Fiction Review

If Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, is surprised by a crime in a mystery, it’s unusual. And, Lee Goldberg, author of Gated Prey, was able to surprise her. Goldberg and Matt Witten, author of The Necklace, were the guest authors for a recent virtual event. You can find copies of both books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here is the summary of Gated Prey.

A simple sting operation takes a violent and unexpected turn for Detective Eve Ronin in a gripping thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective Eve Ronin and her soon-to-retire partner, Duncan Pavone, are running a 24-7 sting in a guard-gated enclave of palatial homes in Calabasas. Their luxury McMansion is a honey trap, set to lure in the violent home invaders terrorizing the community. The trap works, leaving three intruders dead, a body count that nearly includes Eve and Duncan.

Eve’s bosses are eager to declare the case closed, but there are too many unanswered questions for her to let go. Was the trap actually for her, bloody payback for Eve’s very public takedown of a clique of corrupt deputies? Or is there an even deadlier secret lurking behind those opulent gates? Eve’s refusal to back down and her relentless quest for the truth make her both the hunter…and the prey.

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Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and he is the cocreator of the Mystery 101 series of Hallmark movies. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing, and production of episodic television series. You can find more information about Lee and his work at www.leegoldberg.com.

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Matt Witten’s The Necklace is summarized below.

The clock ticks down in a heart-pounding crusade for justice

Susan Lentigo’s daughter was murdered twenty years ago—and now, at long last, this small-town waitress sets out on a road trip all the way from Upstate New York to North Dakota to witness the killer’s execution.

On her journey she discovers shocking new evidence that leads her to suspect the condemned man is innocent—and the real killer is still free. Even worse, her prime suspect has a young daughter who’s at terrible risk. With no money and no time to spare, Susan sets out to uncover the truth before an innocent man gets executed and another little girl is killed.

But the FBI refuses to reopen the case. They—and Susan’s own mother—believe she’s just having an emotional breakdown. Reaching deep, Susan finds an inner strength she never knew she had. With the help of two unlikely allies—a cynical, defiant teenage girl and the retired cop who made the original arrest—Susan battles the FBI to put the real killer behind bars. Will she win justice for the condemned man—and her daughter—at last?

Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Harlan Coben

Optioned for film—with Leonardo DiCaprio attached as producer.

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Matt Witten, a graduate of Amherst and Brandeis Universities, is a TV writer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His television writing includes such shows as House, Pretty Little Liars, and Law & Order. His TV scripts have been nominated for an Emmy and two Edgars, and he has written four mystery novels, winning a Malice Domestic award for best debut novel. He has also written stage plays and for national magazines.

The Necklace has been optioned for film by Appian Way and Cartel Pictures, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached as producer.

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Without spoilers, enjoy the conversation with Lee Goldberg and Matt Witten.

Although Gregg Hurwitz has been known for his Orphan X thrillers in recent years, some of his earlier books have just been picked up for a project. You can find many of those titles available as audiobooks read by fan favorite Scott Brick in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Y7Dudb

PARAMOUNT PLAYERS OPTIONS EIGHT GREGG HURWITZ NOVELS FOR FILM

Hurwitz will co-produce with Emmy Award-winning producer Scott Frank of The Queen’s Gambit

October 28, 2021 ““ Paramount Players has optioned eight books from bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz’s “Marked Man” series, with a plan to make lower-budgeted, modern noir thrillers to be adapted by a diverse group of up-and-coming filmmakers.

Scott Frank, the Emmy Award-winning producer of “The Queen’s Gambit, brought the project to Players and will co-produce alongside Hurwitz.

“These thrillers are about ordinary men and women finding extraordinary strength within themselves and our goal is to connect these stories with screenwriters who are early in their own journey to the exceptional,” said Hurwitz. “It’s so goddamned hard to break into screenwriting today and Scott and I are excited at the prospect of finding new voices to collaborate with and support.”

Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times #1 internationally bestselling author of 22 thrillers including the Orphan X series. His novels have won numerous literary awards and have been published in 33 languages. Hurwitz currently serves as the Co-President of International Thriller Writers (ITW). Additionally, he’s written screenplays and television scripts for many of the major studios and networks, comics for DC and Marvel, and political and culture pieces for The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Bulwark and others. He lives with his Rhodesian Ridgebacks in Los Angeles.

The eight books are Do No Harm, The Crime Writer, Trust No One, They’re Watching, You’re Next, The Survivor, Tell No Lies, and Don’t Look Back. While the books do not share a central character, they do share thematic elements.

“There is no talent I admire more than Scott Frank and no one I’d be happier to partner with on the adaptations of these books,” said Hurwitz. “I’m grateful to Paramount Players for giving us this opportunity.”

Clarence Hammond and Nathan Samdahl will be the creative executives overseeing the project for Players.

Hurwitz is represented by Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company, Lisa Erbach Vance of Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency, Stephen Breimer of Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver & Thompson, LLP, and Julia Borcherts of Kaye Publicity.

More information about Gregg Hurwitz and his novels can be found at gregghurwitz.net.

Cherie Priest has written in all kinds of genres, especially fantasy, but Grave Reservations is her first traditional mystery. You can find copies in the Web Store, and the copies come with signed bookplates. https://bit.ly/3CBKbqn

Here is the description of Grave Reservations.

A psychic travel agent and a Seattle PD detective solve a murder in this quirky mystery in the vein of Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files and Charlaine Harris’s Aurora Teagarden series.

Meet Leda Foley: devoted friend, struggling travel agent, and inconsistent psychic. When Leda, sole proprietor of Foley’s Flights of Fancy, impulsively re-books Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt’s flight, her life changes in ways she couldn’t have predicted.

After watching his original plane blow up from the safety of the airport, Grady realizes that Leda’s special abilities could help him with a cold case he just can’t crack.

Despite her scattershot premonitions, she agrees for a secret reason: her fiancé’s murder remains unsolved. Leda’s psychic abilities couldn’t help the case several years before, but she’s been honing her skills and drawing a crowd at her favorite bar’s open-mic nights, where she performs Klairvoyant Karaoke—singing whatever song comes to mind when she holds people’s personal effects. Now joined by a rag-tag group of bar patrons and pals alike, Leda and Grady set out to catch a killer—and learn how the two cases that haunt them have more in common than they ever suspected.

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Cherie Priest is the author of two dozen books and novellas, including the horror novel The Toll, acclaimed gothic Maplecroft, and the award-winning Clockwork Century series, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and she won the Locus Award for best horror novel. Her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.

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Those of us who are readers will be fascinated (and maybe a little appalled) with the stories of Cherie Priest’s childhood reading. Enjoy the conversation between Cherie Priest and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

The Poisoned Pen recently hosted a virtual event with Rachel Howzell Hall and Yasmin Angoe. Hall’s These Toxic Things is The Poisoned Pen’s November Crime Book of the Month. Her Name is Knight by Angoe is not only a debut, but it’s the bookstore’s International Crime Book of the Month. You can find copies of both books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the introduction to Rachel Howzell Hall’s These Toxic Things.

A dead woman’s cherished trinkets become pieces to a terrifying puzzle.

Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks” for clients, ensuring that precious souvenirs aren’t forgotten or lost. When her latest client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner, dies from an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the old woman’s last wish and begins curating her peculiar objets d’art. A music box, a hair clip, a key chain—twelve mementos in all that must have meant so much to Nadia, who collected them on her flea market scavenges across the country.

But these tokens mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie has been receiving threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone.

It’s becoming a mystery Mickie is driven to solve. Who once owned these odd treasures? How did Nadia really come to possess them? Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer and navigating the secrets of a sinister past. One that might, Mickie fears, be inescapably entwined with her own.

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Rachel Howzell Hall is the author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize”“ and Lefty Award”“nominated And Now She’s Gone; and the Anthony Award”“, Lefty Award”“, and International Thriller Writers Award”“nominated They All Fall Down. She also writes the acclaimed Detective Elouise Norton series, including Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes, and City of Saviors. Rachel is also the coauthor of The Good Sister with James Patterson, which was included in the New York Times bestseller The Family Lawyer. She lives in Los Angeles. You can find her at www.rachelhowzell.com and on Twitter @RachelHowzell.

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Now, here is the debut, Her Name is Knight.

A smash debut novel from rising star Yasmin Angoe, Her Name Is Knight features an elite assassin heroine on a mission to topple a human trafficking ring and avenge her family.

Stolen from her Ghanaian village as a child, Nena Knight has plenty of motives to kill. Now an elite assassin for a powerful business syndicate called the Tribe, she gets plenty of chances.

But while on assignment in Miami, Nena ends up saving a life, not taking one. She emerges from the experience a changed woman, finally hopeful for a life beyond rage and revenge. Tasked with killing a man she’s come to respect, Nena struggles to reconcile her loyalty to the Tribe with her new purpose.

Meanwhile, she learns a new Tribe council member is the same man who razed her village, murdered her family, and sold her into captivity. Nena can’t resist the temptation of vengeance—and she doesn’t want to. Before she can reclaim her life, she must leverage everything she was and everything she is to take him down and end the cycle of bloodshed for good.

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Hailing from Northern Virginia, Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American who grew up in two cultural worlds. She taught English in middle and high schools for years, served as an instructional coach for virtual teachers, and spent time as a freelance copy editor.

Angoe recently received the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for emerging writers of color from Sisters of Crime, of which she’s a proud member. When she’s not writing, she’s in South Carolina with her beautiful blended family, trying new recipes and absorbed in an audiobook. Her Name Is Knight is Yasmin’s debut novel.

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, introduces Rachel Howzell Hall and Yasmin Angoe, along with their books, in the virtual event. Then, Patrick Millikin takes over the discussion. Enjoy!

Colleen Cambridge launches a new mystery series featuring Phyllida Bright, Agatha Christie’s fictional housekeeper. Although The Poisoned Pen’s signed copies of Murder at Mallowan Hall sold out, Cambridge will be signing additional copies, so you can still buy signed ones through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3BrweKq

Here’s the summary of Murder at Mallowan Hall.

The first in an exciting new historical mystery series set in the home of Agatha Christie!

Colleen Cambridge’s charming and inventive new historical series introduces an unforgettable heroine in Phyllida Bright, fictional housekeeper for none other than famed mystery novelist Agatha Christie. When a dead body is found during a house party at the home of Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan, it’s up to famous author’s head of household, Phyllida Bright, to investigate…

Tucked away among Devon’s rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses…

The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie. Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha’s Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor…

A former Army nurse, Phyllida reacts with practical common sense–and a great deal of curiosity. It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. Now, Phyllida not only has a houseful of demanding guests on her hands–along with a distracted, anxious staff–but hordes of reporters camping outside. When another dead body is discovered–this time, one of her housemaids–Phyllida decides to follow in M. Poirot’s footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans’ guests is the killer. With help from the village’s handsome physician, Dr. Bhatt, Mr. Dobble, the butler, along with other household staff, Phyllida assembles the clues. Yet, she is all too aware that the killer must still be close at hand and poised to strike again. And only Phyllida’s wits will prevent her own story from coming to an abrupt end…

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Colleen Cambridge is a pseudonym for a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than eight languages. She lives in the Midwest and is hard at work on her next novel. Visit her at ColleenCambridge.com.

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Enjoy the conversation between Colleen Cambridge and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

It’s the perfect time of year for a supernatural/horror novel by Michael Koryta, writing as Scott Carson.The Poisoned Pen recently held a virtual event on release day for Carson’s Where They Wait, co-hosted by Richard Chizmar, You can order a signed copy of Where They Wait through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2P9S4gb

Here’s the summary of Where They Wait.

“Tense and twisty.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Vampire Mysteries

A new supernatural novel about a sinister mindfulness app with fatal consequences from the New York Times bestselling author of the “grips from the first page” (Stephen King) thriller The Chill.

Recently laid-off from his newspaper and desperate for work, war correspondent Nick Bishop takes a humbling job: writing a profile of a new mindfulness app called Clarity. It’s easy money, and a chance to return to his hometown for the first time in years. The app itself seems like a retread of old ideas—relaxing white noise and guided meditations. But then there are the “Sleep Songs.” A woman’s hauntingly beautiful voice sings a ballad that is anything but soothing—it’s disturbing, and more of a warning than a relaxation—but it works. Deep, refreshing sleep follows.

So do the nightmares. Vivid and chilling, they feature a dead woman who calls Nick by name and whispers guidance—or are they threats? And her voice follows him long after the song is done. As the effects of the nightmares begin to permeate his waking life, Nick makes a terrifying discovery: no one involved with Clarity has any interest in his article. Their interest is in him.

This “taut, creepy techno-chiller that will leave you hearing ghosts” (Paul Tremblay, author of Survivor Song) is the ultimate horror read for our times.

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Scott Carson is the pen name for a New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter. He lives in New England.

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You can hear about Where They Wait, and also learn why Michael Koryta writes as Scott Carson if you watch the virtual event.

No, this isn’t a list from The Poisoned Pen. Criminal Element just posted their list of “The Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2022”. https://bit.ly/319bWJ9 Here’s their entire list for the first half of 2022, right through June. Of course, as in the past two pandemic years, publication dates can change.

There are titles here from well-established authors such as Alafair Burke, T. Jefferson Parker, and Gregg Hurtwitz. Debut authors include Nita Prose whose novel The Maid is already generating buzz.

A local and bestselling favorite, Rhys Bowen’s March release is Wild Irish Rose. “New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen, now writing in partnership with her daughter, Clare Broyles, transports and enthralls readers through the incomparable Molly Murphy Sullivan. Set in New York, 1907, Wild Irish Rose is the next novel in this beloved mystery series, a cause for celebration for readers and critics alike.”

Whether you’re a fan of thrillers, cozy mysteries, psychological suspense, or traditional mysteries, there’s something on this list for everyone. Watch for your favorites in The Poisoned Pen’s Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/ And, make sure you check back regularly for the events, whether virtual or in person, featuring the authors and their latest books.

Better Off Dead is the twenty-sixth Jack Reacher novel. Brothers Lee and Andrew Child co-wrote Better Off Dead, and they appeared for a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen to talk about their writing careers, books, and the latest in the series. You can order a signed copy of Better Off Dead through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2z4duCD

Here’s the summary of the new Jack Reacher book.

Jack Reacher is back in a brand-new page-turning thriller from acclaimed #1 bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.

Digging graves had not been part of my plans when I woke up that morning. 

Reacher goes where he wants, when he wants. That morning he was heading west, walking under the merciless desert sun—until he comes upon a curious scene. A Jeep has crashed into the only tree for miles around. A woman is slumped over the wheel.

Dead? No, nothing is what it seems. 

The woman is Michaela Fenton, an army veteran turned FBI agent trying to find her twin brother, who might be mixed up with some dangerous people. Most of them would rather die than betray their terrifying leader, who has burrowed his influence deep into the nearby border town, a backwater that has seen better days. The mysterious Dendoncker rules from the shadows, out of sight and under the radar, keeping his dealings in the dark.

He would know the fate of Fenton’s brother. 

Reacher is good at finding people who don’t want to be found, so he offers to help, despite feeling that Fenton is keeping secrets of her own. But a life hangs in the balance. Maybe more than one. But to bring Dendoncker down will be the riskiest job of Reacher’s life. Failure is not an option, because in this kind of game, the loser is always better off dead.

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Lee Child is the author of twenty-five New York Times bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers, with sixteen having reached the #1 position, and the #1 bestselling complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in one hundred territories. A native of England and a former television director, Lee Child lives in New York City and Wyoming.

Andrew Child, who also writes as Andrew Grant, is the author of RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, Invisible, and Too Close to Home. Child and his wife, the novelist Tasha Alexander, live on a wildlife preserve in Wyoming. He is the co-author of the #1 bestselling Jack Reacher novel The Sentinel.

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If you’re a fan of either author or Jack Reacher, you’ll want to watch the recent virtual event.

Gregory Galloway, author of Just Thieves, is scheduled to discuss his book at a virtual event at The Poisoned Pen on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 5 PM PT. You can order a signed copy of Just Thieves through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3BgxWy1

You might want to read Megan Elliott’s review of Just Thieves in https://BookReporter.com. https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/just-thieves Elliott says, “what emerges is a darkly elegant homage to the hard-boiled crime novels of Chandler, Cain and Macdonald — a smart, suspenseful tale that asks us to consider what we owe, and what we take from, those around us. The book is peppered with nods to the works of those and other authors (ranging from Jean Genet to Patricia Highsmith), as well as to classic noirs such as The Killers and Double Indemnity, all scrupulously cited at the novel’s end.”

Interested? Here’s the summary of Just Thieves.

“A sucker punch noir that is also a powerful and haunting allegory of work, debt, and power.” —Richard Price

A down and dirty gem of a tale—a twisty and twisted crime novel that evokes the worlds of George V. Higgins, Patricia Highsmith, and David Mamet, destined to be a Neo-noir classic.
Rick and Frank are recovering addicts and accomplished house thieves. They do not steal randomly – – they steal according to order, hired by a mysterious handler. The jobs run routinely until they’re tasked with taking a seemingly worthless trophy: an object that generates interest and obsession out of proportion to its apparent value.
 
Just as the robbery is completed, the two are involved in a freak car accident that sets off a chain of events and Frank disappears with the trophy. As Rick tries to find Frank, he is forced to confront his past, upending both his livelihood and his sense of reality. The narrative builds steadily into a powerful and shocking climax.  Reveling in its con-artistry and double-crosses, Just Thieves is a nail-biting, noirish exploration of the working lives of two unforgettable crooks and the hidden forces that rule and ruin their lives.

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Gregory Galloway is the author of the novels The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand and the Alex Award-winning As Simple As Snow. His short stories have appeared in the Rush Hour and Taking Aim anthologies. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and currently resides in NW Connecticut.

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BookReporter even has a Q&A with Gregory Galloway, so you can find out a little more about him before Wednesday’s virtual event. You can find the interview here. https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/gregory-galloway/news/interview-102121

The Poisoned Pen is ending October on a high note, and kicking off November in the same way. Just check out these upcoming programs. Then, check the Web Store to order books by your favorite authors. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Watch for these events. They’re now streamed simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube.