Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen recently welcomed Dwyer Murphy, author of The Stolen Coast. There are signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/43vRQTL
Millikin says The Stolen Coast is a fun crime novel. Check out the summary.
Adrift in a sleepy coastal Massachusetts town, a man who ferries fugitives by day gets twisted up in a plot to pilfer diamonds in this Casablanca-infused heist novel.
“A twisty, enthralling heist yarn . . . [Murphy] deftly conjures a universe of hucksters and operators that’s sodden with atmosphere, crisscrossed with shadows (literal and moral) and loaded with the threat of a double cross any time . . . Through it all, Murphy’s language is precise and evocative, with nary a word set wrong. . . . smart and satisfying.” —The New York Times
Jack might be a polished, Harvard-educated lawyer on paper, but everyone in the down-at-the-heels, if picturesque, village of Onset, Massachusetts, knows his real job: moving people on the run from powerful enemies. The family business—co-managed with his father, a retired spy—is smooth sailing, as they fill up Onset’s holiday homes during the town’s long, drowsy off-season and help clients shed their identities in preparation for fresh starts.
But when Elena, Jack’s former flame—a dedicated hustler who’s no stranger to the fugitive life—makes an unexpected return to town, her arrival upends Jack’s routine existence. Elena, after all, doesn’t go anywhere without a scheme in mind, and it isn’t long before Jack finds himself enmeshed in her latest project: intercepting millions of dollars’ worth of raw diamonds before they’re shipped overseas.
Infusing a fast-paced plot with sharp wit and stylish prose, CrimeReads editor-in-chief Dwyer Murphy serves up an irresistible page-turner as full of heart as it is of drama.
Dwyer Murphy is the author of An Honest Living, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub’s crime fiction vertical and the world’s most popular destination for thriller readers. He practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City, where he was a litigator, and served as editor of the Columbia Law Review. He was previously an Emerging Writer Fellow at the Center for Fiction.
Mystery Readers International recently announced the nominees for the 2023 Macavity Awards for titles published in 2022. The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI.The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies at the San Diego Bouchercon in late August.
Congratulations to all of the nominees. Check out the list, and check the Webstore for the books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Best Mystery Novel
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Bantam) Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (MCD) A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur) A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown) Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley) Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
Best First Mystery Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Atria/EmilyBestler) Five Moves of Doom by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press) Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime) Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books) The Verifiers by Jane Pek (Vintage Books) The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine)
Best Mystery Short Story
“The Landscaper’s Wife” by Brendan DuBois (Mystery Tribune, Aug/Sep 2022) “Beauty and the Beyotch” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022) “First You Dream, Then You Die” by Donna Moore (in Black is the Night, Titan Books) “Schrödinger, Cat” by Anna Scotti (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mar/Apr 2022) “Stockholm” by Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories) “The Angel of Rome” by Jess Walter (in The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, Harper) “My Two-Legs” by Melissa Yi (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2022)
Reed Farrel Coleman recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to discuss his latest novel, Sleepless City. There are still signed copies of Sleepless City available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3JYMF7T
Earlier this month, Michael Barson interviewed Coleman for Bookreporter.com. Barson gave permission to share the interview here.
Reed Farrel Coleman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of 32 novels, including six in Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series. SLEEPLESS CITY marks the debut of Nick Ryan, who is the most powerful cop in New York (even though he doesn’t wear a uniform). He’s the mayor’s fixer, who is called upon when the men and women who protect and serve are in trouble and need protection themselves. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Coleman talks about his various inspirations for his latest protagonist; the hands-on research that he did for this book, which kicks off his fifth series; and his thoughts on how the publishing industry has changed over the last 25 years.
Question: SLEEPLESS CITY is your 32nd novel, covering multiple books divided among four previous series. Is it safe to say that you have planned for this Nick Ryan adventure to be the first entry in a fifth series? And if so, might you still return to one of your previous four series one day?
Reed Farrel Coleman: Yes, the second Nick Ryan novel, BLIND TO MIDNIGHT, is already completed. It’s always difficult to leave favorite series completely behind. While I have said everything I had to say in my Moe Prager novels, my readers love Moe so much that I have occasionally returned to him as a short story protagonist. And I have completed a third Gus Murphy novel, ALL BURIED THINGS. But we haven’t discussed how we’re going to proceed with getting that one out there. One positive side effect of the pandemic was that I finished three novels during those otherwise difficult years.
Q: Nick Ryan is the archetypal outsider figure, supremely capable but afflicted by numerous demons that are only gradually revealed to the reader. In creating Nick, were you invoking any characters who inspired you during your formative days of reading noir fiction?
RFC: The funny thing about my reading habits was that I didn’t read crime fiction during my formative years. I was a poetry reader, a literary reader, and more of a sci-fi guy. I was more likely to read Camus than Cain or Asimov than Agatha. To me, crime fiction was represented by those cheesy paperbacks on my dad’s nightstand with lurid covers of half-naked women holding guns. I came to crime fiction late after taking a class at Brooklyn College called American Detective Fiction. After that, I was smitten.
As to Nick, I think of him as the classic outsider but with insider knowledge. Some early readers have made reference to him as an urban James Bond or Jack Reacher. While I am certainly honored and humbled by those allusions, that’s not exactly who Nick is. As you state in your question, he has vulnerabilities that make him less of a “superhero” type than either Bond or Reacher. As I wrote him, I thought of a character as cool as Steve McQueen in Bullitt, as easily hurt as Philip Marlowe in THE LONG GOODBYE, and as fierce and loyal as Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter.
Q: What kind of research did you have to do for SLEEPLESS CITY that was different from what you conducted for any of your previous 31 novels? Did writing this book present a particular challenge of any sort?
RFC: Research. What’s that? My job is to make stuff up, and I have always tried not to get bogged down in the technical aspects of the genre. No info dumps for me.
Of course, like any good crime/thriller writer, my Google searches on weaponry, murder, terrorism, explosives and poisons have probably gotten me onto several governmental watch lists. So, yes, I had to research handguns, sniper rifles and the like. Certain aspects of the novel led me to people — one a trauma room physician, the other a corrections officer. These two people gave me invaluable insight into two crucial plot points in the novel, points that simply reading on the subjects could never have lent the texture I needed. I guess what I’m saying is that I prefer human research and experience to book research. I hope it shows in my work.
Q: You have been either the winner of, or a nominee for, virtually every major award that exists in the world of crime fiction. That qualifies you to make this pick: Which decade would you name as being the greatest for mystery authors and novels?
RFC: That’s a great question with no winning answer…or, rather, many winning answers. I think you could make an argument for every decade from the 1930s until the 2020s, because crime/mystery/thriller fiction has the great dichotomy of classic story and reinvention. It’s always the same and always different.
Q: You have been a published novelist for over 25 years now. The industry you entered operated in a much different manner than it does in 2023. Name one of the changes to book publishing since your career began that you most rue, and the one that actually gives you the most hope.
RFC: I think my answer about the change I rue would mirror almost every other experienced author who answers this question: consolidation. When I tried to get my first novel, LIFE GOES SLEEPING, published in 1990 (rejected 40 times, by the way, before it was accepted), there were what seemed like an endless array of independent or semi-independent imprints, each with their own standards and quirks — some, happily, didn’t require agenting. That gave a new author hope that he could catch on with someone, that there was an editor out there in this vast sea of imprints who got what you were doing or saw the potential you had.
Now things are all under the aegis of four or five conglomerates run by people who answer not to readers or to writers, but to stockholders. I once described old world publishing as a cottage industry run on a big scale. Alas, those days are gone.
What gives me hope is the diversity in the industry. When I was the Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America, we tried very hard not only to broaden the appeal of the genre but to engage writers of color and women. What we ran up against was not a problem on our end. So, while I rue the march toward consolidation of the big houses, I love that they have now opened their doors and broadened their scopes in terms of who and what they publish.
Here’s the description of Reed Farrel Coleman’s Sleepless City.
“A tour-de-force! The pace is relentless, the plot smart, his new lead character, Nick Ryan, is a hero for the times…Reed is a brilliant storyteller.” — Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author
When you’re in trouble, you call 911.
When cops are in trouble, they call Nick Ryan.
Every cop in the city knows his name, but no one says it out loud. In fact, they don’t talk about him at all.
He doesn’t wear a uniform, but he is the most powerful cop in New York.
Nick Ryan can find a criminal who’s vanished. Or he can make a key witness disappear.
He has cars, safe houses, money, and weapons hidden all over the city.
He’s the mayor’s private cop, the fixer, the first call when the men and women who protect and serve are in trouble and need protection themselves.
With conflicted loyalties and a divided soul, he’s a veteran cop still fighting his own private war. He’s a soldier of the streets with his own personal code.
But what happens when the man who knows all the city’s secrets becomes a threat to both sides of the law?
AWARDS
• Barnes & Noble Favorite Indie Book
• Chicago Public LIbrary Pick
• Stop You’re Killing Me Pick
• Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
Don’t forget. If you missed the event at The Poisoned Pen with Coleman, you can still catch it on YouTube.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed May Cobb for a virtual appearance. Cobb’s latest suspense novel is A Likeable Woman. There are signed copies available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3Dkq3Lu
Here’s the description of A Likeable Woman.
Named A Most Anticipated Thriller of Summer 2023 by Oprah Daily ? Buzzfeed ? SheReads ? BookBub ? PureWow ? CrimeReads ? and more!
Kira’s back in her affluent hometown for the first time in years and determined to unravel the secrets of her mother’s death–hidden in the unpublished memoir she left behind– even if it kills her. . . .
After her troublemaker mother’s mysterious death, Kira fled her wealthy Texas town and never looked back. Now, decades later, Kira is invited to an old frenemy’s vow renewal celebration Though she is reluctant to go, there are things pulling her home. . . like chilled wine and days spent by the pool . . . like sexy Jack, her childhood crush. But more important are the urgent texts from her grandmother, who says she has something for Kira. Something related to her mother’s death, something that makes it look an awful lot like murder.
When her grandmother gives Kira a memoir that her mother had been working on before she died, Kira is drawn into the past and all the sizzling secrets that come along with it. With few allies left in her gossipy country-club town, Kira turns to Jack for help. As she gets closer to discovering what—and who—might have brought about her mother’s end, it becomes clear that someone wants the past to stay buried.
And they might come after Kira next.
May Cobb is an award-winning author of The Hunting Wives, My Summer Darlings, A Likeable Woman, and Big Woods. Her books have gotten attention from Book of The Month, The Today Show, and Oprah Daily and have been optioned for film/TV. She has an M.A. from San Francisco State University and her essays and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post and Good Housekeeping. She currently lives in Austin with family.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Kate Mosse, author of The Ghost Ship, for a virtual event. Dr. Amanda Foreman led the discussion. You can order a copy of The Ghost Ship through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3NSqTE9
Here’s the description of The Ghost Ship.
Next in the #1 Sunday Times bestselling series, New York Times bestselling author Kate Mosse returns with The Ghost Ship, a sweeping historical epic of adventure on the high seas.
The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months it has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved by corsairs, manned by a courageous crew of mariners from Italy and France, Holland and the Canary Islands.
But the bravest men on board are not who they seem. And the stakes could not be higher. If arrested, they will be hanged for their crimes. Can they survive the journey and escape their fate?
A sweeping and epic love story, ranging from France in 1610 to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the 1620s, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling novel of adventure and buccaneering, love and revenge, stolen fortunes and hidden secrets on the high seas.
KATE MOSSE is a multiple New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author with sales of more than eight million copies in thirty-eight languages. Her previous novels include Labyrinth, Sepulchre, The Winter Ghosts, Citadel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter, and The Burning Chambers. Kate is the founder director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a visiting professor at the University of Chichester, and in June 2013, was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature. She divides her time between Chichester in the United Kingdom and Carcassonne in France.
You really need to watch the video so you can keep track of all the books mentioned, especially Martin Edwards’ books. Tom Meade’s The Murder Wheel was the June British Crime Book of the Month for The Poisoned Pen. Martin Edwards talked about The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge. Check the Webstore for copies of the books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s the description of Tom Meade’s The Murder Wheel.
Sleuthing stage magician Joseph Spector (Death and the Conjuror) returns to investigate a baffling series of impossible crimes.
“Even readers who live to match wits with canny authors and detectives are likely to be outwitted by this one.”—Kirkus
“Can you solve the Ferris wheel murder case?”
When a sensational killing rocks 1938 London, local newspaper ads offer a hefty sum to the person who can say whodunnit. A man has been shot dead at the top of a Ferris wheel, and his wife — the only other person in their carriage — insists on her innocence. But who else could have fired the deadly bullet and escaped unseen? The sheer implausibility of the claim is enough to whip the press into a frenzy and, for young and idealistic Edmund Ibbs, the lawyer representing the accused, that frenzy may be his only hope at discovering the truth of the mysterious murder.
As he digs into the case, Ibbs unwittingly enters a shadowy web of conspiracy and murder, soon finding himself implicated in not one but two other seemingly impossible crimes. First, a corpse appears out of thin air during a performance by a famed illusionist, then a second victim is mortally wounded in a locked dressing room backstage.
Edmund is in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, attracting the suspicion of Scotland Yard inspector George Flint. His only hope at freedom comes in the form of retired stage magician Joseph Spector, a man steeped in the art of misdirection, who happens to be in the audience for the deadly show. Spector’s mastery of illusion is capable of piercing the veil of deceit, but will his deductive powers be strong enough to explain this utterly confounding series of crimes?
Featuring a puzzling plot with a brilliant and fairly clued solution, The Murder Wheel is a delightful homage to the Golden Age mystery sure to please fans of classic crime fiction; Tom Mead’s atmospheric writing and memorable, complex characters prove him to be one of the best new talents in the historical mystery of today.
Tom Mead is a UK-based author specializing in crime fiction. His stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Litro Online, Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Lighthouse, Mystery Scene and Mystery Weekly (among others). Several of his pieces have also been anthologized, most recently “Heatwave” in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021 (ed. Lee Child). His debut novel Death and the Conjuror was selected as one of the top ten best mysteries of the year by Publishers Weekly.
Here’s the summary of Martin Edwards’ The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge.
“A triple-decker banquet honoring the golden age of mysteries and bidding fair to continue it to the present.”—Kirkus
The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is a complexly layered mystery perfect for fans of impossible mysteries inspired by Agatha Christie. Martin Edwards pens the perfect locked-tower puzzle with a gothic edge set in 1930s Northern England.
1930: Nell Fagan is looking for a second chance at a career in investigative journalism and the call of Blackstone Fell’s sanatorium is irresistible.
In 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in the best sleuth she knows, Rachel Savernake
Looking for answers, Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and sinister tower. With help from her friend Jacob Flint – who’s determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant – Rachel will risk her life to bring an end to the disappearances at Blackstone Fell where people go in, but never come out.
“A pitch-perfect blend of Golden Age charm and sinister modern suspense.”—Lee Child
Martin Edwards is the recipient of the CWA 2020 Diamond Dagger Award for sustained excellence in his crime writing career and his significant contribution to the genre. His most recent novel is GALLOWS COURT, the second book in the Rachel Savernake Golden Age Mystery series. His eighth and most recent Lake District Mystery is THE GIRL THEY ALL FORGOT. Martin is also a well-known crime fiction critic, and series consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics. His groundbreaking study of the genre between the wars, The Golden Age of Murder, was warmly reviewed around the world, and won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards. His The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books has been nominated for five awards. A well-known commentator on crime fiction, he has edited 37 anthologies and published diverse nonfiction books, including a study of homicide investigation, Urge to Kill. An expert on crime fiction history, he is archivist of both the Crime Writers’ Association and the Detection Club. He was elected eighth President of the Detection Club in 2015, is current Chair of the CWA, and posts regularly to his blog, ‘Do You Write Under Your Own Name?’
Enjoy the conversation about these books that have connections to Golden Age mysteries and puzzles.
I write to say Gabriel Allon, while retired from The Office, is back in the game.
He’s working for Chiara and their art restoration business when he is leveraged out of Venice, operating again in the world of international espionage and action, drawing in characters you have missed. And presenting a new one, a thief so adept she can swipe that Patek Philippe watch off a wrist without the wearer noticing. So when she arrives to steal a masterpiece from a mansion on the Italian coast and an assassin nails its owner, she becomes part of a mission to uncover the plot and recover the art.
For there is a legendary second painting missing too.
But hey. That’s just the set up. And we are off to Denmark, back to Jerusalem…on a hot plot filled with the espionage trade that is the series hallmark.
Indeed, Gabriel finds himself in a desperate race to prevent an unthinkable conflict between Russia and the West.
I point out that for Silva, Russia has always been the enemy in his sights. His insights are keen.
Daniel Silva is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, The Defector, The Rembrandt Affair, Portrait of a Spy, The Fallen Angel, The English Girl, The Heist, The English Spy, The Black Widow, House of Spies, The Other Woman, The New Girl, and The Order. He is best known for his long-running thriller series starring spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. Silva’s books are critically acclaimed bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages. He resides in Florida with his wife, television journalist Jamie Gangel, and their twins, Lily and Nicholas. For more information visit www.danielsilvabooks.com
BUY TICKETS NOW FRIDAY AUGUST 4 7:00 PM Live Ticketed Event ($32 admits one + one signed copy of Carey’s Cassie’s Servant)
An Evening with Diana Gabaldon and Jacqueline Carey They discuss Carey’s epic fantasy Cassiel’s Servant (Forge $30.99)
Gabaldon fans, please note that the only book that comes with the ticket is the Carey, not one of Diana’s books
Here’s the description of Cassiel’s Servant.
The lush epic fantasy that inspired a generation with a single precept: “Love As Thou Wilt.”
Returning to the realm of Terre d’Ange which captured an entire generation of fantasy readers, New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Carey brings us a hero’s journey for a new era.
In Kushiel’s Dart, a daring young courtesan uncovered a plot to destroy her beloved homeland. But hers is only half the tale. Now see the other half of the heart that lived it.
Cassiel’s Servant is a retelling of cult favorite Kushiel’s Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, Cassiline warrior-priest and protector of Phèdre nó Delaunay. He’s sworn to celibacy and the blade as surely as she’s pledged to pleasure, but the gods they serve have bound them together. When both are betrayed, they must rely on each other to survive.
From his earliest training to captivity amongst their enemies, his journey with Phèdre to avert the conquest of Terre D’Ange shatters body and mind… and brings him an impossible love that he will do anything to keep.
Even if it means breaking all vows and losing his soul.
“Decadent and dark, Cassiel’s Servant reveals the secrets of the mysterious Cassiline brotherhood. In this gorgeously realized novel, Carey returns to the world of Terre d’Ange and offers us a new and dazzling perspective on a character we thought we knew.”—Nghi Vo, author of The Chosen and the Beautiful and Siren Queen
Jacqueline Carey is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Kushiel’s Legacy series of historical fantasy novels. Recent novels include the Shakespearean adaptation Miranda and Caliban and the epic fantasy standalone Starless. Carey enjoys doing research on a wide variety of arcane topics, and an affinity for travel has taken her from Iceland to China to date. She currently lives in West Michigan.
Diana Gabaldon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular Outlander novels—Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes (for which she won a Quill Award and the Corine International Book Prize), An Echo in the Bone, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone—as well as the related Lord John Grey books, Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Lord John and the Hand of Devils, and The Scottish Prisoner; a collection of novellas, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall; three works of nonfiction, “I Give You My Body . . .” and The Outlandish Companion, Volumes 1 and 2; the Outlander graphic novel The Exile; and The Official Outlander Coloring Book. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband.
Reed Farrel Coleman recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to talk about his latest book, Sleepless City. Patrick Millikin welcomed him back, and there was a lot to talk about. You can order a signed copy of the book, but you’ll also want to listen to the conversation. https://bit.ly/3JYMF7T
Here’s the description of Sleepless City.
“A tour-de-force! The pace is relentless, the plot smart, his new lead character, Nick Ryan, is a hero for the times…Reed is a brilliant storyteller.” — Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author
When you’re in trouble, you call 911.
When cops are in trouble, they call Nick Ryan.
Every cop in the city knows his name, but no one says it out loud. In fact, they don’t talk about him at all.
He doesn’t wear a uniform, but he is the most powerful cop in New York.
Nick Ryan can find a criminal who’s vanished. Or he can make a key witness disappear.
He has cars, safe houses, money, and weapons hidden all over the city.
He’s the mayor’s private cop, the fixer, the first call when the men and women who protect and serve are in trouble and need protection themselves.
With conflicted loyalties and a divided soul, he’s a veteran cop still fighting his own private war. He’s a soldier of the streets with his own personal code.
But what happens when the man who knows all the city’s secrets becomes a threat to both sides of the law?
Reed Farrel Coleman, author of the New York Times bestselling Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay, has been called a “hard-boiled poet” by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in The Huffington Post. He has published twenty-five previous novels, including nine books in the critically acclaimed Moe Prager series, and most recently, What You Break, featuring Gus Murphy. A three-time winner of the Shamus Award, he has also won the Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and Audie Awards. Coleman lives with his family on Long Island.
There’s a terrific slate of upcoming events at The Poisoned Pen. Check out this schedule and then check the Webstore for books by your favorite authors. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
