cast the First Stone and The Weight of Night available through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

I know I’ve been mentioning Joseph Kanon frequently here lately, but I have one more piece to share. There’s a delightful interview with him in “By the Book” in the New York Times. If you enjoy his books, you might want to check out the interview. https://nyti.ms/2tqVLkf

And, don’t forget you can order a signed copy of Defectors through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2rFFQ5j

Joseph Finder, author of the thriller, The Switch, and Karen Dionne, author of the novel of psychological suspense, The Marsh King’s Daughter, recently had a conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. You can watch that conversation via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7512694

Then, you can order signed copies of their books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Did you miss Joseph Kanon when he was at The Poisoned Pen to discuss his latest book, Defectors?

You can still get a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2rFFQ5j

And, we have a few photos to share.

Did you miss Martin Walker’s appearance at The Poisoned Pen when he was here to talk about his latest Bruno novel, The Templars’ Last Secret? You can still feel as if you were there by watching it on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7348145

The conversations are always about so much more than the most recent book. This time, Walker and The Poisoned Pen’s owner, Barbara Peters, kick off their conversation with politics and treason.

Watch the Livestream. Then, if you’d like a signed copy of the book, you can order it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2sFBF9o

It’s hard to love books and not also love libraries. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, and a world traveler, passed on David Laskin’s recent New York Times article, “The Hidden Treasures in Italian Libraries”. Take a look, and you may fall in love with these libraries as well. https://nyti.ms/2siOk19