Poisoned Pen Press Authors Invade Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Sept. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- The staff at the Poisoned Pen Press is pleased to announce eight of our authors appearing at the Poisoned Pen bookstore on Saturday, September 13th at 2:00pm:

Ken Kuhlken - author of The Good Know Nothing, the seventh book in the Tom Hickey series. We’re in 1936. But the story dips farther back, providing the final chapter, the one on which the mystery underlying the whole series rests: what happened to Tom’s father, Charlie Hickey, an LA cop who just disappeared one day—forever? In his relentless effort to find out what happened to Charlie, Tom lures the novelist B. Traven to Catalina and accuses him of manuscript-theft and homicide. Traven’s tale is that the Sundance Kid, having escaped from his reputed death in Bolivia, killed Charlie. But Tom has always believed media mogul William Randolph Hearst is the only one who knows the real story.

David P. Wagner - author of Death in the Dolomites, the second Rick Montoya Italian mystery. It’s crime and cultural immersion, a glorious combination also found in Martin Walker’s charming series set in France with Bruno, Chief of Police.  Fluent in English and Italian, his uncle a top Roman cop, a school friend on the Art Squad, Rick set up a translating business in Italy. First thing he knew, he was going undercover in Cold Tuscan Stone on a case of Etruscan (faked?) artifacts and murder in Tuscany’s ancient city Volterra. Publishers Weekly relishes “The intriguing art milieu, mouthwatering cuisine, and the team of the ironic Conti and the bemused but agile Montoya…”

Dennis Palumbo - author of Phantom Limb, the fourth Daniel Rinaldi mystery. Phantom Limb, opens on a variation of Raymond Chandler’s knock-on-the-door-and-enter-ablonde. The setup is this: Lisa Harland comes to Rinaldi’s office as a new patient. A local girl with a dubious history, Lisa headed to Hollywood where she made a brief splash in Playboy and related sex trade before bottoming out. Back home, she scraped along and then one day married one of the city’s richest and most ruthless tycoons. Lisa’s challenge to Danny is that she intends to commit suicide by 7:00 PM. Exiting, she’s kidnapped right outside his office.

Jon Talton - author of Night Detectives,the seventh book in the David Mapstone mysteries. The New York Times raves, "The trip drags Mapstone out of his slump, gives his marriage a boost and gets the new partnership off to a flying start." "The journey is thoroughly satisfying." ~ Publisher's Weekly "“The partnership of secretive, pensive Peralta and anguished, impetuous Mapstone is intriguing.” ~ Kirkus Reviews "Mapstone’s seventh outing features tight prose and plotting and a pair of complex and fallible protagonists whose character development continues in a series that just keeps getting better.” ~ Booklist starred review.

Janie Chodosh - author of the debut young-adult Poisoned Pencil title. Death Spiral. "When a junkie dies, no one bothers to ask questions—except her daughter. Six weeks have passed since Faith found her addict mother dead in their West Philly apartment, but she still hasn’t settled into her new life with her aunt in the suburbs. Already troubled by lingering doubts about her mother’s apparent overdose, Faith begins to search for hard answers after she discovers her mother was secretly participating in a clinical trial for a new treatment for heroin addiction. Though Faith’s reluctant to share her troubles with her aunt and her perky best friend, she finds a confidant—and romantic interest—in Jesse, a new student with a rebellious streak..." ~ Kirkus reviews

Tammy Kaehler - author of Avoidable Contact, the third Kate Reilly mystery. Think of the Corvette as a racing thoroughbred, Le Mans or Daytona like the Derby, and you’ve got it…The third Kate Reilly mystery takes you to Daytona International Speedway. The story has a built in ticking clock: the race’s 24 grueling hours. The race, and sleuthing, all end as the clock reaches zero. Jeffery Deaver could not do better.

Warren Easley - author of Dead Float, the second Cal Claxton Oregon mystery. Cal Claxton gave up a high-pressure LA prosecutor post after tragedy to practice small-town law near Portland. His passion is fishing; sometimes he works as a guide. Who knew how dangerous guiding could be? A River Runs Through It set on Oregon’s gorgeous Deschutes River and in its canyon. But Dead Float is not just about the lure of fly fishing, it’s a mystery for lawyer Cal Claxton to solve.

J.M. Hayes - author of The Spirit and the Skull. Jean Auel meets Tony Hillerman in an arctic landscape…The People, a Paleolithic tribe crisscrossing Alaska, were among the first undocumented immigrants to enter the Americas. For them, murder is forbidden, a poisoning of the tribe’s relationships with nature, the Spirits, and each other. When a tribe member is garroted, aging Spirit Man Raven is on the case. So on the case that, in a twist to today’s popular time-slip structure for fiction, Raven’s skull survives millennia to bear witness to the murder and his investigation.