The Poisoned Pen
Take a Break with a Book!
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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


Joe Pike & Elvis Cole
in stock now


Armand Gamache
on sale August 27
Hurry, only a couple of dozen unreserved copies remain


Lisbeth Salander
Suddenly Ours...
Signed by the author copies  next week

Two Books Like None Other!!

The animal voices are fabulous
due in two weeks


Set in New Zealand
Remember Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair?
This is Dickens, not Bronte
Our August First Novel Book of the Month
A Pen Exclusive
and in  stock now!

Event and Other Books


True Crime
Signed August 24 2 PM


A legal thriller
Signed August 24 2 PM


Signed August 26


Will Trent with Sara Linton
Atlanta crime
Signed August 30


Jake & Tommy
in stock now
signed September 3


September #1 Indie Next Pick
Our September Modern Firsts Book of the Month
Signed September 5
Our copies will have special text written for you by Kent


another surprise book
now in stock


Wow!
On sale September 12


Starts a new series
in stock now and selling fast


Arizona Territory
Our August History/Mystery Book of the Month
only 4 left


A thriller updating 1984 to the near future...and amazon
Terrific read
Signed copies the end of the month


5 left in stock of the new Sister Fidelma Irish Medieval Mystery
A great series


Western Mystery
in stock now


1282 England at war with Wales
based on a real hanging
in stock now and selling fast


Signed by Ann Patchett
Ages 4-8
in stock, 4 left


restock, tip ins
only a few left in stock


A book for those battling mean girls, and for mean girls 
YA Dark Fantasy
in stock now for
summer reading
coming soon...
selling fast
amazing reviews


Lydia Chin & Bill Smith
in Mississippi Chinese community
Fabulous!
in stock now
Signed September 24 with the new Jame Sallis


Rivers of London Series
only this one is Germany's
The Moselle
only 1 left


Terrific UK police procedural with dazzling forensics
in stock now

Hi,

First, because it is a Ticketed Event tomorrow for Ryan & Jensen, the store will be closed from 1:00-3:30 PM for regular shopping.

Next, with summer winding towards it's end, take a break with a book. We will be closed on Labor Day to do the same.  

We had a hilarious time with Preston & Child on August 20. 

Here's Doug set to sign over 2000 copies of Old Bones (Grand Central $28). Nora Kelly #1 Signed by both authors...we have a few left



Be sure to catch the discussion with Doug and Lincoln on our   Facebook Live   or YouTube    channels.

Here's a reminder again that you can listen to our podcasts on Google or on iTunes or  on Podbean

New Pocast: Doug Preston spoke with me on August 20 about Old Bones, Talking to the Ground, and the February 4 2020 Pendergast, Crooked River (Grand Cental $28).

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

Much love to our social media team getting a boost from Rob.

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, 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 August Booknews
 Staff Picks, Paperback Picks, New Books Lists



The August Booknews sizzles.

Please note I made one goof too late to correct: the September Ann Cleeves title that is our September British Crime Book of the Month is The Long Call, a new series start, not the last Shetland mystery.

Here are some August Staff Picks

Here are our August Paperback Picks

Do browse our  Web Store . New additions are frequently made to upcoming books and events. I've added loads of titles to Coming Soon... a very big fall looms.

Please remember: 
See It Here. Buy It Here.

Thank you for your business. I remind all of you reading this, that it only takes buying one book a month by each of you to keep us here!  Or merchandise, or a gift card. Or, a new audio book option.

Lisa Lutz
Tonight 7:00 PM
Take a break from the heat with us
FRIDAY AUGUST 23 7:00 PM
Lisa Lutz  signs  The Swallows  (Ballantine $27)

A teacher at a New England prep school ignites a gender war-with deadly consequences that show how silence can tamp down decency. Think Donna Tartt 2019

A school setting has intrigued so many authors besides Tartt....Dorothy L. Sayers, Joseph Tey, Carol Goodman just to rattle off a few.

High school English teacher Alex Witt jumps from the frying pan into the fire when she takes a job at Stonebridge Academy, a Vermont boarding school.
 
Alex doesn't love teaching, but it's a living, and she's hoping for a new start at Stonebridge after a debacle sent her packing from her l
ast job. Dean Gregory Stinson, a friend of Alex's famous author father, Len Wilde, is happy to give her a place on staff, but a bait and switch has her teaching creative writing instead of English. Alex isn't thrilled but settles into getting to know her class. Her initiation isn't easy: Someone leaves a dead rat in her desk, and strange, vaguely threatening notes keep appearing at her barely livable cottage. Weeding out the good eggs from the troublemakers isn't easy, but Alex gives it the college try and even makes a few (maybe) friends among the staff. When a student named Gemma Russo makes Alex aware of an exclusive online forum called the Darkroom, where Stonebridge boys post photos and text about their sexual exploits and girls are vigorously scored, Alex can't ignore what's happening, but she's not eager to put herself out there in the face of adult enablers and vicious boys. It gets worse from there....
in fact it's a take-no-prisoners look at... privilege and more.
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Billy Jensen
Saturday 2:00 PM
The Pen closes from 1:00-3:30 PM for regular shopping
SATURDAY AUGUST 24 2:00 PM
Ticketed Event  $28 admits one person with a choice of either book  Click to purchase or call 480 947 2974

YOU CAN BUY TICKETS AT THE DOOR
Extra copies of both will be for sale. True Crime podcaster Jensen has so many fans we can't risk having anyone out in the parking lot in the heat. 

Billy Jensen  signs  Chase Darkness with Me  (Sourcebooks $25.99)

Journalist Billy Jensen spent fifteen years investigating unsolved murders, fighting for the families of victims. Every story he wrote had one thing in common-they didn't have an ending. The killer was still out there. But after the sudden death of a friend, crime writer and author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara, Billy got fed up. Following a dark night, he came up with a plan. A plan to investigate past the point when the cops had given up. A plan to solve the murders himself. Gripping, complex, unforgettable, Chase Darkness with Me is an examination of the evil forces that walk among us, illustrating a novel way to catch those killers, and a true-crime narrative unlike any you've read before.

Robert Anglen will review Jensen's book on Thursday in the Arizona Republic. His reviews are always fabulous! Another reason we urge you to buy tickets now!

Hank Phillippi Ryan  signs  The Murder List  (Forge $27.99)

CNN named it an Ultimate Beach Read and the Library Journal rave starred review calls it "a  riveting must read!"

Harvard Law student Rachel North accepts an internship with Martha Gardiner, the first assistant district attorney of Middlesex County, Mass. This decision raises tensions with Rachel's husband, Jack Kirkland, a preeminent Boston defense attorney who recently lost a high-profile murder case to Martha. Martha throws Rachel into the middle of a fresh homicide case, the killing of nurse Tassie Lyle, implausibly having her take an active role in the investigation. The inquiry soon zeroes in on a pizza deliveryman who was a hospital patient of the victim's and who may have been working with her to sell drugs. The action is interrupted first by flashbacks to Rachel's previous life as a political aide to Thomas Rafferty, the president of the state senate, who stops by her apartment late at night to leave an envelope with her for safekeeping

Why will this event be so amazing?

Ryan is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston's WHDH-TV. She's won 36 EMMYs, 14 Edward R. Murrow awards and dozens of other honors for her groundbreaking journalism.  

A nationally bestselling author of 11 mystery novels, Hank has also won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction: five Agathas, three Anthonys, the Daphne, two Macavitys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her novels have been named Best Thrillers of the Year by Library Journal, New York Post, BOOKBUB, PopSugar, Real Simple Magazine and others

Jensen is a True Crime podcaster whose book tells you among other things about The Golden State Killer book and what happened when the author prematurely died.... 

Her book is fiction. His book...isn't.

Bryn Greenwood
Monday 7:00 PM
MONDAY AUGUST 26 7:00 PM
Bryn Greenwood  signs  The Reckless Oath We Made  (Putnam $26)

Meet an author new to us and to you!

A hot-tempered, gritty Kansas woman living on the edge and an autistic man obsessed with medieval chivalry team up in an unforgettable heroic quest to rescue her abducted sister. 

Zee is nobody's fairy tale princess. Almost six-foot, with a redhead's temper and a shattered hip, she has a long list of worries: never-ending bills, her beautiful, gullible sister, her five-year-old nephew, her housebound mother, and her drug-dealing boss. Zee may not be a princess, but Gentry is an actual knight, complete with sword, armor, and a code of honor. Two years ago the voices he hears called him to be Zee's champion. Both shy and autistic, he's barely spoken to her since, but he has kept watch, ready to come to her aid.

Seriously! Join us for something offbeat and fun.
More Ticketed Events
New: Outlander Guide

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19 7:00 PM

Craig Johnson signs Land of Wolves (Viking 28$)


THURSDAY OCTOBER 3 7:00 PM
Our 30th Birthday!

Joe Hill in conversation with Leslie S. Klinger
and introducing the Haunted Library Series debuting in January

Hill signs Full Throttle (Morrow $27.99)

Klinger signs
The New Annotated H P Lovecraft:Beyond Arkham
(Norton $39.95)

NEW: OUTLANDER GUIDE EVENT

Saturday October 15
Diana Gabaldon and Tara Bennett discuss and sign a
Series Guide to Seasons 3 & 4

This is a   ticketed event. Please click on the link to order

$55 one book and admits one $60 one book and admits two (limited number of $60 tickets)
Limit: 600 fans

Time: 6:30 PM (Doors Open 5:30 PM)

Location:
The DoubleTree Hilton Hotel
5401 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale AZ 85250 

(The Pen has no arrangement with the hotel for discounted rooms.
Please check with the Hilton directly for room reservations. There
are numerous hotels in the immediate area)
 
No personal books. Diana will sign any books purchased at the event

Can't attend? Please click on the title to order your copy signed by both authors:

.
If using  PayPal please email  sales@poisonedpen.com to get the shipping  rate to be included in your payment

Hot, Hot, Hot...and New

JUST ARRIVED! AND SIGNED FOR YOU

Crais, Robert. A Dangerous Man (Putnam $29)

Joe Pike was just leaving the bank where a lonely young teller called Isabel shyly tried to flirt with him when he spotted two guys abduct her as she stepped out for lunch break. Joe swings into action, chases them down, puts them down, and the two men are arrested. But the arrests are only the beginning of the trouble for Joe and Izzy, beginning with disbelieving cops. Then, after posting bail, the two abductors are murdered and Izzy disappears. Pike, pissed and worried, calls in his PI partner Elvis Cole, who uncovers a surprising story for Izzy's family, one with very old roots...

I can't resist adding this from the NY Times Book Review
"But enough about plot. Let's talk cars. (This being California, people's rides are extensions of their existential selves.) One of the kidnappers drove a Dodge Challenger, an aggressively styled muscle car. John Chen, a forensic scientist who wants to be hip, has a "molten silver" Porsche Boxster. The cops, of course, pilot beat-up black-and-whites. As for Joe Pike, ex-Marine and former mercenary, he sits tall in a Jeep."

Keller, Julia. The Cold Way Home (St Martins $29), 

"Keller's emotion-charged mystery, opens with the birth of a baby - but don't get all misty-eyed over that. The infant, a boy, is born to a drug-addicted woman who hadn't even known she was pregnant. Where? 'In a toilet in the Burger Boss in a bleak town in a state swamped by its troubles.' The town in question is economically depressed, spiritually drained Acker's Gap, W.Virginia. Given the depths of human misery in that opening scene, it comes as a relief when the three private detectives who operate an agency simply called Investigations are hired to find Maggie Folsom's runaway daughter, Dixie Sue, a sweet girl who is 'kinda slow.' But that mission also turns tragic when a young woman's body is found near the ruins of Wellwood, an asylum for 'incurables.'

Keller's sleuths are easy to like and the murder story is moving; but the object of fascination here is Wellwood, a state-run mental institution with a dark history as a repository for 'rebellious, unruly women' whose husbands unloaded them at the institution to be lobotomized. And you thought that 'a black wave of overdoses from fentanyl-spiked heroin" created enough grief for one Appalachian town'."-NY Times, referring to Keller's last, Bone on Bone ($17.99), which sets The Cold Way Home up. Excellent story, too.

Parry, H.G. The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep (Orbit $27)

Our August First Mystery Book of the Month reminds me strongly of Jasper Fforde's s huge hit  The Eyre Affair
($17). 

So much that I conjured up signed copies from the New Zealand author, an exclusive for The Pen

Another mad like me fan adds, "The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, H.G. Parry's debut novel, is a Dickensian booklover's delight, filled with the most popular characters from Western literature, from Heathcliff, Dorian Gray, and five brooding Mr. Darcys to more modern characters like Matilda and the Implied Reader, all navigating their own stories as well as the real world they've come to inhabit. 

Anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with the Artful Dodger or to hold the legendary Excalibur in their hands will be in excellent company in the pages of this delightful literary fantasy." As one fictional creation puts it: "I think we've found ourselves in the middle of an adventure." 

I recommend this gem to lovers of historical and literary fiction as well as to our Surprise Me! club members and fans of intelligent cozies.

Our August Books of the Month
AUGUST BOOKS OF THE MONTH
British Crime Club One unsigned hardcover or paperback per month
North, Alex. The Whisper Man

Cozy Crimes Club One unsigned hardcover or paperback per month

Discovery Club  One paperback or hardcover per month
Pobi, Robert. City of Windows
The best book we could not get signed this year (he's Canadian)

First Mystery Club  One Signed First per month

Think Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair but Dickens, not Bronte, a truly imaginative delight set in and coming from New Zealand

Hardboiled Crime Club  One signed First per month 
Parker, T Jefferson. The Last Good Guy

History/Mystery Club  One Signed First per month 
Obreht, Tea. Inland (Random $27)
Arizona Territory 1893

History Paperback  One per month
Penrose, Andrea. Murder at Half Moon Gate

Modern First Editions  One Signed First per month
Russo, Richard. Chances Are... SOLD OUT

SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Club  One Signed First per month
Hart, Rob. The Warehouse
A Don't Miss It -- 1984 for today

Surprise Me! Club  One Signed First Per Month
Slaughter, Karin. The Last Widow

Thriller Club  One Signed First per month
Cavanagh, Steve. Thirteen

A legal thriller... with the killer on the jury 

Parking, Drinks & Dining
and a generous offer from 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.


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.
Our August Calendar

SATURDAY AUGUST 24 2:00 PM
Ticketed Event $28 admits one person with a choice of either book
Billy Jensen signs Chase Darkness with Me (Sourcebooks $25.99)
Hank Phillippi Ryan signs The Murder List (Forge $27.99)
Extra copies of both will be for sale
 
MONDAY AUGUST 26 7:00 PM
Bryn Greenwood signs The Reckless Oath We Made (Putnam $26)
 
FRIDAY AUGUST 30 7:00 PM
Karin Slaughter signs The Last Widow (Morrow $27.99)
Will Trent
 
AUGUST DISCUSSION CLUB REMAINING
Hardboiled Crime: Thursday August 29 7:00 PM
Dennis, Ralph. Atlanta Deathwatch ($16.99)

Our September Calendar

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 7:00 PM
Stephen Coonts signs The Russia Account (Regnery $27.99)
Coonts will be joined by 3 former CIA agents turned authors
Dave Austin signs Tehran's Vengeance ($12/99)
Thomas Pecora signs Guardian : Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA's War on Terror (Post Hill Press $27.99)
Mike Trott signs The Protected (Archway $29.95)
 
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5 7:00 PM
William Kent Krueger signs This Tender Land (Atria $27)
A coming of age story; think Huck Finn
Our copies come with an extra written by Kent just for you
 
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7 2:00 PM
Jenn McKinlay signs A Word to the Wise (Berkley $26)
A Library Lovers Mystery
 
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9 7:00 PM
Poisoned Pen Press Party with giveaways and treats
Sara Johnson signs her debut Molten Mud Murder (Sourcebooks $15.95)
American forensics specialist in New Zealand
Thomas Kies signs Graveyard Bay (Sourcebooks $26.99)
Reporter Geneva Chase
 
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12 7:00 PM
Katayoun Medhat signs
Navajo Police Procedural

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16 7:00 PM
Andrew Gross signs The Fifth Column (St Martins $28.99)
WWII New York City thriller
 
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17 7:00 PM Book Launch
Nevada Barr signs What Rose Forgot (St Martins $28.99)
A thriller
 
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18 7:00 PM
Linwood Barclay signs Elevator Pitch (Morrow $26.99)
Wow!
 
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19 7:00 PM
Ticketed Event $32 admits one with one book; $37 admits two with one book
Craig Johnson signs Land of Wolves (Viking $28)
Sheriff Walt Longmire
 
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23 7:00 PM
Paddy Hirsch signs Hudson's Kill (Forge $25.99)
Justice Flanagan 1803 New York City
 
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24 7:00 PM
Publication Party for James Sallis
SJ Rozan signs  Paper Son (Pegasus $25.95)
Lydia Chin & Bill Smith
James Sallis signs  Sarah Jane (Soho $23.95)
 
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26 7:00 PM
T. Greenwood signs Keeping Lucy (St Martins $27.99)
Suspense based on a true story of a Downs child
 
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27 7:00 PM
Kyle Mills signs Vince Flynn Lethal Agent (Atria $28.99)
Mitch Rapp
 
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2:00 PM Mystery Tea
Mary Anna Evans signs  Catacombs (Sourcebooks $26.95 and $15.95)
Faye Longchamp Archaeology Mysteries
 
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29 2:00 PM
Poisoned Pen Press Party with giveaways and treats
Warren Easley signs  No Way to Die (Sourcebooks $26.95 and $15.95)
Lawyer Cal Claxton Oregon Mysteries
Dennis Palumbo signs  Head Wounds (Sourcebooks $15.95
Psychologist Dr. Daniel Rinaldo
And Mark Coggins sign The Dead Beat Scroll (Down & Out Books $17.95)

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30 7:00 PM Book Launch
John Sandford signs Bloody Genius (Putnam $29)
Our copies come with an exclusive custom-designed extra that fits 
The Body in the Library of Virgil Flowers #12
 
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2 7:00 PM
JA Jance signs Sins of the Fathers (Harper $26.99
JP Beaumont
 
OFFICIAL 30th BIRTHDAY PARTY
TICKETED EVENT Limited to 150
Reception at Arcadia Farms Catering 6:00 PM
Program 7:00 PM
Joe Hill signs Full Throttle: Stories (Harper $27.99)
Leslie S. Klinger signs The New Annotated HP Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham (Norton $39.95) and introduces 2020's The Haunted Library Series (horror)
 
SEPTEMBER 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 September 14 10:30 AM
Rice, Craig. Home Sweet Homicide ($15.95)

SciFi Friday : September 20 7:00 PM
Lee, Fonda. Jade City ($15.95)

Croak & Dagger : Saturday September 21 10:30 AM
Turton, Stuart. The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle ($16.99)

Hardboiled Crime: Wednesday September 25 7:00 PM
Welch, James. The Death of Jim Loney ($15)

What Do You Listen To This Fall with Libro.fm?


It's easy, just visit our webstore and search for the title you're interested in.  If Libro.fm has it available you'll see a new 
Buy The Audiobook button on the same page where you order the book. 

More info from Libro.fm can be found by clicking on the link.

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,