Two Fun New Fantasies

Debut author John Brown signed his fantasy debut, Servant of a Dark God ($26 Signed).

"In Brown's engrossing debut, the first installment of the Dark Gods saga, one of the mysterious Divines, god-like rulers capable of harvesting a person's life force, has vanished. Young Talen's relatively idyllic life is turned upside down when his family is accused of being soul-eaters who worship a twisted god. Pursued by fearful clansmen and a nightmarish earthen monstrosity known only as Hunger, Talen begins to investigate his latent world-changing abilities. Soon he learns of his family's extensive role in the enigmatic Order, whose mission is to break the yoke of the Divines, and the nature of the dark power that hunts them. Brown's narrative takes a few hundred pages to get up to speed, but the latter parts are breakneck-paced and action-packed. Patient readers will be rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy adventure." - PW

While Larry Correia signed Monster Hunter International (Baen $7.99)

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.

It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.

Business is good . . . Welcome to Monster Hunter International.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Poisoned Pen

May your holiday be filled with fun! Happy Thanksgiving from the Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

Don't Miss This New Anthology with a Signed Story by Diana Gabaldon

Dragon Book Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

Never before published stories by New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, and others.

Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes-and in The Dragon Book, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations.

With original stories by New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, Tamora Pierce, Harry Turtledove, Sean Williams, and Tad Williams as well as tales by Naomi Novik, Peter Beagle, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple, Cecelia Holland, Kage Baker, Samuel Sykes, Diana Wynne Jones, Mary Rosenblum, Tanith Lee, Andy Duncan, and Bruce Coville.

** The Poisoned Pen Bookstore has this book (1st edditon) Signed by Samuel Sykes and Diana Gabaldon! Call now 888 560 9919 for your signed copy

A Wonderful Review from PP Customer Jayne Kyl

German, Norman. A Savage Wisdom

An imaginative reconstruction of the life of the only woman executed in Louisiana's electric chair from Thunder Rain Publishing Corp

Toni Jo Henry, born Annie Beatrice Mc Quiston, was a prostitute, drug addict and murderess who, in 1942, became the first and only woman to be executed in Louisiana's electric chair. In A Savage Wisdom, Norman German's fictionalized Toni Jo is a beautiful young innocent whose boredom with small town life makes her an easy target for the flimflam man who plucks her from the Time-Out Cafe and promises her the moon. In what he refers to as an "imaginative reconstruction" of the real Toni Jo, German gives us a character driven to murder by a tormenter who schools her in the demons of obsession, humiliation and betrayal. Harold Nevers, shape shifting devil, is one of those characters so richly crafted that he can make us forget we're reading fiction. German's carefully researched and enticingly sensory descriptions of Depression-era Louisiana create the same suspension of disbelief. This novel's title bespeaks the legacies of deception and the timelessness of desperate people.

David Jerome signs Roastbeef's Promise

David Jerome popped in after his TV event and signed his book Roastbeef's Promise: When Your Dad's Dying Wish Is to Have His Ashes Sprinkled in Each State, What's a Son to Do?($24 Signed First)

When Jim "Roastbeef" Hume embarks on a quest to sprinkle his father's ashes in each of the forty-eight contiguous states, he has no idea that a series of bizarre and ridiculous adventures await. But nothing will deter him from fulfilling the promise he made to his dying father--not a brief incarceration in Iowa or a punctured lung in South Dakota.

As he travels across the country, he picks up numerous new friends, presides over the ultimate frat party, poses as a lesbian's boyfriend, and gives away a very pregnant bride in a Las Vegas wedding. And who could have dreamed that somewhere amidst the craziness of dropping ashes from a crop duster and finding Elvis's toenail, Roastbeef would stumble upon a lucrative career?

Join Roastbeef as he drives, bikes, hitchhikes, rides the rails, and mo-peds his way around the country. This is one warm and funny road-trip you don't want to miss.

SIGNED BOOKS JUST IN

Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Breaking the Rules ($28 Signed)

Following a terrifying encounter in the quiet English countryside, a young woman flees to New York in search of a new life. Adopting the initial M as her name, and reinventing herself, she embarks on a journey that will lead her to the catwalks of Paris, where she becomes the muse and star model to France's iconic designer Jean-Louis Tremont. When M meets the charming and handsome actor, Larry Vaughan in New York they fall instantly in love and marry. Soon, they become the most desired couple on the international scene, appearing on the cover of every celebrity magazine, adored by millions. With a successful career and a happy marriage, M believes she has truly put the demons of her past behind her. But M's fortunes are about to take another dramatic twist. A series of bizarre events turn out not to be accidents at all, but assaults on M and her family. The dark figure from M's past, a psychopath with deadly intent, has made a vow: to shatter M's world forever. But M also makes a vow: she will do everything to keep them all safe. When those you love are threatened and at risk, there's nothing you won't do to protect them... you'll even resort to breaking the rules! Moving from New York to the chic fashion capitals of London and Paris, to the exotic locations of Istanbul and Hong Kong, this new tale from a renowned storyteller is a genuine pageturner...

Boyle, Gerry. Port City Shake Down ($27 Signed)

Down East books is proud to publish the first book in a new series by veteran crime writer Gerry Boyle. Set in and around the dark waterfront in Portland, Maine, the book introduces Brandon Blake, a lean loner who lives on his old wooden cruiser, the Bay Witch. Blake is a man with baggage. Raised from the age of three by his alcoholic grandmother after his mother was lost at sea, he learned early to depend on no one. Largely self-educated, he decides to take a law enforcement class at a community college. When - during a ride-along assignment with a patrolman - he gets involved in a fight, Blake is marked for payback by a soon-to-be-released convict. Meanwhile, some questions surface about his mother's disappearance at sea.

Limon, Martin. G.I. Bones ($24 Signed)

"Easily the best military mysteries in print today."-Lee Child

"Martin Limón does what the best storytellers do: take you away to a brand new world."-Michael Connelly

A Korean fortune-teller is being bothered by a dead American soldier who wants his bones found and buried. An underage officer's daughter is missing together with a Latino soldier. Several of the leading Korean gangsters who own the bars in the ville have been killed. Sueño and Bascom of Military Intelligence must go back to the founding of Itaewon, Seoul's red-light district, in order to learn who killed the soldier, who's taking revenge on the gang lords, and where to find the missing girl.

Jecks, Michael. The Bishop Must Die ($45 Signed)

1326. As the threat of war hangs over England, Sir Baldwin and Bailiff Puttock must work desperately to prevent murder, in Michael Jecks' latest thrilling mystery in this hugely popular series.

In France, King Edward II's estranged wife Queen Isabella shames him by refusing to return to England, and humiliates him further by flaunting her adulterous relationship with the king's sworn enemy, traitor Sir Roger Mortimer. When the king hears she has betrothed their son to the daughter of the Count of Hainault, all England fears an invasion of Hainault mercenaries. Meanwhile the Treasurer of England's life is threatened. He has made many enemies in a long political life and Sir Baldwin and Simon must do all they can to find the would-be assassin before he can strike...

Lamplighter. L. Jagi. Prospero Lost ($27 Signed)

This title earned a starred Review from PW, "Lamplighter's powerful debut draws inspiration from Shakespeare and world mythology, infused with humor and pure imagination. Four centuries after the events of The Tempest, Prospero's daughter Miranda runs Prospero Inc., a company with immense influence in the supernatural world. When she discovers a mysterious warning from her father, who has gone missing, Miranda sets forth accompanied by Mab, an Aerie Spirit manifested as a hard-boiled PI, to warn her far-flung, enigmatic siblings that the mysterious Shadowed Ones plan to steal their staffs of power. Every encounter brings new questions, new problems and a greater sense of what's at stake. Featuring glimpses into a rich and wondrous world of the unseen, this is no ordinary urban fantasy, but a treasure trove of nifty ideas and intriguing revelations. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers panting for sequels."

Mosse, Kate. The Winter Ghosts ($35 Signed)

From the bestselling author of LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE - a compelling story of ghosts and remembrance. Illustrated throughout by Brian Gallagher. The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage. THE WINTER GHOSTS is a gorgeous illustrated novel inspired by The Cave, Kate Mosse's short story written for the Quick Reads Initiative for adult emergent readers.

Page, Katherine Hall. The Body in the Sleigh ($18 Signed)

It's Christmastime, and the Fairchild family is spending the holidays on idyllic Sanpere Island in Maine while the Reverend Thomas Fairchild recuperates from surgery. His caterer wife, Faith, is rejoicing in the rare, holiday family-time together-watching ice boaters, snowshoeing, and doing plenty of reading in front of the fire.
But Faith's high spirits are dampened when she discovers the body of a young woman in an antique sleigh in front of the Sanpere Historical Society. The victim, Norah, was a teenage drug addict who apparently died by her own hand. Beloved by many, her untimely death rocks the isolated, tight-knit island community...

Roberts, David. Sweet Sorrow ($43 Signed)

This is the tenth and final murder mystery featuring Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne.

August 1939, the last hot days of a perfect English summer, war is now certain, this week, next week . . . soon. Lord Edward Corinth, newly married, is determined to spend these last days of peace quietly with Verity in their new house, The Old Vicarage, in the sleepy Sussex village of Rodmell, a honeymoon of sorts. Fight against it as he might, for Edward it turns out to be a busman's holiday. The poet, Byron Gates is bizarrely murdered after the village fete - executed, in fact, his head chopped off on a wooden block, and Edward is asked to investigate. Alas, murder is not yet done with Verity and Edward. For even in the hallowed studios of Broadcasting House, murder dares to rear its ugly head while Verity is being interviewed about her interesting life as a war correspondent. And before she can take up her new foreign posting, reporting on the international crisis for the New Gazette, there are more deaths, and the intrepid couple embark on one of their most dangerous investigations to date.

Thompson, Richard A. Frag Box ($25 Signed)

In Thompson's compelling second mystery to feature St. Paul, Minn., bail bondsman Herman Jackson (after 2008's The Fiddle Game), Jackson investigates the murder of one of his more unusual repeat customers, soul-wounded Charlie Victor, a homeless Vietnam vet. Jackson, to whom Victor bequeathed a mysterious box, immediately receives visits from the FBI, an odd bully who wants to take over Jackson's business and a band of heavily armed mercenaries of unknown origin. When the police appear to lose interest in Victor's case, Jackson enlists the aid of comely Anne Packard, a fearless newspaper reporter. Jackson and Packard follow the scant clues to Victor's past, hoping to solve the brutal killing, uncover a buried secret and separate the good guys, if there are any, from the bad. A dash of romance, plenty of action and an appealing, wise-cracking hero enhance this detective story with an old-fashioned noir flavor.- PW

Winslow, Don. The Gentlemen's Hour ($26 Signed)

Boone Daniels, the most laid-back of private investigators, gathers with his surfing buddies on Pacific Beach, California as per usual. There's no surf to speak of, but the Dawn Patrol are out in force anyway...it's what they do. Having no work at the moment, and no real reason to go to the office other than to see the red ink getting redder, Boone sticks around for the second shift on the daily surfing clock - the Gentlemen's Hour, frequented by the older veteranos and successful entrepreneurs - and ends up taking on a hated matrimonial case. But that soon becomes the least of his worries. When The Sundowner, symbolic icon of the San Diego surf scene, sees a dispute between a young surfer and a member of the territorial Rockpile Crew - a dispute that ends in murder - the painful truth that violence is seeping into the surf community can no longer be ignored. So when lawyer Petra Hall, who has a thing with Boone, asks him to help the defence on that particular case, Boone knows he'll be courting outrage from the community...and from the rest of the Dawn Patrol. As his closest friendships begin to fray, and he digs deeper into the murkier side of surfing culture, Boone sees his two cases overlap in unexpected ways and finds himself struggling to stay afloat as the water gets deeper and deeper...and more deadly.

Signed Firsts are a Wonderful Gift

Here are a few hard-to-find SIGNED first editions that will make wonderful gifts:

Cussler, Clive. The Wrecker (Putnam $28 SIGNED)

Following his refreshing and exciting foray into early 20th-century California with The Chase, Cussler returns to the land of yesteryear. Someone is out to destroy a major railroad by wrecking trains, blowing up tunnels and bridges, and killing people. Railroad detective Isaac Bell is brought in to bring the Wrecker to justice. He is ably assisted by much of the same group who appeared in The Chase... Cussler's latest offers a welcome change of pace from the Dirk Pitt books. A very enjoyable romp. -- Library Journal

Sanderson, Brandon. The Gathering Storm (Tor $29.99 SIGNED)

Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan's editor---his wife, Harriet McDougal---to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so here is the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era. Technically this volume is called #12 in the series. This title is number 1 on the NY times best seller list.

Drinking with George, A Barstool Professional's Guide to Beer by George Wendt (Norm from Cheers)

Need a unique gift for the holidays? The Poisoned Pen Bookstore has signed first editions of Drinking with George, A Barstool Professional's Guide to Beer by George Wendt (Norm from Cheers) Signed $25

George Wendt and beer have shared a lot over the years: good times, great stories, useless trivia, and a successful show business career. In Drinking with George, Wendt invites readers to crack open a cold one and pull up a seat at the bar as he celebrates the indelible, intoxicating beverage.

Through personal stories and fascinating facts, Wendt delivers an ode to beer and all its irresistible peculiarities. In between spinning hilarious and frank tales of his own imbibing adventures -- from taking a first sip of his grandfather's Bud as a child in Chicago to a beer-fueled impromptu performance with Woody Harrelson and the U.S. Women's Synchronized Swimming Team -- he leaves no stone unturned in his quest to reveal and relish every detail about his favorite beverage.

What's the real difference between lager, stout, and ale? How do you convert your lady into a beer-lover? How many different ways are there to say "drunk"? What do you do when your beer is warm and you want to drink it now? Wendt answers all of these questions and more as he explores the vast cultural history of brews and tackles basic bar theory.

The next best thing to a barstool and a pint, Drinking with George is all the fun -- without the hangover.

C.S. Harris has a new book, What Remains of Heaven and we have it Signed

C.S. Harris has a new book, What Remains of Heaven and we have it Signed ($26)

Fifth in the "fast-moving"(Publishers Weekly, starred review) British-set historical mystery series starring "a charismatic hero."(Kirkus Reviews starred review)

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury to help in the investigation of two corpses found in an ancient crypt, their violent deaths separated by decades. One is the Bishop of London, the elderly Archbishop's favored but controversial successor. The identity of the other seems lost in time.

Sebastian amasses a list of suspects that range from some of the Prince Regent's closest cronies to William Franklin, embittered son of famous American patriot Ben Franklin-and finds himself confronting the well-guarded secrets of his own family's history. Now each step he takes toward the killer brings him closer to a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to question who-and what-he really is.

True Blue by David Baldacci signed

David Baldacci signed his new book, David True Blue ($30 Signed)

A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation's capital collides with the dark side of national security in David Baldacci's new, heart-stopping thriller.

TRUE BLUE

Mason "Mace" Perry was a firebrand cop on the D.C. police force until she was kidnapped and framed for a crime. She lost everything-her badge, her career, her freedom-and spent two years in prison. Now she's back on the outside and focused on one mission: to be a cop once more. Her only shot to be a true blue again is to solve a major case on her own, and prove she has the right to wear the uniform. But even with her police chief sister on her side, she has to work in the shadows: A vindictive U.S. attorney is looking for any reason to send Mace back behind bars. Then Roy Kingman enters her life.

Roy is a young lawyer who aided the poor until he took a high-paying job at a law firm in Washington. Mace and Roy meet after he discovers the dead body of a female partner at the firm. As they investigate the death, they start uncovering surprising secrets from both the private and public world of the nation's capital.

Soon, what began as a fairly routine homicide takes a terrifying and unexpected turn-into something complex, diabolical, and possibly lethal.

New Signed Books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Delany, Vicki. Winter of Secrets ($25) Signed

Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends are in the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. enjoying a two-week vacation. Tragedy strikes the group of privileged students when two of them crash through the ice into the frozen river.

Walter, Jess. The Financial Lives of the Poets ($28) Signed

Meet Matt Prior. He's about to lose his job, his wife, his house, maybe his mind. Unless . . .

In the winning and utterly original novels Citizen Vince and The Zero, Jess Walter ("a ridiculously talented writer"—New York Times) painted an America all his own: a land of real, flawed, and deeply human characters coping with the anxieties of their times. Now, in his warmest, funniest, and best novel yet, Walter offers a story as real as our own lives: a tale of overstretched accounts, misbegotten schemes, and domestic dreams deferred.

A few years ago, small-time finance journalist Matthew Prior quit his day job to gamble everything on a quixotic notion: a Web site devoted to financial journalism in the form of blank verse. When his big idea—and his wife's eBay resale business— ends with a whimper (and a garage full of unwanted figurines), they borrow and borrow, whistling past the graveyard of their uncertain dreams. One morning Matt wakes up to find himself jobless, hobbled with debt, spying on his wife's online flirtation, and six days away from losing his home. Is this really how things were supposed to end up for me, he wonders: staying up all night worried, driving to 7-Eleven in the middle of the night to get milk for his boys, and falling in with two local degenerates after they offer him a hit of high-grade marijuana?

Or, he thinks, could this be the solution to all my problems?

Following Matt in his weeklong quest to save his marriage, his sanity, and his dreams, The Financial Lives of the Poets is a hysterical, heartfelt novel about how we can reach the edge of ruin—and how we can begin to make our way back.

John Connolly at The Pen

New Signed Books from the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Harris, Charlaine. Grave Secret ($27) Signed

This is book 4 of the Harper Connelly Mysteries.

Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver take a break from looking for the dead to visit the two little girls they both think of as sisters. But, as always happens when they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface.

To make matters worse, Tolliver learns from his older brother that their father is out of jail and trying to reestablish contact with other family members. Tolliver wants no part of the man- but he may not have a choice in the matter.

Soon, family secrets ensnare them both, as Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister, Cameron, so many years before.

And what she finds out will change her world forever.

Manfredo, Lou. Rizzo's War ($27) Signed

Rizzo’s War, Lou Manfredo’s stunningly authentic debut, partners a rookie detective with a seasoned veteran on his way to retirement in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

“There’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.” This is the refrain of Joe Rizzo, a decades-long veteran of the NYPD, as he passes on the knowledge of his years of experience to his ambitious new partner, Mike McQueen, over a year of riding together as detectives in the Sixty-second Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. McQueen is fresh from the beat in Manhattan, and Bensonhurst might as well be China for how different it is. They work on several cases, some big, some small, but the lesson is always the same. Whether it’s a simple robbery or an attempted assault, Rizzo’s saying always seems to bear out.

When the two detectives are given the delicate task of finding and returning the runaway daughter of a city councilman, who may or may not be more interested in something his daughter has taken with her than in her safety, the situation is much more complex. By the end of Rizzo and McQueen’s year together, however, McQueen is not surprised to discover that even in those more complicated cases, Rizzo is still right—there’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.

Rizzo’s War is an introduction to a wonderful new voice in crime fiction in the Big Apple, ringing with authenticity, full of personality, and taut with the suspense of real, everyday life in the big city.

Rimington, Stella. Present Danger ($35 Quercus) Signed

MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle has just been despatched to Northern Ireland. It's a promotion, and she'll be running agents - her favourite activity - but it also means being separated from Charles Wetherby, her old boss, recently widowed and a very close friend. Attachments in the Intelligence Services are not encouraged: it seems her superiors know more about Liz's life than she thinks. In Belfast, Liz and her team are monitoring the brutal breakaway Republican groups who never accepted the peace process and want to continue their 'war'. Intelligence is focused on the shady Fraternity, with links to drug-running, arms-dealing and organised crime. With some help from Special Branch and a volunteer informant who seems to be legit, the Fraternity's leader is identified as a cold, calculating and ruthless American, hijacking the Cause for his own financial ends. It is a perilous group to become involved with. Especially if your informant turns tail...

The Body in the Sleigh signed by Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Sleigh signed by Katherine Hall Page (A Faith Fairchild Mystery) $18

Murder is combined with a timeless Christmas story in this enchanting installment of the popular mystery series by award-winning author Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Sleigh

It's Christmastime, and the Fairchild family is spending the holidays on idyllic Sanpere Island in Maine while the Reverend Thomas Fairchild recuperates from surgery. His caterer wife, Faith, is rejoicing in the rare, holiday family-time together—watching ice boaters, snowshoeing, and doing plenty of reading in front of the fire.

But Faith's high spirits are dampened when she discovers the body of a young woman in an antique sleigh in front of the Sanpere Historical Society. The victim, Norah, was a teenage drug addict who apparently died by her own hand. Beloved by many, her untimely death rocks the isolated, tight-knit island community.

Meanwhile, Mary Bethany, a local spinster who raises goats, happens upon a newborn baby boy lying in the manger of her barn on Christmas Eve. The only clues to his identity are a note in the basket asking her to take care of him, as well as an alarming amount of cash. As Faith helps Mary locate the baby's mother, she soon finds that the truth behind the abandonment is connected to Norah's last days—and that, just as death and life are intertwined on Sanpere, so are evil and redemptive goodness.

New Signed Thurlo, Earthway $27

We have the new book from Aimee and David Thurlo, Earthway signed

Ella Clah has found her place on the Navajo Reservation, in her tribe, her clan, and her family. She has seen the Diné at their worst—and at their best—as they balance the modern era with the traditional Navajo way of life.

The Navajo are building a nuclear power plant on the Reservation. Though the tribe voted for the plant, there are those who believe that nuclear power is inherently dangerous—and particularly so for the Navajo, due to past uranium mining operations that contaminated land and water and sickened many Navajo workers and their families.

A group of activists is determined to do whatever is necessary to stop the plant—assault, sabotage, domestic terrorism. When a fellow Navajo Police officer is injured in an attack aimed at Ella’s boyfriend, Ella vows to do whatever it takes to find the terrorists and bring them to justice.

New Books Just In

Cornwell, Patricia, The Scarpetta Factor ($28) Signed

It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta-despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN-to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast she receives a startling call-in from a former psychiatrist patient of Benton Wesley's. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package-possibly a bomb-waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta's life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionaires with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past...

Doss, James. The Widows Revenge a Charlie Moon Mystery ($27) Signed

Even with some of the toughest hombres and nastiest outlaws roaming the Southwest, bestselling author James D. Doss’s seven-foot-tall rancher and sometime tribal investigator Charlie Moon does a fair job on the side of the good guys. So it’s no surprise that he gets the call when the widow Loyola Montoya starts making a fuss about witches. Witches? She swears there’s a whole midnight brood lurking in the woods just off her property, mocking her with lewd songs and harassing her with the carcasses of dead animals. When no one takes her seriously—she has been known to cry wolf from time to time—she takes matters into her own hands, with disastrous results. By the time Charlie arrives, it’s too late to save her, and while he knows he can’t bring her back, that doesn’t mean he can’t help the widow get her revenge after all. Told in Doss’s whimsical style, The Widow’s Revenge is a wonderfully tall tale that requires wide-open spaces and larger-than-life heroes like Charlie Moon to saddle up and make sure that justice is served.

Hicks, Robert. A Separate Country ($26) Signed

Set in New Orleans in the years after the Civil War, A Separate Country is based on the incredible life of John Bell Hood, arguably one of the most controversial generals of the Confederate Army--and one of its most tragic figures. Robert E. Lee promoted him to major general after the Battle of Antietam. But the Civil War would mark him forever. At Gettysburg, he lost the use of his left arm. At the Battle of Chickamauga, his right leg was amputated. Starting fresh after the war, he married Anna Marie Hennen and fathered 11 children with her, including three sets of twins. But fate had other plans. Crippled by his war wounds and defeat, ravaged by financial misfortune, Hood had one last foe to battle: Yellow Fever. A Separate Country is the heartrending story of a decent and good man who struggled with his inability to admit his failures-and the story of those who taught him to love, and to be loved, and transformed him.

New Books for Kids

Barry, Dave and Ridley Pearson. Peter and the Sword of Mercy ($19) to be signed Nov 4

The year is 1901--it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures...

Cashore, Kristin. Fire ($18)

She is the last of her kind... It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.
Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don't need to have read Graceling to love Fire. But if you haven't, you'll be dying to read it next.

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire ($18)

This is the follow-up to one of the best books I have ever read, The Hunger Games and I was not disappointing

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Delaney, Joseph. Clash of the Demons, The Last Apprentice book 6 ($18)

"You can't make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being drawn toward the dark."
As the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward's first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom's mother has mustered a powerful army-including Tom's friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin-to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark?

Grabenstein, Chris. Hanging Hill ($17)

The follow up to The Crossroads that won Chris a 2009 ANTHONY AWARD for best Children's/Young Adult Novel.

This second book featuring the intrepid Zack and his stepmother, Judy, is full of the same humorous and spine-tingling storytelling that has made Chris Grabenstein a fast favorite with young and old alike.

Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey ($7)

The Mysterious Benedict Society is back with a new mission, significantly closer to home. After reuniting for a celebratory scavenger hunt, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are forced to go on an unexpected search--a search to find Mr. Benedict. It seems that while he was preparing the kids' adventure, he stepped right into a trap orchestrated by his evil twin Mr. Curtain.

With only one week to find a captured Mr. Benedict, the gifted foursome faces their greatest challenge of all--a challenge that will reinforce the reasons they were brought together in the first place and will require them to fight for the very namesake that united them.

Stocker, Bram. Dracula ($30)

Beware: This cool book is too scary for young readers.

In this lavish version of Bram Stoker's Gothic tale, contemporary language and illustrations, similar to those found in graphic novels, transport readers back to Transylvania's Carpathian Mountains, where young Jonathan Harker first meets the Count, then on to Victorian London where Dracula unleashes his reign of terror on Harker's fiancée, Mina. Brooding images and dramatic 3-D scenes rise from the pages as the evil Count Dracula works his sinister spells on a new generation. Reluctant readers, horror fans, and pop-up collectors will marvel as Dracula, the world's most popular and feared vampire, literally jumps off the page in search of victims. With multiple interactive elements on every page, readers will undoubtedly shriek as they watch a cemetery's mist inch toward them, and, just when they've caught their breath, try to keep in the sunlight as a stake is finally plunged into the heart of the villain. A superb example of paper engineering, this classic pop-up tale offers an interactive, blood-curdling experience while remaining true to the author's original version.

And for the young adventurer:
Young, Judy. The Hidden Bestiary of Marvelous, Mysterious, and (Maybe Even) Magical Creatures ($17)

The Deepening: "Delightful, The Hidden Bestiary by Judy Young, is an adventure, an exploration, and a series of visual puzzles set to marvelous prose, all rolled into a wonderful, exquisitely produced volume guaranteed to enchant both young and old. I shared it with my "test" kids, ages four through thirteen, and "enthralled" is the word. They each couldn't wait to get to hold the book themselves and page through it, looking at all there was to see. And the discussion throughout between the kids was great...

One More PHX Noir Post

Patrick introduces the cast of Phoenix Noir.

Joseph Kanon at The Pen

The Hidden Bestiary of Marvelous, Mysterious, and (Maybe Even) Magical Creatures ($17)

A cool new book for the young adventurer:
Young, Judy. The Hidden Bestiary of Marvelous, Mysterious, and (Maybe Even) Magical Creatures ($17)

The Deepening: "Delightful, The Hidden Bestiary by Judy Young, is an adventure, an exploration, and a series of visual puzzles set to marvelous prose, all rolled into a wonderful, exquisitely produced volume guaranteed to enchant both young and old. I shared it with my "test" kids, ages four through thirteen, and "enthralled" is the word. They each couldn't wait to get to hold the book themselves and page through it, looking at all there was to see. And the discussion throughout between the kids was great...

Halloween Reading

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. Vampire Stories ($15)

The first collection of vampire stories from the creator of Sherlock Holmes! Who would suspect that the same mind that created the most famous literary detective of all time also took on the eternally popular genre of vampires? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a contemporary of Bram Stoker, gave us some fascinating works of vampire fiction. From the bloodsucking plant in “The American’s Tale” to the bloodsucking wife in “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire,” he reveled in the horror created by creatures who survived on the blood of men and women.

As the bestselling Twilight series has dominated bookstores, it’s the perfect time to offer the first-ever compilation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s vampire tales. Get ready to sink your teeth into this heart-stopping anthology. Each of these twelve short stories has been pulled from obscurity and hand selected for this collection. Conan Doyle’s famous friendship with vampire king Bram Stoker is thought to have influenced these many blood-sucking tales, including “The Captain of the Pole Star,” about a medical student on an arctic voyage haunted by a heat-draining Eskimo vampire and “The Three Gables,” in which vampirism is cunningly used as a metaphor for capitalism.

Featuring an introduction by world-renowned vampire expert, Robert Eighteen-Bisang, this is a must-have anthology for all vampire lovers, and for any Arthur Conan Doyle enthusiast.

Fiffer, Sharon. Scary Stuff ($25) a new Jane Wheel Mystery

Antique picker Jane Wheel has always loved old stuff, from vintage salt and pepper shakers to other families’ old photos and orphaned Bakelite buttons, and she can’t really explain why. But she makes a living out of it, searching high and low at estate sales and antique shops and reselling her finds to other collectors. At least, it’s half a living---she makes the other half as an associate to a private detective, because she’s just as talented at digging up secrets as antiques.

While visiting her brother for the first time in years, Jane’s fascinated by a story of mistaken identity: On three occasions, someone has accused him of swindling them on eBay, only to realize he’s not the right guy. Even though he doesn’t see the point, she wants to look into it. Then back at home one of her parents’ friends is attacked, leading Jane to vow to get to the bottom of things.

Out of nowhere, Jane suddenly has two cases, both edging a little too close to her loved ones for comfort, because one thing’s for sure---whenever family gets wrapped up in your personal business, it’s bound to be some scary stuff.

Greenberg, Martin H and Kerrie Hughes. Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies ($8)

From a farmer at war with Nature's creatures, to dangerous doings when the henhouse goes on-line, to the hazards of keeping company with a book wyrm, here are ingenious tales that will make readers laugh or cry-or double-check to make sure that their windows and doors are firmly locked against the things that prowl the night.

Harris, Charlaine. Sookie Stackhouse Series boxed set($64)

Sookie Stackhouse is the main character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of eight books written by bestselling author Charlaine Harris.

Meyer, Stephenie. The Twilight Journals box set ($25)

The Twilight Journals set includes four gorgeous journals packaged in a collectible keepsake tin, inspired by Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Each journal features the beautiful and instantly-recognizable Twilight Saga cover art and is fully-designed throughout with images and decorative quotes from each of the books, as well as some of the classic works of literature that inspired them.

Penzler, Otto. The Vampire Archives ($25)

The Vampire Archives is the biggest, hungriest, undeadliest collection of vampire stories, as well as the most comprehensive bibliography of vampire fiction ever assembled. Dark, stormy, and delicious, once it sinks its teeth into you there’s no escape.

Vampires! Whether imagined by Bram Stoker or Anne Rice, they are part of the human lexicon and as old as blood itself. They are your neighbors, your friends, and they are always lurking. Now Otto Penzler—editor of the bestselling Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps—has compiled the darkest, the scariest, and by far the most evil collection of vampire stories ever. With over eighty stories, including the works of Stephen King and D. H. Lawrence, alongside Lord Byron and Tanith Lee, not to mention Edgar Allan Poe and Harlan Ellison, The Vampire Archives will drive a stake through the heart of any other collection out there.
Other contributors include:
Arthur Conan Doyle • Ray Bradbury • Ambrose Bierce • H. P. Lovecraft • Harlan Ellison • Roger Zelazny • Robert Bloch • Clive Barker

Reese, James. The Dracula Dossier ($15)

While taking an evening stroll through one of London's most impoverished districts, author Bram Stoker spies a maddeningly familiar figure hurrying through the shadows. Little does he know that, only a few steps away, a vicious killer has claimed his first victim, a local prostitute. The crime spree of the century has begun—and the hapless writer is the prime suspect. Now, to clear his name, Stoker must enlist the aid of illustrious friends—including Walt Whitman, the wildly popular novelist Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine, and Lady Jane Wilde, mother of the most notorious literary notable of the day—to hunt down the fiend who is taunting and terrorizing London and calling himself Jack the Ripper.

New Signed Books from the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Hilton, Matt. Judgement and Wrath. ($32 Hodder and Stoughton) Signed

'Some call me a vigilante. I think I've just got problems to fix.'

Joe Hunter doesn't like bullies. So his latest job - saving a young woman from her bully boyfriend - is a no-brainer. Hunter's only worry is that the man who hired him is looking for more than protection for his daughter. One thing Hunter has never been, and never will be, is a killer-for-hire.

As it turns out, the vengeful father isn't the only one who wants the boyfriend dead. Soon Hunter is face-to-face with a contract killer who takes his work very seriously.

Dantalion has a talent for killing and keeps a list of his victims in a book chained to his waist. Each victim is numbered. And the body count is about to start rising . . .

Kava, Alex. Black Friday ($25) Signed

On the busiest shopping day of the year, some idealistic college students believe they're about to carry out an elaborate media stunt at the largest mall in America. They think the jamming devices in their backpacks will disrupt stores' computer systems, causing delays and chaos. What they don't realize is that instead of jamming devices, their backpacks are stuffed with explosives, ready to be detonated by remote control and turning them into suicide bombers.

Caught up in a political nightmare, battling a new interim director and still mourning the death of her boss A. D. Cunningham, FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell must put her own troubles aside and fly to Minnesota to help figure out what's behind this terrorist attack—a massacre that is all the more frightening because no group has claimed responsibility.

The search becomes personal when a tip reveals that one of the college students involved is Patrick, Maggie's brother. Afraid and on the run, Patrick must decide if he can finally trust Maggie enough to help her unravel this horrifying nightmare.

Sifting through the debris for answers, Maggie is joined by Nick Morrelli, who has recently taken a job with a national security company that oversees security for the mall. Although Maggie and Nick have investigated several cases together in the past, they've never investigated a relationship with each other. Nick would like to change that.

When an informant confides in Maggie that there are other attacks on the secret agenda, she knows that she's running out of time. In less than twenty-four hours she'll need to figure out exactly when and where the second attack will take place, who to look for and how to keep her brother from becoming one of the casualties.

Kellerman, Jonathan. Evidence ($30) Signed

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman writes unforgettable tales of crime and detection that expose the shadowy side of glittering Los Angeles. And in Evidence, readers are once again in the dexterous grip of a master storyteller and stylist equally skilled at teasing your brain and taking your breath away.

In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of L.A.’s toniest neighborhoods, a watchman stumbles on the bodies of a young couple–murdered in flagrante and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he’s cracked some of the city’s worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo’s killer instincts–and psychologist Alex Delaware’s keen insights–can hope to solve.

While the female victim’s identity remains a question mark, her companion is ID’d as eco-friendly architect Desmond Backer, who disdains the sort of grandiose superstructure he’s found dead in. And the late Mr. Backer, it’s revealed was also notorious for his power to seduce women.

The rare exception is his ex-boss, Helga Gemein, who’s as indifferent to Desmond’s death as she apparently was to his advances. Though Milo and Alex place her on their short list of suspects, the deeper they dig for clues the longer the list grows. An elusive prince who appears to harbor decidedly American appetites, an eccentric blueblood with an ax to grind, one of Desmond’s restless ex-lovers and her cuckolded husband–all are in the homicidal mix spiced with eco-terrorism, arson, blackmail, conspiracy, and a vendetta that runs deep. But when the investigation veers suddenly in a startling direction, it’s the investigators who may wind up on the wrong end of a cornered predator’s final fury.

Muller, Marcia. Locked In ($27) Signed

Shot in the head by an unknown assailant, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone finds herself trapped by locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but an alert, conscious mind. Since the late-night attack occurred at her agency's offices, the natural conclusion was that it was connected to one of the firm's cases. As Sharon lies in her hospital bed, furiously trying to break out of her body's prison and discover her attacker's identity, all the members of her agency fan out to find the reason why she was assaulted. Meanwhile, Sharon becomes a locked-in detective, evaluating the clues from her staff's separate investigations and discovering unsettling truths that could put her life in jeopardy again. As the case draws to a surprising and even shocking conclusion, Sharon's husband, Hy, must decide whether or not to surrender to his own violent past and exact fatal vengeance when the person responsible is identified.

Kirkus, starred review, "Throughout her many McCone novels, Muller has displayed a knack both for keeping the series fresh and for allowing her character to grow. She accomplishes both goals this time by taking McCone out of the spotlight but giving her fans a chance to root for her to recover. After all these years, Muller's series remains a gold standard for female detective stories."

Library Journal, "Top-notch mystery and more from one of the genre's Grand Masters."

New YouTube Clips

Technology moves at a strange pace, and we continue to chase the trends as they develop. I regret that we don't have a solid, single space for everything but, it seems the world of the web is developing in that sort of direction. So we will just keep after it.
This said, our newest videos which will typically range from short to maybe 10-15 minutes will be updated to www.youtube.com/authorevents each week. The longer, complete author interviews will still remain acessible in the video player here on the blog. Feel free to email me (will@poisonedpen.com) with any questions or comments.

One new clip features McCavity, Shamus and Edgar nominated author Reed Farrell Coleman(aka Tony Spinosa) talking about his latest book TOWER which he co-authored with Ken Bruen.

Born into a rough Brooklyn neighborhood, outsiders in their own families, Nick and Todd forge a lifelong bond that persists in the face of crushing loss, blood, and betrayal. Low-level wiseguys with little ambition and even less of a future, the friends become major players in the potential destruction of an international crime syndicate that stretches from the cargo area at Kennedy Airport to the streets of New York, Belfast, and Boston to the alleyways of Mexican border towns. Their paths are littered with the bodies of undercover cops, snitches, lovers, and stone-cold killers. In the tradition of The Long Goodbye, Mystic River, and The Departed, Tower is a powerful meditation on friendship, fate, and fatality. A twice-told tale done in the unique format of parallel narratives that intersect at deadly crossroads, Tower is like a beautifully crafted knife to the heart. Imagine a Brooklyn rabbi/poet -- Reed Farrel Coleman -- collaborating with a mad Celt from the West of Ireland -- Ken Bruen -- to produce a novel unlike anything you've ever encountered. A ferocious blast of gut-wrenching passion that blends the fierce granite of Galway and the streetwise rap of Brooklyn. Fasten your seat belts, this is an experience that is as incendiary as it is heart shriven.

New Signed Books from the Poisoned Pen

Harris, Robert. Lustrum ($43 Hutchinson) Signed

`Harris is the master. With Lustrum, [he] has surpassed himself. It is one of the most exciting thrillers I have ever read' --Evening Standard

`Harris communicates such a strong sense of imperial Rome - the book is awesomely well-informed about the minutiae of everyday life' --Guardian

`Thoroughly engaging ... The allure of power and the perils that attend it have seldom been so brilliantly anatomised in a thriller' --Sunday Times

`Harris never makes his comparisons between Rome and modern Britain explicit, but they are certainly there. And that's the principal charm of his ancient thrillers - their up-to-dateness' --Sunday Telegraph

`Magnificent ... Better than Robert Graves's Claudius novels' --Allan Massie, STANDPOINT

Maitland, Barry. Dark Mirror ($27) Signed

Newly promoted to Detective Inspector, Kathy Kolla of the Serious Crimes Unit is called in by the forensic pathologist regarding the recent sudden death of a London student from what he’s determined to be arsenic poisoning. Marion Summers had no reason to be in contact with arsenic and, though once common, arsenic is now very hard to get hold of. The more Kolla investigates, the more she discovers that certain other things about Summers are also unusual. She moved three octobers ago without leaving a forwarding address or informing her relatives. And her step-father has a disquieting past and, after attacking a constable in a pub, a not-so-savory present. With each turn in the investigation, it becomes increasingly clear that behind what really happened—and why—lies the most difficult-to-crack case the team has ever faced.

Marston, Edward. Fire and Sword ($45 Allison and Busby) Signed

Returning to camp from a dangerous solo mission behind enemy lines, career soldier Daniel Rawson finds himself stranded on foot, with French soldiers in fierce pursuit. A kindly farmer helps Daniel hide in his barn, then loans him a carthorse on which to escape. Later, when Daniel goes back to return the horse, he finds the farmhouse and barn have been set ablaze and the farmer approaching death, apparently at the hands of English soldiers. Back in England there is political unrest. Queen Anne's favour has shifted causing the Duke of Marlborough to resign as Commander-In-Chief. After several other farmhouses are burnt down in seemingly similar raids, Daniel enlists the help of his old friend Henry Welbeck to help investigate. All the while the treacherous and scheming French Commander, the Duc de Vendome, is becoming hell-bent on capturing Daniel, by any means at his disposal, including kidnapping the beautiful Amalia. Daniel has a chance of revenge when facing Vendome at the bloody battle of Oudenarde.

Vonnegut, Norb. Top Producer ($27) Signed

PW Starred Review, "Vonnegut's debut meets the gold standard for financial thrillers as it puts the frenzied, cutthroat world of Wall Street's best stockbrokers (aka the top producers) on brilliant display. Ripples from the bizarre murder of Charlie Kelemen, wealthy hedge fund operator, quickly reach his best friend, Grove O'Rourke. A top producer at the boutique investment bank Sachs, Kidder and Carnegie, O'Rourke tries to help Kelemen's widow sort out some financial questions. This process leads him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of deceit. As fallout from Charlie's death and dealings start to taint O'Rourke, the sharks, inside and outside his own firm, smell blood and begin to circle. O'Rourke won't go down without a fight, and not all the blood in the water will be his. Vonnegut, himself a veteran fund manager, handles the arcane terminology and slang of Wall Street with aplomb, never letting it get in the way of the story."

Newly Published Spooky Reads

Peter Ackroyd's The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein ($27)

When two nineteenth-century Oxford students--Victor Frankenstein, a serious researcher, and the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley--form an unlikely friendship, the result is a tour de force that could only come from one of the world's most accomplished and prolific authors.

This haunting and atmospheric novel opens with a heated discussion, as Shelley challenges the conventionally religious Frankenstein to consider his atheistic notions of creation and life. Afterward, these concepts become an obsession for the young scientist. As Victor begins conducting anatomical experiments to reanimate the dead, he at first uses corpses supplied by the coroner. But these specimens prove imperfect for Victor's purposes. Moving his makeshift laboratory to a deserted pottery factory in Limehouse, he makes contact with the Doomsday men--the resurrectionists--whose grisly methods put Frankenstein in great danger as he works feverishly to bring life to the terrifying creature that will bear his name for eternity.

Filled with literary lights of the day such as Bysshe Shelley, Godwin, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley herself, and penned in period-perfect prose, The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein is sure to become a classic of the twenty-first century.

Melissa De La Cruz's The Van Alen Legacy, a Blue Bloods novel ($17)

With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver's brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged.

Young, fanged, and fabulous, Melissa de la Cruz's vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the Blue Bloods series.

Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt's Dracula the Un-Dead ($27)

At last--the sequel to Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, written by his direct descendant and a Dracula historian

The great-grandnephew of Brams Stoker continues the tale...

Bram Stoker's Dracula is the prototypical horror novel, an inspiration for the world's seemingly limitless fascination with vampires. Though many have tried to replicate Stoker's horror classic- in books, television shows, and movies-only the 1931 Bela Lugosi film bore the Stoker family's support. Until now.

Dracula The Un-Dead is a bone-chilling sequel based on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition. Dracula The Un-Dead begins in 1912, twenty-five years after Dracula "crumbled into dust." Van Helsing's protégé, Dr. Jack Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school for the London stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of "Dracula," directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.

The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is their another force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?

Dracula The Un-Dead is deeply researched, rich in character, thrills and scares, and lovingly crafted as both an extension and celebration of one of the most classic popular novels in literature.

"Energetically paced and packed with outrageously entertaining action, this supernatural thriller is a well-needed shot of fresh blood for the Dracula mythos."
--Publisher's Weekly

"The authors (Stoker is a descendant of Bram, and Holt is a noted Dracula historian) skillfully explore the nature of evil while weaving together several complex plotlines throughout this mesmerizing story. Readers who enjoy dark fantasy with fast-paced action will plow through this book, not wanting to stop."
--Library Journal