Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed Mark Sullivan for his appearance for the bookstore. Gregg Hurwitz, author of the Orphan X novels, acted as guest host. Signed copies of Sullivan’s new book, All the Glimmering Stars, is available through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3Uzbr35
Here’s the description of All the Glimmering Stars.
Inspired by a true story, two teens kidnapped by an African warlord find salvation through love in a powerful and healing historical novel from the #1 bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Last Green Valley.
Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori are coming of age in Uganda in the 1990s. Outstanding students, they believe in being good humans before they are kidnapped and forced into the fanatical Lord’s Resistance Army.
In a legion of young recruits, no one gets closer than Anthony to powerful messianic warlord Joseph Kony and his darkest secrets. To stay sane as he spirals through chaos, Anthony clings to his childhood lessons about being a good human. Florence’s upbringing grounds her, too, helping her keep her dreams alive even as she’s pulled deeper into the insanity of Kony’s war.
At the lowest points of their lives, certain they’ll never go home, Anthony and Florence meet by chance, fall in love, and begin to dream of surviving their captivity. They devote their lives to helping their fellow child soldiers escape bondage and return to their families and redemption by following the stars.
By turns tender, shocking, moving, desperate, and ultimately triumphant, Florence and Anthony’s story is an epic drama of humanity, a life-affirming tale, and an experience readers will never forget.
Featuring an afterword by Anthony and Florence Opoka
Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of more than twenty novels, including the #1 Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Mark has received numerous accolades for his work, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and he has written both a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in English before working as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Upon his return to the United States, Mark earned a graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and began a career in investigative reporting before turning to fiction. An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana, where he remains grateful for the miracle of every moment. For more information, visit www.marksullivanbooks.com.
Harlan Coben’s latest thriller, Think Twice, is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. If you’re interested you might want to order your signed copy from the Webstore now. https://bit.ly/3yhQtOv Coben will be guest author for a virtual event on Thursday, May 9 at 5 PM PDT. Once he appears for the store, those signed copies will go fast.
Here’s the description of Think Twice.
A man presumed dead is suddenly wanted for murder in this thriller of secrets, lies, and dangerous conspiracies that threaten to cover up the truth.
Three years ago, sports agent Myron Bolitar gave a eulogy at the funeral of his client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing. Myron and Greg had history: initially as deeply personal rivals, and later as unexpected business associates. Myron made peace and moved on – until now, when twofederal agents walked into his office, demanding to know where Greg Downing is.
According to the agents, Greg is still alive—and has been placed at the scene of a double homicide, making him their main suspect. Shocked, Myron needs answers.
Myron and Win, longtime friends and colleagues, set out to find the truth, but the more they discover about Greg, the more dangerous their world becomes. Secrets, lies, and a murderous conspiracy that stretches back into the past churn at the heart of Harlan Coben’s blistering new novel.
Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-six languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries, with eighty million books in print worldwide. His Myron Bolitar series has earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and several of his books have been developed into Netflix original series, including the #1 global hit Fool Me Once, The Stranger, The Innocent, Gone for Good, The Woods, Stay Close, and Hold Tight, as well as the Amazon Prime series adaptation of Shelter. He lives in New Jersey.
John Charles from The Poisoned Pen recently hosted four cozy mystery authors, Nicholas George, Sheila Roberts, Paige Shelton, and Erica Ruth Neubauer for Cozypalooza. You can order signed copies of their books through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s the summary of the authors’ books.
For fans of M.C. Beaton, Martha Grimes, and Alexander McCall Smith, the first in a charming new mystery series set in the English countryside, as a retired San Diego police detective embarks upon group walking tours in England’s most scenic counties…
After a long career as a detective in San Diego, Rick “Chase” Chasen has traded in his badge for a change of scenery in the coastal comforts of Devon, England, until a local murder takes him on a deadly detour . . .
Still grieving the death of his long-time partner, Chase reunites with his dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau for a seacoast holiday of historic sightseeing. Assigned a pair of guides from the tour company Wanderers, Chase and Billie join seven other like-minded Americans looking forward to an English getaway. All except for Ronald Gretz. The wealthy entrepreneur behind the international Golden Sunset nursing home chain doesn’t like anything about walking, touring, or England. Coarse and opinionated, Gretz’s complaints get on the nerves of his fellow Wanderers—and his long-suffering trophy wife.
But Gretz’s gripes are tied to his own nerves being frayed. He has been receiving threatening texts and emails signed “An Avenger.” Convinced someone means him harm, Gretz asks Chase to watch his back. Soon, Gretz falls afoul of several “accidents,” leading to more friction with the other walkers. Until one final “accident” results in Gretz dead at the bottom of a cliff.
Chase, whose investigative instincts remain sharp, knows Gretz’s death was no accident. While helping the police investigate, he discovers that members of the tour group not only disliked the victim but had legitimate motives for wanting him dead. Now, he just has to uncover who among them is willing to kill . . .
Nicholas George worked as a newspaper reporter before embarking on an extensive career in public relations and communication management. His love of long-distance walking in the U.S. and England prompted him to create his Walk Through England series of mystery novels, set on group walks in the English countryside. Nick co-wrote the feature film “Perfect Match,” prominently featured at the Chicago and Montreal film festivals. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his husband Bert.
“[With] a set of characters so vivid we want to be their best friends and a story that keeps us turning the pages, The Best Life Book Club is your book club book of the year… A novel of pure delight!” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea
It started as a book club. It became a way to build a better life together.
Karissa Newcomb is ready for a new start in a new neighborhood, as far away as she can get from Seattle, where her husband cheated on her with the neighbor who was supposed to be her best friend. She and her nine-year-old daughter are moving on to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound. She even has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company right in Gig Harbor. Her new boss seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but a job is a job, she loves to read, and the idea of possibly meeting writers sounds fabulous.
Soon she finds she’s not the only one in need of a refresh. Her new neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They could all use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket. Together, the three women, along with Alice’s grumpy older sister, Josie, embark on a literary journey that just might be the kick start they need to begin building their best lives yet.
Sheila Roberts lives in the Pacific Northwest. To date, she has seen over three million books sold both at home and abroad. Several of her books have been adapted for film by Hallmark, Lifetime, and GAF, including her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, The Nine Lives of Christmas, with a sequel The Nine Kittens of Christmas, and most recently, Christmas on Candy Cane Lane.
The Poison Pen, the ninth installment in the Scottish Bookshop series by Paige Shelton, set in a specialty bookstore in Edinburgh called The Cracked Spine.
Edinburgh is mourning recent the death of Queen Elizabeth II when Bookseller Delaney Nichols’s boss comes to her with a most unusual assignment. An old friend of his, living in an estate in the village of Roslin, has found what could be a priceless relic on her property, and Delaney is tasked with investigating. Could Jolie possibly have an item of breathtaking Scottish historical significance in her possession? But when Delaney arrives at Jolie’s estate, she is greeted by a legal team with a vested interest in the property. Jolie manages to remove the interlopers, but as they’re examining the priceless item, they hear a scream, and meet a much less welcome discovery: a body.
As Delaney digs deeper, she discovers Jolie’s own fascinating history. Jolie’s mother had long claimed that her daughter was the rightful heir to the throne, not Elizabeth II, because of an affair she claimed to have with King Edward VIII. The only evidence, however, is in the form of a purported journal that one of Edward’s secretaries kept. The puzzles become more confusing when a connection is uncovered between this far-fetched story and the murdered man. Delaney will have to read between the lines to put together the pieces…or become history herself.
PAIGE SHELTON had a nomadic childhood, as her father’s job as a football coach took her family to seven different towns before she was even twelve years old. After college at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, she moved to Salt Lake City. She thought she’d only stay a couple years, but instead she fell in love with the mountains and a great guy who became her husband. After many decades in Utah, she and her family moved to Arizona. She writes the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series and the Alaska Wild series.Her other series include the Farmers’ Market, Cooking School, and Dangerous Type mystery series.
Spirited American Jane Wunderly must investigate a secret society on an isolated isle off the western coast of Scotland where esoteric rituals blur the line between what’s real, what’s illusion, and what’s deadly . . .
Isle of Iona, 1927: Cast away on a remote locale, Jane’s latest assignment depends on concealing her identity and blending in at an occult gathering. Not even her fiancé, Redvers, can be too close as she uncovers the truth about Robert Nightingale, enigmatic leader of the Order of the Golden Dawn—a group made up of supernatural ceremonies, influential people, and an undefinable darkness. When a woman tries to escape to the mainland only to be found murdered in the moors, the shocking scene reveals it’s easier to join the Golden Dawn than it is to leave.
Jane, set on solving the crime and catching the next ferry with Redvers, realizes she may be among the few still grasping reality. One high-ranking member searches for the killer by attempting to access otherworldly planes of existence, while others become immersed in a strange solstice ritual. Then there’s Nightingale and the rivals who discarded him to start a new temple. As a second death brings fresh clues into focus, Jane needs to navigate a frightening dilemma—playing along won’t help her crack the mystery, but revealing too much could be a fatal mistake . .
Erica Ruth Neubauer is the Agatha Award-winning author of the Jane Wunderly Mysteries, as well as an Anthony Award and Lefty Award finalist. She spent eleven years in the military, nearly two as a Maryland police officer, and one as a high school English teacher, before finding her way as a writer. She has been a reviewer of mysteries and crime fiction for publications such as Publishers Weekly and Mystery Scene Magazine for several years, and she’s a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Erica Ruth lives in Milwaukee, WI. Visit her at EricaRuthNeubauer.com.
Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, mentioned that each author that worked on Clive Cussler’s books put their own spin on Cussler’s books. Jack DuBrul’s latest Isaac Bell adventure is Clive Cussler The Heist. This is the fifth book DuBrul has written. Signed copies can be ordered through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3UvP2n0
Here’s the description of Clive Cussler: The Heist.
Detective Isaac Bell faces an attack on the Federal Reserve in this all-new adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Clive Cussler.
1914: As America’s century of dominance dawns, the country’s greatest detective, Van Dorn agent Isaac Bell, is pitted against a master thief and his assassin accomplice. They’re plotting to pull off the greatest heist in America’s history: the theft of a billion dollars from the newly created Federal Reserve.
When an aerial attack is launched against Woodrow Wilson’s yacht during a meeting among the Federal Reserve’s branch leaders, Bell thwarts it, only to find that the strike was just the opening of an even deadlier gambit. It’s up to Bell to find the link between the attack, the mysterious death of a Newport heiress, and growing evidence of an unimaginably audacious heist.
Double-cross and betrayal are Bell’s stock and trade, but this time, the deeper he delves into the puzzle, the less he seems to understand. He is in a race against his most ruthless opponent yet, to prevent a financial panic that would bring the United States to its knees.
Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA® Files, Oregon® Files, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collected classic automobiles. His collection featured more than one hundred examples of custom coachwork. Cussler passed away in February 2020.
Jack Du Brul is the author of Clive Cussler The Sea Wolves, the Philip Mercer series (most recently The Lightning Stones,) and is the coauthor with Cussler of the Oregon Files novels Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship, Corsair, The Silent Sea, and The Jungle, and the Isaac Bell novels The Saboteurs and The Titanic Secret. He lives in Virginia.
Although Barbara Peters welcomed Will Thomas to The Poisoned Pen to discuss his latest Barker and Llewelyn mystery, Death and Glory, they started by discussing the late author Anne Perry. You’ll want to listen to the event if you remember Perry and her books. Now, though, you can order Death and Glory through the Webstore. https://bit.ly/3JNd3RM
Here’s the description of Death and Glory.
In 1894, Cyrus Barker, London’s premier enquiry agent, is entangled in a conspiracy to revive the American Civil War by prominent figures, long believed deceased.
Private Enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, along with his partner Thomas Llewelyn, has a long, accomplished history – he’s taken on cases for Scotland Yard, the Foreign Office, and even the crown itself, fulfilling them all with great skill and discretion. None of those cases, however, are as delicate and complicated as the one laid before him by a delegation of men who, thirty years before, fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. These men want to revive the Confederacy with a warship promised to the Rebels from the British Government in 1865. To get it now, they’re threatening to reveal the long-secret treaty with the Confederacy. Barker is hired to use his connections to discreetly bring their threats to the Prime Minister.
With a web of prominent, if secret, supporters throughout England ready to through their support to their efforts to wage war anew on the United States, the delegates are just waiting for the warship to begin their plans. But some of the men are not who they claim to be, and the American government has their own team watching, and waiting, for the right moment to take action.
As this fuse on this powder keg of a situation grows ever shorter, it’s up to Barker & Llewelyn to uncover the real identities and plans of these dangerous men.
WILL THOMAS is the author of the Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn series, including The Black Hand, The Hellfire Conspiracy, The Limehouse Text, To Kingdom Come, and the Shamus and Barry award-nominated Some Danger Involved. He lives with his family in Oklahoma.
Congratulations to all the winners at the recent Edgar Award ceremony. Here’s the press release from Mystery Writers of America. (Check the list, and then check The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore for titles. https://store.poisonedpen.com/)
May 1, 2024, New York, NY – Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2023. The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated on May 1, 2024, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square and live-streamed on YouTube.
BEST NOVEL
Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
(Penguin Random House – Berkley)
BEST FACT CRIME
Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal
by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy
by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury Academic)
BEST SHORT STORY
“Hallowed Ground,” by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
BEST JUVENILE
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas
(Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Girl Forgottenby April Henry (Hachette Book Group – LBYR – Christy Ottaviano Books)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Escape from Shit Mountain” – Poker Face,
Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman (Peacock)
* * * * * *
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“The Body in Cell Two,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2023 by Kate Hohl
(Dell Magazines)
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.
Play the Fool by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House – Bantam)
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD
Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
Stephen Graham Jones’ The Angel of Indian Lake is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. There are signed copies still available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/49W6nve
Here’s the summary of The Angel of Indian Lake.
A National Bestseller
The final installment in the most lauded trilogy in the history of horror novels picks up four years after Don’t Fear the Reaper as Jade returns to Proofrock, Idaho, to build a life after the years of sacrifice—only to find the Lake Witch is waiting for her in New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones’s finale.
It’s been four years in prison since Jade Daniels last saw her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho, the day she took the fall, protecting her friend Letha and her family from incrimination. Since then, her reputation, and the town, have changed dramatically. There’s a lot of unfinished business in Proofrock, from serial killer cultists to the rich trying to buy Western authenticity. But there’s one aspect of Proofrock no one wants to confront…until Jade comes back to town. The curse of the Lake Witch is waiting, and now is the time for the final stand.
New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones has crafted an epic horror trilogy of generational trauma from the Indigenous to the townies rooted in the mountains of Idaho. It is a story of the American west written in blood.
Stephen Graham Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians. He has been an NEA fellowship recipient and a recipient of several awards including the Ray Bradbury Award from the Los Angeles Times, the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, and the Alex Award from American Library Association. He is the Ivena Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Today is Independent Bookstore Day, and the chance to celebrate at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore. The bookstore has participated in all ten previous celebrations. If you’re in town, you can shop at the store all day Saturday where a special sale, 20% most items, will go on from 10 AM to 6 PM. This sale is IN STORE ONLY.
If you are an audiobook lover, there is a special deal at Libro.fm, our audiobook partner. Sale extends through Sunday April 28. This is a wonderful way to add support to The Pen. The sale books link is Libro.fm/sale
Again, if you’re in town, stop in and join author Douglas Preston from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at The Pen for conversation about his books and future plans. And, you never know what other authors might drop in during the day at The Pen.
Most of all, thank you for supporting The Poisoned Pen for almost thirty-five years.
A Killing on the Hill is Robert Dugoni’s first historical thriller. He talks about that book and his past with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen. Signed copies of A Killing on the Hill are available in the Webstore. https://bit.ly/44eohbc
Here’s the summary of A Killing on the Hill.
A gripping new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.
The Great Depression. High-level corruption. And a murder that’s about to become Seattle’s hottest mystery. It’s the kind of story that can make a reporter’s career. If he lives to write about it.
Seattle, 1933. The city is in the grips of the Great Depression, Prohibition, and vice. Cutting his teeth on a small-time beat, hungry and ambitious young reporter William “Shoe” Shumacher gets a tip that could change his career. There’s been a murder at a social club on Profanity Hill—an underworld magnet for vice crimes only a privileged few can afford. The story is going to be front-page news, and Shoe is the first reporter on the scene.
The victim, Frankie Ray, is a former prizefighter. His accused killer? Club owner and mobster George Miller, who claims he pulled the trigger in self-defense. Soon the whole town’s talking, and Shoe’s first homicide is fast becoming the Trial of the Century. The more Shoe digs, the more he’s convinced nothing is as it seems. Not with a tangle of conflicting stories, an unlikely motive, and witnesses like Ray’s girlfriend, a glamour girl whose pretty lips are sealed. For now.
In a city steeped in Old West debauchery, Shoe’s following every lead to a very dangerous place—one that could bring him glory and fame or end his life.
Robert Dugoni is a critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author, reaching over ten million readers worldwide. He is best known for the Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series. He is also the author of the Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels, including Her Deadly Game, The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and The World Played Chess. His novel The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell was named Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, and Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award. The Washington Post named his nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary a Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has been a finalist for many other awards. Dugoni’s books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages. He lives in Seattle. Visit his website at www.robertdugonibooks.com.
You’ll want to hear Robert Dugoni’s story of the background for A Killing on the Hill.
While Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Douglas Preston for his appearance at the bookstore, guest host James Rollins talked with Douglas Preston about his books, including the new one, Extinction. Signed copies of Extinction can be ordered through the Webstore, and they come with exclusive trading cards, while supplies last. https://bit.ly/44e4kBw
Here’s the summary of Extinction.
With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written a page-turning thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the possible and unintended dangers of the very real efforts to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other long-extinct animals.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire’s son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.
DOUGLAS PRESTON has published forty books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which over thirty have been New York Times bestsellers, a half-dozen reaching the #1 position. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He also writes nonfiction pieces for the New Yorker Magazine. He worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He is president emeritus of the Authors Guild and serves on the Advisory Board of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe.
Enjoy the conversation with Douglas Preston and James Rollins.
