Fools' River by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: The blinds are drawn the way they've been drawn forever, with the inside edges of the slats tilted upward to block his view of the sky and the fall of sunlight through the window, which means he has no idea what time it is.

You can almost take it to the bank. During a time when all you want to do is stay close to home with your pregnant wife, someone will come to you with an emergency. That's what has happened to Poke Rafferty. Edward Dell, the almost-boyfriend of Poke's teenage daughter Miaow, needs help. His father has disappeared. Buddy Dell is a late-middle-aged womanizer who moved to Bangkok for its sex trade, and when his son is asked if Buddy couldn't just be off on one of his benders, Edward says no. This disappearance follows none of the patterns of his father's other jaunts... and money is being siphoned out of his bank and credit card accounts.

When Poke begins to investigate, he quickly learns that Buddy has been captured by killers who prey on Bangkok's "sexpats," and when his money is gone, he'll be found dead in a canal-- like at least a dozen other men. Poke estimates that he's got two days to find Buddy before the man's money runs out.

Hallinan's Poke Rafferty series brings readers right into the heart of Bangkok to make them think and to make them feel. In this eighth book in the series, Hallinan tries some new things to tell his story of the effects of Bangkok's world-famous sex trade. Fools' River is told from several different points of view, and the action takes place within a two-day time frame. The limited time frame ratchets up the tension, and the multiple points of view bring depth and clarity to the story.

Through the narrative, readers come to know one of the murderers which adds a level of ambivalence. Normally killers do not rate mixed feelings in crime fiction, but one of Hallinan's aims in his writing has always seemed to be helping readers understand humans' complex emotions and behaviors. It's something he does extremely well. Fools' River not only has an exciting story to tell, it also shares insights into Poke's wife Rose and a new character, Lutanh, whom I really grew to care for.

This Poke Rafferty series is perfect for readers who enjoy strong storytelling, a strong sense of place, and moral complexity. Poke's world is not black and white; it is filled with shades of gray-- and the stories are all the stronger and more brilliantly colored for it. I'd no more forget to read a new Poke Rafferty mystery than I'd forget to put on my glasses first thing in the morning.

Fools' River by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616957506

Soho Crime © 2017

Hardcover, 368 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #8 Poke Rafferty mystery

Rating: A

Source: the publisher


 

The Hot Countries by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: The dusty braid of Christmas lights in the tiny window has been there for decades and has been plugged in all year round.

Poke Rafferty's wife, Rose, and his daughter, Miaow, are addicted to British television programs, and in self defense Poke now finds himself spending more time at the Expat Bar on Patpong Road. Back when Poke first arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, some of the old-timers at the Expat helped him make sense of the city.

Many of these men have been living in Bangkok since the Vietnam War, and now they've grown old-- and in some cases frail. They accept newcomer Arthur Varney into their midst without suspicion, not realizing that he's using them to get information about Poke.

Varney wants two things: money that Poke doesn't have and a person Poke will not turn over, and there is nothing Varney will not do to achieve his goals. As his actions threaten the very heart of Poke's life in Thailand, Poke finds some unexpected allies who are more than willing to give him a helping hand: those old-timers of the Expat Bar. But is their help going to be enough?

Timothy Hallinan's first Poke Rafferty book, A Nail Through the Heart, blew me away, and I've been a fan ever since. Rafferty has changed over the years. Where once he was a bit of a smart aleck, now as a husband and a father (and with a baby on the way), his thoughtfulness, compassion, and ability to think through difficult situations have come to the fore. In addition, his adopted daughter Miaow, a former street child, never fails to surprise or tug at the heartstrings. She gives every appearance of being a typical self-absorbed teenager, but don't let her fool you.

Hallinan deftly adds touching personal details about the lives of his characters amid chill-inducing action sequences. As we learn why Poke is reluctant to leave a too-small apartment and why the adoption his policeman friend is considering is fraught with problems, in the back of our minds lurks the deadly Varney. He's a man capable of anything, and it shows the caliber of man Rafferty is when-- at the first sign of danger-- the first thing he does is get his wife and daughter out of harm's way.

The Hot Countries resolves the story of Haskell Murphy, an unofficial trilogy begun in The Fear Artist; however, it's not a permanent resolution. His daughter Treasure, who's suffered tremendous abuse in her short life, is now a part of the lives of Poke, his family, and his friends. And Treasure is a young girl who inspires great compassion and great distrust. She is one more reason-- among many-- for me to continue being enthralled with the evolution of this series.
 

The Hot Countries by Timothy Hallinan

eISBN: 9781616954475

Soho Crime © 2015

eBook, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #7 Poke Rafferty mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley 

On My Radar: Tim Hallinan's Street Music

Tim Hallinan is one of my favorite writers. He has been ever since I picked up his first Poke Rafferty mystery, A Nail Through the Heart. He writes good, solid mysteries that keep you guessing (and worrying). He brings the culture and people of Thailand to life. He's versatile, writing another series featuring a cat burglar in Los Angeles. And he can write characters that bring you to your knees. Having met him, talked with him, and heard him talk about various incidents in his life that inspired him, Hallinan has done a lot to open my eyes to the magic that occurs when someone as talented as he starts creating stories.

I knew this book was going to be the last Poke Rafferty mystery, and although that made me a bit sad, I still had a big smile on my face when the book's particulars became available to all and sundry. Let's take a look at Street Music...

Available April 7, 2020!

Synopsis:

"The conclusion to Timothy Hallinan’s Edgar Award-nominated Poke Rafferty series set in Thailand—a ticking-clock thriller about the most dangerous facets of Bangkok’s seedy underbelly.

Poke Rafferty’s hand-made intercultural family is disrupted in unexpectedly complicated ways by the birth of his son, littering their small Bangkok apartment with emotional land mines. At the same time, the most cantankerous member of the small gang of Old Bangkok Hands who hangs out at The Expat Bar suddenly goes missing under suspicious circumstances. Engaged in the search for the missing American and the challenges of life with a newborn, Rafferty misses the fact that he’s being followed by someone who puts his whole life in Thailand at risk."



Having been fortunate enough to attend Tim's most recent event at my favorite bookstore, I am really looking forward to meeting a new character, the character who inspired the title of the book.

All you Hallinan fans, take note of Street Music's release date. To those who haven't met Poke Rafferty, there's no time like the present. These are marvelous books!

Street Music by Timothy Hallinan

First Lines: "OH-ho," Says the woman at the cash register, looking at the baby formula and the stacks of disposable diapers. "How old?"

The most cantankerous member of the small gang that hangs out at the Expat Bar has gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Poke Rafferty has never felt any deep friendship for the man, but he commits to looking for him anyway.

It's a fraught time in the Rafferty household. Rose has given birth to a son. Their cramped apartment is filled with females giving Rose help and companionship. Their adopted daughter Miaow tries to bury her feelings about the newborn baby (how will Rose and Poke feel about her now that they've got a child of their own?). Even Poke isn't sure what kind of father he's going to be.

Yes, the Rafferty household is filled with emotional landmines, but little does Poke know that he's about to meet someone who has the power to tear his family apart.

I know all good things must come to an end, but there are still times that I'd dearly love to postpone an ending or two. This last book in Timothy Hallinan's superb Poke Rafferty series is one of those times. From Poke sleeping on a lumpy couch to the overload of estrogen caused by all of Rose's friends gathering around her to Miaow's concern over her place in the family now that the baby is here, I felt like a member of the family, too.

All along, Hallinan has told us that this series really isn't about Poke; it's all about Miaow and how a small child living on the streets of Bangkok becomes an integral part of Poke's unconventional intercultural family. It's been eight years since Poke and Rose adopted Miaow, and she's grown into a phenomenal young woman. What better way to shed more light on her than to give readers a look into the part of Miaow's story that we've never heard?

Street Music can make you think. It can make you laugh. It can make you cry. I only wish Miaow would become a private investigator or something so we could continue to watch her grow as a person (and see Poke, Rose, and the baby as well). It is a fitting ending to a marvelous series. If you haven't read any of these books, you have to do something about that as soon as possible. Get your hands on A Nail Through the Heart and enjoy yourself all the way through Street Music. You can thank me later.

Street Music by Timothy Hallinan

eISBN: 9781641291248

Soho Crime © 2020

eBook, 384 pages

Private Investigator, #9 Poke Rafferty mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Fear Artist by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: Two two-gallon cans of paint weigh about five times as much as he'd thought they would.

Rose and Miaow are out of town visiting relatives, and all Poke Rafferty has planned is getting the apartment painted while they're gone. But, like all best laid plans, everything goes downhill fast when Poke leaves the local hardware store with his paint.

There's noise, shouting, and a man barrels into Poke, sending them both down on the pavement. Holding the man in his arms, Poke realizes the man has been shot, and the stranger only has time to choke out three words before he dies: Helen Eckersley. Cheyenne.  Within seconds the police arrive and deny that the man was shot. That same night, Poke is interrogated by Thai secret agents who insist on knowing what the dead man said, but he can't remember. When he is finally allowed to go home, he finds that the apartment has been ransacked. Not long after that, Poke knows that he's being followed.

The second time men in uniform show up at the door, Poke manages to give them the slip, and thus begins his life as a fugitive. It's not easy hiding from everyone who's looking for him, and as Poke tries to fly beneath the radar, he manages to gather bits and pieces of information and put them together. He's caught in the margins of the war on terror, and his opponent is a master artist whose medium is... fear.

I love Timothy Hallinan's books because he writes beautifully, with intelligence, and from the heart. As he said at the 2012 Poisoned Pen Conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, the mystery is important, but at the heart of any story-- first and foremost-- are the people. Hallinan's characters are some of the very best in crime fiction, and his fast-paced stories give an outsider's unforgettable view of Thailand and its people.

Poke Rafferty's life as a fugitive on the streets of Bangkok kept my pulse rate elevated. The people fighting the war on terror are deadly serious and seem to think nothing of employing any and all methods to obtain the information they want. As one character says in the book, "We're using bad people to fight bad people, and you do not want to be in the middle of that." Are Americans sometimes the bad guys in Timothy Hallinan's books? Yes. But so are Thais and people from many other countries.

Speaking of any and all methods leads me to one of the scariest villains I've met in a long time, the fear artist himself, "Red" Murphy, who's been operating his business since Vietnam, when he learned how the application of varying degrees of fear (and pain) will give him anything he desires. The more I learned about Murphy, the less I wanted Poke to meet him until I reached the point where I wanted my favorite writer in Thailand to put this monster out of business. Permanently. (And all the poor guy wanted to do was paint his apartment!)

That's what happens when you enter the world of Poke Rafferty and Timothy Hallinan. You fall in love with Thailand, and you're besieged by the rich tapestry of characters this very talented writer has created to people his landscape. Open the cover of one of his books, and you're not only investing your time, you're investing your mind and your heart.

The Fear Artist by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616951122

Soho Crime  ©2012

Hardcover, 342pages

#5 Poke Rafferty mystery

Rating: A

Source: Publisher

@ The Poisoned Pen with Timothy Hallinan!

When I walked into The Poisoned Pen last Wednesday, I bought a book and chatted for a few minutes with Patrick Millikin, who let me know that he would be interviewing one of my favorite authors that evening, and that the author-- none other than Timothy Hallinan himself-- would be arriving early. Denis and I got comfy and our noses were soon stuck in our books, but I have to admit that my nose kept popping up and checking on the entrance to the best bookstore in the Phoenix metro area. I didn't want to miss his arrival... not that I was going to pounce on the poor guy or anything.

A while later Tim walked in and said hello to Patrick and Ariel. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, the very next words out of his mouth confirmed that Timothy Hallinan is my kinda guy. What did he ask Patrick? "If you could recommend just one book to me, what would it be?" (The answer was Philipp Meyer's The Son.)

"Eat these. There are children starving in China."

L to R: Timothy Hallinan and Patrick Millikin

Hallinan lives part of the year in Thailand, where his Poke Rafferty series is set, and the rest of the year in California, where his Junior Bender series takes place. When Millikin asked him, "Why Asia?" Hallinan told us that he followed in his father's footsteps.

Tim's father had an uneasy home life. When he reached the age of 17, a plate of steamed carrots was placed before him with the order, "Eat these. There are starving children in China." It was the last straw. The young boy got up, found a container, walked back in and dumped his plate of carrots into the container. "What are you doing?"  "I'm going to China," Tim's father replied. And he did, although time turned the carrots into a revolting mess and they were tossed overboard well before the boy reached his destination. Tim's father stayed in China until the Communists took over.

The first time Tim went to Southeast Asia was for a PBS documentary. Blissfully unaware of the vast difference in climate, he stepped off the plane in hot, steamy Thailand dressed in a heavy down jacket and a hat with ear flaps.  The first person Tim saw was an immigration officer who'd taken one look at Tim and cracked up laughing-- quite a departure from the grim airport officials he'd seen every place else. From that moment, Timothy Hallinan began falling in love with Thailand.

"My first night in Bangkok, and..."

Tim's travel agent made reservations for him at the Ramada in Patpong because she thought it would be safe. Little did she know that Patpong is a district in Bangkok that looks like a prim and proper business area during the day and turns into one of the most famous red light districts in the world at night.  Tim was going to settle in and write a book, but first he needed some food. 

He found his way to the Tip Top Restaurant (Italian), where he was served by the "waitress from heaven." (He had yet to learn that all waitresses in Bangkok are like that.) Extremely pleased with the service he'd received, Tim left money on the table to cover his meal and include a $7 tip for the waitress. Walking down the street, he heard a commotion and turned to see what was going on. His waitress, believing that he'd left too much money by mistake, had chased him all the way down the street to give it back.  "Here it is-- my first night in Bangkok-- and I'm in the red light district being chased by a woman who wants to give me money!"

One day found a hungover Tim at the Tip Top reading an Anne Tyler novel. One perfect scene in the book made Tim burst into tears at the beauty and power of Tyler's writing. His booth immediately filled with concerned waitresses. Unable to understand why Tim was crying, one of the women found a bank teller who understood English. The bank teller translated the scene into Thai and read it to the women-- who all promptly burst into tears, too.

The character of Poke Rafferty is a travel writer. Tim knew that travel writers view other cultures as though they're looking through a department store window: they see what they want, grab it, and leave. Hallinan believed that he could write Poke because Poke would never have to learn the Thai culture. That comment made us all smile because, as diehard fans of that series, we know how deeply involved Poke is in the culture. We also know that, although the books are primarily considered thrillers, they're anything but. The most important thing in the Poke Rafferty books is the relationship between Poke, his wife Rose and their adopted daughter Miaow (who is based on a real Thai street child that Tim knew).

On publishers, writing, and Junior...

So many times during these author events, gems are tossed out so rapidly that I wish I'd taken shorthand in high school. This was one of those nights. I caught a few, and I'll toss them out so that all of you can enjoy them, too:

The day after Hallinan was dropped by his publisher, he was nominated for an Edgar award (for The Queen of Patpong).

He wrote nine books before he wrote a scene with two women alone in a room.

He was able to sell his house in Venice, California, at the top of the market, which means that-- although he's nowhere close to being rich-- he can devote himself to his writing. (I know I'm not the only person who's happy about that!)

The first two albums by Bread have songs on them that Hallinan wrote.

He wrote the first Junior Bender book, Crashed, entirely for himself. In the midst of writing the third Poke Rafferty book, Breathing Water, Hallinan began to hear a voice that just wouldn't leave him alone. Finally, he cleared two days to sit down and write that voice out of his system... and that was the birth of Junior Bender.  Junior is fun. "My computer was smoking because I was typing so fast, and I was laughing my head off as I typed," Tim remembers.

When he approached his publisher with his newest creation, he was told, "You're not known for comedic crime fiction." Hallinan couldn't believe his ears and replied, "What do you mean? 90% of crime fiction readers don't even know I'm alive!" In the end, he decided to put the first three Junior Bender books out as eBooks, since that format was not against his then-current contract. Tim seemed rather puzzled as to why his readers started begging for more than three books about Junior, but it's no mystery to me-- anytime I read articles about the books, they were referred to as a trilogy, or that there were only three. To any of the rest of you who love Junior Bender, private investigator to the crooks of Los Angeles, I bring glad tidings: Herbie's Game is the title of the fourth book in the series, and it's all about how Junior became a burglar!

Tim told us, "Villains have a special kind of energy, and this is my chance to write books in which all the characters are villains." Lion's Gate has purchased the rights to the Junior Bender books for global cable television. It will be interesting to see what they do with Hallinan's wonderful characters. He did not retain any rights, mostly because of the experiences he's had with companies trying to develop the Poke Rafferty books into film. Three attempts have been made to make Poke a film star, and all three have failed. None of the screenplays Tim read could get Miaow's character right, turning her into a run-of-the-mill smart-mouthed sitcom kid. Besides, Tim admits, "Reading those screenplays made me feel like my characters were cheating on me."

Available Now!

He also divulged the title of the upcoming Poke Rafferty book-- For the Dead-- which is about a thirteen-year-old girl who loses everything and how she begins to put her life back together. 

Which brings me to the seven-year-old street child who sold gum on the streets of Bangkok. Tim would take his laptop to the Tip Top restaurant to work, and this little girl was fascinated with it. He had a pinball game installed on the laptop, and in no time at all, the child had mastered it. "She's one of the smartest kids I've ever met," Tim said. "She disappeared when she was around the age of eleven, and I never saw her again." I knew that all of us at The Poisoned Pen hoped against all the odds that things had turned out well for the girl-- and that we would read the next Poke Rafferty novel and see the character of Miaow in a new light.

Time ran over that evening, but none of us cared. Tim is such a smart, funny, and giving man that I think we all felt as though we'd made a new friend. Meeting Timothy Hallinan makes his books even more special.

 

For the Dead by Timothy Hallinan

First Line: The river is wider than it should be and it's the wrong color.

Poke Rafferty's thirteen-year-old adopted daughter Miaow is friends with Andrew, a Vietnamese diplomat's son. When Andrew loses his second iPhone in two weeks, he knows his father is going to turn it into a learning experience, which he wants to avoid at all cost. Miaow, a former street child, takes him to the Little India section of Bangkok where they purchase an identical phone. 

But when Andrew starts scrolling through the photos on the phone, there are pictures of two former dirty cops-- men who are murdered a couple of days later. Now both families are in mortal danger, and Poke may have to rely on someone who has already betrayed them in the past to save his family.

I can remember being blown away by the first book in this series, A Nail Through the Heart, and each successive book gets even stronger. If the fourth book in the series, The Queen of Patpong, can be considered Rose's book, then For the Dead is Miaow's. Hallinan does a superlative job at portraying an extremely vulnerable teenage girl, filled with self-loathing, who has her carefully invented persona ripped from her. And when she believes that Poke and Rose are keeping an important, life-changing secret from her, where is she going to go? What is she going to do? I literally feared for Miaow as the story progressed. The men who are looking for her will stop at nothing. They will kill as many people as it takes to get the result they want.

At the beginning for the safety of the two children, Poke has to rely primarily on two sources: one trusted, the other new and unknown. Thai police officer Arthit helps him as much as he can-- as he always does. When asked how he can put up with the widespread corruption on the Thai police force, Arthit says that it's because, once in a while, he's allowed to do the right thing. Just the type of person you want when you're in a tight spot, especially when you're dealing with a murder-for-hire ring that had been operating inside police headquarters. The other source Poke must rely on is young Andrew's father, and I enjoyed how this man's character was revealed as the story progressed.

One of the strengths of this book (and the entire series) is its honest portrayal of Thailand, both from Poke Rafferty's outsider's point of view and from Thais like Rose, Miaow, and Arthit. Thai culture is ancient and highly stratified, and Hallinan is very adept at showing it in its depths of ugliness and in its overwhelming beauty. 

Even though there are repeat characters from previous books in the series, For the Dead can easily be read as a standalone for those of you who don't want to get involved with an entire series. For those who love rich characters and settings as I do, don't be surprised if you read this one and immediately start looking for the others. 

This is one of the finest crime fiction series going right now, and For the Dead is the best one yet. Two scenes linger on in my mind: the confrontation between Rose and Miaow is so emotionally powerful that it brought tears to my eyes. Rose's humor and wisdom are sublime-- and Miaow is every bit as special as Rose. The second scene? The one in which Poke sits in a room in their apartment and listens to two women laughing. What a simple scene that conveys so many layers of emotion! 

Tim Hallinan, thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating these characters. They are, quite simply, wonderful.  

For the Dead by Timothy Hallinan

ISBN: 9781616951146

Soho Crime © 2014

Hardcover, 352 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #6 Poke Rafferty mystery

Rating: A+

Source: the publisher 

A Nail Through the Heart by Timothy Hallinan

Title: A Nail Through the Heart
Author: Timothy Hallinan
ISBN: 9780061257223
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2008
Paperback, 352 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Poke Rafferty
Rating: A+
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Moon and river.

Poke Rafferty had been making his leisurely way around the world, writing a series of travel books for young and terminally bored males. First came Looking for Trouble in the Philippines, then Looking for Trouble in Indonesia, but when it was time to write Looking for Trouble in Thailand, he found the country had an unbreakable hold on him in the form of two women: beautiful former go-go dancer Rose, whom he wants to marry, and Miaow, a tiny young girl Poke rescued from the streets, whom he wants to adopt.

Unfortunately he was once very lucky in finding someone, and that luck has come to haunt him. Poke reluctantly agrees to try to locate an Australian woman's missing uncle, and even more reluctantly takes on the assignment of locating a blackmailer. He needs the money to speed the adoption of Miaow. To top it all off, that tiny urchin insists that he take another street child under his wing-- a very scary young boy known as Superman. Things are about to become very, very complicated. Not only is Poke not a real investigator, he really doesn't understand the country in which he's living, and that is a volatile and dangerous combination.

I could go on and on about characters that immediately latched on to my heart, a setting that I could taste and smell and feel, and a plot that flowed smoothly to its conclusion, but I won't.

What struck me most forcibly in reading A Nail Through the Heart was a true feeling for the culture of the people of Thailand. I have long been a fan of the novels of John Burdett which are also set in Bangkok. Featuring Royal Thai detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, they also are fascinating portraits of the Thai culture. In them, however, I will never be anything other than a farang-- an outsider, a foreigner, a crass American who will never truly understand the Thai people. Although keeping me at that remove is a good thing for maintaining necessary humility, I found Poke's sometimes bumbling attempts to understand a very different culture made me an ally who was more willing to open her mind and her heart. As Poke learned, so did I.

Heart. Not only is heart in the title of this book, it is also on every page. As each chapter flowed into the next, I felt that Hallinan wrote this with a great deal of heart, of emotion... of love. As a result Thailand became alive to me in a way that it never had before.

Timothy Hallinan, you are jai dee.

Seven Authors & a Holiday Party at The Poisoned Pen!

If y'all have been reading these recaps as I post them, you know that my husband Denis seldom gets to go to the author events at our favorite bookstore, The Poisoned Pen. Too often the authors he wants to see appear on weekends, and Denis works every weekend.

When he saw my notation in Google calendar for an event being held Sunday, November 19, that had seven authors listed-- half of whom he likes and has already met-- he could've out-pouted any two-year-old alive. My response? "Request the day off." He did, but as the weekend was marked "Not Available," we thought he had a snowball's chance of getting the day off. We were wrong. Evidently, the powers-that-be for his company realized that this man of mine works every weekend and the only time he's off on Saturday or Sunday, it's during a week's vacation. So... a very happy Denis drove us to Scottsdale on a bright, sunny Sunday. We got our favorite parking spot and the seats we wanted, and as familiar faces began to filter in (including three women all the way from Corpus Christi, Texas), there was plenty of catching up and book chat being done.

Isn't this a gorgeous lineup of book covers? Take a good look....

The folks at The Poisoned Pen know how to throw a party. Plenty of books and delectable drinks and nibbles, and a marvelous group of authors: Daryl Wood Gerber, Kate Carlisle, Carolyn Hart, Rhys Bowen, Timothy Hallinan, Donis Casey, and Jenn McKinlay. Wow!

L to R: Bowen, Peters, Hallinan

The authors were split into three groups, and the first group contained the two who'd had the most difficulties getting to the bookstore on time. Tim Hallinan's first flight had been canceled, and Rhys Bowen was late due to church services that ran over.

Host and bookstore owner, Barbara Peters, began by talking about Soho Press's Christmas short story collection, The Usual Santas, in which Tim has a story about two homeless kids on the sidewalks of Bangkok, Thailand, on Christmas Eve. It's a very moving story about being surrounded by Christmas when you have nothing at all. Any royalties Tim receives will be donated to Father Joe, a man who has housed, clothed and fed at least 20,000 homeless children in Bangkok.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the third Christmas book from Rhys Bowen, and it meant writing three books in one year for her. "Only a crazy person-- is Jenn [McKinlay] here?-- would write three books a year, but my editor wanted another Christmas book," Bowen told us.

While Bowen's difficulty in writing a seasonal-themed book was due to a lack of time, Hallinan's reason was much more personal. Barbara Peters asked him, "What's difficult about writing a Christmas book?" to which he responded, "I don't like Christmas. Growing up in my house, Christmas Day meant that the drinking began at 9:30 AM." (When Tim said that, the disparaging looks he'd been getting changed to ones of understanding.)

"Something happened while I was writing Fields Where They Lay," Hallinan said. [This is a Christmas-themed mystery featuring Junior Bender.] "It turned out to be a truly Christmas-y book... and it's sincere. There has been interest in filming Fields Where They Lay as a movie. The entire thing could be shot in one of Los Angeles' empty shopping malls."

When Barbara told us that she loved Tim's books, Tim said, "My brother remarked one day 'Weren't we smart to do something we get better at as we get older?'"

Barbara, Tim & The Usual Santas

On the other hand, Rhys Bowen said, "I love Christmas. One of my cherished memories is of a Christmas market cruise we took up the Danube River-- even though after the third village my husband John said, 'How many more angels do you need to look at?'"

Barbara compared Bowen's The Ghost of Christmas Past to an Agatha Christie country house party...

"...where someone dies every day. What's Christmas without a body or two?" Bowen quipped. "Molly is in a very dark place in this book, and she's looking forward to spending Christmas with her beloved family and friends, only to find that they're all being invited to a country house holiday party."

"This is a different country house party since it's set in a house on the banks of the Hudson River," Peters remarked. This reminded Bowen of a reader who once disputed the setting of one of her books. Bowen replied with one specific fact after another of where the book was set. "Don't mess with me!" she laughed.

The talk of the book's setting reminded Hallinan of something. "There's going to be an exhibition of Hudson River artists at the Metropolitan Museum in about five months," he said. (Wish I could go!)

Available Now!

Barbara Peters turned to Hallinan and said, "As humorous as Junior is, it seems to me that your heart is with Poke" to which Tim replied, "It is."

Hallinan's excellent Poke Rafferty series all began in 1986 when he was sitting in a restaurant in Bangkok writing. A little homeless girl with a very carefully arranged box of chewing gum was completely mesmerized by his laptop. By the ninth time she showed up to watch, Tim had set up a pinball game on the machine, showed Miaow how to play it, and then left for forty-five minutes after giving the waitress instructions to give the little girl anything she wanted to eat or drink. When he came back, there was an astronomical score on the laptop-- and three neatly stacked packages of chewing gum on the table.

Thereafter, Tim saw Miaow on his trips to Bangkok until the day that there was no sign of her. Tim knows that her disappearance was not a good sign. "Miaow is the character I love the most," he said. "These books may be known as the Poke Rafferty series, but this is her story, and I've always said that when Miaow turns nineteen and leaves home that that will be the end of the series."

He went on to tell us a bit about his latest Poke Rafferty book, Fools' River, and then it was Bowen's turn to talk about her standalone, In Farleigh Field. "I wanted to write about World War II because I think it was the last time England had a clear idea of where it was going, and that people knew that if they didn't do their bit something evil could happen. The book sold over 100,000 copies in less than a month."

Barbara smiled and said, "Yes, Rhys's regular publisher took a pass on it, so Rhys published with a branch of Amazon. Now her regular publisher is all over anything else Rhys wants to write because of the phenomenal sales of In Farleigh Field!" Bowen's next book which will be released in February 2018 is The Tuscan Child, another standalone set during World War II. "I've always wanted to write a book with two different time periods!" (And if you're wondering, The Tuscan Child is being published by Amazon.)

Tim Hallinan just finished a Junior Bender mystery called Night Town which takes place almost entirely in the dark. The story moves between two different time periods, and in London, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a character.

The first segment of The Poisoned Pen's author party ended when Rhys told us how her first books were uniformly described as "delightful" and "charming." She told her editor, "I'm sick of being delightful and charming! My next book is going to be filled with Satanism, cannibalism, and strewn body parts!" Her editor replied, "And I'm sure it will be delightful!"

Denis charming an author or two. Or four!

It was time for a short break, and Denis did what he does best: charm people. You can barely see his glasses, nose, and right hand on the extreme left in the photo above, but I can testify that his stories had Daryl Wood Gerber, Jenn McKinlay (standing behind Rhys Bowen in stripes), and Carolyn Hart laughing while I was chatting with Tim Hallinan.

L to R: Donis Casey and Carolyn G. Hart

The second segment showcased two Oklahomans, Donis Casey and Carolyn Hart. As Donis said, "We're not from Bangkok, and we don't have a British accent like Rhys. We're both from Oklahoma, so you'll just have to sit and listen to our twang!" That was certainly fine with us!

Carolyn surprised many of us when she admitted that she just can't write a book until she has the title. "The original title I had for my latest mystery was rejected by my publisher because they thought it would be mistaken for a sports book, so my eighth Bailey Ruth novel is now Ghost on the Case." She went on to say, "Bailey Ruth is a fun ghost. Topper and Blithe Spirit were inspirations for her."

Donis asked Hart about her Death on Demand series, and Carolyn said that she was fairly certain that that series had come to an end. "When you come up on twenty-six books in a series, you start having trouble finding a plot you haven't used. You know...Sue Grafton has said that if she knew what she was getting herself into, she never would've started out with A Is for Alibi."

Carolyn Hart

"Yes," Donis agreed. "It's that age-old mystery writer's dilemma: How many ways are there to kill people?"

"I'm particularly fond of the blunt instrument," Hart replied with a completely straight face.

"I use guns a lot, primarily because of my rural setting in Oklahoma during the 1910s," Donis said.

"The trouble with guns is that someone will always write to you and tell you all the mistakes you made with the firearms you chose," Hart said. "That's why I like the blunt instrument!"

Barbara told us during her introduction of these two writers that Publishers Weekly had recently given Donis Casey's upcoming mystery Forty Dead Men a coveted starred review. When asked about her Alafair Tucker series, Casey said, "My original plan was to write ten books in this series. My February book [Forty Dead Men] is book number ten. I'd originally thought to end the series with a Christmas book."

This segment had all the appearance of being two friends chatting with each other, and by this point they'd moved on to future plans. "I have been thinking of the silent movie industry for one of Alafair's girls," Donis said. Carolyn replied, "If I write another book, I think it will be another Bailey Ruth because I've really been enjoying writing this series. Bailey Ruth is in Oklahoma; I'm from Oklahoma. The Death on Demand series is set on an island off the coast of South Carolina. It's been a while since I've been there, so the setting doesn't seem quite real to me anymore."

Donis has had a different reaction to the setting of her books. "I've lived in Phoenix for thirty years now, and I find it easier to write about Oklahoma. I don't know if distance brings me clarity or what."

After a few questions from fans, this short and sweet second segment was finished. After another short break, it would be time for the Wild Ones.

L to R: Daryl Wood Gerber, Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle

When Daryl Wood Gerber, Jenn McKinlay, and Kate Carlisle took the stage at The Poisoned Pen's holiday party, Jenn immediately noticed that Kate was holding a copy of her latest Fixer-Upper mystery, Eaves of Destruction. "I see you're all prepared!" Jenn said. Kate, looking slightly abashed, said, "It's because I can't remember the plot...." which made everyone in the bookstore laugh. (And it's probably the most common curse among writers. By the time they go on tour for the recently published book, they're already working two books ahead.) When asked about their newest books, Kate was first. "I've always wanted to write a story about twins separated at birth-- which got the expected laugh-- but instead this is about a woman who's looking for a certain house. She's finally found it, and murder and mayhem ensue."

Jenn's latest is a Library Lovers mystery, Death in the Stacks. "Many of you know that I was a librarian for the Phoenix Public Library for a long time, and one of the library events I enjoyed the most was the annual Dinner in the Stacks fundraiser. Well... I felt compelled to kill someone during the Dinner in the Stacks, and the dead person may or may not be a certain administrator I worked for. (I've been getting emails saying, 'That's so-and-so, isn't it?') When I was notified that there would be no more Hat Shop mysteries, I wrote those characters into this book, and since I didn't want to ignore the other series, I wrote the Cupcake Bakers into the story, too."

Kate Carlisle's delicious Fixer-Upper cookies.

Daryl looked at Jenn and said, "You know, if you're writing about someone real, change the person's sex and they usually don't recognize themselves."

Daryl's A Deadly Éclair starts off her new French Bistro series. She also wrote the Cheese Shop mysteries under the name Avery Aames and has a third series, the Cookbook Nook cozies, as well. "I didn't know I'd have to know how to cook in order to write books!" she joked. Her French Bistro series is set in a village in Napa Valley, California. "Poor Napa Valley and all it's going through!" Daryl exclaimed. "But this is fiction. I like to write about fictional towns because then no one can point any fingers. I have a lot of my heart and soul in this new series, and it's really upped my game as a cook."

Carlisle mentioned the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel which has been filming several cozy mystery series-- one of which is her Fixer-Upper series starring Jewel. "I've had complaints from fans about Hallmark changing Shannon's father's name and that they changed her last name. I don't really understand why they did." For those of you not familiar with the books, Shannon's last name is Hammer and her father's name is Jack.

"This reminds me of the time I saw Charlaine Harris," Jenn McKinlay said. "I didn't even think. I was a huge Sookie Stackhouse fan and went all Fan Girl, asking her 'What do you think of True Blood?' She was nice about it. She thought for a second and then said, 'I think it's making me a lot of money.'"

When asked what was next, Kate Carlisle said, "The twelfth Bibliophile mystery will be out in June. It's called Buried in Books, and Brooklyn gets married." This news was greeted with applause.

Did Jenn know what was coming?

"I'm working on my sixth Cookbook Nook mystery, Pressing the Issue, and I'm waiting to hear from a different publisher about a new series," Daryl said.

"Every Dog Has Its Day will be out January 18," Jenn told us. "It's a romantic comedy. I took the dead bodies out and added a bit of sex. Wedding Cake Crumble will be the next Cupcake Bakery book."

Barbara interjected, "Since we're talking about upcoming events, our next Cozy Con will be held on the Saturday before Mother's Day." More applause greeted this news.

The three authors were then asked a bit about their writing processes.

"I work on one book at a time, preferably," said Daryl.

"I'm pretty much the same way," said Kate. "I try to read the last book in the series before starting to write a new book so I can get back into the character's voice."

"I never re-read any of my books!" Jenn said. "I try to use the Stephen King Method: one season per book. I write from page one to the end [so do Carlisle and Gerber], and if I get stuck, I add a note saying FIX THIS and move on."

"I do like the climax," Daryl said-- which brought down the house and made her qualify her statement-- "I like writing the climactic scene! When I start a book, I know what's going on. I know the victim. I know the suspects. I know how it ends. I don't find this boring. It's my road map, and I flesh it out along the way. I see my books in my mind as a film."

A fan asked them if they listened to music as they wrote, and if they would think about sharing their playlists online. The suggestion didn't fit in with the authors' writing styles. Jenn McKinlay doesn't listen to music while she writes. Kate Carlisle wants complete silence. Daryl Wood Gerber loves listening to music as long as there are no words.

I've never seen two hours move so quickly, and I think all the other fans felt the same way. The Poisoned Pen's event was the perfect kick-off to Thanksgiving Week and the busy holiday season. Did I get out of my favorite bookstore without buying anything? What do you think?

My Poisoned Pen book haul.

May 2020 New Mystery Releases!

I've been really lucky with my reading lately. I've read two books in a row that made my Best Reads of 2020 list, and I'm in the middle of another good'un. You know what that means, don't you?

I'm on the lookout for more!

The following titles are my picks of the best new crime fiction being released during the month of May. There's a little something for everyone, which sums up my tastes in the mystery genre.

I've got them grouped by release date, and the book covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Did I choose any books that tickled your fancy? Let's take a look!

=== May 5 ===

Title: The Secrets of Bones

Author: Kylie Logan

Series: #2 in the Jazz Ramsey series set in Ohio.

336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Second in a new series from national bestselling author Kylie Logan, The Secrets of Bones is a riveting mystery following Jazz Ramsey as she trains a cadaver dog.

Assembly Day at St. Catherine’s dawns bright and cloudless as professional women gather from all around Ohio to talk to the schoolgirls about their careers ranging from medicine to NASA, to yoga. Jazz Ramsey has also signed up to give the girls a taste of her lifelong passion: cadaver dog training. Her adorable new puppy Wally hasn’t been certified yet, so she borrows the fully-trained Gus from a friend and hides a few bones in the unused fourth floor of the school for him to find.

The girls are impressed when Gus easily finds the first bone, but then Gus heads confidently to a part of the floor where Jazz is sure no bones are hidden―at least not any that she’s put there. But Gus is a professional, and sure enough, behind a door that no one has opened in ages, is a human skeleton. Jazz recognizes the necklace the skeleton is wearing, and that it belonged to Bernadette Quinn, an ex-teacher at the school who’d quit her job abruptly one Christmas break. But now it seems Bernadette never left the school at all, and her hiding place makes it clear: this was murder.

Bernadette in life had been a difficult personality, and so there are a plethora of suspects inside the school and out of it. As Jazz gets closer to the truth she can’t help but wonder if someone might be dogging her footsteps..." 

Title: Death in the East

Author: Abir Mukherjee

Series: #4 in the Wyndham & Banerjee historical series set in India.

352 pages

Synopsis: "Calcutta police detective Captain Sam Wyndham and his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-Not Banerjee are back for another exotic adventure set in 1920s India.

1905, London. As a young constable, Sam Wyndham is on his usual East London beat when he comes across an old flame, Bessie Drummond, attacked in the streets. The next day, when Bessie is found brutally beaten in her own room, locked from the inside, Wyndham promises to get to the bottom of her murder. But the case will cost the young constable more than he ever imagined.

1922, India. Leaving Calcutta, Captain Sam Wyndham heads for the hills of Assam, to the ashram of a sainted monk where he hopes to conquer his opium addiction. But when he arrives, he sees a ghost from his life in London—a man thought to be long dead, a man Wyndham hoped he would never see again. Wyndham knows he must call his friend and colleague Sergeant Banerjee for help. He is certain this figure from his past isn’t here by coincidence. He is here for revenge . . ."

=== May 12 ===

Title: Street Music

Author: Timothy Hallinan

Series: #9 in the Poke Rafferty series set in Thailand.

384 pages

Synopsis: "Eight years ago, Poke Rafferty, an American travel writer, and his Thai wife, Rose, adopted a Bangkok street child named Miaow, forming an unconventional intercultural family. That family has weathered extreme challenges—each of its three members carried the scars of a painful and dangerous history—but has stuck together with tenacity and love (and a little help from some friends).

Now that family is in jeopardy: the birth of Poke and Rose’s newborn son has littered their small apartment with emotional land mines, forcing Poke to question his identity as a dad and Miaow to question her identity as a daughter. At the same time, the most cantankerous member of the small gang of Old Bangkok Hands who hang out at the Expat Bar suddenly goes missing under suspicious circumstances. Engaged in the search for the missing American, Poke is caught completely off-guard when someone he thought was gone forever resurfaces—and she has the power to tear the Raffertys apart."

Title: The Streel

Author: Mary Logue

Series: #1 in the Deadwood historical series set in South Dakota.

240 pages

Synopsis: "When I was fifteen and my brother Seamus sixteen, we attended our own wake. Our family was in mourning, forced to send us off to America.

The year is 1880 and of all the places Brigid Reardon and her brother might have dreamed of when escaping Ireland’s potato famine by moving to America, Deadwood, South Dakota, was not one of them. But Deadwood, in the grip of gold fever is where Seamus lands and where Brigid joins him after eluding the unwanted attentions of the son of her rich employer in St. Paul—or so she hopes. But the morning after her arrival, a grisly tragedy occurs; Seamus, suspected of the crime, flees, and Brigid is left to clear his name and to manage his mining claim, which suddenly looks more valuable and complicated than he and his partners supposed.

Mary Logue, the author of the popular Claire Watkins mysteries, brings her signature brio and nerve to this story of a young Irish woman turned reluctant sleuth as she tries to make her way in a strange and often dangerous new world. From the famine-stricken city of Galway to the bustling New York harbor, to the mansions of Summit Avenue in St. Paul, and finally to the raucous hustle of boomtown Deadwood, Logue’s new thriller conjures the romance and the perils, and the tricky everyday realities, of a young immigrant surviving by her wits and grace in nineteenth-century America."

=== May 14 ===

Title: Grave's End

Author: William Shaw

Series: #4 in the Alexandra Cupidi police procedural series set in England.

400 pages

Synopsis: "DS Alexandra Cupidi faces establishment corruption, class divide and environmental activism in this gripping new novel by a rising star of British crime fiction."

=== May 19 ===

Title: Kill the King

Author: Sandrone Dazieri

Series: #3 in the Caselli & Torre police procedural series set in Italy.

512 pages

Synopsis: "From thriller master Sandrone Dazieri, here is the startling conclusion to the internationally bestselling Caselli and Torre trilogy in which two damaged but deductively brilliant detectives must sort out what is real and what is imagined.

Reeling from a deadly bombing in Venice and her investigative partner Dante’s disappearance, Detective Colomba Caselli retreats to the rural countryside outside Rome to nurse her wounds. When an apparently autistic teenager appears in her yard, covered in blood, he leads her to a brutal crime scene where nothing is what it seems. As Colomba gets pulled into the investigation and the body count spirals upward, she is implicated in the violence. Soon, she’s convinced that a powerful villain is working in the shadows to cause the carnage and frame her, but the only person who can help her is Dante—and he hasn’t been seen in over a year and is presumed dead. Colomba is sure he’s alive and out there somewhere, but will she find him before it’s too late? And can she clear her name and be free of the far-reaching legacy of the villain known as the Father?

Bursting with action, ingeniously plotted, and filled with one unexpected twist after another, Kill the King is a shocking and satisfying conclusion to this breathtakingly original crime series."

Title: The Queen's Secret

Author: Karen Harper

Standalone historical suspense set in World War II England.

384 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "1939. As the wife of King George VI and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth—“the queen mother”—shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it’s no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that soft voice and kind demeanor is a will of steel.

Two years earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs. Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband’s reign a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again setting foot in Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, she’s also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing.

In this riveting novel of royal secrets and intrigue, Karen Harper lifts the veil on one of the world’s most fascinating families, and how its “secret weapon” of a matriarch maneuvered her way through one of the most dangerous chapters of the century." 

=== May 26 ===

Title: What You Don't See

Author: Tracy Clark

Series: #3 in the Chicago private investigator series set in Illinois.

304 pages

Synopsis: "Former cop Cass Raines knows the streets of Chicago all too well. Now she’s a private investigator and getting an exclusive glimpse into how the other half lives—and how they die . . .
 
Wealth. Power. Celebrity. Vonda Allen’s glossy vanity magazine has taken the Windy City by storm and she’s well on her way to building a one-woman media empire. Everybody adores her. Except the people who work for her. And the person who’s sending her flowers with death threats . . .

As Vonda’s bodyguard, off-duty cop Ben Mickerson knows he could use some back-up—and no one fits the bill better than his ex-partner on the police force, Cass Raines. Now a full-time private eye, Cass is reluctant to take the job. She isn’t keen on playing babysitter to a celebrity who’s rumored to be a heartless diva. But as a favor to Ben, she signs on. But when Vonda refuses to say why someone might be after her, and two of her staff turn up dead, Ben and Cass must battle an unknown assailant bent on getting to the great lady herself, before someone else dies.

Cass finds out the hard way just how persistent a threat they face during the first stop on Vonda’s book tour. As fans clamor for her autograph, things take an ugly turn when a mysterious fan shows up with flowers and slashes Ben with a knife. While her ex-partner’s life hangs in the balance, Cass is left to find out what secrets Vonda is keeping, who might want her dead, and how she can bring Ben’s attacker to justice before enemies in the Chicago Police Department try to stop her in her tracks . . ."

Title: The Shooting at Château Rock

Author: Martin Walker

Series: #13 in the Bruno, Chief of Police series set in France.

320 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "When a local's troubling death is linked to a Russian oligarch and his multinational conglomerate, Bruno faces one of his toughest cases yet, one that brings together a French notary and a rock star--and, of course, Bergerac red and white.

It's summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a Périgordian sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited, and their father's estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer never gets his life of luxury--he dies before moving in. Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins the investigation that leads him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The companies are based in Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg, but Bruno finds a weak spot in France: the Russian's France-based notaire and insurance agent. As Bruno is pursuing this lead, the oligarch's daughter turns up in the Périgord, and complications ensue, eventually bringing the action to the château of an aging rock star. But, as ever, Bruno makes time for lunch amid it all." 

Any month that has new books from Timothy Hallinan, Martin Walker, and William Shaw is a Most Excellent month, so May has plenty in store for us, doesn't it? Did any of my choices wind up on your own wishlists? Which ones? You know that inquiring minds would love to know!