Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the Winners for the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2009. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at our 64th Gala Banquet, April 29, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.
BEST NOVEL
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Body Blows by Marc Strange (Dundurn Press – Castle Street Mysteries)
BEST FACT CRIME
Columbine by Dave Cullen (Hachette Book Group - Twelve)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
The Lineup: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives edited by Otto Penzler (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
BEST SHORT STORY
"Amapola" – Phoenix Noir by Luis Alberto Urrea (Akashic Books)
BEST JUVENILE
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Reality Check by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperTeen)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
"Place of Execution," Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (PBS/WGBH Boston)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"A Dreadful Day" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Dan Warthman (Dell Magazines)
GRAND MASTER
Dorothy Gilman
RAVEN AWARDS
Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Zev Buffman, International Mystery Writers’ Festival
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Poisoned Pen Press (Barbara Peters & Robert Rosenwald)
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
(Presented at MWA’s Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 28, 2010)
Awakening by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur Books)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Notes from Barbara (She's seen Hemingway's Ghost in France!)
She hasn't actually, but it seemed like a good attention getting headline. Barbara's notes from her vacation follow, full of things much greater than ghosts actually, volcanoes.
TRAVELOGUE
Part I: GETTING TO FRANCE
Who knew when arranging travel plans last fall that despite all precautions, a major disruption (ouch, bad pun) would occur? A volcano.
Actually, we were very lucky, we ended up being stranded in New York City, if one viewed a bonus day in the Big Apple as “stranded,” for just one day. It was fun, really, and since we were staying at my sister’s while she and her husband were stranded in Rome, no real crisis arose. Many travelers were truly inconvenienced and faced real expenses. Those on the European end had some protections from the EU regarding hotel and restaurant expenses, but on the US side, the enforced layovers were costly.
So, what did we do? Met with various publishers for one, did some work.
Two museum junkies us, so we saw in our 3 ½ days: A show on architect Andrea Palladio at the Morgan Library, drawing and models including one of Thomas Jefferson’s design he submitted for the White House, based on Palladian principles such as Jefferson used for Monticello and the University of Virginia. America is actually loaded with Palladian-style buildings drawing on classics principles.
A visit to the Frick Museum at 5th and 70th. Frick left a remarkable collection of art in his mansion for the public to enjoy and, good for him, he did not decree that it remain forever static. Thus changes had been made since my last visit. It’s very much like visiting a home (well, a huge home) to tour the Frick. I was inspired in part to return to it by our visit to Pittsburgh last fall where the first Frick mansion,
Edwardian, and museum are located. Fascinating to contrast the two and see how
Frick, once a collaborator of Andrew Carnegie, scaled up as he grew richer.
The Asian Museum at Park and 70th. Killer restaurant where we had lunch. Excellent show on Viet Nam discoveries and one on Buddhist pilgrimages. We’d not been to this fine museum before but highly recommend it, and its terrific gift shop. The shows obviously will change so check ahead.
The Metropolitan Museum up 5th at about 82nd Street. A gorgeous spring walk through Central Park from the Frick to get there. A fine show, Japanese, from the Packard collection, with a killer scroll in black and white: a river landscape/journey, with poems and drawings. A superb illustrated manuscript show with magnifying glasses provided through which to view the separate page displays. An excellent video on the art of making illuminated manuscripts on vellum. Much documentation on the history of Jean, duc du Berry, as well as the purpose of his book and how it was used. Most of the time you just get to see a page or two of a gem like Les Tres Riches Heures, but here you could view the whole thing, page by page. Some new stuff in the American wing, a revisit of the chariot claimed by an Italian town which the Met is not returning. Coffee in the sculpture court. The Met has gone so smart and now stays open until9 pm Friday and Saturday nights, it’s a happening place, the gallery becomes a bar with music, the NY Philharmonic was doing a ticketed concert
(sold out) for Sunday: what a good idea to use this wonderful building so well.
And finally, in a short trip on our Sunday half day before heading off to Newark and an in-the-end successful effort to board a flight from NY-Toulouse rather than NY-Paris as planned, a visit to MOMA. The Museum of Modern Art featured a Picasso show, early drawings mostly, a living artists exhibition (some nudes we here, we didn’t take the time to go in), and a superb photography show,, the work of Cartier-Bresson. Portraits mostly, and most candid, but urban and country scenes, too. I especially liked the very young Truman Capote and the very manic Ezra Pound portraits. The range of his work, all over the world including scenes inside China in 1947-48 and inside Stalin’s Russia, is shown by huge maps on the walls tracing his routes.
What did we do at night? A dinner meeting. A performance of Wicked on Broadway. I had a night at the opera, Armida with Renee Fleming and six tenors. And we had a dinner for two at a restaurant Rob discovered that was superb: Veritas. Plus a pre-theater meal at the Red Cat. Both highly recommended. You have to run around all day to burn up enough calories to do this, and museums give you hours of walking plus there’s all the toing and froing to get there. Through parks like Central and Bryant and pocket parks and, a discovery, the new High Line Park along the Hudson for a ways, a creative use of old elevated train tracks now landscaped with wild grasses and made into a unique pedestrian thoroughfare. I did the whole length and also grabbed the subway to get down to near City Hall and visit our colleagues at the Mysterious Bookshop.
The real challenge however of our four days in the city was to leave the city and get to France where we were meeting up with Laurie R King in Paris, in theory, and then heading to the Dordogne for some weeks. Rob monitored volcano reports. Our airline, a boutique offshoot of British air that flies only Newark to Paris right now, emailed us updates. Sunday morning April 18 they said they had clearance to take two planes to Toulouse as Paris remained closed.
Now here’s a tip if you don’t travel a lot. When this happens, you must confirm with the airline that you wish to fly, and you wish to choose this option. To do that can mean you call in and hang on hold forever. Many passengers either did not or got fed up after an hour on hold, and so did not get on the Sunday fly list. Rob put the phone on speaker and cooked brunch for our nephew and his wife and so we eventually made it onto the second flight manifest. Thus when we trundled out to Newark we were OK despite the three-hour check in line.
I thought it unfair, frankly, that people originally booked to fly Sunday night got bumped unless they had reconfirmed – you wouldn’t normally think you could be cancelled by other passengers from earlier flights – but the change of destination and the delays meant, one guesses, from the airline’s point of view that a lot of ticketed passengers might not show up. Plus they wanted to move people able to get to the airport and go to Toulouse to France and start clearing backlog.
The flight itself was a breeze and for us, Toulouse was actually more convenient than Paris. But we did end up having to rent a car, drive to the Dordogne, and then
Drive back to Toulouse in two cars the next day in order to retrieve Laurie who had found a flight from Lisbon to Toulouse. We have now memorized the auto route between Saint Cere and Toulouse and know the airport better than our own.
All of which is intended to say, travel is not for the faint hearted or the inflexible. Know yourself before committing.
Part II next: Visiting the Dordogne and Lot.
Part III will be our vacation from the vacation: driving up to Paris via the Auvergne and one of the world’s best restaurants (5th best some say) and an overnight to NY for the Edgars, then some chateaux and some porcelain in Limoges on our way back south to the village we are visiting. Even now Rob is tracking our main luggage which we discover only today has made it to Toulouse. Is yet a third trip to its airport tomorrow in our plans?
Here is where we are dining with or without our luggage:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/dinner-with-a-deity-master-chef-michel-bras
It’s not just indulgence: this is the basis for Peter May’s 2011 novel, the 5th of the Enzo files about the death of a famous chef who runs a fantastic restaurant/hotel in a small village in the Auvergne. His genius has earned him three Michelin stars and gigs in NY such as shown in the link. So, we can call our visit there “research.”
TRAVELOGUE
Part I: GETTING TO FRANCE
Who knew when arranging travel plans last fall that despite all precautions, a major disruption (ouch, bad pun) would occur? A volcano.
Actually, we were very lucky, we ended up being stranded in New York City, if one viewed a bonus day in the Big Apple as “stranded,” for just one day. It was fun, really, and since we were staying at my sister’s while she and her husband were stranded in Rome, no real crisis arose. Many travelers were truly inconvenienced and faced real expenses. Those on the European end had some protections from the EU regarding hotel and restaurant expenses, but on the US side, the enforced layovers were costly.
So, what did we do? Met with various publishers for one, did some work.
Two museum junkies us, so we saw in our 3 ½ days: A show on architect Andrea Palladio at the Morgan Library, drawing and models including one of Thomas Jefferson’s design he submitted for the White House, based on Palladian principles such as Jefferson used for Monticello and the University of Virginia. America is actually loaded with Palladian-style buildings drawing on classics principles.
A visit to the Frick Museum at 5th and 70th. Frick left a remarkable collection of art in his mansion for the public to enjoy and, good for him, he did not decree that it remain forever static. Thus changes had been made since my last visit. It’s very much like visiting a home (well, a huge home) to tour the Frick. I was inspired in part to return to it by our visit to Pittsburgh last fall where the first Frick mansion,
Edwardian, and museum are located. Fascinating to contrast the two and see how
Frick, once a collaborator of Andrew Carnegie, scaled up as he grew richer.
The Asian Museum at Park and 70th. Killer restaurant where we had lunch. Excellent show on Viet Nam discoveries and one on Buddhist pilgrimages. We’d not been to this fine museum before but highly recommend it, and its terrific gift shop. The shows obviously will change so check ahead.
The Metropolitan Museum up 5th at about 82nd Street. A gorgeous spring walk through Central Park from the Frick to get there. A fine show, Japanese, from the Packard collection, with a killer scroll in black and white: a river landscape/journey, with poems and drawings. A superb illustrated manuscript show with magnifying glasses provided through which to view the separate page displays. An excellent video on the art of making illuminated manuscripts on vellum. Much documentation on the history of Jean, duc du Berry, as well as the purpose of his book and how it was used. Most of the time you just get to see a page or two of a gem like Les Tres Riches Heures, but here you could view the whole thing, page by page. Some new stuff in the American wing, a revisit of the chariot claimed by an Italian town which the Met is not returning. Coffee in the sculpture court. The Met has gone so smart and now stays open until9 pm Friday and Saturday nights, it’s a happening place, the gallery becomes a bar with music, the NY Philharmonic was doing a ticketed concert
(sold out) for Sunday: what a good idea to use this wonderful building so well.
And finally, in a short trip on our Sunday half day before heading off to Newark and an in-the-end successful effort to board a flight from NY-Toulouse rather than NY-Paris as planned, a visit to MOMA. The Museum of Modern Art featured a Picasso show, early drawings mostly, a living artists exhibition (some nudes we here, we didn’t take the time to go in), and a superb photography show,, the work of Cartier-Bresson. Portraits mostly, and most candid, but urban and country scenes, too. I especially liked the very young Truman Capote and the very manic Ezra Pound portraits. The range of his work, all over the world including scenes inside China in 1947-48 and inside Stalin’s Russia, is shown by huge maps on the walls tracing his routes.
What did we do at night? A dinner meeting. A performance of Wicked on Broadway. I had a night at the opera, Armida with Renee Fleming and six tenors. And we had a dinner for two at a restaurant Rob discovered that was superb: Veritas. Plus a pre-theater meal at the Red Cat. Both highly recommended. You have to run around all day to burn up enough calories to do this, and museums give you hours of walking plus there’s all the toing and froing to get there. Through parks like Central and Bryant and pocket parks and, a discovery, the new High Line Park along the Hudson for a ways, a creative use of old elevated train tracks now landscaped with wild grasses and made into a unique pedestrian thoroughfare. I did the whole length and also grabbed the subway to get down to near City Hall and visit our colleagues at the Mysterious Bookshop.
The real challenge however of our four days in the city was to leave the city and get to France where we were meeting up with Laurie R King in Paris, in theory, and then heading to the Dordogne for some weeks. Rob monitored volcano reports. Our airline, a boutique offshoot of British air that flies only Newark to Paris right now, emailed us updates. Sunday morning April 18 they said they had clearance to take two planes to Toulouse as Paris remained closed.
Now here’s a tip if you don’t travel a lot. When this happens, you must confirm with the airline that you wish to fly, and you wish to choose this option. To do that can mean you call in and hang on hold forever. Many passengers either did not or got fed up after an hour on hold, and so did not get on the Sunday fly list. Rob put the phone on speaker and cooked brunch for our nephew and his wife and so we eventually made it onto the second flight manifest. Thus when we trundled out to Newark we were OK despite the three-hour check in line.
I thought it unfair, frankly, that people originally booked to fly Sunday night got bumped unless they had reconfirmed – you wouldn’t normally think you could be cancelled by other passengers from earlier flights – but the change of destination and the delays meant, one guesses, from the airline’s point of view that a lot of ticketed passengers might not show up. Plus they wanted to move people able to get to the airport and go to Toulouse to France and start clearing backlog.
The flight itself was a breeze and for us, Toulouse was actually more convenient than Paris. But we did end up having to rent a car, drive to the Dordogne, and then
Drive back to Toulouse in two cars the next day in order to retrieve Laurie who had found a flight from Lisbon to Toulouse. We have now memorized the auto route between Saint Cere and Toulouse and know the airport better than our own.
All of which is intended to say, travel is not for the faint hearted or the inflexible. Know yourself before committing.
Part II next: Visiting the Dordogne and Lot.
Part III will be our vacation from the vacation: driving up to Paris via the Auvergne and one of the world’s best restaurants (5th best some say) and an overnight to NY for the Edgars, then some chateaux and some porcelain in Limoges on our way back south to the village we are visiting. Even now Rob is tracking our main luggage which we discover only today has made it to Toulouse. Is yet a third trip to its airport tomorrow in our plans?
Here is where we are dining with or without our luggage:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/dinner-with-a-deity-master-chef-michel-bras
It’s not just indulgence: this is the basis for Peter May’s 2011 novel, the 5th of the Enzo files about the death of a famous chef who runs a fantastic restaurant/hotel in a small village in the Auvergne. His genius has earned him three Michelin stars and gigs in NY such as shown in the link. So, we can call our visit there “research.”
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Larry Karp's Latest gets a Killer Review
a great review via http://www.killerbooks.org/
-------
This month's Killer Books
Who better to pick the best mystery books of the month than the people who run mystery bookstores?
Each month, the 40-odd quirky stores that make up IMBA submit their favorite recent reads to a rotating editor who then trims the list to five.
Most are recent publications but sometimes something we missed the first time around sneaks in.
Every selection is a gem that otherwise might have been lost among the more than 100 mysteries published each month.
THE RAGTIME FOOL by Larry Karp
recommended by Bill Farley, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seattle, WA
As with the two earlier books, there's a murder mystery involved here. This time the author uses a clever device of giving Brun a neighbor who's a science fiction author to speculate on possible solutions to the crime. But this story turns into a genuine thriller, too, as the journal becomes sought not just by Campbell, but by Joplin's daughter (or is she?), former musician friends, the Ku Klux Klan, and a teenager from New Jersey. (I don't think I'm forgetting anybody.) Some of them want to promote the journal, and some want to bury it. Some will literally kill for it.
Once again, Larry Karp presents an authentic view of the time period, when in many parts of our country bigotry was as commonplace and blatant in the 1950's as in 1916 (King) or the turn of the 20th Century (Kid). In the process he can't resist a couple of real gotchas. You'll know them when you see them.
If you haven't read the first two, start with them, then enjoy The Ragtime Fool.
-------------------------------------
Larry Karp will be at The Poisoned Pen in June along with author Simon Wood, as well as doing a solo appearance in Glendale at The Velma Teague library. Check www.poisonedpen.com/event-calendar for details.
Monday, April 26, 2010
TUESDAY, APRIL 27 Michael Harvey 7pm
Join us TUESDAY, APRIL 27 for an evening with author Michael Harvey at 7pm
Harvey signs
The Third Rail (Knopf $24.95) The ferocious new novel from the author of The Chicago Way ("A major new voice"-Michael Connelly) and The Fifth Floor finds Michael Harvey at the top of his game in an expertly plotted, impossible to put down thriller set in Chicago's public transit system.
Harvey's tough talking, Aeschylus-quoting, former Irish cop turned PI, Michael Kelly, is back in a sizzling murder mystery that pits him against a merciless sniper on the loose. After witnessing a shooting on an L platform - and receiving a phone call from the killer himself - Kelly is drawn toward a murderer with an unnerving link to his own past, to a crime he witnessed as a child, and to the consequences it had on his relationship with his father, a subject Kelly would prefer to leave unexamined. But when his girlfriend - the gorgeous Chicago judge Rachel Swenson - is abducted, Kelly has no choice but to find the killer by excavating his own stormy past.
Stylish, sophisticated, edge-of-your-seat suspense from a new modern master.
Harvey signs
The Third Rail (Knopf $24.95) The ferocious new novel from the author of The Chicago Way ("A major new voice"-Michael Connelly) and The Fifth Floor finds Michael Harvey at the top of his game in an expertly plotted, impossible to put down thriller set in Chicago's public transit system.Harvey's tough talking, Aeschylus-quoting, former Irish cop turned PI, Michael Kelly, is back in a sizzling murder mystery that pits him against a merciless sniper on the loose. After witnessing a shooting on an L platform - and receiving a phone call from the killer himself - Kelly is drawn toward a murderer with an unnerving link to his own past, to a crime he witnessed as a child, and to the consequences it had on his relationship with his father, a subject Kelly would prefer to leave unexamined. But when his girlfriend - the gorgeous Chicago judge Rachel Swenson - is abducted, Kelly has no choice but to find the killer by excavating his own stormy past.
Stylish, sophisticated, edge-of-your-seat suspense from a new modern master.
New Signed UK Titles Just In
Meyer, Deon. Thirteen Hours ($42) Signed
Some would call Detective Benny Griessel a legend. Others would call him a drunk.
Either way, he has trodden on too many toes over the years ever to reach the top of the promotion ladder, and now he concentrates on staying sober and mentoring the new generation of crime fighters – mixed race, Xhosa and Zulu. But when an American backpacker disappears in Capetown, panicked politicians know who to call: Benny has just thirteen hours to save the girl, save his career – and crack open a conspiracy which threatens the whole country.
A potent, suspenseful thriller, and a brilliant portrait of life in the country that will host the 2010 World Cup.
Rickman, Phil. The Bones of Avalon ($41)Signed
Religio
us strife, Glastonbury legends, the bones of King Arthur and the curse of the Tudors...can Renaissance man John Dee help the young Queen Elizabeth to avoid it? It is 1560. Elizabeth Tudor has been on the throne for a year, the date for her coronation having been chosen by her astrologer, Dr John Dee, at just 32 already famous throughout Europe as a mathematician and expert in the hidden arts. But neither Elizabeth nor Dee feel entirely secure. Both have known imprisonment for political reasons. The Queen is unpopular with both Roman Catholics and the new breed of puritanical protestant. Dee is regarded with suspicion in an era where the dividing line between science and sorcery is, at best, indistinct. And the assignment he's been given by the Queen's chief minister, Sir William Cecil, will blur it further: ride to the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, bring back King Arthur's bones. The mission takes the mild, bookish Dee to the tangled roots of English magic and the Arthurian legacy so important to the Tudors. Into unexpected violence, spiritual darkness, the breathless stirring of first love...and the cold heart of a complex plot against Elizabeth. With him is his friend and former student, Robert Dudley, a risk-taker, a wild card...and possibly the Queen's secret lover. Dee is Elizabethan England's forgotten hero. A man for whom this world - even the rapidly-expanding world of the Renaissance - was never enough.
Robertson, Imogen. Anatomy of Murder ($45) Signed
'Makes y
ou want to read every word...the plot is serpentine and satisfying, with enough false trails and distractions to create a genuine mystery’ Telegraph
London, 1781. Harriet Westerman waits for news of her husband, gravely injured at sea. The streets of the city seethe with rumour and conspiracy as the King’s navy battles the French at sea. And while the banks of the Thames swarm with life, a body is dragged from its murky waters. In another part of town, where the air seems sweeter, the privileged enjoy a brighter world of complacent wealth and intoxicating celebrity. But as society revels in its pleasurable diversions, a darker plot is being played out.
Yet some are willing to look below the surface, no matter how unsavoury the depths. Harriet believes passionately in justice. Reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther is fascinated by the bones beneath the skin. Invited to seek the true nature of the dead man, they risk censure for an unnatural interest in murder. But when the safety of a nation is at stake, personal reputation must give way to the pursuit of reason and truth.
Some would call Detective Benny Griessel a legend. Others would call him a drunk.Either way, he has trodden on too many toes over the years ever to reach the top of the promotion ladder, and now he concentrates on staying sober and mentoring the new generation of crime fighters – mixed race, Xhosa and Zulu. But when an American backpacker disappears in Capetown, panicked politicians know who to call: Benny has just thirteen hours to save the girl, save his career – and crack open a conspiracy which threatens the whole country.
A potent, suspenseful thriller, and a brilliant portrait of life in the country that will host the 2010 World Cup.
Rickman, Phil. The Bones of Avalon ($41)Signed
Religio
us strife, Glastonbury legends, the bones of King Arthur and the curse of the Tudors...can Renaissance man John Dee help the young Queen Elizabeth to avoid it? It is 1560. Elizabeth Tudor has been on the throne for a year, the date for her coronation having been chosen by her astrologer, Dr John Dee, at just 32 already famous throughout Europe as a mathematician and expert in the hidden arts. But neither Elizabeth nor Dee feel entirely secure. Both have known imprisonment for political reasons. The Queen is unpopular with both Roman Catholics and the new breed of puritanical protestant. Dee is regarded with suspicion in an era where the dividing line between science and sorcery is, at best, indistinct. And the assignment he's been given by the Queen's chief minister, Sir William Cecil, will blur it further: ride to the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, bring back King Arthur's bones. The mission takes the mild, bookish Dee to the tangled roots of English magic and the Arthurian legacy so important to the Tudors. Into unexpected violence, spiritual darkness, the breathless stirring of first love...and the cold heart of a complex plot against Elizabeth. With him is his friend and former student, Robert Dudley, a risk-taker, a wild card...and possibly the Queen's secret lover. Dee is Elizabethan England's forgotten hero. A man for whom this world - even the rapidly-expanding world of the Renaissance - was never enough. Robertson, Imogen. Anatomy of Murder ($45) Signed
'Makes y
ou want to read every word...the plot is serpentine and satisfying, with enough false trails and distractions to create a genuine mystery’ TelegraphLondon, 1781. Harriet Westerman waits for news of her husband, gravely injured at sea. The streets of the city seethe with rumour and conspiracy as the King’s navy battles the French at sea. And while the banks of the Thames swarm with life, a body is dragged from its murky waters. In another part of town, where the air seems sweeter, the privileged enjoy a brighter world of complacent wealth and intoxicating celebrity. But as society revels in its pleasurable diversions, a darker plot is being played out.
Yet some are willing to look below the surface, no matter how unsavoury the depths. Harriet believes passionately in justice. Reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther is fascinated by the bones beneath the skin. Invited to seek the true nature of the dead man, they risk censure for an unnatural interest in murder. But when the safety of a nation is at stake, personal reputation must give way to the pursuit of reason and truth.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Agents of Treachery by Otto Penzler Signed Limited Edition ($150)
Penzler, Otto. Agents of Treachery HC Signed Limited Edition ($150)
Editor Otto Penzler has handpicked some of the most respected and bestselling thriller writers working today for a riveting collection of spy fiction. From first to last, this stellar collection signals mission accomplished.
* Lee Child with an incredible look at the formation of a special ops cell.
* James Grady writing about an Arab undercover FBI agent with an active cell.
* Joseph Finder riffing on a Boston architect who's convinced his Persian neighbors are up to no good.
* John Lawton concocting a Len Deighton-esque story about British intelligence.
* Stephen Hunter thrilling us with a tale about a WWII brigade.
Also included:James Grady, Charles McCarry, Lee Child, Joseph Finder, John Lawton, John Weisman, Stephen Hunter, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Andrew Klavan, Robert Wilson, Dan Fesperman, Stella Rimington, Olen Steinhauer
Monday, April 19, 2010
Susan Witting Albert's New Title
Albert, Susan Witting. Holly Blues ($27) Signed
"In a cl
ass with...sleuths V.I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum," China Bayles deals with a most unwelcome guest...
China Bayles is fit to spit when her husband's troubled ex-wife, Sally, shows up at her herb shop, claiming to be broke with nowhere else to turn. China isn't sure if it's the goodness of her heart or the scent of Christmas wreaths, but she invites Sally to stay.
Then China starts receiving menacing calls from an "ex" of Sally's, who seems to have a connection to the murder of her parents nearly a decade ago. With her P.I. husband out of town, it's up to China to weed out the truth behind whatever it is Sally's running from before danger catches up to all of them....
"In a cl
ass with...sleuths V.I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum," China Bayles deals with a most unwelcome guest... China Bayles is fit to spit when her husband's troubled ex-wife, Sally, shows up at her herb shop, claiming to be broke with nowhere else to turn. China isn't sure if it's the goodness of her heart or the scent of Christmas wreaths, but she invites Sally to stay.
Then China starts receiving menacing calls from an "ex" of Sally's, who seems to have a connection to the murder of her parents nearly a decade ago. With her P.I. husband out of town, it's up to China to weed out the truth behind whatever it is Sally's running from before danger catches up to all of them....
Friday, April 16, 2010
News Just In
Erin Hart had to cancel her event due to an injury but we are making arrangements to have her new title False Mermaid, 3rd in her award-wining Nora Gavin series, signed.The chilling, much-anticipated third novel in a series that brilliantly combines forensics, archaeology, and history with Irish myth and mystery.
Erin Hart's Haunted Ground was one of the most praised mystery debuts in recent years, and its follow-up, Lake of Sorrows, also received outstanding acclaim. Now Hart combines her page-turning storytelling skills and deep knowledge of Ireland and Irish myth with a Minnesota setting close to her heart.
Nora Gavin remains haunted by a cold case that nearly cost her sanity five years ago: her sister TrÃona's brutal murder. After failing to bring the killer to justice, Nora fled to Ireland, throwing herself into her work and taking the first tentative steps in a new relationship with Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire. She's driven home by unwelcome news: TrÃona's husband—and the prime suspect in her murder—is about to remarry. Nora is determined to succeed this time, even if it means confronting unsettling secrets. As she digs ever closer to the truth, the killer zeroes in on TrÃona's young daughter, Elizabeth.
Back in Ireland, Cormac Maguire heads north to visit his ailing father, and hears the tale of a local woman who vanished a hundred years ago. Was she a seal-maiden who returned to the sea, or was some more sinister force at work in her disappearance?
Caught up in parallel mysteries, Cormac and Nora wrestle with identity, suspicion, truth and falsehood, and of course the biggest riddle of all—will they have a chance at a life together, or will tragedies of the past continue to keep them apart?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Glynn, Alan. Winterland ($28) Signed
Horan, Ellen. 31 Bond Street ($28) Signed
Starre
d Review from Booklist, " Scandal, social climbing, and corruption in Manhattan during the 1850s come alive in Horan’s historical mystery. Emma Cunningham, a widow with two teenage daughters, becomes financially and emotionally involved with Harvey Burdell, a wealthy dentist and land speculator. Without witnesses, he is murdered brutally in their Bond Street townhouse, and Cunningham is accused of the crime. An ambitious lawyer, Henry Clinton, risks his reputation and livelihood to defend her and solve the crime. Meanwhile, Horan describes living conditions in mid-nineteenth-century Manhattan: government corruption is rampant, Tammany Hall is coming to power, the Fugitive Slave Acts threaten to undo the work of the Underground Railroad, and poverty and wealth run equally rampant. Horan’s characters, like Edith Wharton’s, are motivated by social class and survival in a world ruled by wealth and national uncertainty. This unique look at history and the private lives of those affected by it makes for captivating reading."
Udall, Brady. The Lonely Polygamist ($29) Signed
Starre
d review from PW, "A family drama with stinging turns of dark comedy, the latest from Udall (The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint) is a superb performance and as comic as it is sublimely catastrophic. Golden Richards is a polygamist Mormon with four wives, 28 children, a struggling construction business, and a few secrets. He tells his wives that the brothel he's building in Nevada is actually a senior center, and, more importantly, keeps hidden his burning infatuation with a woman he sees near the job site. Golden, perpetually on edge, has become increasingly isolated from his massive family—given the size of his brood, his solitude is heartbreaking—since the death of one of his children. Meanwhile, his newest and youngest wife, Trish, is wondering if there is more to life than the polygamist lifestyle, and one of his sons, Rusty, after getting the shaft on his birthday, hatches a revenge plot that will have dire consequences. With their world falling apart, will the family find a way to stay together? Udall's polished storytelling and sterling cast of perfectly realized and flawed characters make this a serious contender for Great American Novel status."
"Tim
ely, topical, and thrilling."-- John Connolly
ely, topical, and thrilling."-- John Connolly"A terrific read...completely involving."-- George Pelecanos
"WINTERLAND sets a dramatically high benchmark for emerald noir. With all the operatic inevitability of Greek tragedy, it anatomises what greed has done to Ireland. A resonant, memorable and uncomfortable read."-- Val McDermid
"This is the colossus of Irish crime fiction, what Mystic River did for Dennis Lehane, WINTERLAND should do for Alan Glynn, it is a noir masterpiece, the bar against which all future works will be judged."
-- Ken Bruen
Winterland is a blistering unputdownable novel about power, lies and the corrupting influence of money. It is the first in a series on the dark and clandestine underside of globalization and announces a compelling new voice in contemporary crime writing.
The worlds of business, politics and crime collide when two men with the same name, from the same family, die on the same night—one death is a gangland murder, the other, apparently, a road accident. Was it a coincidence? That’s the official version of events. But when a family member, Gina Rafferty, starts asking questions, this notion quickly unravels. Devastated by her loss, Gina’s grief is tempered, and increasingly fuelled, by anger—because the more she’s told that it was all a coincidence, that gangland violence is commonplace, that people die on our roads every day of the week, the less she’s prepared to accept it. Told repeatedly that she should stop asking questions, Gina becomes more determined than ever to find out the truth, to establish a connection between the two deaths—but in doing so she embarks on a path that will push certain powerful people to their limits...
Horan, Ellen. 31 Bond Street ($28) Signed
Starre
d Review from Booklist, " Scandal, social climbing, and corruption in Manhattan during the 1850s come alive in Horan’s historical mystery. Emma Cunningham, a widow with two teenage daughters, becomes financially and emotionally involved with Harvey Burdell, a wealthy dentist and land speculator. Without witnesses, he is murdered brutally in their Bond Street townhouse, and Cunningham is accused of the crime. An ambitious lawyer, Henry Clinton, risks his reputation and livelihood to defend her and solve the crime. Meanwhile, Horan describes living conditions in mid-nineteenth-century Manhattan: government corruption is rampant, Tammany Hall is coming to power, the Fugitive Slave Acts threaten to undo the work of the Underground Railroad, and poverty and wealth run equally rampant. Horan’s characters, like Edith Wharton’s, are motivated by social class and survival in a world ruled by wealth and national uncertainty. This unique look at history and the private lives of those affected by it makes for captivating reading."Udall, Brady. The Lonely Polygamist ($29) Signed
Starre
d review from PW, "A family drama with stinging turns of dark comedy, the latest from Udall (The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint) is a superb performance and as comic as it is sublimely catastrophic. Golden Richards is a polygamist Mormon with four wives, 28 children, a struggling construction business, and a few secrets. He tells his wives that the brothel he's building in Nevada is actually a senior center, and, more importantly, keeps hidden his burning infatuation with a woman he sees near the job site. Golden, perpetually on edge, has become increasingly isolated from his massive family—given the size of his brood, his solitude is heartbreaking—since the death of one of his children. Meanwhile, his newest and youngest wife, Trish, is wondering if there is more to life than the polygamist lifestyle, and one of his sons, Rusty, after getting the shaft on his birthday, hatches a revenge plot that will have dire consequences. With their world falling apart, will the family find a way to stay together? Udall's polished storytelling and sterling cast of perfectly realized and flawed characters make this a serious contender for Great American Novel status."
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Kellerman, Jesse. Executor ($26)
From
Pat King, "I recently read a great article about Jesse Kellerman’s new novel The Executor in Publisher’s Weekly. It is always interesting to see the children of established authors come into their own where writing is concerned. Alafair Burke (daughter of James Lee Burke), Nick Harkaway (son of John LeCarre) and Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) have truly unique voices. With that said after reading The Executor, I feel that Jesse Kellerman has truly established a unique voice separate from that of his parent’s, John and Faye Kellerman. Many will feel that Jesse Kellerman’s voice is much more mainstream than other authors of his generation but the characters he has created exude much more warmth and likeability than many mainstream characters. Furthermore great reviews are pouring in from our customers on Jesse Kellerman’s new book, The Executor. One of our more voracious readers, Merle Weiner said about the book. “Finished it. It is amazing. I had no clue that's where it was going”. With that said, I encourage you to pick up Jesse Kellerman’s newest books and give this budding new author the readership he deserves."
A masterful, inventive thriller from a remarkably assured and always surprising young writer.
Perpetual graduate student Joseph Geist is at his wit's end. Recently kicked out of their shared apartment by his girlfriend, he's left with little more than a half bust of Nietzsche's head and the realization that he's homeless and unemployed. He's hit a dead end on his dissertation; his funding has been cut off. He doesn't even have a phone. Desperate for some source of income, he searches the local newspaper and finds a curious ad:
CONVERSATIONALIST SOUGHT.
SERIOUS APPLICANTS ONLY.
PLEASE CALL 617-XXX-XXXX
BETWEEN SEVEN A.M. AND TWO P.M.
NO SOLICITORS.
And so Joseph meets Alma Spielman: a woman who, with her old-world ways and razor-sharp mind, is his intellectual soul mate. How is he to know that what seems to be the best decision of his life is the one that seals his fate?
Quindlen, Anna, Every Last One ($)
From PW
, "In her latest, Quindlen (Rise and Shine) once again plumbs the searing emotions of ordinary people caught in tragic circumstances. Mary Beth Latham is a happily married woman entirely devoted to her three teenaged children. When her talented daughter Ruby casually announces she's breaking up with her boyfriend Kirenan, a former neighbor who's become like family, Mary Beth is slightly alarmed, but soon distracted by her son Max, who's feeling overshadowed by his extroverted, athletic twin brother Alex. Quindlen's novel moves briskly, propelled by the small dramas of summer camp, proms, soccer games and neighbors, until the rejected Kirenan blindsides the Lathams, and the reader, with an incredible act of violence. Left with almost nothing, Mary Beth struggles to cope with loss and guilt, protect what she has left, and regain a sense of meaning. Quindlen is in classic form, with strong characters and precisely cadenced prose that builds in intensity.
Sharratt, Mary. Daughters of the Witching Hill ($24)
Daughters of the Witching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family sustained by love as they try to survive the hysteria of a witch-hunt.
From
Pat King, "I recently read a great article about Jesse Kellerman’s new novel The Executor in Publisher’s Weekly. It is always interesting to see the children of established authors come into their own where writing is concerned. Alafair Burke (daughter of James Lee Burke), Nick Harkaway (son of John LeCarre) and Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) have truly unique voices. With that said after reading The Executor, I feel that Jesse Kellerman has truly established a unique voice separate from that of his parent’s, John and Faye Kellerman. Many will feel that Jesse Kellerman’s voice is much more mainstream than other authors of his generation but the characters he has created exude much more warmth and likeability than many mainstream characters. Furthermore great reviews are pouring in from our customers on Jesse Kellerman’s new book, The Executor. One of our more voracious readers, Merle Weiner said about the book. “Finished it. It is amazing. I had no clue that's where it was going”. With that said, I encourage you to pick up Jesse Kellerman’s newest books and give this budding new author the readership he deserves."A masterful, inventive thriller from a remarkably assured and always surprising young writer.
Perpetual graduate student Joseph Geist is at his wit's end. Recently kicked out of their shared apartment by his girlfriend, he's left with little more than a half bust of Nietzsche's head and the realization that he's homeless and unemployed. He's hit a dead end on his dissertation; his funding has been cut off. He doesn't even have a phone. Desperate for some source of income, he searches the local newspaper and finds a curious ad:
CONVERSATIONALIST SOUGHT.
SERIOUS APPLICANTS ONLY.
PLEASE CALL 617-XXX-XXXX
BETWEEN SEVEN A.M. AND TWO P.M.
NO SOLICITORS.
And so Joseph meets Alma Spielman: a woman who, with her old-world ways and razor-sharp mind, is his intellectual soul mate. How is he to know that what seems to be the best decision of his life is the one that seals his fate?
Quindlen, Anna, Every Last One ($)
From PW
, "In her latest, Quindlen (Rise and Shine) once again plumbs the searing emotions of ordinary people caught in tragic circumstances. Mary Beth Latham is a happily married woman entirely devoted to her three teenaged children. When her talented daughter Ruby casually announces she's breaking up with her boyfriend Kirenan, a former neighbor who's become like family, Mary Beth is slightly alarmed, but soon distracted by her son Max, who's feeling overshadowed by his extroverted, athletic twin brother Alex. Quindlen's novel moves briskly, propelled by the small dramas of summer camp, proms, soccer games and neighbors, until the rejected Kirenan blindsides the Lathams, and the reader, with an incredible act of violence. Left with almost nothing, Mary Beth struggles to cope with loss and guilt, protect what she has left, and regain a sense of meaning. Quindlen is in classic form, with strong characters and precisely cadenced prose that builds in intensity.Sharratt, Mary. Daughters of the Witching Hill ($24)
Daughters of the Witching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family sustained by love as they try to survive the hysteria of a witch-hunt. Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic. When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.
Sharratt interweaves well-researched historical details of the 1612 Pendle witch-hunt with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of the Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.Monday, April 12, 2010
New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Bass, Jefferson. Bone Thief. ($25)
This 12
th volume of the Dresden Files earned a starred review from Booklist, *Starred Review* The twelfth Dresden Files novel (following Turncoat, 2009) finds the licensed PI and professional wizard Harry Dresden confronted with some shocking news: he has an eight-year-old daughter, and she’s been kidnapped by Red Court vampires. Harry is willing to risk everything to rescue her, even if it means turning his own life upside down. At more than 500 pages, this is one the longest books in the series, but it doesn’t move slowly; in fact, the entire novel takes place over only a few days as Harry races to rescue his daughter before she is sacrificed in a powerful black-magic rite. The taut and sometimes twisty plot is full of surprises and changes for Harry and his friends and family. Changes is a compelling installment in what continues to be an outstanding series. All the regulars (including cop Murphy; Harry’s half brother, vampire Thomas; Sanya the Knight; and Harry’s apprentice, Molly) are featured, as they, too, risk everything to save Harry’s daughter. After the cliff-hanger ending, readers will be clamoring for the next book. A can’t-miss entry in one of the best urban-fantasy series currently being published."
Harris, Joanne. Blueeyedboy ($43)
'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer'. "Blueeyedboy" is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on a webjournal called badguysrock, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life on the internet.
Kellerman, Jonathan. Deception ($30)
Maste
rly storytelling and expert insight into the darkest of human compulsions make #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware novels as compelling as they are addictive. And just when you think he has taken his spellbinding tales of mystery and psychological suspense to the limit, with Deception he takes a bold leap into terrifying and uncharted new territory.
Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help—to whoever may be listening—comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a year-and-a-half-long ordeal of monstrous abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking than the lurid details is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.’s most prestigious prep schools. With Elise now dead by uncertain means, homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy. And if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware’s psychological prowess, it’s now.
From the get-go, this case promises to be an uphill climb for truth and a down and dirty fight for justice. Allegations of rape, assault, and possibly murder at this esteemed institution renowned for molding Ivy Leaguers make for a social and political time bomb—especially given that one of the students has connections high up in City Hall. As the scandal-conscious elite of L.A. close ranks around Windsor Prep, Alex and Milo must penetrate the citadel of wealth and scholarship to expose the hidden anguish, dirty secrets, and deadly sins festering among society’s manor-born. But power and position are not easily surrendered, for that’s when the best and the brightest turn brutal and ugly. Searching for predators among the privileged, Alex and Milo may well be walking into a highly polished death trap.
Palmer, Michael. Last Surgeon ($28)
Michae
l Palmer’s latest novel pits a flawed doctor against a ruthless psychopath, who has made murder his art form. Dr. Nick Garrity, a vet suffering from PTSD—post traumatic stress disorder—spends his days and nights dispensing medical treatment from a mobile clinic to the homeless and disenfranchised in D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, he is constantly on the lookout for his war buddy Umberto Vasquez, who was plucked from the streets by the military four years ago for a secret mission and has not been seen since. Psych nurse Gillian Coates wants to find her sister’s killer. She does not believe that Belle Coates, an ICU nurse, took her own life, even though every bit of evidence indicates that she did—every bit save one. Belle has left Gillian a subtle clue that connects her with Nick Garrity. Together, Nick and Gillian determine that one-by-one, each of those in the operating room for a fatally botched case is dying. Their discoveries pit them against genius Franz Koller--the highly-paid master of the “non-kill”—the art of murder that does not look like murder. As Doctor and nurse move closer to finding the terrifying secret behind these killings, Koller has been given a new directive: his mission will not be complete until Gillian Coates and Garrity, the last surgeon, are dead.
Suarez, Daniel. Freedom ($29)
Starred Review from PW, "Bestseller Suarez's sequel to Daemon (2009), in which the late, mad-genius game designer Matthew Sobol launched a cyber war on humanity, surpasses its smart, exciting predecessor. This concluding volume crackles with electrifying action scenes and bristles with intriguing ideas about a frightening, near-future world. Sobol's bots continue to roam the Internet, inciting mayhem and siphoning money from worldwide, interconnected megacorporations out to seize control of national governments and enslave the populace. FBI special agent Roy Merritt is dead, but still manages to make a dramatic comeback, while detective Pete Sebeck, thought to be executed in Daemon, rises from the supposed grave to lead the fight against the corporations. What the trademark letters affixed to the title signify is anyone's guess. Those who haven't read Daemon should read it first. The two books combined form the cyberthriller against which all others will be measured."
Sutherland, Grant. Cobras of Calcutta ($32)
-Note
this is a debut from "the most promising new voice in fantasy fiction since Joe Abercrombie"
Lenk can barely keep control of his mismatched adventurer band at the best of times (Gariath the dragon man sees humans as little more than prey, Kataria the shict despises most humans and the humans in the band are little better). When they're not insulting each other's religions they're arguing about pay and conditions. So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don't go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates - a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don't want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out. Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.
Ne
w York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bass delivers an authentic and knuckle-biting thriller in which forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton must confront a crime of unimaginable proportions on his own doorstep. Find out why Booklist says, "Fans of forensic fiction will want to add this author to their list of favorites."
Dr. Bill Brockton has been called in on a seemingly routine case, to exhume a body and obtain a bone sample for a DNA paternity test. But when the coffin is opened, Brockton and his colleagues, including his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady, are stunned to see that the corpse has been horribly violated.
Brockton’s initial shock gives way to astonishment as he uncovers a flourishing and lucrative black market in body parts. At the center of this ghoulish empire is a daring and prosperous grave robber. Soon Brockton finds himself drawn into the dangerous enterprise when the FBI recruits him to bring down the postmortem chop shop—using corpses from the Body Farm as bait in an undercover sting operation.
As Brockton struggles to play the unscrupulous role the FBI asks of him, his friend and colleague medical examiner Eddie Garcia faces a devastating injury that could end his career. Exposed to a near-lethal dose of radioactivity, Dr. Garcia has lost most of his right hand and his entire left hand. Out of options, he embarks on a desperate quest: both of his ravaged hands will be severed at the wrist and replaced with those from a cadaver. But unless suitable ones are found soon, the opportunity will be lost.
As Brockton delves deep into the clandestine trade, he is faced with an agonizing choice: Is he willing to risk an FBI investigation—and his own principles—to help his friend? Will he be able to live with himself if he crosses that line? Will he be able to live with himself if he doesn’t? And as the criminal case and the medical crisis converge, a pair of simpler questions arise: Will Dr. Garcia survive—and will Brockton?
Butcher, Jim. Changes ($28)This 12
th volume of the Dresden Files earned a starred review from Booklist, *Starred Review* The twelfth Dresden Files novel (following Turncoat, 2009) finds the licensed PI and professional wizard Harry Dresden confronted with some shocking news: he has an eight-year-old daughter, and she’s been kidnapped by Red Court vampires. Harry is willing to risk everything to rescue her, even if it means turning his own life upside down. At more than 500 pages, this is one the longest books in the series, but it doesn’t move slowly; in fact, the entire novel takes place over only a few days as Harry races to rescue his daughter before she is sacrificed in a powerful black-magic rite. The taut and sometimes twisty plot is full of surprises and changes for Harry and his friends and family. Changes is a compelling installment in what continues to be an outstanding series. All the regulars (including cop Murphy; Harry’s half brother, vampire Thomas; Sanya the Knight; and Harry’s apprentice, Molly) are featured, as they, too, risk everything to save Harry’s daughter. After the cliff-hanger ending, readers will be clamoring for the next book. A can’t-miss entry in one of the best urban-fantasy series currently being published."Harris, Joanne. Blueeyedboy ($43)
'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer'. "Blueeyedboy" is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on a webjournal called badguysrock, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life on the internet. Kellerman, Jonathan. Deception ($30)
Maste
rly storytelling and expert insight into the darkest of human compulsions make #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware novels as compelling as they are addictive. And just when you think he has taken his spellbinding tales of mystery and psychological suspense to the limit, with Deception he takes a bold leap into terrifying and uncharted new territory.Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help—to whoever may be listening—comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a year-and-a-half-long ordeal of monstrous abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking than the lurid details is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.’s most prestigious prep schools. With Elise now dead by uncertain means, homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy. And if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware’s psychological prowess, it’s now.
From the get-go, this case promises to be an uphill climb for truth and a down and dirty fight for justice. Allegations of rape, assault, and possibly murder at this esteemed institution renowned for molding Ivy Leaguers make for a social and political time bomb—especially given that one of the students has connections high up in City Hall. As the scandal-conscious elite of L.A. close ranks around Windsor Prep, Alex and Milo must penetrate the citadel of wealth and scholarship to expose the hidden anguish, dirty secrets, and deadly sins festering among society’s manor-born. But power and position are not easily surrendered, for that’s when the best and the brightest turn brutal and ugly. Searching for predators among the privileged, Alex and Milo may well be walking into a highly polished death trap.
Palmer, Michael. Last Surgeon ($28)
Michae
l Palmer’s latest novel pits a flawed doctor against a ruthless psychopath, who has made murder his art form. Dr. Nick Garrity, a vet suffering from PTSD—post traumatic stress disorder—spends his days and nights dispensing medical treatment from a mobile clinic to the homeless and disenfranchised in D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, he is constantly on the lookout for his war buddy Umberto Vasquez, who was plucked from the streets by the military four years ago for a secret mission and has not been seen since. Psych nurse Gillian Coates wants to find her sister’s killer. She does not believe that Belle Coates, an ICU nurse, took her own life, even though every bit of evidence indicates that she did—every bit save one. Belle has left Gillian a subtle clue that connects her with Nick Garrity. Together, Nick and Gillian determine that one-by-one, each of those in the operating room for a fatally botched case is dying. Their discoveries pit them against genius Franz Koller--the highly-paid master of the “non-kill”—the art of murder that does not look like murder. As Doctor and nurse move closer to finding the terrifying secret behind these killings, Koller has been given a new directive: his mission will not be complete until Gillian Coates and Garrity, the last surgeon, are dead.Suarez, Daniel. Freedom ($29)
Starred Review from PW, "Bestseller Suarez's sequel to Daemon (2009), in which the late, mad-genius game designer Matthew Sobol launched a cyber war on humanity, surpasses its smart, exciting predecessor. This concluding volume crackles with electrifying action scenes and bristles with intriguing ideas about a frightening, near-future world. Sobol's bots continue to roam the Internet, inciting mayhem and siphoning money from worldwide, interconnected megacorporations out to seize control of national governments and enslave the populace. FBI special agent Roy Merritt is dead, but still manages to make a dramatic comeback, while detective Pete Sebeck, thought to be executed in Daemon, rises from the supposed grave to lead the fight against the corporations. What the trademark letters affixed to the title signify is anyone's guess. Those who haven't read Daemon should read it first. The two books combined form the cyberthriller against which all others will be measured."Sutherland, Grant. Cobras of Calcutta ($32)
In the fifty years between 1757 and 1815, Britain lost an empire, won another and 
emerged from the epic Napoleonic wars as the greatest power the world had ever seen.
But no empire comes about by accident. The spread of British power was fuelled by the ambition and zeal of a host of larger-than-life personalities. But while history records the actions of those who chose familiar public paths to make their mark, others who served under a necessary cloak of silence have left no memorials. There were men who gave their whole lives to these hidden struggles.
At the centre of these machinations lay one secret institution: the Decipherers - the code breakers, the interceptors of letters and messages, the analysers of intelligence - constantly locked in silent deadly combat with the Cabinet Noir, the Black Chamber, the secret agency of Britain's greatest enemy, France. Working tirelessly with the Decipherers was a small number of trusted agents whose secet trade carried by neccessity into the deepest conflicts of empire and Alistair Douglas was one of them...
Sykes, Sam. Tome of the Undergates ($43)-Note
this is a debut from "the most promising new voice in fantasy fiction since Joe Abercrombie"Lenk can barely keep control of his mismatched adventurer band at the best of times (Gariath the dragon man sees humans as little more than prey, Kataria the shict despises most humans and the humans in the band are little better). When they're not insulting each other's religions they're arguing about pay and conditions. So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don't go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates - a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don't want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out. Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Poisoned Pen Conference so far...
THE ANNUAL POISONED PEN CONFERENCE
June 24-26 2010
Participating authors, by invitation only, to date are:
Participating authors, by invitation only, to date are:
Rebecca Cantrell, PF Chisholm, Diana Gabaldon, Sophie Hannah, Vicki Hendricks, Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, Michael Koryta, Jeanne Matthews, Sharon Kay Penman, Gary Phillips, Stefanie Pintoff, Zoe Sharp, Dana Stabenow, Lauren Willig...and others to be announced.
Thursday and Friday events at The Poisoned Pen from 7:00 pm
(Possible Georgette Heyer mini-conference Friday June 24 1:00-5:00 pm)
Saturday at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa from 6:30 pm
includes programs and at 9:30, Late Night Readings and Pajama Party
(Possible Georgette Heyer mini-conference Friday June 24 1:00-5:00 pm)
Saturday at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa from 6:30 pm
includes programs and at 9:30, Late Night Readings and Pajama Party
The conference is free, no registration required(except for the Heyer event, see below...)
A raffle for all those buying books by attending authors—one entry per book—has a $100 Poisoned Pen Gift Certificate prize.
A raffle for all those buying books by attending authors—one entry per book—has a $100 Poisoned Pen Gift Certificate prize.
GEORGETTE HEYER TEA
![[Georgette Heyer]](http://www.georgette-heyer.com/img/gh.gif)
Friday June 25 1:00-5:00 pm Arizona Biltmore Resort and SpaFee: $25.
Registration required.
Email will@poisonedpen.com
Registration required.
Email will@poisonedpen.com
You will not be billed until we can confirm the event. Discussions with various authors, audience participation. It will be a celebration of her Regency
ACCOMMODATIONS
To reserve a room at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa
At the Poisoned Pen Rate: $89/night
Victoria Strubbe: victorias@arizonabiltmore.com
or 602-954-2569 | F: 602-954-2571
Or use the Arizona Biltmore's on-line Registration
2726435 is Poisoned Pen's online booking code.
When you go onto the Arizona Biltmore's website www.arizonabiltmore.com
When checking availability, you will find a spot below to
enter your number into field titled "Corporate Account Number."
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