The Poisoned Pen
Reading the West...
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The Poisoned Pen

 

The Poisoned Pen

4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101

Scottsdale, AZ

85251

 

(480) 947-2974

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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


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


Debut
Signed March 4 2 PM
Free audio giveaways


Debut thriller
Signed March 5


2nd by Edgar nominee McMahon
Signed March 5


British Crime Book of the Month for March
A debut
Signed March 5


A Gunn Zoo Mystery
Book Launch
March 7 2:00 PM


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


What better novel to read than during Spring Training right here?
in stock now


Brilliant historical set in 1888 Japan
in stock now
Signed March 16 by the British author


Terrific NYPD with twist
in stock ow
Signed March 10


concludes the Judah Cannon trilogy
Due in soon


Signed UK edition
Due in soon



Another modern Gothic
in stock now
Read the rave review in the AZ Republic 2/23


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

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)



New Podcasts are now on Google or on iTunes or  on Podbean 

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 new MidMonth BookNotes 
February Booknews
Staff Picks, Paperback Picks, and much more

Here is the link to the February MidMonth BookNotes
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.

Here is a link to the   February Booknews


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.
Joshua Hood
Tonight 7:00 PM

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

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 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....
Joanne Fluke
Tuesday 7:00 PM
Serving Coconut Cake
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25 7:00 PM Book Launch
Cake & Crime - Oh My!
Joanne Fluke  signs  Coconut Layer Cake Murder (Kensington $27)

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.

Steve Berry Does Warsaw
Wednesday 7:00 PM
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 7:00 PM
Steve Berry  signs  The Warsaw Protocol (St Martins $28.99

"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. 
Susan Elia MacNeal 
Thursday 7:00 PM
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27 7:00 PM
Susan Elia MacNeal  signs  The King's Justice (Bantam $27)
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

If you have not read the series this is a good time to order the Maggie Hope Mysteries and begin.
James Sallis 
and the Band
Friday 7:00 PM

Come listen to The Three Legged Dog at The Pen!


Read It First Event
Vanessa Lillie
Saturday 10:30 AM

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)

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
Graham Moore
Saturday 2:00 PM
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29 2:00 PM
Graham Moore  signs  The Holdout (Random $28)

FLASH: A deal with Hulu to adapt THE HOLDOUT to screen was announced early last week. Moore has already had impressive screen success.

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 
CJ Box
The 20th Joe Pickett
Monday March 2
7:00 PM
Offsite Event
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."

Tickets On Sale
Harlan Coben
Saturday March 21
6 PM at The Pen

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

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


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)
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,