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Happy Monday,
First, nominees are in for the 2020
Reading the West program. Search the list and order those that intrigue you from The Pen. You will see favorites like CJ Box and authors new to you among the nominees.
Speaking of Reading the West,
March marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Tony Hillerman's first novel The Blessing Way. I well remember reading it and the delight I felt in learning so much from it, not to mention meeting the characters and enjoying the story. Here are the two most recent book covers, neither one like the original.
New videos
for you now include
Brad Taylor paired with Jamie Bernstein, right, whose memoir of growing up with her father Leonard is
Famous Father Girl
($17.99), a well written and brave story tackling many issues that, in his day, had no real vocabulary available for discussion.
And Mark Greaney in conversation with Jack Carr about Mark's new The Gray Man thriller One Minute Out (Berkley $28)
Do check our BLOG regularly. Lesa updates awards, news, and interviews.
And thank you for supporting the authors!
Barbara and all The Pens
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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.
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The new MidMonth BookNotes
February Booknews
Staff Picks, Paperback Picks, and much more
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A terrific issue filled with books often not in the Booknews, and with a different slant on those that are. Don't miss reading it. Even though Valentine's Day is past romance is in bloom along with spring, no? Plus so much more.
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From now through March parking is at a premium
Come Early
Enjoy Drinks & Dining
New: Pizzeria Virtu
Find extra parking at Arcadia Farms Cafe
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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:
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.
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.
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Joshua Hood
Tonight 7:00 PM
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MONDAY FEBRUARY 24 7:00 PM
For fans of Mark Greaney, Jack Carr, Brad Thor (new book in June), Mike Maden/Marc Cameron in the Clancy universe, David Morrell, etc
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 DÃaz, 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....
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Joanne Fluke
Tuesday 7:00 PM
Serving Coconut Cake
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TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25 7:00 PM Book Launch
Cake & Crime - Oh My!
Event exclusive to The Poisoned Pen
Data shows that since the series debut in 2000 Fluke has developed over 600 recipes included in her books and baked over 600,000 chocolate chip cookies for her fans, plus other yummies.
Hannah has been vacationing in sunny California when murder hastens her back to Eden Lake, Minnesota, and The Cookie Jar bakery. Her sister Michelle's boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, has become the prime suspect after he drove a drunk home from the bar only to find her dead the next morning in her bedroom, murdered while he slept on her couch. Lonnie's memory of the night is impaired, leaving Hannah a challenge heightened by the fact that two cops, one Lonnie's brother, the other his partner, have been taken off the case....
Enjoy the over 20 original recipes which include cookies and sweets but some protein too. No Keto diet for Hannah's circle.
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Steve Berry Does Warsaw
Wednesday 7:00 PM
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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 7:00 PM
"Berry seasons the plot with fascinating lore and vivid locations, as informative as any textbook. If only textbooks were this exciting."-- Starred Review
Bestseller Berry once again shows there's no working author more skilled at combining thrilling adventure with engrossing historical detail. Ex-operative Malone is in Bruges, Belgium, for an antiquarian book fair when he stumbles onto the theft of a religious artifact, one of a string of international burglaries of the Arma Christi, seven holy relics of the Passion of Christ.
Stephanie Nelle, head of the Magellan Billet, Cotton's former Justice Department agency employer, and Tom Bunch, a feckless adviser to corrupt U.S. president Warner Fox, task Cotton with stealing one of the remaining relics as the entrance fee to an exclusive illicit auction of Soviet-era material intended to blackmail Poland's president. Cotton, a reluctant but stalwart hero, is thrust into a deadly bidding war that could disrupt the fragile power balance between America and Russia
Our copies come with a photo of the relic and of Berry and wife suited up to explore the salt mine at Wieliczka which is a key landscape of this timely thriller. Fans of James Rollins will enjoy a little treat hooked to the President of Poland in the story.
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Susan Elia MacNeal
Thursday 7:00 PM
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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27 7:00 PM
with host Karen Odden
Over the course of eight books Maggie Hope, American expat, has progressed from the post of
Mr. Churchill's Secretary
($16) in 1940 to spy, and barely survived her training.
Now Maggie's 9th outing has its start in December of 1942 when she's taking a much-needed break from spying to defuse bombs in London. But Maggie herself is an explosion waiting to happen. Traumatized by her past, she finds herself living dangerously-taking huge risks, smoking, drinking, and speeding through the city streets on a motorcycle. The last thing she wants is to get entangled in another crime. Still, a stolen Stradivarius, one of the finest violins ever made, is a difficult lure to resist. Who knew investigating its fate would lead her to a serial killer on the loose in London, targeting Conscientious Objectors?
There appears to be a link between the robbery, the murders-and her past. With England putting abolishing the death penalty on hold during wartime, the stakes are high...and rising
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James Sallis
and the Band
Friday 7:00 PM
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Come listen to
The Three Legged Dog at The Pen!
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Read It First Event
Vanessa Lillie
Saturday 10:30 AM
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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
Devon Burges is in the throes of a high-risk birth when she learns of her dear friend's murder. The police quickly name another friend as the chief suspect, but Devon doesn't buy it-and despite her difficult recovery, she feels impelled to investigate. Haunted by postpartum problems that manifest as a cruel voice in her head, Devon, caring full time for her baby, exhausted, is barely getting through each day. Yet her instincts are still sharp, and she's bent on proving her friend's innocence.
This well wrought tale of suspense has such a kicker of an ending that instead of the usual book signing format we're asking you to buy the book early and read it so we can discuss the story as a whole. If you come anyone remember we are doing spoilers.
Those who attend will be offered a free book by another author
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Graham Moore
Saturday 2:00 PM
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SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29 2:00 PM
Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar fortune, vanishes on her way home from school. Her teacher, Bobby Nock, is the prime suspect. It's an open and shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed. Until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, persuades the rest of the jurors to vote not guilty: a controversial decision that will change all of their lives forever. Ten years later, one of the jurors is found dead, and Maya is the prime suspect. The real killer could be any of the other ten jurors. Is Maya being forced to pay the price for her decision all those years ago?
"Plunge a syringe filled with adrenaline into the heart of Twelve Angry Men and you've got The Holdout," is an apt description of our March Fantastic New Fiction Book of the Month
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CJ Box
The 20th Joe Pickett
Monday March 2
7:00 PM
Offsite Event
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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 (basically
Scottsdale Road between Cactus and Sweetwater on the east)
COST:$32.00 admits one with book, $36.00 admits two with one book
Once again, we debut Box the day before publication!
In Edgar winner Box's terrific 20th novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, a retired FBI agent warns Joe's longtime falconer friend, Nate Romanowski, that the Mexican drug cartel whose four assassins Nate helped take down in Wolf Pack have marked Nate as a target for revenge. The cartel has dispatched Orlando Panfile, an expert marksman, to do the job. Meanwhile, someone takes a long-range shot at ill-tempered Judge Hewitt in his home that hits Hewitt's wife, leaving her in critical condition. Could it be Panfile?
Joe is asked to join the investigation by the new county sheriff, Brendan Kapelow, an asshole more interested in macho strutting his stuff and a political future than crime solving, who eventually becomes convinced that Nate is responsible for the shooting. Kapelow arrests Nate for attempted murder when a long-range rifle is discovered hidden in one of his falcon pens.
Of course, Joe isn't buying it, and conducts his own unauthorized investigation to help clear Nate. But why does Panfile mount an effort to have Nate freed? And what does new husband and father Nate strategize?
Clever plotting keeps this conspiracy yarn moving briskly and takes its title from remarkable a remarkable long range shot.
This is another top-flight crime yarn illustrating why Box's readers are never happier than when Joe and Nate have reason to "get western."
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Tickets On Sale
Harlan Coben
Saturday March 21
6 PM at The Pen
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SATURDAY MARCH 21 6:00 PM
Wine and crime--plus pizza
TICKETS
$32 admits one with one book; $37 two with one book
Can't attend? Please order in the usual way
We'll be serving a treat or two from the new Pizzeria Virtu right across our parking lot along with Harlan's program
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Our March Calendar
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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
Joe Pickett #20 - so a party!
Can't attend? Order in the usual way at the $28 price
WEDNESDAY MARCH 4 2:00 PM
Debut
THURSDAY MARCH 5 7:00 PM A Trio
Debut
Debut
SATURDAY MARCH 7 2:00 PM Book Launch
MONDAY MARCH 9
Hosted by Matthew Goldman who signs The Shallows (Forge $26.99)
Jason Pinter
signs Hide Away (Thomas & Mercer $15.95 PBO March 9)
TUESDAY MARCH 10
John Billheimer
signs his Edgar-nominated nonfiction
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
Joint signing to follow
FRIDAY MARCH 13 3:00 PM
Karen hosts
SATURDAY MARCH 14 2:00 PM
Patrick hosts
MONDAY MARCH 16 7:00 PM
TUESDAY MARCH 17 7:00 PM
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
Can't attend? Please order in the usual way
SUNDAY MARCH 22 2:00 PM YA Event
Larry Siegel hosts
MONDAY MARCH 23 7:00 PM Publication Party
Sigma Force
THURSDAY MARCH 26 7:00 PM
Temperance Brennan
FRIDAY MARCH 27
James Sallis and Three Legged Dog Play
SATURDAY MARCH 28
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
SciFi Friday
: March 20 7:00 PM
Croak & Dagger
: Saturday March 21 10:30 AM
Hardboiled Crime
: Wednesday March 25 7:00 PM
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Our February Books of the Month
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OUR FEBRUARY BOOKS OF THE MONTH
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Mystery-of-the-Month Club
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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
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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,
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