Happy New Year from the Staff of the Poisoned Pen

Happy New Year to All of Our Great Customers!

Table of Contents

New Signed Books

Out of Print T-Shirts

Desert Noir: Jon Talton January 15 2 pm

Staff Favorites 2010

The Poisoned Pen

"A Mystery Bookstore and More..."

4014 N. Goldwater Blvd #101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

www.poisonedpen.com
[email protected]

480-947-2974
888-560-9919

Greetings!

First of all- Happy New Year to all of our customers! At the beginning of each year, we, at the Poisoned Pen, look forward to the new titles that will be released throughout the year. In a way, we help keep America reading- which is very important. More importantly, we would like to thank every customer who has bought a book from us this past year; it is because of YOU that we are able to keep this independent bookstore running. Thank you!

With the New Year each of us has a New Years resolution. One of my New Years resolutions each year is to attempt the ten book challenge (This is Pat King by the way). Each year, I try to read ten books throughout the year in a different genre or sub-genre that I would have no intention of reading otherwise. Because of this, I discover new gems (majority) and the occasional clunker. Some of my favorites this year included the Father Brown series by G.K. Chesterton (Mystery Classic) and the Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (British Archaeologist Mystery). Below, is a list of some of the staff member's favorite mysteries of the year and I recommend giving these a try.

Best to all!

Pat King and the Staff at the Poisoned Pen

For the December Booknews click here!

Head over to the blog to read reviews and posts from staff, friends of the store and visiting authors.

Thank you for supporting The Poisoned Pen, and Poisoned Pen Press, winner of the 2010 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

New Signings for the New Year!

Hunter, Stephen. Dead Zero. $26.00 Signed. (Simon and Schuster).

Wednesday, January 5th at 7:00 PM

Kick off 2011 on the right foot and pick up Hunter's latest Bob Lee Swagger Novel Dead Zero.

A marine sniper team on a mission in tribal territories on the Afghan-Pakistan border, Whiskey 2-2 is ambushed by professionals using the latest high-tech shooting gear. Badly wounded, the team's sole survivor, Gunnery Sergeant Ray Cruz, aka "the Cruise Missile," is determined to finish his job. He almost succeeds when a mystery blast terminates his enterprise, leaving a thirty-foot crater where a building used to be-and where Sergeant Cruz was meant to be hiding. Months pass. Ray's target, an Afghan warlord named Ibrahim Zarzi, sometimes called "The Beheader," becomes an American asset in the region and beyond, beloved by State, the Administration, and the Agency. He arrives in Washington for consecration as Our Man in Kabul.

But so does a mysterious radio transmission, in last year's code. It's from Whiskey 2-2. Is Ray Cruz back? Has he gone rogue, is he insane, or just insanely angry? Will he succeed, though his antagonists now include the CIA, the FBI, and the same crew of bad boys that nearly killed him in Zabol province? Not to mention Bob Lee Swagger ..

Navarro, Yvonne. Highborne. $7.99 Signed. (Pocket Books)
James, Allyson. Stormwalker & Firewalker. $7.99 each. (Berkley)
Ochse, Weston. Empire of Salt. $7.99 (Abaddon Press)
Saturday, January 8th at 2:00 PM

Join us for an afternoon with three Urban Fantasy writers who have given the genre a Southwestern Twist!

Yvonne Navarro (who hales from Tucson) begins a series about a fallen angel and her quest to redeem herself. Brynna has escaped hell and is now hiding in Chicago. However, a series of serial murders of the supernatural kind of begun to crop up throughout the city; teaming up with Detective Eran Redmond, Brynna hopes to solve the mystery and begin her road to salvation.

Allyson James (a.k.a. Jennifer Ashley who hales from Phoenix) begins a super natural series in Stormwalker. Janet Begay, Native American Detective and Elementalist and her partner, Mick are on the trail of a missing girl in the desert town of Magellan. In Firewalker, Mick and Janet try to clear Janet's name for a murder she did not commit. James, who mixes a strong mystery, sexual tension and Urban Fantasy is in her element with t

his series.

Weston Ochse has produced a novel that truly scared the hell out of me. Ochse novel is set in Salton Sea, CA- truly one of the creepiest places on earth. Zombies have begun to emerge from the depths of the lake itself (a result of a failed government project). Only a few town residents will survive the night. I guarantee a few sleepless nights for you, the reader.

Lescroart, John. Damage. $26.95 Signed. (Penguin Putnam)
Wednesday, January 12th at 7:00 PM

Wes Farrell has won a close election as DA for San Francisco. He's not off to a good start in office for the Ninth Circuit has made one of those absurd rulings favoring a dirtball's possibly infringed rights over those of society and orders a new trial for a rapist/murderer. The legal system fails further when it grants bail and presto, Ro Curtlee, abetted by his powerhouse parents (are they flawed or immoral or deluded? -a question never answered) and a "butler" trained up as a bodyguard in El Salvador, rampage away. One target is Abe Glitzsky and his family, but mostly Ro is going to eliminate witnesses or take revenge on those who put him
away ten years ago. Plus just enjoy himself. Lescroart, always interested in pushing the envelope, gives us a thriller wrapping around a study on how to contain a beast inside the system, meaning meaning law enforcement at all levels tries to play by the rules while dealing with the lawless.

Parker, T. Jefferson. Borderlords. $26.95 Signed. (Dutton).
Wednesday, January 12th at 7:00 PM.

Edgar- winner Parker is a free spirit who resisted writing a series for
years, but with ATF Agent Charlie Hood he's found a way to give rein to his imagination in surprising ways. None more so than here where a fellow agent deep undercover in the Baja Cartel suddenly goes dark after (perhaps) gunning down several targets. Has Sean's moral compass broken along with his mission, or is something else underway? The opening act of the priest in the bat cave, the reappearance of Bradley Jones and the Murrieta history (and head), are just some of the elements that will suck you into this densely woven thriller. LA Outlaws; Renegades ($9.99 each); Iron River ($26 Signed).

Cussler, Dirk. Crescent Dawn. $27.95 Signed (Penguin Putnam).
Thursday, January 13th at 7:00 PM.

Dirk Cussler is back for an evening of entertainment for Cussler fans! Learn more about Dirk Pitt's background, the collaboration with his father Clive, and the shipwreck's that the real Dirk has been involved with. A fascinating evening with one of the author's behind the Dirk Pitt series.

Classic Book Cover T-Shirts!

These very cool shirts are a big hit at The Poisoned Pen. My personal favorite being a toss up between about six of them, one being The Brave New World shirt for kids. (click here to see all the different choices)

Since we can't afford to keep all of these styles and sizes on-hand, we have to order sparingly. However, if customers order in advance we can get any style they might want! So, we've posted images of all the choices, and we just need an email to know what you might like, if any. We will place the order in one week from today.

Just email [email protected] with the specific design, style of cut (men's, women's, or kid's, or sweater) the size and the quantity and he'll contact you. The shirts are $25 dollars a piece, $22 for kids.The do run a tad bit small, so order one size up if you prefer a looser shirt. Click on images to enlarge.

Desert Noir...January 15 with Jon Talton at 2 PM

Former Arizona Republic columnist Jon Talton, now writing from Seattle for the paper and also blogging as The Rogue Columnist,
receives a front-page feature article in the Republic on his crime fiction today.

To read the full text, please click here