Fiction Review

Alison Goodman’s The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

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Although Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed both authors to a virtual event for the bookstore, C.S. Harris was guest host for Alison Goodman. Goodman is kicking off a new Regency mystery series with The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. You can order copies of this first book in the series through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3C6O4oB

Here’s the summary of The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies.

A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an ‘old maid’ to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend’s goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.

The sisters set out to Caroline’s country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots and injures the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

Back in London, Gus can’t stop thinking about her unlikely (not to mention handsome) comrade-in-arms. She is convinced Lord Evan was falsely accused of murder, and she is going to prove it. She persuades Julia to join her in a quest to help Lord Evan, and others in need—society be damned! And so begins the beguiling secret life and adventures of the Colebrook twins.

Alison Goodman is the New York Times bestselling author of Eon and Eona and The Dark Days Club series.

Enjoy the conversation as the authors discuss the Regency period, in between the Georgian and repressive Victorian period.

T.J. Newman & Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 421

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed T.J. Newman back to the bookstore. Newman’s first novel, Falling, was a New York Times bestseller. Signed copies of her second book, Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 421, are available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/45Cs1DT

Here’s the description of Drowning.

“The first terrific thriller of 2023.” —James Patterson * “Spectacular…Taut, gripping.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * “Reads like Apollo 13 underwater.” —Don Winslow * “Masterful.” —Patricia Cornwell

Flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside—and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent—Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife—who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There’s not much time.

There’s even less air.

With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family’s desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them—against impossible odds.

T. J. Newman is a former bookseller and flight attendant whose first novel Falling became a publishing sensation and debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list. The book was named a best book of the year by USA TODAY and Esquire, among many others, and has been published in over thirty countries. The book will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. T. J. lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Drowning is her second novel.

Both of T.J. Newman’s books have been optioned for film. Are you sure you want to talk about flying before you read these books?

Claudia Gray discusses The Late Mrs. Willoughby

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Claudia Gray, a big Jane Austen fan. Gray is the author of The Late Mrs. Willoughby. Gray is also the author of The Murder of Mr. Wickham, and this is a sequel. There are signed copies of the novel in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/43v2Ilg

Here’s the description of The Late Mrs. Willoughby.

The suspenseful sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which sees Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunited, and with another mystery to solve: the dreadful poisoning of the scoundrel Willoughby’s new wife.

“An absolute page-turner full of well-plotted mystery and hints of simmering romance…. More of the Jane Austen characters we love (as well as those we love to hate).” —Mia P. Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo

Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young daughter Juliet out into the world again: the last house party she attended, at the home of the Knightleys, involved a murder—which Juliet helped solve. Particularly concerning is that she intends to visit her new friend Marianne Brandon, who’s returned home to Devonshire shrouded in fresh scandal—made more potent by the news that her former suitor, the rakish Mr. Willoughby, intends to take up residence at his local estate with his new bride.

Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley are thrilled that their eldest son, Jonathan—who, like his father, has not always been the most socially adept—has been invited to stay with his former schoolmate, John Willoughby. Jonathan himself is decidedly less taken with the notion of having to spend extended time under the roof of his old bully, but that all changes when he finds himself reunited with his fellow amateur sleuth, the radiant Miss Tilney. And when shortly thereafter, Willoughby’s new wife—whom he married for her fortune—dies horribly at the party meant to welcome her to town.

With rumors flying and Marianne—known to be both unstable and previously jilted by the dead woman’s newly made widower—under increased suspicion, Jonathan and Juliet must team up once more to uncover the murderer. But as they collect clues and close in on suspects, eerie incidents suggest that the killer may strike again, and that the pair are in far graver danger than they or their families could imagine.

CLAUDIA GRAY is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent. She is the writer of multiple young adult novels, including the Evernight series, the Firebird trilogy, and the Constellation trilogy. In addition, she’s written several Star Wars novels, such as Lost Stars and Bloodline, and is one of the story architects of the High Republic series. She makes her home in New Orleans with her husband Paul and assorted small dogs.

Gray discusses Jane Austen and fan fiction, as well as other topics. Enjoy!

Jaclyn Goldis with Guest Host Megan Collins

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Jaclyn Goldis and Megan Collins for a virtual event. Collins was guest host for Goldis, whose debut thriller is The Chateau, set in Provence. You can order copies of the book through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3qfnnLW

Here’s the description of The Chateau.

A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group’s deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?

Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for returning to the estate after all these years. Then, following a wild evening’s celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.

In the midst of this shocking crime, a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends’ intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.

As they race to uncover who murdered Séraphine—and is now stalking them—the friends begin to suspect each other. Because the chateau houses many secrets…several worth killing for.

Jaclyn Goldis is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and NYU Law. She practiced estate planning law at a large Chicago firm for seven years before leaving her job to travel the world and write novels. After culling her possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, she traveled for over a year until settling near the beach, where she can often be found writing from cafés.

Enjoy the conversation!

J.T. Ellison’s The Wolves Come at Night

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed J.T. Ellison back for a virtual event. Ellison talks about The Wolves Come at Night, her latest Taylor Jackson novel. It’s been ten years since the last one in the series. Ellison is with a new publisher, and Peters and Ellison talk about the book, and the publisher. You can pre-order a signed copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3q4XoXg

A detective on the brink.
An assassin out for revenge.
A desperate mother racing against the clock.

While the high-profile murder of a young country singer turns Nashville inside out, danger lurks in the woods beyond the city’s border. There was a witness to the terrible crime, a college student who stumbled onto the scene. When the girl goes missing, the police don’t know if she’s run for cover or been taken…or if something more sinister is happening.

The truth will shatter Taylor’s career and bring her face to face with a deadly assassin who wants nothing more than to finish what they started.

Taylor Jackson is back. And you’ve never seen her quite like this.

“Powered by unexpected twists, intriguing characters, a high-stakes plot, and the ultimate enemies-to-friends story, THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT is a true thrill ride. I loved it.”

—Jayne Ann Krentz, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary show A WORD ON WORDS. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 28 countries. She lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

“Taylor Jackson is back.” Enjoy the conversation.

Chris Hauty’s Latest Thriller, The Devil You Know

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Chris Hauty to talk about his latest thriller, The Devil You Know. There are signed copies of Hauty’s book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3CgOBEN

Here’s the description of The Devil You Know.

A Supreme Court justice is murdered and a conspiracy with potentially cataclysmic effects is uncovered in the latest of the nationally bestselling “edge-of-your-seat” (Book Riot) Hayley Chill series.

When a justice of the Supreme Court is killed by the police officer assigned to protect him, the country is shocked. Hayley Chill’s superiors suspect the assassination is part of a major conspiracy.

In Maui, where one member of the Supreme Court owns a vacation home, a busload of children is taken hostage with the justice’s death as ransom. Together with a deputy US marshal, Hayley embarks on the monumental task of rescuing the children while also protecting the justice. But with danger around every corner and no one to trust, has Hayley finally bitten off more than she can chew?

Chris Hauty’s debut, Deep State, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and Barry Award nominee. Other novels include the CALIBA Award–nominated Savage Road, and Storm Rising, as well as the acclaimed novella Insurrection Day. He currently lives in Glendale, California.

Enjoy the conversation!

Katherine Hall Page & The Body in the Web

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When Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Katherine Hall Page to the bookstore, she said that Page’s The Body in the Web is one of the best books she’d read about day-to-day life during a pandemic. The Body of the Web is the bookstore’s Cozy Crimes Pick for June. There are signed copies of the book available to order through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/43xyWMR

Here’s the summary of The Body in the Web.

In the 26th book in the award-winning Faith Fairchild Mysteries series, Katherine Hall Page’s beloved amateur detective is hunkered down with her family during the pandemic when a Zoom-bombing scandal sends the community into a tailspin … and a dead body is discovered.

Faith Fairchild joins the rest of the world in lockdown mode when reality flips in March 2020. As the pandemic spreads, Faith and her family readjust to life together in Aleford, Massachusetts. Her husband, Tom, continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who’s in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home .

Faith is happy to have her family under the same roof and grateful for her resilient community, friends, and neighbors in Aleford. Town halls remain lively and well-attended, despite residents joining from their living rooms. It is at one of these town halls that scandal breaks out. In the midst of a Zoom meeting, damaging images suddenly flash upon everyone’s screens. Claudia, local art teacher and Faith’s dear friend, is immediately recognized as the woman who has been targeted.

When Claudia is later discovered dead, Faith, with the help of her friends, journeys deep into the dark web to unravel the threads of Claudia’s mysterious history and shocking passing.  

Katherine Hall Page is the author of twenty-three previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. The Body in the Snowdrift was honored with the Agatha Award for best novel of 2006. Page also won an Agatha for her short story “The Would-Be Widower.” The recipient of the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement, she has been nominated for the Edgar, the Mary Higgins Clark, the Maine Literary, and the Macavity Awards. She lives in Massachusetts and Maine with her husband.

If you’re willing to read about the pandemic, Peters is right. This was a fascinating reminder of what we all went through. Enjoy the conversation.

T.J. Newman, A Teaser

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T. J. Newman, author of last year’s debut bestseller, Falling, is back this year with her latest novel, Drowning. She’ll be at The Poisoned Pen on Tuesday, May 30 from 7 to 8 PM. Signed copies of Drowning are available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/424OKWb

While you’re waiting for the event, you can check out Olivia Fierro’s podcast interview with Newman for “Arizona’s Family”. The podcast is part of “Olivia’s Book Club”. https://bit.ly/3q77dUI

Here’s the summary of Drowning.

“The first terrific thriller of 2023.” —James Patterson * “Spectacular…Taut, gripping.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * “Reads like Apollo 13 underwater.” —Don Winslow * “Masterful.” —Patricia Cornwell

Flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside—and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent—Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife—who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There’s not much time.

There’s even less air.

With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family’s desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them—against impossible odds.

T. J. Newman is a former bookseller and flight attendant whose first novel Falling became a publishing sensation and debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list. The book was named a best book of the year by USA TODAY and Esquire, among many others, and has been published in over thirty countries. The book will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. T. J. lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Drowning is her second novel. 

Ivy Pochoda’s Hot Book of the Week

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Ivy Pochoda’s Sing Her Down is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Patrick Millikin hosted her appearance for the bookstore. Pochoda said Patrick was the first person she talked with when she had the idea for this book. You can order a signed copy through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3qcXH2f

Here’s the description of Sing Her Down.

“I read everything Ivy Pochoda writes. Her capture of the complexities, diversities, and insanities of today’s life and culture is next to none. I loved Sing Her Down. The world will too.” —Michael Connelly, author of Desert Star

No Country for Old Men meets Killing Eve in this gritty, feminist Western thriller from the award-winning author of These Women.

Florence “Florida” Baum is not the hapless innocent she claims to be when she arrives at the Arizona women’s prison—or so her ex-cellmate, Diosmary Sandoval, keeps insinuating.

Dios knows the truth about Florida’s crimes, understands the truth that Florence hides even from herself: that she wasn’t a victim of circumstance, an unlucky bystander misled by a bad man. Dios knows that darkness lives in women too, despite the world’s refusal to see it. And she is determined to open Florida’s eyes and unleash her true self.

When an unexpected reprieve gives both women their freedom, Dios’s fixation on Florida turns into a dangerous obsession, and a deadly cat-and-mouse chase ensues from Arizona to the desolate streets of Los Angeles.

With blistering, incisive prose, the award-winning author Ivy Pochoda delivers a razor-sharp Western. Gripping and immersive, Sing Her Down is a spellbinding thriller setting two indelible women on a path to certain destruction and an epic, stunning showdown.

Ivy Pochoda is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Wonder Valley, Visitation
Street, and These Women. She won the 2018 Strand Critics Award for Best Novel and the
Prix Page America in France, and has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book
Prize and the Edgar Award, among other awards. For many years, Ivy taught creative
writing at Studio 526 in Los Angeles’s Skid Row. She is currently a professor of creative
writing at the University of California Riverside-Palm Desert low-residency MFA
program. She lives in Los Angeles.

Enjoy Millikin’s conversation with Ivy Pochoda.

Don Bentley discusses Tom Clancy Flash Point

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed authors Don Bentley and Brian Andrews for a recent event, then turned the hosting duties over to Andrews. Don Bentley’s latest book is Tom Clancy Flash Point. You can order signed copies through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/45rdE51

Here’s the description of Tom Clancy Flash Point.

If there’s one thing Jack Ryan, Jr’s father taught him, it’s that freedom isn’t free, but nothing can prepare Jack for the price he must pay in the latest electrifying entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Jack Ryan Jr. is in a world of trouble.  When a benign surveillance operation takes a deadly turn, Jack finds himself locked in a struggle with an unseen enemy bent on destroying the Campus.  The chase leads Jack to the South China Sea where a midair collision between aircraft from rival nations threatens to serve as a flash point for the entire region. As Jack frantically tries to put the pieces of the conspiracy together, the Campus is hit with a crippling attack.  When the dust settles, Jack is one of the few operators still standing and the Campus’s de facto leader. But the fight is just beginning. 

As tensions escalate, Jack’s mysterious adversary executes a brilliant campaign to paralyze the American government even as China inches closer to invading Taiwan.  With the odds stacked against him and no help in sight, Jack and his shattered team must stop the world’s two remaining super powers from stumbling into war even as the noose around the Campus grows ever tighter.
Every operation has a cost.

This time the bill might just be too much to pay.

Thirty-five years ago Tom Clancy was a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history. Years before, he had been an English major at Baltimore’s Loyola College and had always dreamed of writing a novel. His first effort, The Hunt for Red October, sold briskly as a result of rave reviews, then catapulted onto the New York Times bestseller list after President Reagan pronounced it “the perfect yarn.” From that day forward, Clancy established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. He passed away in October 2013.

Don Bentley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Matt Drake series (Forgotten War, Hostile Intent, The Outside Man, Without Sanction) and three Tom Clancy novels. Bentley spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot and deployed to Afghanistan as an Air Cavalry Troop Commander.  Following his time in the military, Bentley worked as an FBI special agent and was a SWAT team member.  Bentley is also a graduate of the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction MFA program.  He resides in Austin, Texas with his family.  Learn more at www.donbentleybooks.com.

Enjoy the conversation about writing in another author’s universe.