Fiction Review

Why wouldn’t The Poisoned Pen want to celebrate all things Sherlock Holmes? Here’s information for Phoenix-area fans.

Sherlock Holmes Film Festival presented by Herberger Theater and ASU Center for Film, Media and Popular Culture March 24 & 25, 2017

In celebration of the great detective with piercing observation and deduction skills, we are featuring four films of the popular and immortal stories of Sherlock Holmes spanning 100 years. Discussion and Q&A with world renowned silent film composer Donald Sosin, Sherlock Holmes scholar Russell Merritt and Jeffrey Hatcher, screenwriter of Mr. Holmes and playwright of the upcomingHolmes and Watson produced by Arizona Theatre Company. Whether you are a first-timer or devoted Sherlockian, join us for a weekend of delightful mystery, intrigue and some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most unforgettable characters. VIP Festival Pass Admission to five films, discussion/Q&A’s and more General Admission: $40.00 VIP Reception – Friday, March 24 6:00pm $20.00 Includes: one drink voucher, appetizers and opportunity to meet world renowned silent film composer and accompanist Donald Sosin and Sherlock Holmes scholar Russell Merritt. Sherlock Holmes (1916 – silent film with live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin) 7:30pm General Admission – $20.00 When a couple of swindlers hold young Alice Faulkner against her will in order to discover the whereabouts of letters that could spell scandal for the royal family, Sherlock Holmes is on the case. Until 2014, all versions of this film were long-thought lost. This newly-restored edition of Berthelet’s silent film is one of the earliest appearances of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective. Accompanied with live music composed and performed by Donald Sosin. Mr. Sosin performs each October at the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy, and every July at Bologna’s Cinema Ritrovato. Saturday, March 25 Four films throughout the day with Q&A following select films. $5.00-$10.00/per film For the full schedule, click here. Purchase tickets online or call 602.252.8497.

Cozy Crime Spree

Jacqueline Winspear actually kicked off her book tour for In This Grave Hour at The Poisoned Pen the day before release date (with permission from the publishers). Those of us in attendance were able to buy copies, but told not to read them until midnight (smile).

There are some photos of this event.

If you didn’t have a chance to get to the program, you can watch it on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/6962952

And, you can order a signed copy of In This Grave Hour through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mXsQnN

Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader, is at The Poisoned Pen on Wednesday, March 15 at 7 PM, on book tour for her new book, The Fifth Petal.

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

Beloved author Brunonia Barry returns to the world of THE LACE READER with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?

*****

Barry is giving away copies of her new book. Here’s her note.

Dear Reader,

The 2014 death of a teenage boy reopens Salem’s most famous cold case, the 1989 Halloween murders of three young women, all descended from victims of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. With the accusation of Rose Whelan, once a renowned scholar who has fallen on hard times, the story becomes a modern day witch-hunt. A triple mystery with mythical roots, The Fifth Petal stands alone, but fans of The Lace Reader will welcome familiar characters.

I’m giving away five books. Write to me at [email protected].

Brunonia Barry

www.BrunoniaBarry.com

If you’re not lucky enough to win a copy, or you expect you won’t, you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2nqhNBj

Cara Black, author of the Aimee Leduc series, recently appeared at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library in an event co-sponsored by The Poisoned Pen. Here was Black’s topic.

Explore the unique districts that inspired the Series Aimée Leduc with the author Cara Black as she dives into her research process, being an outsider in France, and her new novel Murder on the Quai.

Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 14 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris. Cara has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year citation, the Médaille de la Ville de Paris—the Paris City Medal, which is awarded in recognition of contribution to international culture—and invitations to be the Guest of Honor at conferences such as the Paris Polar Crime Festival and Left Coast Crime. With more than 400,000 books in print, the Aimée Leduc series has been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew.

You might not have been able to make the event, but you can still order a signed copy of Murder on the Quai through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mYAeQ8

Authors Amy Engel (The Roanoke Girls) and Isabella Maldonado (Blood’s Echo) recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to discuss their books.

Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen joined bookstore owner Barbara Peters to interview the authors.

Maldonado’s Blood’s Echo is a debut, kicking off the Veranda Cruz series, set in Phoenix. Here’s the summary from the Web Store.

Whenever the lust for drugs, money, and power lays claim to a city, brutality is never far behind. Phoenix detective Veranda Cruz is dead set on taking down the Villalobos Cartel, but the ruthlessness of her quarry demands a ruthless edge of her own.

Detective Veranda Cruz leads an elite task force on the Phoenix Police Drug Enforcement Bureau. Bartolo Villalobos is the heir apparent to the most powerful cartel in the world. No one in the department suspects the secret motive behind Veranda’s obsession with the cartel . . . until an operation goes horribly wrong.

Targeted by an increasingly unstable drug lord, Veranda must protect her family and stay clear of adversaries within the force while she sets a trap for Bartolo. As the desert action heats up, Veranda and her new Homicide team—along with an arson investigator who kindles a flame for her—are all drawn into a deadly gambit. Taking down Bartolo is the ultimate goal, but is Veranda ready to trade life for justice?

Praise:

“Maldonado ratchets up the tension with each page, leaving you breathless as you race to the end.”—Robin Burcell, bestselling author of The Kill Order

“Isabella Maldonado is off to a great start, giving us a tense thriller with a strong sense of place and an insider’s look at some of the most dangerous work in law enforcement. This first Veranda Cruz novel will leave readers eagerly awaiting her next adventure.”—Jan Burke, New York Times bestselling author

“The Phoenix sun isn’t the only thing burning in this thrilling debut and I look forward to more.”—Shannon Baker, bestselling author of the Kate Fox mystery series

“Maldonado has crafted a top-notch thriller that will have police procedural junkies and thrill-seekers turning page after page, late into the night.”—Maegan Beaumont, award-winning author of Carved in Darkness

*****

Here’s the summary of Amy Engel’s The Roanoke Girls.

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

After her mother’s suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother’s mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran…fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

*****

Signed copies of both books, Blood’s Echo and The Roanoke Girls, can be ordered through the Web Store.  https://store.poisonedpen.com

You might not have seen the Livestream yet of Tim Dorsey. He was at The Poisoned Pen for the first time in years, on book tour for Clownfish Blues.

We do have photos from the event.

If you missed the Livestream event, you can still watch it. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/6962949

And, you can order signed copies of Clownfish Blues, and copies of Dorsey’s other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mMvwos

Well, if you know Brad Parks, you know Say Nothing is an odd title for him. (Not kidding, Brad.)

Brad was just here at The Poisoned Pen to talk about his new book.  Say Nothing is a departure for him. It’s a thriller, not a Carter Ross mystery. He explains why in his conversation with bookstore owner, Barbara Peters, via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7110430

Here’s the summary of the book, as it appears at the Web Store.

“Terrific book. Truly terrific. Tension throughout and tears at the end. What could be better than that?”—Sue Grafton
 
“Outstanding—starts with a bang and gets tenser and tenser. Say Nothing shows Parks is a quality writer at the top of his form.”—Lee Child

Judge Scott Sampson doesn’t brag about having a perfect life, but the evidence is clear: A prestigious job. A beloved family. On an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, he is about to pick up his six-year-old twins to go swimming when his wife, Alison, texts him that she’ll get the kids from school instead.

It’s not until she gets home later that Scott realizes she doesn’t have the children. And she never sent the text. Then the phone rings, and every parent’s most chilling nightmare begins. A man has stolen Sam and Emma. A man who warns the judge to do exactly as he is told in a drug case he is about to rule on. If the judge fails to follow his instructions, the consequences for the children will be dire.

For Scott and Alison, the kidnapper’s call is only the beginning of a twisting, gut-churning ordeal of blackmail, deceit, and terror; a high-profile trial like none the judge or his wife has ever experienced. Their marriage falters. Suspicions and long-buried jealousies rise to the surface. Fractures appear. Lies are told.

Through it all, Scott and Alison will stop at nothing to get their children back, no matter the cost to themselves . . . or to each other.
 
“A twisting, suspenseful ride that adds a new and original twist to the legal thriller: a judge, cornered. If you haven’t discovered Brad Parks yet, Say Nothing is your chance. Smart, propulsive storytelling.”—William Landay

*****

We have a few pictures of Brad with Barbara prior to and during the event.

And, then there’s Brad with the book stock.

You can order signed copies of Say Nothing through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mG6Yxh

Author Lisa See is going to be at the Tucson Festival of Books on Sunday, March 12 talking about her new book, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.

Before she appears there, she made time for an interview on Goodreads. You can learn how See came up with the idea for the book. Find out about her research. https://bit.ly/2m3PtUt

Even if you can’t make it to Tucson, you can order a signed copy The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, or copies of See’s other books, through our Web Store. https://bit.ly/2mD4DTA