Fiction Review

You can order a signed copy of Steve Berry’s The Lost Order through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2pegk14

Curious? Here’s the summary.

The Knights of the Golden Circle was the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history. It amassed billions in stolen gold and silver, all buried in caches across the United States. Since 1865 treasure hunters have searched, but little of that immense wealth has ever been found.

Now, 160 years later, two factions of what remains of the Knights of the Golden Circle want that lost treasure-one to spend it for their own ends, the other to preserve it.

Thrust into this battle is former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone, whose connection to the knights is deeper than he ever imagined. At the center is the Smithsonian Institution-linked to the knights, its treasure, and Malone himself through an ancestor, a Confederate spy named Angus “Cotton” Adams, whose story holds the key to everything. Complicating matters are the political ambitions of a reckless Speaker of the House and the bitter widow of a United States Senator, who are planning radical changes to the country. And while Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt face the past, ex-president Danny Daniels and Stephanie Nelle confront a new and unexpected challenge, a threat that may cost one of them their life.

From the backrooms of the Smithsonian to the deepest woods in Arkansas, and finally up into the mountains of New Mexico,  The Lost Order is a perilous adventure into our country’s dark past, and a potentially darker future.

If you didn’t join the audience at The Poisoned Pen when Lisa See appeared here, you missed her discussion about her latest book, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.

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

A thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple.

Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. There is ritual and routine, and it has been ever thus for generations. Then one day a jeep appears at the village gate—the first automobile any of them have seen—and a stranger arrives.

In this remote Yunnan village, the stranger finds the rare tea he has been seeking and a reticent Akha people. In her biggest seller, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, See introduced the Yao people to her readers. Here she shares the customs of another Chinese ethnic minority, the Akha, whose world will soon change. Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, translates for the stranger and is among the first to reject the rules that have shaped her existence. When she has a baby outside of wedlock, rather than stand by tradition, she wraps her daughter in a blanket, with a tea cake hidden in her swaddling, and abandons her in the nearest city.

After mother and daughter have gone their separate ways, Li-yan slowly emerges from the security and insularity of her village to encounter modern life while Haley grows up a privileged and well-loved California girl. Despite Haley’s happy home life, she wonders about her origins; and Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. They both search for and find answers in the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for generations.

A powerful story about a family, separated by circumstances, culture, and distance, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and celebrates the bond that connects mothers and daughters.

*****

You might have missed the program, but you can still see the pictures.

Even better, you can watch the event via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7204509

And, of course we have signed copies of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2o7pX2s

Eric Norton’s article in the March 27 issue of Publishers Weekly is a timely topic. It’s called “From Russia with Love?: Mysteries and Thrillers 2017”.  https://bit.ly/2o1n5Ea    Watch for books such as Joseph Kanon’s Defectors (June), and a reprint of Ted Allbeury’s The Twentieth Day of January.

Kanon is scheduled to appear at The Poisoned Pen in June. And, here’s the summary of Allbeury’s book, originally published in the U.K. in 1981.

It’s 1980 and the Cold War continues to rage. Seemingly out of nowhere, wealthy businessman Logan Powell has become President-elect and is only weeks away from assuming the most powerful position in the world on the twentieth day of January. Across the Atlantic, veteran British intelligence agent James MacKay uncovers shocking evidence that suggests something might be terribly wrong with the election. With the help of a reluctant CIA, MacKay sets out on a dangerous and daring mission to discover if the unthinkable has occurred: is President-elect Powell actually a puppet of the Soviet Union?
Written by the bestselling author of The Crossing and Pay Any Price, this remarkably plausible thriller offers a heady mix of political intrigue and intense suspense — with the very future of America and the free world hanging in the balance.

Looking for other books that deal with Russia. Check the Web Store if you’re looking for a particular author or title.  https://store.poisonedpen.com/  And, if you don’t know exactly what you want to read, talk to the staff at The Poisoned Pen.

Do you recognize Peter Heller’s name? He’s the author of The Dog Stars and The Painter. His new book, Celine, is The Poisoned Pen’s Hot Book of the Week.

Here’s the description from the Web Store.

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars and The Painter, a luminous, masterful novel of suspense–the story of Celine, an elegant, aristocratic private eye who specializes in reuniting families, trying to make amends for a loss in her own past.

Working out of her jewel box of an apartment at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, Celine has made a career of tracking down missing persons, and she has a better record at it than the FBI. But when a young woman, Gabriela, asks for her help, a world of mystery and sorrow opens up. Gabriela’s father was a photographer who went missing on the border of Montana and Wyoming. He was assumed to have died from a grizzly mauling, but his body was never found. Now, as Celine and her partner head to Yellowstone National Park, investigating a trail gone cold, it becomes clear that they are being followed–that this is a case someone desperately wants to keep closed. Inspired by the life of Heller’s own remarkable mother, a chic and iconoclastic private eye, Celine is a deeply personal novel, a wildly engrossing story of family, privilege, and childhood loss. Combining the exquisite plotting and gorgeous evocation of nature that have become his hallmarks, Peter Heller gives us his finest work to date.

We have signed copies of Celine. They’re available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2p32gYj

If you haven’t read Rhys Bowen’s historical standalone, In Farleigh Field, we can give you a hint.

“A family torn apart by war. A traitor in their midst. Watch the official book trailer for In Farleigh Field, New York Times bestseller Rhys Bowen’s riveting saga of love, deceit, and family bonds. ”

Check out the trailer on YouTube. https://youtu.be/emtXBH_9okg

Did it catch your attention? You can buy a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2oG4X2G

 

I recently asked several authors to talk about the country they write about in their books.  When I think “April in Paris”, I immediately think of Cara Black and her Aimée Leduc Investigations. Cara took the time to write a post.

Almost spring time in Paris and time for crime. Daffodils are popping up and that goes for crime fiction. Especially in April, which rides the coattails of the Paris March book fair celebrated as Salon du Livres, the annual uber Paris book publication party of hundreds of French books. Some ancient decree or Ministry directive decided that once a year the French publishers will birth their product to inundate the market for the rest of the year. So in April, you’ll find readers, the French love books, on the buses, the Metro in the parks buried in a book. I really noticed in Paris how so many people read on public transport and in the park.

Speaking of crime fiction, my detective Aimée Leduc, these days with a baby, only has time to read Parent how-to books while her partner René Friant, who is an ardent bibliophile loves Agatha Christie. I’ve had fun with this in the series and the interplay between them – he loves literary fiction and thrillers and she’s always teasing him about that. In Murder in Saint Germain, Aimée’s next investigation, it’s a plot point because René likens surveillance to a Georges Perec novel – nothing happens – and I can’t reveal how, but it stimulates a discovery.

The Poisoned Pen made it’s first foray into theater when Tom Leveen appeared here with his new release, Hellworld.

Here’s the description of the event, as it appeared on the calendar listing.

Join us for first ever LIT OUT LOUD event and publication party for Tom Leveen’s newest book, Hellworld!

Author Tom Leveen is also a 22-year veteran of local theatre, having been the artistic director of both Is What Is Theatre and Chyro Arts Venue. For one night only, in celebration of the release of his newest novel HELLWORLD, Tom brings together a group of local actors he’s worked with before and will present a live performance showcase of short horror stories, both classical and original. And maybe, if we’re lucky (unlucky?) enough, Tom will also read one of his first stories, written in 1988, and hold it up for public mockery! It’s a an hour of both chills and laughs suitable for people over 13. Don’t miss it!

The pictures show a fun event with a cast of readers.

A nice audience showed up, bought the book, and waited patiently in the signing line.

To truly get the feeling of the event, you should watch it on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7192476

You can buy a signed copy of Tom Leveen’s Hellworld through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2nxjsVp

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Joe Ide, the author of IQ, back to host another debut author. Melissa Scrivner Love is the author of Lola.

Here’s the description of Lola.

An astonishing debut crime thriller about an unforgettable woman who combines the genius and ferocity of Lisbeth Salander with the ruthless ambition of Walter White

The Crenshaw Six are a small but up-and-coming gang in South Central LA who have recently been drawn into an escalating war between rival drug cartels. To outsiders, the Crenshaw Six appear to be led by a man named Garcia . . . but what no one has figured out is that the gang’s real leader (and secret weapon) is Garcia’s girlfriend, a brilliant young woman named Lola. Lola has mastered playing the role of submissive girlfriend, and in the man’s world she inhabits she is consistently underestimated. But in truth she is much, much smarter–and in many ways tougher and more ruthless–than any of the men around her, and as the gang is increasingly sucked into a world of high-stakes betrayal and brutal violence, her skills and leadership become their only hope of survival.

Lola marks the debut of a hugely exciting new thriller writer, and of a singular, magnificent character unlike anyone else in fiction.

We’d like to introduce the authors.

We have books by both authors in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

And, best of all, if you’d like to feel as if you were at the event, you can watch it on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/7196605

C.J. Box was just here, appearing at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort for The Poisoned Pen. He’s on book tour for Vicious Circle, the new Joe Pickett novel.

Thanks to all of you who bought books, Vicious Circle appears at #2 on The New York Times Best Seller List on April 9.

If you weren’t able to make it, you can buy a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2nag7xV

Box has appeared at The Poisoned Pen with every one of his books. Here are a few photos from his latest appearance.

Robert Anglen from The Arizona Republic interviewed C.J. Box for the event.

If you have time, you can watch the entire event on Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/6962963

Are you a fan of Scandinavian crime fiction? The shortlist was just announced for The Petrona Award 2017. The award is given to outstanding crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The winning title will be announced at CrimeFest, held in Bristol, England in May. Here are the nominees and the information. https://bit.ly/2no62Lx

At the moment, the Web Store carries four of the titles. If you’re interested in reading the nominated books, why don’t you start with those four? https://store.poisonedpen.com/