Fiction Review

The European Union Intellectual Property Office recently released a report saying €1.3 billion is lost every year across the EU due to fake spirits and wine. That report “shows that 4.4% of legitimate sales of spirits and 2.3% of legitimate sales of wine are lost each year due to counterfeiting of alcoholic drinks. Those lost sales translate into 4,800 jobs directly lost across the spirits and wine sectors in the EU, as legitimate manufacturers employ fewer people than they would have done in the absence of counterfeiting.”

Sound familiar? It might, if you read Jeffrey Siger’s Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mysteries. Here’s the description of his last book, Devil of Delphi.

Delphi once stood at the center of the world, a mountainous, verdant home to the gods, where kings and warriors journeyed to hear its Oracle speak. The Oracle embodied the decree of the gods—or at least the word of Apollo. To disobey risked…everything.

Young Athenian Kharon chooses modern Delphi to rebuild his life among its rolling hills and endless olive groves. But his dark past is too celebrated, and his assassin’s skills so in demand, that his fate does not rest entirely in his own hands. Greece is being flooded with bomba, counterfeits of the most celebrated alcoholic beverages and wine brands. The legitimate annual trillion-dollar world market is in peril. So, too, are consumers—someone is not just counterfeiting booze, but adulterating it, often with poisonous substances. Who is masterminding this immensely lucrative conspiracy?

Kharon learns who when the ruthless criminal gives him no choice but to serve her. Her decrees are as absolute as the Oracle’s, and as fearsomely punished. Kharon agrees, but dictates his own payoff. And his own methods, which allow his targets some choice in the outcomes.

When Kharon unexpectedly shoots a member of one of Greece’s richest, most feared families, he draws Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis into the eye of a political and media firestorm threatening to bring down Greece’s government. Think “Breaking Bad,” Greek-style.

*****

Jeffrey always seems to have his pulse on Greece’s problems. You can order a signed copy or a paperback of Devil of Delphi through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2b2rtAS

Watch here for an interview with Jeffrey Siger, and information about the new Andreas Kaldis mystery, Santorini Caesars, due out in September.

Lucy Feldman recently wrote a post for the Wall Street Journal called “Three Approaches to Thriller Writing”. She discusses three authors who are hot this month, Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me, Blake Crouch, the author of Dark Matter, and the man she calls “The Franchise Player”, James Patterson. You can find the article here. https://www.wsj.com/articles/three-approaches-to-thriller-writing-1469122570

And you will find books by the authors through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Lisa Scottoline kicked off her book tour for Damaged at The Poisoned Pen. Damaged is the latest Rosato & DiNunzio novel.

We have pictures from this program, beginning with Scottoline signing books in the back room. That’s quite a few books to sign!

Then, there’s that long walk from the front of the store.

Patrick Millikin introduced Lisa Scottoline.

The blurb on the Web Store’s page says, “Damaged finds Mary DiNunzio, partner at the all-female law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio, embroiled in one of her most heartbreaking cases yet.” Here’s Lisa talking about the book.

It was a full house for the event.

I’ve been in one of those signing lines for Lisa Scottoline. She’s funny and kind.

If you missed the event, you can watch it via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/5722768  This is one event you really want to listen to, if you’ve never heard Lisa Scottoline.

As always, we have signed copies of Damaged available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2bkVtWs

Michael Koryta appears at the Poisoned Pen at 7 PM on Thursday, Aug. 18 on his book tour for Rise the Dark.

But, before he appears here, he appeared at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch. This article appeared in Shelf Awareness on July 1.

Image of the Day: Michael Koryta, Bronx Bomber

photo courtesy New York Yankees On Tuesday night, suspense author Michael Koryta threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium before the game against the Texas Rangers. (Shelf Awareness judged it a strike!) He also signed copies of his most recent book, Last Words (Little, Brown), and some 10,000 fans were given cards for downloading an e-book version of Koryta’s The Last Prophet, the first e-book promotion of its kind in major league sports.

Now, Koryta will be here at the store pitching to readers. If you’d like a signed copy of Rise the Dark, you can purchase it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2blguR3

Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist, now brings us Surrender, New York, in which one of the characters is an expert on Laszlo Kreizler, the Alienist. Release date is August 23.

You can read Michael Connelly’s review of the dense thriller in The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/2aV1MvO

And, of course, you can order the book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2b75Exr

Following her award nominations, Beth Cato will be appearing at the Poisoned Pen to discuss Breath of Earth, her alternate history set in San Francisco in 1906. She’ll be at the Poisoned Pen on Monday, August 22 at 7 PM.

AZCentral.com just published an excellent interview with Cato by Michael Senft. Here’s the link if you would like to read it. https://bit.ly/2aTgMuh

Even if you can’t get to the Poisoned Pen on August 22, you can order a signed copy of Beth Cato’s Breath of Earth through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2aUIrRn

Rhys Bowen recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to discuss her latest Royal Spyness book, Crowned and Dangerous.

For those of you who were unable to be at the bookstore that night, the program is published on Livestream if you’d like to watch it.

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Don’t forget, you can get signed copies of Crowned and Dangerous through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Kristopher Zgorski is the writer/owner of the blog BOLO Books, https://bolobooks.com/. “The blog name comes from the common police acronym meaning “be on the look out.” (or “be on the lookout” ““ depending on your source). This is especially appropriate in this case, as this blog will focus on books in the mystery and thriller genre.” Kristopher recently joined the team at the eZine Shots (based in the UK) as a US contributor and his reviews often re-run in Crimespree Magazine. He also has a regular column ““ Central Booking ““ in Deadly Pleasures Magazine.

Kristopher and I, along with fellow blogger Dru Ann Love, have worked on a couple projects together on our blogs. When he asked if I still wanted some book suggestions for “Every Summer Has a Story”, I was eager to see what he would suggest for readers.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I can still remember reading this book over the July 4^th weekend in 2004. I was instantly gripped by the writing within this novel and the group of young boarding school students who inhabit it. To this day, The Secret History remains the “modern” book I have read the most times (only Jane Eyre exceeds this). I try to revisit it every other year or so and every time I find something new that impresses me.

The “In Death” Series by JD Robb

Everybody knows that JD Robb is the crime fiction pen name of Nora Roberts. This series makes for perfect summer reading. Almost every book in the very long-running series (I think we are up to 50+ novels at this point) is compulsively readable without becoming too demanding. The characters (including the villains) are always fascinating. And Nora’s romantic side shows through in some of the sexiest scenes found in crime fiction.

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns

Perfect for those that love a book they can get lost in, The Burn Palace is almost impossible to describe. It’s the story of a town filled with corruption and mysticism. Imagine Stephen King writing a novel with Harper Lee and having James Michener heading up the research team. Dobyns’ prose reads like poetry, where every word is chosen for maximum impact. By the end, readers will feel like they know these characters and will be sad to have to let them go.

Thank you, Kristopher.

These items, including the unabridged audio book of Stephen Dobyns’ The Burn Palace, are available through The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/    Don’t forget to check with us when looking to purchase books.

The best way to find new authors or crime novels is still to talk with the staff at The Poisoned Pen. They’ll be glad to talk to you about your interests and help you find books you might like. But, if you can’t get into the store from where you live, or it’s the middle of the night and you’re looking for something new, try my favorite website, Stop, You’re Killing Me! https://www.stopyourekillingme.com

Looking for a list of award winners? You’ll find the Edgars, Agathas, Macavities, and others listed. You can only remember the name of the character you like, but not the author? The index for the site is by author or character. Are you looking for a mystery set in the 1920s? Try the Historical Index. Find mysteries set in Oklahoma or Greece. That’s the Location Index. There’s a Genre Index to help you find Police Procedurals or Thrillers.

For those of us who enjoy reading crime novels in order, though, there’s nothing like clicking on an author’s name, finding the complete list of a series, award nominations and wins, and everything is in order.

If you love crime novels, and are always looking for more, check out https://www.stopyourekillingme.com

You may have seen them on Reddit, but, if not, Atlas Obscura (www.atlasobscura.com) recently shared them in an article. Here’s the story of Abigail Goldman’s miniature crime scene dioramas. Or, as she says, a “Dieorama”. https://bit.ly/2b8eCJH