Fiction Review

The Los Angeles Times calls Tori Eldridge’s The Ninja Betrayed, one of “Five Fall Mysteries You Shouldn’t Miss”. The Poisoned Pen didn’t want you to miss it either. J.T. Ellison hosted Eldridge for a recent virtual event. You can find signed copies of The Ninja Betrayed in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/32Yl2Wn

Here’s the summary of The Ninja Betrayed.

One of The Los Angeles Times’ “Five Fall Mysteries You Shouldn’t Miss”

Things get personal for Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja Lily Wong in Hong Kong when she dives into the dangerous world of triads, romance, and corporate disaster during the height of the pro-democracy protests.

Lily’s mother has been summoned by her grandfather, Gung-Gung to attend an emergency board meeting. Lily is happy to take her father’s place for exotic travel, family reunions, and romantic dates with her new boyfriend, Daniel Kwok, who’s there for business. Lily and her mother stay at her grandparents’ hillside home on Hong Kong Island, but tension between Gung-Gung and Ma makes it hard to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, especially with the city in turmoil. Gung-Gung won’t say anything about the meeting and Ma is worried that her career is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the teenage daughter of Gung-Gung’s driver is pulled into the dangerous riots.

As Lily and Ma discover shaky finances, questionable loans, and plans for the future involving them both, Lily’s escalating romance with Daniel puts her heart at risk. Will her ninja skills allow her to protect her mother, the family business, and the renegade teen while navigating love, corporate intrigue, and murderous triads?

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Tori Eldridge is the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Award-nominated author of the acclaimed Lily Wong series: The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed (out 9/14/21). Her short stories have been published in horror, dystopian, and other literary anthologies, and her narrative poem appears in the inaugural reboot of Weird Tales magazine. Tori’s screenplay The Gift earned a semi-finalist spot for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Before writing, she performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film. Tori holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninjutsu and has traveled the U.S. teaching ninja martial arts and women’s empowerment. Visit her website at https://torieldridge.com.

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Enjoy the conversation with Tori Eldridge and J.T. Ellison.

Just look at this lineup that opens up October for you and The Poisoned Pen! It’s a crowded month. I know Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, has been reminding readers that books might be a little delayed, mostly because of shipping issues. Please continue to support authors and The Poisoned Pen, though. You can still order books through the Web Store, and many of them will be signed. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Check out these events.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted Nancy Goldstone for a virtual event. Goldstone’s latest book is In the Shadow of the Empress, the story of Empress Maria Theresa, and three of her daughters. including Marie Antoinette. You can order a copy of this fascinating book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3F7IFxJ

Here’s the summary of In the Shadow of the Empress.

The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa—one of the most renowned women rulers in history—and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.

Out of the thrilling and tempestuous eighteenth century comes the sweeping family saga of beautiful Maria Theresa, a sovereign of uncommon strength and vision, the only woman ever to inherit and rule the vast Habsburg Empire in her own name, and three of her remarkable daughters: lovely, talented Maria Christina, governor-general of the Austrian Netherlands; spirited Maria Carolina, the resolute queen of Naples; and the youngest, Marie Antoinette, the glamorous, tragic queen of France, and perhaps the most famous princess in history.

Unfolding against an irresistible backdrop of brilliant courts from Vienna to Versailles, embracing the exotic lure of Naples and Sicily, this epic history of Maria Theresa and her daughters is a tour de force of desire, adventure, ambition, treachery, sorrow, and glory.

Each of these women’s lives was packed with passion and heart-stopping suspense. Maria Theresa inherited her father’s thrones at the age of twenty-three and was immediately attacked on all sides by foreign powers confident that a woman would to be too weak to defend herself. Maria Christina, a gifted artist who alone among her sisters succeeded in marrying for love, would face the same dangers that destroyed the monarchy in France. Resourceful Maria Carolina would usher in the golden age of Naples only to face the deadly whirlwind of Napoleon. And, finally, Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen whose stylish excesses and captivating notoriety have masked the truth about her husband and herself for two hundred and fifty years.

Vividly written and deeply researched, In the Shadow of the Empress is the riveting story of four exceptional women who changed the course of history.

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Nancy Goldstone is the author of six previous books including Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots; The Rival Queens: Catherine de’ Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom; The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc; Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe; and The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily. She has also coauthored six books with her husband, Lawrence Goldstone. She lives in Del Mar, California.

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If you’re interested in European history, you’ll want to check out this virtual event.

Archer Mayor’s 32nd Joe Gunther novel, Marked Man, is the current Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, had a virtual conversation with Mayor. The opening of the virtual event is interesting as Mayor discusses his parents and his career, including the fact that he was on call at the time, so he could have been called to a crime scene. You can order a signed copy of Marked Man through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/357hQrz Please be patient. We all know the delivery system isn’t very efficient at the present time.

Here’s the summary of Marked Man.

In Archer Mayor’s Marked Man, the death of a local millionaire becomes suspicious when Joe Gunther learns that he was not who he claimed.

A year ago, local philanthropist and millionaire Nathan Lyon died a natural death in his sprawling mansion, a 150,000 square foot converted mill, surrounded by his loving, attentive family. Or so it seemed at the time. Now Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team has discovered that almost nothing about that story was true. Nathan Lyon was actually Nick Bianchi from Providence, Rhode Island. His money came from Mafia-tainted sources. And his family now seems to be dying themselves and their deaths are now revealed to be murders.

As Gunther’s team desperately works to uncover what is going on at The Mill, who is responsible and what they are trying to accomplish, Joe himself travels to Rhode Island to look into the original source of the money. While the police are doing their jobs, private investigator Sally Kravitz teams up with reporter Rachel Reiling to expose the truth behind this tangled and expanding web of duplicity, greed, and obsession. Having betrayed many, it’s no surprise that Nathan Lyon was a marked man. But now Gunther has to figure out who, among the many, killed him, and stop them before their killing spree claims another.

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ARCHER MAYOR, in addition to writing the New York Times bestselling Joe Gunther series, is an investigator for the sheriff’s department, the state medical examiner, and has twenty-five years of experience as a firefighter/EMT. He lives near Brattleboro, Vermont.

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Enjoy the virtual event with Archer Mayor.

All these virtual events allow participants to appear from four different locations, as happened when Jesse and Jonathan Kellerman appeared to talk about their latest book, The Burning. But, before they talked about books, they answered questions from Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, questions about kosher wine. But, going back to books, there will be signed copies of The Burning available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/31AlZTy

Here’s the summary of The Burning.

Things get personal for Deputy Coroner Clay Edison when a murder hits close to home in this riveting, emotional thriller from the bestselling father-son team who write “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King).

A raging wildfire. A massive blackout. A wealthy man shot to death in his palatial hilltop home.
 
For Clay Edison, it’s all in a day’s work. As a deputy coroner, caring for the dead, he speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves. He prides himself on an unflinching commitment to the truth. Even when it gets him into trouble.
 
Then, while working the murder scene, Clay is horrified to discover a link to his brother, Luke. Horrified. But not surprised. Luke is fresh out of prison and struggling to stay on the straight and narrow.
 
And now he’s gone AWOL.
 
The race is on for Clay to find him before anyone else can. Confronted with Luke’s legacy of violence, Clay is forced to reckon with his own suspicions, resentments, and loyalties. Is his brother a killer? Or could he be the victim in all of this, too?
 
This is Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman at their most affecting and page-turning—a harrowing collision of family, revenge, and murder.

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Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Crime Scene, A Measure of Darkness, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New Mexico.

Jesse Kellerman won the Princess Grace Award for best young American playwright and is the author of Sunstroke, Trouble (nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Novel), The Genius (winner of the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle), The Executor, and Potboiler (nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel). He lives in California.

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Here’s the virtual event featuring Jesse and Jonathan Kellerman.

A Darker Reality is Anne Perry’s third Elena Standish mystery set in the 1930s. She just finished signing copies of the book so you can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3lY0p66

Here’s the description of A Darker Reality.

A personal trip turns perilous for Elena Standish after the murder of a British spy forces her to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry.

On her first trip to Washington, D.C., Elena Standish finally gets to visit her American mother’s wealthy parents and their magnificent home. Elena’s grandparents are marking a milestone anniversary by throwing an elaborate party with the influential friends of her grandfather, a prominent political industrialist. Even President and First Lady Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are there, and Elena takes pride in capturing the illustrious guests on camera. But the festivities come to a sudden and tragic end when one of the guests, Lila Worth, is run over by a car in the driveway outside. Elena believes Lila was trying to tell her something before her death, and when a call from her employer back home, MI6, confirms that Lila was a British spy, Elena pairs with a fellow agent to find out what vital information the young woman had in her possession.

Soon an arrest is made in Lila’s murder, and to Elena’s horror, the accused is none other than her own grandfather, who claims his political enemies are trying to frame him. But who are these enemies, and how can Elena defend this man she barely knows? Nevertheless, determined to clear his name and save her family from disgrace, she delves into the details of her grandfather’s investments and discovers that his business secrets run deep. As Elena begins to question his loyalties, she wonders if she can trust anyone in this threatening new world order.

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Anne Perry is the New York Times bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. She is also the author of a series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s son, Daniel, including One Fatal Flaw and Death with a Double Edge; the Elena Standish series, including Death in Focus and A Question of Betrayal; five World War I novels; nineteen holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Legacy; and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Byzantine Empire. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.

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Enjoy the conversation about fashion, history and mystery with Anne Perry and Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen.

Scottish writer Denise Mina’s latest book is a novella, Rizzio. Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikin from The Poisoned Pen are long-time fans, so they have so much to talk about including books and theatre. This is a fun virtual event for anyone who enjoys crime fiction and the arts. You can find copies of Rizzio in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2EjTFgH

Here’s the description of Rizzio.

From the multi-award-winning master of crime, Denise Mina delivers a radical new take on one of the darkest episodes in Scottish history—the bloody assassination of David Rizzo  private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the queen’s chambers in Holyrood Palace.

On the evening of March 9th, 1566, David Rizzio, the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, was brutally murdered. Dragged from the chamber of the heavily pregnant Mary, Rizzio was stabbed fifty six times by a party of assassins. This breathtakingly tense novella dramatises the events that led up to that night, telling the infamous story as it has never been told before.

A dark tale of sex, secrets and lies, Rizzio looks at a shocking historical murder through a modern lens—and explores the lengths that men and women will go to in their search for love and power. 

Rizzio is nothing less than a provocative and thrilling new literary masterpiece.

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Denise Mina is the New York Times bestselling author of The End of the Wasp Season and Gods and Beasts. Her recent novel Conviction was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and a national bestseller She is a regular contributor on the subject of crime fiction for television and radio. Denise lives in Glasgow.

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Here’s the fascinating discussion with Denise Mina.

Road of Bones is the 16th Billy Boyle WWII novel by James R. Benn. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, is a fan of the cover art, and she pointed out the woman on the cover of the latest book, meant to be one of the Night Witches. You can still order a signed copy of Road of Bones through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3ATWBJz

Here’s the description of Road of Bones.

Billy Boyle is sent to the heart of the USSR to solve a double-murder at a critical turning point in the war in this latest installment of critically acclaimed James R. Benn’s WWII mystery series.

It’s September 1944, and the US is poised to launch Operation Frantic, a shuttle-bombing mission to be conducted by American aircraft based in Great Britain, southern Italy, and three Soviet airfields in the Ukraine. Tensions are already high between the American and Russian allies when two intelligence agents—one Soviet, one American—are found dead at Poltava, one of the Ukrainian bases. Billy is brought in to investigate, and this time he’s paired, at the insistence of the Soviets, with a KGB agent who has his own political and personal agenda.

In the course of an investigation that quickly spirals out of control, Billy is aided by the Night Witches, a daring regiment of young Soviet women flying at night at very low altitudes, bombing hundreds of German installations.

It’s a turning point in the war, and allied efforts hang by a thread. Unless Billy and his KGB partner can solve the murders in an atmosphere of mutual distrust, Operation Frantic is doomed.

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James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was selected as a Top Five book of the year by Book Sense and was a Dilys Award nominee, A Blind Goddess was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, The Rest Is Silence was a Barry Award nominee, and The Devouring was a Macavity Award nominee. Benn, a former librarian, splits his time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and Connecticut with his wife, Deborah Mandel.

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Here’s the conversation between James R. Benn and Barbara Peters.

Hank Phillippi Ryan has acted as host several times recently for The Poisoned Pen’s virtual events. This time, though, she was guest author talking about her latest standalone novel, Her Perfect Life, as well as her career as a multi-award winning journalist. Ryan has a fascinating background, and Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, discusses that with Ryan. Signed copies of Her Perfect Life are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e

Here’s the description of Her Perfect Life.

The next thrilling standalone novel by USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Everyone knows Lily Atwood—and that may be her biggest problem. The beloved television reporter has it all—fame, fortune, Emmys, an adorable seven-year-old daughter, and the hashtag her loving fans created: #PerfectLily. To keep it, all she has to do is protect one life-changing secret.

Her own.

Lily has an anonymous source who feeds her story tips—but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he—or she—know the truth?

Lily understands that no one reveals a secret unless they have a reason. Now she’s terrified someone is determined to destroy her world—and with it, everyone and everything she holds dear.

How much will she risk to keep her perfect life?

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USA Today bestselling author HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN has won five Agatha Awards in addition to Anthony, Macavity, Daphne du Maurier, and Mary Higgins Clark Awards. As on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, she’s won 37 Emmys and many more journalism honors, and her work has resulted in new laws, criminals sent to prison, homes saved from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution for victims and consumers. A past president of National Sisters in Crime and founder of MWA University, her novels include Trust Me, The Murder List, the Charlotte McNally series (starting with Prime Time), and the Jane Ryland series (which begins with The Other Woman). Ryan lives in Boston with her husband, a nationally renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorney.

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Here’s the recent virtual event featuring Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Craig Johnson actually appeared in person for the release of his latest Longmire novel, Daughter of the Morning Star. There are still signed copies available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Qmogf5

Here’s the description of Daughter of the Morning Star.

A new novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.

When Lolo Long’s niece Jaya begins receiving death threats, Tribal Police Chief Long calls on Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire along with Henry Standing Bear as lethal backup. Jaya “Longshot” Long is the phenom of the Lame Deer Lady Stars High School basketball team and is following in the steps of her older sister, who disappeared a year previously, a victim of the scourge of missing Native Woman in Indian Country. Lolo hopes that having Longmire involved might draw some public attention to the girl’s plight, but with this maneuver she also inadvertently places the good sheriff in a one-on-one with the deadliest adversary he has ever faced in both this world and the next.

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Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction and the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association’s Reading the West Book Award for fiction. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25.

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I was waiting to watch the Facebook virtual event, and I wondered why it didn’t start on time, and those of us watching virtually came in partway through the event. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, explains the technical problems at the beginning of the virtual event below. Even if the event starts partway through, Craig Johnson is always worth listening to. He’s a true storyteller. Enjoy the event!