New Sideline

We now have Hillary Kaye's Matchbox Museum of Fine Art - mystery series.
These Hand-painted matchboxes feature classic crime fiction book covers and movie posters. Perfect for collectors or fans 1 1/3" x 2" $2 each

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Boyd, Noah. Bricklayer($27) Signed

Someone gives you a dangerous puzzle to solve, one that may kill you or someone else, and you're about to fail. . . . And there is no other option. No one who can help. No one but the Bricklayer.

The Bricklayer is the pulse-pounding novel introducing Steve Vail, one of the most charismatic new heroes to come along in thriller fiction in many years. He's an ex-FBI agent who's been fired for insubordination but is lured back to the Bureau to work a case that has become more unsolvable-and more deadly-by the hour.

Nadel, Barbara. Death by Design($45) Signed

Barbara Nadel's new Turkish crime novel sees Inspector Ikmen tackling a complex case of organized crime in London.

When the Istanbul police raid a counterfeit goods factory in the run-down district of Tarlabasi, a young man with explosives strapped to his chest blows himself up in front of them. In the process, Istanbul's Inpsector Çetin Ikmen is injured. Documents found in the factory lead the authorities in both Istanbul and London to believe that a terrorist attack, in part orchestrated from the Tarlabasi factory, is about to be enacted in the British capital. Ikmen goes undercover amongst the Turkish community of North London, although what he uncovers there is certainly not what his British colleagues were expecting...

New colorful reusable Poisoned Pen bags!

It is estimated that in one year,one shopper throws out 500 plastic bags.


We are joining the mission is to reduce single-use bag waste by offering compact reusable bags and packs that are designed to fold up for storage and used over and over again.

These wonderful light-weight bags are $9.95 and are available in: Black, Blue, Pale Green, Red and Purple all with our logo in white ink.


You can also reduce your waste and wrap gifts with these colorful reusable bags!

Click here to watch a video on how to use your new Poisoned Pen bag as gift wrap!

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Gage, Leighton. Dying Gasp ($26) Signed

The granddaughter of a prominent politician is missing. Silva and his team find her in Manaus, a jungle hellhole on the Amazon where an evil female doctor is making gory snuff films. Silva must overcome his own department's indifference and the corrupt local cops before he can obtain a semblance of justice for the victims.




Hess, Joan. Merry Wives of Maggody ($27) Signed

Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755) is perceived of as a two-bit hick town, filled with one-bit hicks. But Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanan seeks to change that perception with her latest scheme-a charity golf tournament. This presents a bit of a challenge, since no one in Maggody plays golf and there is no course. But when the prize for the first hole-in-one is announced-a top of the line bass boat-nearly everyone in town develops a new-found interest in the sport. The town goes golf crazy, trying to learn the sport in time to win the bass boat, with limited success and maximum domestic disorder. Sheriff Arly Hanks, who has better things to worry about, just wishes it would all go away. When a small-town golf instructor wins the bass boat on the first day of the tournament, it looks like all the excitement is over. But the next morning, when he's found dead, sitting in the parking lot in the front seat of the bass boat, the prize is once again up for grabs and nearly everyone in town is a murder suspect.

The Parisian Prodigal

Gordon, Alan. Parisian Prodigal ($28) Signed

“Only a fool would pass this one up.” —Laurie R. King In 1205, Theophilos—a fool by trade, a family man by choice, and a spy by design—belongs, along with his family, to the Fools’ Guild, a group that secretly maintains the fragile order of society. In Toulouse, that order is threatened when, unexpectedly, a man claiming to be a full brother of the ruling count is found one morning in a local bordello next to a dead whore, killed with his own sword. Now, Theophilos and his family must uncover the truth.

New Signed Books at The Poisoned Pen

Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers ($22) Signed

It is the time of the Great Depression.

Thousands have left their homes looking for a better life, a new life. But Marcus Connelly is not one of them. He searches for one thing, and one thing only. Revenge.

Because out there, riding the rails, stalking the camps, is the scarred vagrant who murdered Connelly's daughter. No one knows him, but everyone knows his name: Mr. Shivers.

In this extraordinary debut, Robert Jackson Bennett tells the story of an America haunted by murder and desperation. A world in which one man must face a dark truth and answer the question-how much is he willing to sacrifice for his satisfaction?

Stroby, Wallace.Gone Til November ($27) Signed

It's late at night when Florida sheriff's deputy Sara Cross arrives at the scene of a roadside shooting along a deserted highway. Another deputy, Billy Flynn, her former partner, who also happens to be her former lover, has fatally shot a twenty-two-year-old man during what started out as a routine traffic stop, and she's the first to arrive on the scene. He claims that the man pulled a gun, and that when he didn't respond to Billy's commands to drop it, Billy shot him. Billy is clearly upset, shaken up; Sarah sees the gun in the dead man's hand and the bag of illegal weapons in the trunk of his car and believes Billy's actions were justified.

Up north in New Jersey, Mikey-Mike runs a major drug operation and is tightening his hold on the competition, making a deal with a new supplier. Morgan, a middle-aged enforcer for Mikey who's been in the life too long, would like to make one last score, walk away, and retire for good. Mike asks Morgan to head to Florida to find out what's holding up his new deal, and Morgan sees the job as a possibility for his last big payday.

As more details of the roadside shooting emerge with Sara's investigation, and as Morgan follows the trail Mikey lays out for him, the two storylines begin to merge into a much darker, more menacing scenario than either Morgan or Sara imagined. Sara, in order to protect herself and her son, must follow the truth no matter where it leads.

Acclaimed crime writer Wallace Stroby delivers a gripping novel that is part modern noir, part intense character study---and totally compelling from start to finish.

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Goddard, Robert. Long Time Coming ($41) Signed

Eldritch Swan is a dead man. Or at least that is what his nephew Stephen has always been told. Until one day Eldritch walks back into his life after 36 years in an Irish prison. He won't reveal any of the details of his incarceration, insisting only that he is innocent of any crime. His return should be of interest to no-one. But the visit of a solicitor with a mysterious request will take Eldritch and his sceptical nephew from sleepy seaside Paignton to London, where an exhibition of Picasso paintings from the prestigious Brownlow collection proves to be the starting point on a journey that will transport them back to the Second World War and the mystery behind Eldritch's imprisonment. In 1940, he was personal assistant to a wealthy diamond dealer in Antwerp, whose collection of modern art was the envy of many. The subsequent disappearance of those paintings began a trail of murder and intrigue which was to have a catastrophic effect on Eldritch's life. But untangling the web of murky secrets, family ties and old betrayals that conceals the truth will prove to be a dangerous pursuit for Eldritch and Stephen. Before long, a mysterious enemy is doing everything possible to stop the truth emerging - at whatever cost...

Hewson, David. The Blue Demon. ($31) Signed

Twenty years ago, a mysterious group called the Butteri committed a series of bizarre crimes evoking the lost race of the Etruscans, and leaving in their wake a several bodies, a cryptic message, and a kidnapped child.
Now, the leaders of the G8 are descending on Rome for a summit at the Quirinale Palace. But when a politician is found ritually murdered, seemingly by a strange young man dressed as the Etruscan blue demon, detective Nic Costa suspects that the old case was never really solved. The Butteri have returned - and are planning to unleash a devastating sequence of attacks on the city.
Officially sidelined from the investigation but encouraged by the wily old Italian President, Dario Sordi, Costa and his team start to dig deeper into the past. There are still too many questions left unanswered - and much more to the history of the Butteri than anyone wants to admit . . .

Melanie Benjamin signed our first editions of Alice I Have Been

Melanie Benjamin signed our first editions of Alice I Have Been ($27) Signed "I saw an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago several years ago, titled "Dreaming in Pictures: the Photography of Lewis Carroll." I did not know that Lewis Carroll was a pioneer in photography; I did not even know that Lewis Carroll was a pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Certainly I had no inkling that there had ever been a "real" Alice! Once inside the exhibit, however, I was startled by the images Carroll-Dodgson-had taken; they were all prepubescent little girls. One photograph in particular captured my fancy; it was of a girl clad in rags, staring at the camera with a very frank-very adult-gaze. The caption informed me she was 7-year-old Alice Liddell, the daughter of Dean Liddell of Christ Church, Oxford, where Dodgson taught mathematics. The caption also said she was the inspiration for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "Hmmm...I wonder what ever happened to her?" I completely put it out of my mind while thinking about other writing projects! It wasn't until a few years later, when my friend Nic was visiting me from Australia and I took her to the Art Institute, that I remembered that earlier exhibit. Nic was the one who literally shoved me in front of the computer and told me I had to write this story; once I caught her enthusiasm and began to research it, the story just poured out of me. Through that research, then, I was re-introduced to the classic story; I read both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and was charmed and surprised. They were nothing like I had thought; I remain astonished at how clever a writer is Carroll, especially his playfulness with language." To read more click here

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Ford, Jasper. Shades of Grey (26) Signed

From the bestselling author of Thursday Next-a brilliant new novel about a world where social order and destiny are dictated by the colors you can see

Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color-but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means.

Eddie's world wasn't always like this. There's evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion.

Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey Nightseer from the dark, unlit side of the village. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.

Pattison, Elliot. Eye of the Raven, A Mystery of Colonial America
($28) Signed

With the aid of the Indian Shaman Conawago, Duncan McCallum has begun to heal from the massacre of his Highland clan by the British. But his new life is shattered when he and Conawago discover a dying Virginian officer nailed to an Indian shrine tree. To their horror, the authorities arrest Conawago and schedule his hanging. As Duncan begins a desperate search for the truth, he finds himself in a maelstrom of deception and violence. The year is 1760, and while the British army wishes to dismiss the killing as another casualty of its war with France, Duncan discovers a pattern of ritualistic murders that have less to do with the war than with provincial treaty negotiations and struggles between tribal factions. Ultimately he realizes that to find justice, he must brave the sprawling colonial capital of Philadelphia. There the answers are to be found in a tangle of Quakers, Christian Indians, and a scientist obsessed with the electrical experiments of the celebrated Dr. Franklin. With the tragic resolution in sight, Duncan understands the real mysteries underlying his quest lie in the hearts of natives who, like his Highland Scots, have glimpsed the end of their world approaching.

New Sidelines

It's always a challenge to come up with interesting sidelines. Sure we have cups and caps and tee-shirts and bookmarks galore.








And now we have Antiquarian Pocket Pads $9.99
for a set of 4.


And Antiquarian Bookplates
$12.99 (set of 55) to personalize you library.

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn Signed

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn Signed

Following the acclaimed Dog On It, the second mystery in the Chet and Bernie series featuring an irresistible canine narrator.

Second in a series called, "Nothing short of masterful.... Sequels are a given, and a must. "-- Los Angeles Times

"A winning debut...that fans of classic mysteries are sure to appreciate."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Stalwart, often mischevious narrator Chet's amusing, perceptive canine take on [the novel's] human characters should appeal to hard-boiled fans and canine fanciers alike."-- Kirkus Reviews

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Crais, Robert. First Rule ($27) Signed

From the New York Times-bestselling author who sets the standard for intense, powerful crime-writing comes a blistering thriller featuring Joe Pike and Elvis Cole.

The Watchman put Joe Pike, Elvis Cole's strong, taciturn partner, front and center, and not only won Robert Crais new audiences but remarkable reviews. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel said "Robert Crais elevates crime fiction" and now with The First Rule he does it again.

The organized criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union are bound by what they call the thieves' code. The first rule is this: A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must have no family-no wife, no children. We are his family. If any of the rules are broken, it is punishable by death.

Frank Meyer had the American dream-until the day a professional crew invaded his home and murdered everyone inside. The only thing out of the ordinary about Meyer was that- before the family and the business and the normal life-a younger Frank Meyer had worked as a professional mercenary, with a man named Joe Pike. The police think Meyer was hiding something very bad, but Pike does not. With the help of Cole, he sets out on a hunt of his own-an investigation that quickly entangles them both in a web of ancient grudges, blood ties, blackmail, vengeance, double crosses, and cutthroat criminal­ity, and at the heart of it, an act so terrible even Pike and Cole have no way to measure it. Sometimes, the past is never dead. It's not even past.

The First Rule is the most astonishing novel yet from the master of the crime thriller.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Committed ($27) Signed

At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert's trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to "turn on all the lights" when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert's memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

Hoffman, Beth. Saving Ceecee Honeycutt ($28) Signed

Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom

Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell.

In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

Kostova, Elizabeth. Swan Thieves ($27) Signed

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

NY Times Crime Critic Marilyn Stasio recommends these from 2009

Wonderful 2009 titles to add to your 'To Read' List

Connelly, Michael. The Scarecrow ($28 Signed)

Mosley, Walter. The Long Fall ($)

Vine, barbara. The Birthday Present ($25)

Deaver, Jeffrey. Roadside Crosses ($27)

Paretsky, Sara. Hardball ($26 Signed)

McDermid, Val. A Darker Domain ($25)

Indridason, Arnaldur. Arctic Chill ($25)

Roslund/Hellstrong. Box 21 ($26)

Neville, Stuart. Ghosts of Belfast ($25 Signed)

Lange, Richard. This Wicked World ($24)

Huston, Charlie. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death ($15)

Hall, Tarquin. The Case of the Missing Servant ($24)

Arsenault, Emily. The Broken Teaglass ($25)

Bradley, Alan. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ($15; $150 Signed UK)

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman Signed

Don't miss this lovely debut, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman ($28)

★ Starred Review From LIBRARY JOURNAL, “In Hoffman’s charming debut, Cecelia Rose (CeeCee) Honeycutt tells the story of her tragic life and the strong women who stepped in to save her. At age 12, CeeCee realizes her mother, flouncing around Willoughby, OH, in prom dresses and matching shoes, is crazy and the town’s laughingstock. Her father is never home, and nothing is going to change so CeeCee buries herself in books as an escape. But her true liberation comes after her mother’s tragic death when great-aunt Tootie sweeps CeeCee off to Savannah. There, a group of powerful, independent women offer the young girl love, laughter, and a new chance at life. Readers who enjoy strong female characters will appreciate CeeCee, a survivor despite her heartbreaking childhood, and Aunt Tootie and her friends, all of them steel magnolias. VERDICT: Exemplifying Southern storytelling at its best, this coming-of-age novel is sure to be a hit with the book clubs that adopted Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY “Galley Talk”, “Welcome to my world, baby girl” (to paraphrase Fannie Flagg’s title) is what came to my mind on meeting the narrator of Beth Hoffman’s delightful debut, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (Viking, Jan.). Twelve-year-old CeeCee is a survivor. Alone too much, and with too much responsibility because of her psychotic mother, CeeCee is old beyond her years. When her mother dies, her mostly absent father sends her south from Ohio to Savannah under the care of her never-before-seen Great Aunt Tootie. The reader is introduced to a wide assortment of Southern women, each of whom plays a role in CeeCee’s healing and coming to terms with her life. Each character also helps paint a detailed picture of the dichotomy between the ‘old South,’ with its decaying gentry, and the changing South, where black and white are more than servant/mistress and white gloves are being exchanged for jeans and flip-flops. This lovely novel has earned the status of ‘LizPick’ even before it’s published.”

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Doetsch, Richard. 13th Hour ($28 Signed)

A mesmerizing thriller -- told in reverse! The 13th Hour is the story of a man given the chance to go back in time in one-hour increments to prevent a vicious crime from destroying his life.

Nick Quinn is being held in jail, accused of the murder of his beloved wife, Julia. He knows she's dead; he saw her bloody corpse, shot in the head at point-blank range. The police tell him they found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on it in the trunk of his car. Nick is confused, grief-stricken -- and completely innocent.

At 9 p.m. on July 28, a gray-haired gentleman visits Nick in the police interrogation room and asks him a simple question: "If you could get out of here, if you could save her, would you?" He hands Nick a golden talisman that allows Nick to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. With each hour that Nick travels back, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia's real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past may have unexpected repercussions in the future.

In his race against time to save the woman he loves most in the world, Nick will find that friends become enemies, old loyalties are tested, and Julia's murder is part of a larger scheme that has its roots in greed and vengeance. Nick has the ability to save Julia, the chance to put his own world in balance, but he is venturing down a precarious route. If he hasn't set things right by the thirteenth hour, his desperate attempts to save Julia's life may lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have ever imagined.

A surprising and utterly original thriller, The 13th Hour is pure page-turning suspense -- full of double crosses, cliffhangers, and shocking revelations.

Estleman, Loren D. Alone ($27 Signed)

The second wacky comedic murder romp for Hollywood film detective ValentinoValentino wants to keep The Oracle, his beloved run-down movie palace, from being condemned before it even reopens, but murder keeps intruding into his otherwise quiet life. At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo, he’s having fun until the host, a hotshot developer named Rankin, tells Valentino about a certain letter from Garbo to his late wife. She and Garbo had been…close.Such a letter is of great interest to a film archivist like Valentino, but the the plot thickens when Rankin tells Val that his assistant, Akers, is using this letter to blackmail him. Val is appalled by the thought of blackmail…but that letter sounds juicier all the time. Returning to Rankin’s mansion after the party, Val finds Rankin sitting at his desk with a pistol in his hand, looking at Akers’s dead body on the floor.Valentino’s in a quandary. He’d love to see that letter, but he can’t. He’s gotten his girlfriend—who works for the police—in trouble, so his love life is, pardon the expression, shot to hell. Worse yet, the building inspector has kicked him out of his unfinished living space in the Oracle, so he takes his life in his hands and moves in with his eccentric mentor, the elderly, insomniac Professor Broadhead. No love, no sleep, no letter—life isn’t fair!

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Committed ($27 Signed)

At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which—after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing—gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert’s trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to “turn on all the lights” when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

McPherson, Catriona. Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains ($45 Signed)

1st May 1926 - Dear Alec,
Just when those who should be working are all downing tools for this wretched strike (and I still can’t believe it – I mean to say: riots, Alec – in Edinburgh of all places) guess who is setting her virgin shoulder to its very first wheel?
I am dressed in serge and sensible footwear, sleeping in an iron bed and dining off pickled tongue at six o’clock each day. I am, in short, that nice young Mrs Balfour's new maid. But don’t worry, Alec dear: things haven’t got as bad as all that. It’s just that that nice young Mr Balfour is going to kill his wife. At least, she thinks so, and the more I hear about him from butler, cook and bootboy the more I’m inclined to agree.
So I’m undercover, in disguise, bent upon foiling. And jolly hard work it is too – tomorrow is my half-day free if you’d care take me out for a restorative bun. (Every maid needs a beau to buy buns for her.)
Yours,
Dandy xx
p.s. Ask for Miss Rossiter: below stairs I am she.

Nikitas, Derek. The Long Division ($27 Signed)

This title earned a Starred Review from PW, "At the start of Nikitas's stellar second novel (after his Edgar-finalist debut, Pyres), Jodie Larkin, a house cleaner in Atlanta, succumbs to temptation—she steals $5,000 and a car from a client—and sets off to visit the son she gave up for adoption and whom she hasn't seen in five years. Cal Nowak, Jodie's now 15-year-old son, lives in Cape Fear, N.C., and is struggling with his sexual identity. Together, Jodie and Cal set off north on a desperate, doomed journey. Meanwhile, SUNY student Wynn Johnston is trying to help a friend rescue the friend's missing sister, and Weymouth, N.Y., deputy Sam Hartwick must deal with his dying wife and a double murder. Sentences, paragraphs, even chapters don't so much end as act like synapses jumping to the next sequence. Nikitas effectively picks up and drops each thread. Beautifully realized characterizations power complex story lines that meet and connect this disparate group with the inevitability of Greek tragedy. "

Some of the Poisoned Pen Staff Pick the Best of 2009

Joanne HamiltonSelway
1. Stockton, Kathleen. The Help ($25)
2. Collins, Suzanne Catching Fire ($18)
3. Walls, Jeannette. GlassCastle ($15)
4. Shaffer, Mary Ann. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ($14)
5. Krakauer, John. Where Men Win Glory: the Odyssey of Pat Tillman ($28)
6. Harris, Charlaine. Dead and Gone ($26)
7. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Lacuna ($40) Signed
8. Schenkar, Joan. The Talented Miss Highsmith ($40)
9. Larsson, Stieg. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (15)
10 Barbery, Muriel. Elegance of the Hedgehog ($15)

John Goodwin
1. Ferrigno, Robert. Heart of the Assassin ($28) Signed
2. Ghelfi, Brent. Venona Cable ($25) Signed
3. Fesperman, Dan. Arms Maker of Berlin ($27) Signed
4. Burke, James Lee. Rain Gods ($28) Signed
5. Rankin, Ian. Complaints ($25)
6. Kanon, Joseph. Stardust ($28) Signed
7. Ellroy, James. Bloods a Rover( $28)
8. Bradley, Alan. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ($15)
9. Pattison, Eliot. Lord of Death ($26) Signed
10. God. Green Bible ($30)

John Nadeau
1. Burke, James Lee. Rain Gods ($28 Signed)
2. Sandford, John Wicked Prey ($28)
3. Leather, Stephen. Live Fire ($15)
4. Koryta, Michael. Silent Hour ($25 Signed)
5. Lakeman, Thomas. Broken Wing ($26)
6. Box, CJ. Three Weeks To Say Goodbye ($7.99)
7. Morrell, David. The Shimmer ($26) Signed
8. Gage, Leighton. Buried Strangers ($13)
9. Atkins, Ace. Devil's Garden ($25)
10. White, Randy Wayne. Dead Silence ($26)

Lea Love
1. Bazell, Josh. Beat the Reaper ($15)
2. Ryan, Andie. Shakedown ($16)
3. Bauermeister, Erica. School of Essential Ingredients ($15)
4. Quinn, Spenser. Dog on It ($15)
5. Stockton, Kathleen. The Help ($25)
6. Larsson, Stieg. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (15)
7. Larsson, Stieg. Girl Who Played with Fire ($26)
8. Littlefield, Sohie. Bad Day For Sorry ($25)
9. Barr, Nevada. 13 1/2 ($26) Signed
10. Cain, Chelsea. Evil at Heart ($25) Signed

Lorri Amsden
1. Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire ($18)
2. Correia, Larry. Monster Hunter International ($8) Signed
3. Levitt, John. Unleashed ($8)
4. Clare, Cassandra. City of Glass ($18)
5. Snyder, Maria V. Storm Glass ($14)
6. Simner, Janni Lee. Bones of Faerie ($17)
7. Dann, Jack. The Dragon Book ($25)
8. Garcia, Kami and Margaret Stohl. Beautiful Creatures ($18)
9. Harris, Charlaine. Grave Secrets ($27) Signed
10. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Lacuna ($40) Signed

Patrick Millikin
1. Abbott, Megan. Bury Me Deep ($15)
2. Ellroy, James. Bloods a Rover ($28)
3. Green, Norman. The Last Gig. ($28)
4. Huston, Charlie. The Mystic Arts of Erasing all Signs of Death.($15)
5. Lange, Richard. This Wicked World ($24)
6. Littlefield, Sohie. Bad Day For Sorry ($25)
7. Neville, Stuart. Ghosts of Belfast ($25) Signed
8. Nikitas, Derek. The Long Division ($27) Signed
9. Rabb, Jonathan. Shadow And Light ($26)
10. Rayner, Richard. A Bright and Guilty Place ($25)

Pat King
1.Larsson, Steig. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($15)
2. Correia, Larry. Monster Hunter International ($8)
3. Butcher, Jim. Turn Coat. ($26)
4. Quinn, Spencer. Dog On It ($15)
5. Carey, Mike. Dead Men's Boots ($26)
6. Penny, Louise. Brutal Telling ($25) Signed
7. Fesperman, Dan. Arms Maker of Berlin ($25) Signed
8. Sanderson, Brandon. Gathering Storm ($30) Signed
9. Walker, Martin. Bruno Chief of Police ($25)
10. Crombie, Deborah. Necessary As Blood ($25) Signed

Will Hanisko
1. Wambaugh, Joseph. Hollywood Moon ($27) Signed
2. Sanderson, Brandon. The Gathering Storm ($30) Signed
3. Connolly, John. The Gates ($24) Signed
4. Bruen, Ken and Reed Farrel Coleman. Tower ($15)
5. Millikin, Patrick. Phoenix Noir ($16) Signed
6. Grafton, Sue. U is for Undertow ($28) Signed
7. Abbott, Megan. Bury Me Deep ($15)
8. Bradley, Alan. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ($15)
9. Simmons, Dan. Drood ($27)
10. Siger, Jeffrey. Murder in Mykonos ($15)

OK, what about me, Barbara?
All the Club Picks but the Hardboiled Club represent favorites for me.
The 2009 Club Picks list will be posted shortly.

Meanwhile here are some of my favorites available in trade paperbacks:

Abbott, Megan. Bury Me Deep ($15)
Barron, Stephanie. WhiteGarden ($15)
Bauermeister, Erica. School of Essential Ingredients ($15)
Bazell, Josh. Beat the Reaper ($15)
Bradley, Alan. The Sweetness in the Bottom of the Pie ($15)
Clements, Rory. Martyr ($15)
Dillon, Eilis. Death at Cranes Court ($15)
Gage, Leighton. Buried Strangers ($13)
Hall, MK. Coroner ($16)
Lee, Janice. The Piano Teacher ($15)
Myers, Tamar. The Witch Doctor's Wife ($15)
Nunn, Mala. A Beautiful Place to Die ($15).
Ryan, Andie. Shakedown ($15)
Siger, Jeffrey. Murder in Mykonos ($15)