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More Updates from The Pen
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Hello,
We extend our heartfelt wishes for your safety and well being.
And our thanks for your heartening and deeply appreciated support.
I am fond of saying the world is divided into people who read and people who do not--people who read are not only seldom bored but actively seek time alone.And for those who read, or those newly taking it up, spending time with new or beloved fictional friends is therapeutic as well as a joy. Listening to stories on audiobooks keeps you in good company too.
Please see the sections below on our Services to keep books in your hands.
Just arrived from Harlan's hands:
shipping now to you free within the United States
Our events are being rescheduled as virtual through April and most likely through May. A few may be postponed instead. And we are shipping daily to authors so we can deliver the signed books promised to fans. Please see the April schedule below which is constantly being updated.
We are balancing everyone's safety with supporting authors faced with reaching out to fans in new ways. And the impact upon their careers.
We are also loading new tools to allow our April Discussion Clubs to meet virtually! The club leaders will be in touch with members but we encourage those who are not to join in. Details to come.
Watch recent and older programs on
our
YouTube channel
and on
Facebook Live video
New videos include Harlan Coben and, after some weird delay, James Rollins, both in conversation with me, Barbara.
Enjoy the Podcast on The Last Odyssey with James Rollins Here is Jim signing hundreds of the book for you which are shipping as I write.
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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To Make It Easy to Order, The Midmonth March BookNotes
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Most of the books therein have not been previously reviews in the two March Booknews.
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For You:
Free Shipping on orders of $25+ within the US
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We always need good books however we define them to be, and right now more than ever.
THROUGH APRIL 15: FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OF $25 and up within the United States. We will reassess at that time.
PLEASE RECOGNIZE THAT:
There will almost certainly be delays in stocking books thanks in part to the ongoing paper shortage slowing printers. It's possible that warehouses will experience staffing shortages or shut down and who knows how the overstrained shipping system will fare. Remember amazon prime has slowed down too.
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For You
Curbside Pick Up Comes with a Free ARC or book
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Thank you for picking up orders from The Pen.
We include a complimentary Advance Reading Copy or a free book with your order as an additional thank you.
If you wish, call us (don't email) and we will bag your orders for curbside pickup
at the rear door of the store so you can park in the lot.
Knock or phone when you arrive.
480-947-2974
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Looking for Good Reads?
For you?
For family and friends?
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We have long offered subscription
Books of the Month. So one way to discover something you will enjoy is to order one of the selections. Or just sign up for a club.
For years we've offered a
Mystery of the Month membership. You fill out a profile and we pick the book to send to you. Or
enroll someone in MOM, book to them, charge to you.
This would be an excellent time to order a Book Care Package  to ship to a family member or friend.
One way to do this would be to go to our WebStore, select books and enter the billing information and the shipping addresses.
OR call us at
888-560-9919 or email
[email protected] and let us pick out the books for you.
The Book Care Packages will ship free through April.
OR buy a Poisoned Pen Gift Card for a family member or a friend. It's a thoughtful gift, and books never spoil on the shelf.
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To Help Us
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PLEASE ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO SHOP WITH US
To keep us working for you, please order from The Pen. It takes cash flow to keep a bookstore going.
Consider buying Gift Cards for family and friends. They function like a small cash loan until redeemed.
Many of you prefer PayPal to credit cards.
PayPal too is like a small cash loan made while your order arrives and ships to you.
Please encourage people to sign up for the Enews or to read the Booknews and order from The Pen. And encourage them to watch our events on video and share our videos to your own Facebook page.
PLEASE PREORDER. I loaded up the left column of this Enews with books we have confirmed. But warehouses and shipping may slow down... or stop.
Books already in stock don't present a problem
Our goal is to continue to give you the most book choices we can.
Where we can we will ship books to authors for signature, a process that is taking a bit of time to organize. We ask:
Please be patient with the necessary time delays.
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The Most Helpful Thing You Can Do for The Pen Forwarding to a Friend
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Here's something you can do for readers you know...and for free. And help The Pen survive during this difficult time by expanding our range of customers. Forward them an Enews. Or, you can sign a new subscriber up by using this link. It only takes a minute to fill in an email address and name. The Enews has an easy Unsubscribe feature at the bottom of each issue. |
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Another Helpful Thing
Buy Audio Books from The Pen via Libro.fm
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This is a great time to start a Libro.fm account for audiobooks
.
You'll get two audiobooks for the price of one ($14.99), and
100% of your payment will go to The Pen. Once enrolled, you just click on the BuyAudioBook green button on the webstore page for a book.
Huge thanks to Libro.fm for helping bookstores this way.
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James Rollins
Video is now live
An excellent read for Clive Cussler fans
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And our signed copies of
The Last Odyssey
(Harper $28.99) with an exclusive insert are shipping now.
You can watch the video
on Facebook
and also on our
YouTube Jim and I offer a tribute to Clive as part of our conversation
The video was recorded at The Pen and posted which took forever. We apologize for the slow upload. Our remaining virtual events will happen in real time and thus not get delayed and drive you, and us, nuts.
A half mile beneath the frozen (if melting) tundra of (not-for-sale)
 Greenland, archaeologists find a medieval ship whose hold contains Bronze Age artifacts, including a clockwork gold atlas ringed by silver astrolabe crafted by a Muslim inventor named Ismail al-Jazari who inspired Leonardo Da Vinci. The moving globe reveals Odysseus unexpectedly following an underground river to dark Tartarus (that's ancient Greek for hell), and now the entire war- and terrorist-ridden region is in an uproar, which puts Sigma Force front and center....
Recall that in the 19th century, scientists uncovered the ancient walls of Troy, posing the question: if Troy was real, how much of Homer's twin tales of gods and monsters-
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey
-could also be awaiting discovery? Rollins goes after truth hidden within Homer's tales, marrying nail-biting action with a highly imaginative premise... "This is a thoughtful, nonstop thrill ride that's an exemplar of an escapist page-turner." -
PW
Starred Review
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Kathy Reichs
Join Kathy and me on
FB Live
Thursday
5:00 PM
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This is Kathy's first Temperance Brennan book since 2015. .
Watch Kathy discuss it with me on FB Live or YouTube
We have shipped copies of
A Conspiracy of Bones
(Scribner $27) to her they will likely be back to ship to you by the end of March.
Please
PREORDER NOW
. Orders already placed will automatically become part of the shipment
This might be a good time to binge on
Bones, the TV show created from the Temperance Brennan series.
Here is the NY Times Book News review:
A Conspiracy of Bones
rations the forensic anthropologist to a single autopsy. Granted, the case offers "the grisly allure of feral hogs and a faceless corpse," and the circumstances are juicy enough for Brennan's mother to ask her, "You working on this corpse got gnawed by hogs?" 
Reichs has always been strong on plot, and this one has plenty of twists, as Brennan's hunt for villains takes her from a dreamy ashram called Sparkling Waters to the darkest pockets of the deep web. Here she finds sinister references to exploited children and secret government experiments. All the same, it's disheartening to note that before there was an internet, sleuths were forced to hit the road, knock on doors and deal with real people, either alive or - in the life of a forensic anthropologist - more often dead.
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William Kent Krueger
Join Kent and me on
FB Live
Saturday March 28
at Noon
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Kent will sign copies of
Ordinary Grace
and
This Tender Land  while he is here.
A part of proceeds of sale March 28 will be donated to the AAUW scholarship fund.
As ever, you can watch this on Facebook Live Video the 28 and on YouTube from the 30th forward.
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Our Mostly Firm April Calendar
We are working on software for the Discussion Clubs to meet Virtually
We are setting up more video events
Check back, please
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Please note that all the FB Live events can be viewed at any time after the event and will appear on our YouTube channel the next day, giving you a choice where to watch them.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 1 5:00 PM Virtual Event
No April Fool here
Signed books. Please preorder 
MONDAY APRIL 6 5:00 PM Virtual Event
Signed books. Please preorder now
TUESDAY APRIL 7 5:00 PM Virtual Event
Signed books. Please preorder now
WEDNESDAY APRIL 8 5:00 PM Virtual Event
Signed books. Please preorder now 
MONDAY APRIL 13 7:00 PM Virtual Publication Party
The Terminal List #3 James Reece -- Fabulous
Visit Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on an epic manhunt
Please preorder now
Jack will sign books at his home and do a FB Live conversation with me, with Mark Greaney possibly phoning in
TUESDAY APRIL 14 7:00 PM Virtual Publication Party
Our April Crime Collectors Book of the Month
Signed Books. Please preorder now
ADDING, Dates to be confirmed 
Our April Historical Fiction Book of the Month
Signed Books. Please preorder now
DJ Palmer speaks about
The New Husband (St Martins $27.99)
Signed Books. Please preorder now
Marcia Clark speaks about
Final Judgment (Thomas & Mercer $24.95/$15.95)
Samantha Brinkman
Signed Books. Please preorder now 
John Sandford speaks about
Masked Prey (Putnam $29)
Lucas Davenport #30
Signed Books. Please preorder now
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A Few Reviews of Books New and Waiting for You
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Free Shipping. You can click on the audiobook order link too
We recommend the terrific list of new large and small paperbacks in the March Booknews Part 2 (also Part 1)
NEWLY ARRIVED AND SIGNED
Jo Greaver is a model of success. Young and ambitious, she's built a thriving beauty business from nothing. But she has secrets  she'll do anything to keep buried. When her blackmailer offers to meet, Jo expects to pay him off-but gets a bullet instead while firing off one of her own. Bleeding and in shock, Jo flees with no one to turn to. When NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling and her partner, Rafael Mendoza, find Andray Baxter murdered in his own home-shot through the heart-everything points to Jo as the killer. Her blood is at the scene, and so are disturbing photos of her taken as a young teen. But Sheryn has doubts. Was the kindhearted Andray really a criminal? Why did he repeatedly report finding spyware in his apartment? Was there something shady about Jo's sister dying a year earlier? This story twists and turns in imaginative and fascinating ways.
Patrick adds, "Aspiring writers would do well to check out Davidson's new book, the second book in her "Shadows of New York" series featuring NYPD Detective Sheryn Sterling, as it really provides a kind of template for how to write a smart intelligent thriller. I've always admired Davidson's work, but she's really upped her game with this fantastic new series."
Katsu, Alma.
The Deep
(Putnam $27) presents an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world's most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic.
Is someone, or something, haunting the ship. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the Titanic from the moment they set sail. While some of the guests and crew shrug off strange occurrences,  several--including maid Annie Hebbley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim--are convinced there's something more sinister going on. And then disaster strikes. Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together by going to work as a nurse on the sixth sailing of the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship to support British forces fighting World War I. When she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier, she is at first thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the tragic night four years earlier. But soon his presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past--as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over. Here is more evidence of the rising wave of Gothic/ghost/horror fiction.
Koontz, Dean.
Devoted
(Thomas & Mercer $28.99).
The thing to keep in mind about the imaginative and prolific  Koontz is that he truly loves Golden Retrievers. His are family. So it's no surprise that Kipp, "a uniquely gifted dog with a heart as golden as his breed" is the protector, rather in the spirit of animal totems, to eleven-year-old Woody Bookman. And naturally in a Koontz novel this child, mute from birth, is under mysterious threat. His father died in freak accident. Woody believes some monstrous evil was behind dad's death and is threatening his mom, Megan, and Woody himself. And-he's right. A man has set a depraved plan into motion. Only a force for good like Kipp can stop it....
It's September 1969 in a rapidly changing Brooklyn community, where drugs are starting to flourish, African American and Latinx residents face the hostility of their Italian and Irish neighbors, and unassuming, gray-haired Baptist deacon Sportcoat walks into the courtyard of a housing project and shoots the project's drug dealer dead. McBride here followsf his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the story collection Five-Carat Soul.
NEW AND UNSIGNED AND READY TO SHIP OR FOR PICKUP
This just received a rave in the NY Times underlining mine below
Edgar winner Bouman's third novel is a compact, powerful country noir that reminds me of a Daniel Woodrell or a David Joy.  Officer Henry Farrell of Wild Thyme, a small town in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains, is for sure not your ordinary cop. Which becomes clear when a headless corpse is found in the woods. If this is the work of a man-eating bear, a bear Henry has some affinity with, then why not leave hunting it down to the Game Commission? It turns out the township is no more stranger to criminals than a city and has similar pockets of poverty, aspiration, and predatory activity. Henry, newly married to Miss Julie, faces both bad guys and moral quandaries within a web of local and family connections.
Follett, Ken.
The Eye of the Needle
($16).
His code name was "The Needle." He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence-a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history.... But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom-and win the war for the Nazis. . .
Looking for something truly original? This Gothic/#MeToo novel, set in a grand but fading country manor as the "Phony War" heats  up in 1939, fills the bill. The manor is the designated depository for a natural history museum's collection of mostly taxidermied specimens transported Lockwood for safekeeping. Spinster Hetty Cartwright is the collection's supervisor and billeted in the manor. She meets the clearly troubled Lucy Lockwood, a young beauty suffering from "nerves" who finds a few freedoms from the tyrannical grip of Major Lockwood as Hetty challenges him. As the two roam the manor they find things shifted and exhibits gone missing. It's almost as if the house has a will of its own.
But despite the Gothic elements (a house is a crucial element in any Gothic) there is actual criminality afoot and Healey writes compellingly.
Kent, Serena.
Death in Avignon
(Harper $26.99). I loved Penelope Kite's debut in
Death in Provence
($16.99) where her decision to escape a dull life in Surrey plus her ex plus her two stepkids, for an old farm house and life in the Luberon confronts her with a dead man in her swimming pool the very first thing. The investigation brings her under suspicion but also brings friends in her new village of St. Merlot, a sense of self, and the rekindling of her love of music and playing the cello.
Now here she is attending a posh gallery show in picturesque Avignon offseason, fall, so the tourists are mostly gone. Her escort is the handsome mayor of St. Merlot. And their dinner à  deux is destroyed by the discovery of one of the four artists, the very British Don Doncaster, at death's door. The next day, Don is dead. His painting were, Penelope thinks, hideous but seemed to sell amazingly well, while the work of the talented Nicolas, represented by the same art dealer/agent, less so. Penny becomes involved reluctantly-the chief of police seems to hate her-which disrupts her life again. Visits from her children with their children further disrupt her peace, but when things get rough she calls in her larger than life friend Frankie who always has her back while thrusting her forward. Kent, British, infuses humor to liven things up more. I will get tired of the continually failed dinner dates with the mayor if this series goes on, as I hope it will, but it's charming, not a cozy but like Peter Mayle, so enjoy.
Ex-cop Cliff Bartells might be the last honest man in Florence City, Florida. After quitting the force over a crisis of conscience,  he takes a job at an insurance company buying back stolen jewelry. Cliff is focused on keeping the bottom line down and staying out of the spotlight. But when an affluent tourist from Boston is murdered over a hefty collection of jewelry, Cliff finds himself wrapped up in a case that's making national headlines. With the victim's beautiful niece, Melody Chance, determined to help retrieve the goods, suddenly Cliff has the partner he never knew he wanted. Now all they need is a suspect: someone capable of cold-blooded murder in the name of profit. And that could mean anyone in this crooked town
A serial killer who is not your average SK by a long shot - and a landscape to explore - a wooded area with a small and insular village in the Italian Alps. And another big plus for this 2019  Discovery Club Pick: the lead cop, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, is not in the common way. She's aging, diabetic, tough, and has an unusual sense of humor which he wields on her subordinates, in particular the new recruit to her team, young Inspector Marini. Who's new school, not old school, and at a disadvantage throughout. I can't say much about the plot without spoilers, but the victims have been brutalized in an animalistic way and clues are scarce (some deliberately made so thanks to the local cops). And yet when you reach the end you will feel compassionate rather than revolted. There's a nice twist to this terrific story, too.
Westlake, Donald E.
Double Feature
(Hard Case Crime $10.95) combines two classic novellas, A Travesty and Ordo, in their first publication in 40 years.
In New York City, a movie critic has just murdered his girlfriend-well, one of his girlfriends (not to be confused with his wife). Will the unlikely crime-solving partnership he forms with the  investigating police detective keep him from the film noir ending he deserves? On the opposite coast, movie star Dawn Devayne-the hottest It Girl in Hollywood-gets a visit from a Navy sailor who says he knew her when she was just ordinary Estelle Anlic of San Diego. Now she's a big star who's put her past behind her. But secrets have a way of not staying buried.... "These two short novels, one hilarious and one heartbreaking, are two of the best works Westlake ever wrote. And fittingly, both became movies: one starring Jack Ryan's Marie Josée Croze, and one starring Fargo's William H. Macy and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman."
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Our March Books of the Month
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OUR MARCH BOOKS OF THE MONTH
Moore, Graham.
The Holdout we can get Moore to sign more if you order the book
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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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We Don't Want to Lose You!
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If you change your email address you will disappear from our Enews mailing list automatically.
We can't tell unless you either
Go to the very bottom of any Enews and Click on
UPDATE PROFILE or go here and fill in the form. You can choose whether to get the Enews alone or the Enews and Event invitations.
or
Email us your new Email address so we can input it for you into The Enews list. Please tell us that's what you want because we cannot just subscribe you.
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Buy Poisoned Pen Gift Cards Online
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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
[email protected]. 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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