The Poisoned Pen
Lots of excitement here....
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The Poisoned Pen

 

The Poisoned Pen

4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101

Scottsdale, AZ

85251

 

(480) 947-2974

(888) 560-9919

 

www.poisonedpen.com 

sales@poisonedpen.com 

 

Directions? Hours? Click here.

SIGNED BOOKS FOR YOU

Click on the title to order


Long Range
Joe Pickett #20
Publication Party March 2
See the March Calendar

The NUMA Files
on sale March 10


Cotton Malone in Poland
Our copies come with an exclusive postcard
Signed February 26


One Minute Out
The Gray Man
Signed February 19


Another modern Gothic
Signed February 22 2 PM


Ludlum!
Signed February 24


Hannah Swensen
Serving the cake...
February 25 
Publication Party

Maggie Hope
Signed February 27

Read the book, then come
February 29
10:30 AM
Coffee & a full discussion


A modern I the Jury
Signed February 29
2:00 PM
Our March Fantastic New Fiction Book of the Month


Our February First Mystery Book of the Month
Murder in a mansion in NY's Thousand Islands
due in soon


What better novel to read than during Spring Training right here?
Due in this week


concludes the Judah Cannon trilogy
Due in soon


Signed UK edition
Due end of February


Signed UK edition
Due in soon


Littl
Real Forensics
in stock now
Fascinating cases like Fatty Arbuckle


Signed UK edition
Dr. Ruth Galloway
due sometime this month


Signed UK edition
due sometime in February

Good afternoon,

Thanks to all who have been turning out to support so many visiting authors, and to those who have purchased their books. 



New videos  for you now include Charles Finch, Meg Gardiner with Tess Gerritsen (hilarious, tough questions too, plus Stephen King sent them flowers for a photo moment! as shown above).

And "Scott Carson" who had much of interest to say including the fact that he wrote the movie pitch that resulted in Angelina Jolie starring in Those Who Wish Me Dead ($16) (date TBA) here while he was our Writer in Residence!

New Podcasts are now on Google or on iTunes or  on Podbean  . Look for Scott Carson/Michael Koryta this weekend and an update on why Koryta has adopted a second name to write his remarkable modern Gothic The Chill
(Atria $27). Love Tunnel #3 and the whole NYC water supply system.

Do check our BLOG regularly. Lesa updates awards, news, and interviews. 

Much love to our social media team which includes Susan on Twitter and Kathy on Pinterest as well as me on Instagram

And thank you for supporting the authors!

Barbara and all The Pens

Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 
  
Thank you for supporting The Poisoned Pen, frequently named Best Specialty Bookstore by the  New Times and by the  
Arizona Republic , one of 45 Great American Indie Bookstores 2013; Best Locally Owned and Operated Business: Scottsdale 2016; and Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks, winner of the 2010 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America and named the 2011 Best Local Publisher by the  Arizona Republic and now the mystery imprint at Sourcebooks.
The February Booknews

Here is a link to the   February Booknews

The Midmonth Booknews will post soon


Here are our February Staff Picks



From now through March parking is at a premium
Come Early
Enjoy Drinks & Dining
New: Pizzeria Virtu
Find extra parking at Arcadia Farms Cafe
We suggest when you can you come early to The Pen (chairs go down around 5:00 PM or 1:00 PM for afternoon events), reserve your seat(s), and explore our vibrant Old Town Scottsdale neighborhood.


NEW: 
Pizzeria Virtu 5:00-10:00 PM

Right behind The Pen on Main Street. One minute walk
6952 E Main Street Scottsdale 85251

Generous patio space, menu a work in progress, nice wine list
There is parking in our lot and also to the south alongside Virtu
Magic Words: Barbara sent me!

Parking is more difficult sometimes because of the restaurants (editorial comment -- the City of Scottsdale's parking policies suck!). We've given you locations beyond our parking lot. 
Search for them under Parking

Good News: Arcadia Farms Cafe has generously offered us its parking for evening events when needed. You can also park just south of our lot between the alley and Main Street.

One reason we don't have a cafe or bar in The Pen is there isn't enough dedicated parking to allow one.

Enjoy --there are all sorts of food and beverages on offer.
Thriller Duo
Mark Greaney
with Jack Carr
Tonight 7:00 PM

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19 7:00 PM
Jack Carr previews Savage Son (Atria $28) launched here April 13, the third  James Reece

Mark Greaney signs One Minute Out (Berkley $28)

In this r emarkable ninth Gray Man novel, Courtland Gentry-the Gray Man-takes on the Consortium, an international sex slave cartel, the existence of which he stumbles on while committing a hit on a Serbian strongman. A former CIA employee, Gentry fell out of favor to the point that the agency was trying to kill him, and after getting that misunderstanding straightened out, the agency is still kind of trying to kill him, though he works as an off-the-books assassin in a secret CIA program called Poison Apple. 

Never mind his official status. What's important is that he's probably the greatest assassin in the world, and those who oppose him usually end up dead. In this case, he decides to defy his bosses and hunt down the men who are part of the Consortium, running his own op with no help other than that from Talyssa Corbu, a junior analyst for Europol, whose sister the sex traffickers have captured. 

As always, Gentry is up to the task. Spy thriller fans will be enthralled
New: A Pop Up Event
Friday February 21
    6:00-7:00 PM
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21 6-7 PM
Jamie Bernstein signs Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growinng Up Berstein (Harper $17.99) and talks about Leonard Bernstein

The composer of On the Town and West Side Story and Candide, chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, television star, humanitarian, friend of the powerful and influential, and the life of every party, Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in twentieth century America. His oldest daughter offers a rare look at her father on the centennial of his birth

And if you missed him in January:
Brad Taylor signs Hunter Killer (Morrow $28.99)

Simone St. James
Saturday 2:00 PM

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 2:00 PM
Simone St. James signs The Sun Down Motel (Berkley $26)

John Charles reviews: No one knows quite how to send a shiver down a reader's spine quite like Simone St. James. 

In her latest spooky novel of suspense, Carly Kirk arrives in Fell, N.Y. determined to find some answers about her aunt Viv Delaney's mysterious disappearance from the area 35 years earlier. Taking a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel, where her aunt worked before she went missing, seems like a good place to start until Carly discovers Fell has a surprisingly high crime rate for such a small town. St. James effectively uses the dual time line of her plot to keep readers on edge while skillfully deploying her signature literary mix of mysterious chills, supernatural thrills, and a dash of romance. 

Not since the Bates Motel opened up for business has there been a scarier place to stay than the Sun Down Motel. 

I'm with John there, the book will send shivers of Psycho down your spine...

Joshua Hood
Monday 7:00 PM

MONDAY FEBRUARY 24 7:00 PM
Joshua Hood signs Robert Ludlum's The Treadstone Resurrection  (Putnam $27)

Lots of fast action, weapons, betrayals, a winner for fans of military fiction and of Jason Bourne. Interesting that Season 2 of the new Jack Ryan TV franchise also has the team operating in Venezuela!

Adam Hayes, a graduate of the under-the-radar CIA black ops Treadstone, was first seen in Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series. Like Bourne, Adam Hayes wants to forget his violent past and sink into obscurity, but that's not going to happen once Hayes gets dragged into a mission by Nick Ford, an old agent friend from his Treadstone days who is trapped in a fire fight in rural Venezuela. 

Shortly before Ford is shot dead, he sends Hayes an email with a picture showing CIA agent Jefferson Gray in an aircraft hangar with Colonel Carlos Vega, the head of Venezuela's secret police. Vega is involved, as is Grey, with the president of Venezuela, Eduardo Díaz, in a drug smuggling scheme. The plot moves from one violent confrontation to another "through a catalog of modern weaponry" in the vein of Tom Clancy. In fact, Hayes himself is a weapon and this semibionic warrior can be fascinating to follow through the many long, intricate action scenes. This starts a Ludlum series spinoff so presumably Hayes survives....
Our 2020 Writer in Residence 
Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear will be our Writer in Residence March 17-19. See the March Calendar for details.

She will host Nancy E. Turner March 17 7:00 PM
She will teach a workshop March 18 7:00 PM
Fee: $25. Registration advised: Limited to 25
"The Writing Process"

Not on the calendar:

Jackie and Rhys Bowen together host a tea party on March 19 from 2-4 PM at Arcadia Farms Events (half a block east of The Pen on the south side of First Avenue) 

Cost: $25. Limited to 20. 

Please call to reserve your space
480-947-2974 or 888-560-9919

More New Arrivals 

SIGNED BOOKS
First, we are still waiting for our signed copies of
Cummins, Jeanine. American Dirt (Flatiron $27.99). The #1 Indie Next Pick for our February Fantastic New Fiction Book of the Month

Hannah, Sophie. Haven't They Grown (Hodder $39). 

All Beth has to do is drive her son to his Under-14s away match, watch him play, and bring him home. Just because she knows that her former best friend lives near the football ground, that doesn't mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her. Why would Beth do that, and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn't seen Flora Braid for twelve years. But she can't resist. She parks outside Flora's house and watches from across the road as Flora and her children, Thomas and Emily, step out of the car. Except... Flora looks the same, only older-just as Beth would have expected. It's the children that are the problem. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily Braid were five and three years old. Today, they are still five and three. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt-Beth hears Flora call them by their names-but they are no older no taller. They haven't changed at all. Why haven't they grown? 

White, Randy Wayne. Salt River (Putnam $27). 
Leo Alomar, a shady IRS agent, accuses Doc, a Florida marine biologist, of living above his means. Alomar has figured out that Doc has been selling gold that he retrieved from the waters off the Bahamas, old Spanish coins melted down into mooring anchors. The IRS agent promises to make any tax problems from the unreported income go away if Doc will reveal where more such treasure might lie. Meanwhile, Doc's eccentric friend, Tomlinson, a small-time ganja merchant and Zen Buddhist, finds his past has returned to haunt him as well. Years earlier, Tomlinson was a sperm donor, and some of his adult biological children are trying to arrange a reunion, an effort that places lives in danger.
UNSIGNED
Hammer, Joshua. The Falcon Thief (SimonSchuster $26). 

A rollicking true-crime adventure about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs-and the wildlife detective determined to stop him. On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain's Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales. So begins a tale almost too bizarre to believe, following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions-and Detective Andy McWilliam of the United Kingdom's National Wildlife Crime Unit, who's hell bent on protecting the world's birds of prey.

Rose, M.J. Cartier's Hope (Atria $27). This is a repeat of a review in the January BookNotes by John Charles. I include it in part to encourage any of you who do not read the BookNotes to start doing so as John covers books I miss, provides insights that are different, and it's fun to read.
Determined to make her mark in Gilded Age New York, heiress turned journalist Vera Garland investigates the curse swirling around jeweler Pierre Cartier's recently acquired Hope Diamond. Vera is particularly interested in the rumor that Cartier is trying to manipulate the value of the diamond by leveraging its notoriety. However, all of Vera's journalistic digging draws the attention of another newspaper publisher, whose blackmailing schemes led to the death of Vera's father. Appealing to young Russian jeweler Jacob Asher for help, Vera is unprepared when she begins falling in love with him; and even more unprepared when she gets caught up in his deceptions and finds herself at risk of losing all she has worked so hard to achieve. Rose has made quite a name for herself with her late 19th and early 20th century historical novels, and PW had this to say about her latest: "The narrative cleverly explores highlights of early 20th century history and heaps on plenty of intrigue. Rose irresistibly combines elements of mystery, romance, and historical events in this memorable novel." Readers interested in learning more about the Hope Diamond and the Cartier family will also want to consider Francis Cartier Brickell's recently published, fabulously entertaining history on her family The Cartiers (Ballantine $35).

Steinhauer, Olen. The Nearest Exit ($16.99).  
Another spy comes in from the cold. Milo Weaver, a former field agent with the CIA's clandestine Department of Tourism, returns to action after a stint in prison for alleged financial fraud in this intense sequel to The Tourist ($9.99). His handlers want Weaver to pursue a mole rumored to have infiltrated the CIA's black-ops department, but with his loyalty in question, he must first undergo some test missions, one of which is to kill the 15-year-old daughter of Moldovan immigrants now living in Berlin. Such a horrific assignment further weakens Weaver's already wavering enthusiasm for his secret life, and he becomes increasingly preoccupied with reconnecting with his estranged wife and child. When bombshell revelations rock Weaver's world, he vows to somehow put international intelligence work behind him. Can he do so without jeopardizing his and his family's safety? Reissued to herald a new Milo Weaver for March: The Last Tourist ($29 Signed).

Our March Calendar
MARCH MADNESS AND MYSTERY
 
MONDAY MARCH 2 7:00 PM 20th Book Party/Launch for Joe Pickett
TICKETS: $32 includes one copy $36 includes one copy, admits two
Location: Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale 85254
CJ Box signs Long Range (Putnam $28)
Joe Pickett #20 - so a party!
Can't attend? Order in the usual way at the $28 price
 
WEDNESDAY MARCH 4 2:00 PM
Tim Garvin signs A Dredging in Swann (Blackstone $25.99)
Debut
 
THURSDAY MARCH 5 7:00 PM A Trio
Don Bentley signs Without Sanction (Berkley $27)
Debut
John McMahon signs The Evil Men Do (Putnam $27)
Russ Thomas signs Firewatching (Putnam $26)
Debut
 
SATURDAY MARCH 7 2:00 PM Book Launch
Betty Webb signs The Panda of Death (Poisoned Pen $15.95)
 
MONDAY MARCH 9
Hosted by Matthew Goldman who signs The Shallows (Forge $26.99)
Phillip Margolin signs A Reasonable Doubt (St Martins $27.99)
Jason Pinter signs Hide Away (Thomas & Mercer $15.95 PBO March 9)
 
TUESDAY MARCH 10
John Billheimer signs his Edgar-nominated nonfiction 
Hitchcock and the Censors (Univ CO $45)-an audio visual program complete with movie clips
Billheimer also signs Primary Target (Mysterious $28) Owen Allison Mystery
 
WEDNESDAY MARCH 11 Two for One
Hilary Davidson chats with Patrick about Don't Look Down (Thomas & Mercer $24.95 at 6:30 PM
Deanna Raybourn chats with Barbara about A Murderous Relation (Berkley $26)   at 7:00 PM
Joint signing to follow
 
FRIDAY MARCH 13 3:00 PM
Karen hosts
Allen Eskens signs Nothing More Dangerous (Little Brown $27) 
 
SATURDAY MARCH 14 2:00 PM
Patrick hosts
Scott Phillips signs That Left Turn at Albuquerque (Soho $26.95)
 
MONDAY MARCH 16 7:00 PM
Natasha Pulley signs The Lost Future of Pepperharrow (Bloomsbury $27)
 
TUESDAY MARCH 17 7:00 PM
Nancy E. Turner signs Light Changes Everything (St Martins $27.99
Jacqueline Winspear  signs What Would Maisie Do? ($17.99)
 
WEDNESDAY MARCH 18 7:00 PM
Our 2020 Writer in Residence Jacqueline Winspear on "The Writing Process: Techniques to bring a story to life"
Fee: $25 Registration Requested Limited to 25
 
SATURDAY MARCH 21 6:00 PM
Wine and crime--plus pizza
TICKETS $32 admits one with one book; $37 two with one book
Harlan Coben signs The Boy from the Woods (Grand Central $29)
Can't attend? Please order in the usual way
 
SUNDAY MARCH 22 2:00 PM YA Event
Larry Siegel hosts
Kitty Felde signs Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza
(Black Rose $17.99)
 
MONDAY MARCH 23 7:00 PM Publication Party
James Rollins signs The Last Odyssey (Harper $28.99)
Sigma Force
 
THURSDAY MARCH 26 7:00 PM
Kathy Reichs signs Conspiracy of Bones (Scribner $27)
Temperance Brennan
 
FRIDAY MARCH 27
James Sallis and Three Legged Dog Play
 
SATURDAY MARCH 28
Phil Bonds signs Dancing with Sea Lions
(Wild Blue Pacific Publishing $29)
Beautiful photos
 
MARCH DISCUSSION CLUBS
Please buy your copy from The Pen. Anyone welcome but remember you risk spoilers if you don't read the selection in advance.
Coffee & Crime: Saturday March 1410:30 AM
Johnson, Sarah E. Molten Mud Murder ($15.95) A New Zealand forensics mystery
 
SciFi Friday : March 20 7:00 PM
O'Malley, Daniel. The Rook ($16.99)
 
Croak & Dagger : Saturday March 21 10:30 AM
Dovalpage. Teresa. Death Comes in Through the Kitchen
($15.95)
 
Hardboiled Crime : Wednesday March 25 7:00 PM
MacDonald, John D. The Brass Cupcake ($16)
Tickets On Sale
CJ Box
Monday March 2 7 PM
Offsite Event
Harlan Coben
Saturday March 21
6 PM at The Pen

CJ Box signs Long Range (Putnam $28)  The 20th Joe Pickett


March 2, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

WHERE: Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center
12701 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale AZ 85254

COST:$32.00 admits one with book, $36.00 admits two with one book



Harlan joins us March 21 @ 6:00 PM at The Pen to sign
The Boy from the Woods (Grand Central $29)


Cost: $32 single with book $37 two fans with one book

We'll be serving a treat or two from the new Pizzeria Virtu right across our parking lot along with Harlan's program


Our February Calendar
 
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19 7:00 PM
Jack Carr previews Savage Son (Atria $28) launched here April 13
Mark Greaney signs One Minute Out (Berkley $28)
The Gray Man
 
NEW 
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21 6-7 PM
Jamie Bernstein signs Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growinng Up Berstein (Harper $17.99) and talks about Leonard Bernstein

And if you missed him in January:
Brad Taylor signs Hunter Killer (Morrow $28.99)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 22 2:00 PM
Simone St. James signs The Sun Down Motel (Berkley $26)
                                                  
MONDAY FEBRUARY 24 7:00 PM
Joshua Hood signs Robert Ludlum's the Treadstone (Putnam $27)
 
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25 7:00 PM Book Launch
Cake & Crime - Oh My!
Joanne Fluke signs Coconut Layer Cake Murder (Kensington $27)
Arcadia Farms caters the cake
 
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 7:00 PM
Steve Berry signs The Warsaw Protocol (St Martins $28.99)
 
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27 7:00 PM
Susan Elia MacNeal signs The King's Justice (Bantam $27)
with host Karen Odden

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28 7:00 PM
James Sallis and Three Legged Dog play
 
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29 10:30 AM
A Book Club Signing-Read the Book before you come or risk total spoilers
This is a book for fans of Tarryn Fisher
Vanessa Lillie signs Little Voices
(Thomas & Mercer $15.99)
Those who attend will be offered a free book by another author
 
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29 2:00 PM
Graham Moore signs The Holdout (Random $28)

MONDAY MARCH 2 7:00 PM
CJ Box Book Launch for the 20th Joe Pickett thriller
See the info box above for tickets and the order links

FEBRUARY DISCUSSION CLUBS
Please buy your copy from The Pen. Anyone welcome but remember you risk spoilers if you don't read the selection in advance.
Croak & Dagger : Saturday February 22 10:30 AM
Perez-Reverte, Arturo. The Flanders Panel ($15.95)

Hardboiled Crime : Thursday February 20 7:00 PM
Post, Steph. Lightwood ($15.99)

Our February Books of the Month
OUR FEBRUARY BOOKS OF THE MONTH
British Crime Club  One unsigned hardcover or paperback per month
Jan: Airth, Rennie. The Decent Inn of Death
 
Cozy Crimes Club  One unsigned hardcover or paperback per month
 
First Mystery Book of the Month Club  One Signed First per month
Wegert, Tessa. Death in the Family
 
The Crime Collectors Book of the Month Club One Signed First per month
 
Historical Fiction Club  One Signed First per month 
Hornby, Gill. Miss Austen Sold out

Fantastic New Fiction  One Signed First per month
Cummins, Jeanine. American Dirt -- Delayed but on track
Mystery-of-the-Month Club 

Looking for something new to read each month and aren't sure what to choose?  Let us help... And it makes a great gift for Dad!
 
The Mystery-of-the-Month Club is individually tailored to each customer's specific tastes.  Just let us know what kinds of mysteries you enjoy, whether your looking for signed hardcover books or paperbacks, and we'll take it from there!
 
For more information, drop Patrick King a line at
 
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The Poisoned Pen
Is a full service general bookstore with a specialty in fiction of all kinds, and in history. When books are not on our shelves we can order them for you quickly or, if British, it takes a little longer.

Email any requests to sales@poisonedpen.com. It's all part of the experience. Thank you for supporting The Poisoned Pen.

Winner, 2001 Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America! Winner,
2012 The Arizona Republic and the New Times Best of Phoenix and Best of Scottsdale, Best Bookstore! 2013 Arizona Republic's Critics' Choice and Reader's Choice Best Specialty Bookstore
12-time Nominee, Publishers Weekly's Bookseller of the Year
Winner, James Patterson Page-Turner Award
Poisoned Pen Press, Winner, The 2010 Ellery Queen Award from The Mystery Writers of America
Member of the Crime Writers of Canada, British Crime Writers Association, The American Booksellers Association,