Mark Pryor in the New York Times!

Mark Pryor is one of our favorite authors, local or otherwise (although he does just so happen to be local), and writes the Hugo Marston novels, starting with The Bookseller, and most recently, the prequel The Button Man. Although Pryor works as a prosecutor in town, giving him plenty of material for crime fiction, he sets his novels in the American embassy in Paris, and his novels are perfect for the armchair traveler.

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Pryor was recently the subject of an AP article that landed in the New York Times with MysteryPeople weighing in on our good friend. You can congratulate Mark on the 24th when he joins us here at the store to interview Jamie Mason about her latest book, Monday’s Lie. Click here to read the full New York Times article.

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Mark Pryor joins us to interview Jamie Mason about her latest, Monday’s Lie, on Tuesday, February 24, at 7 pm on BookPeople’s second floor. You can find copies of Pryor’s and Mason’s oeuvre on our shelves and via bookpeople.com.

If You Like David Baldacci…

If you are shopping for fans of David Baldacci, or if you are a fan yourself, here are three books that should be on your radar, all hailing from the great state of Texas.

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1. The Blood Promise by Mark Pryor

The third book in the Hugo Marston series has the head of security for our Paris embassy, body guarding  an American senator. When he goes missing, Hugo becomes involved with the politics of a current treaty connected to the French Revolution. A great political thriller that doesn’t preach an agenda.

 

2. Allegiance by Tom Abrahams

A political aide finds himself on the run after he uncovers a plan for state succession, using big oil and cutting edge science. Like Michael Crichton, Abrahams is skilled at taking a far-fetched premise and making it believable.

 

3. Capitol Offense by George Wier

A good ol’ boy trouble shooter gets a death row confession from an inmate who claims he blew up Vietnamese fishing boats for the current governor. This puts protagonist Bill on the wrong side of the law and in the middle of a political assassination. A fast moving, action packed thriller with a fun voice.

 

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Copies of the above listed books can be found on our shelves and via bookpeople.com.

MysteryPeople Review: THE BUTTON MAN, by Mark Pryor

 

–-Post by Molly

Mark Pryor grew up in England, moved to Texas, and now works as an assistant district attorney in Austin. He is also the author of the Hugo Marston series, and has just released a fourth book in the series. Mark Pryor will join us this Saturday, September 13, at 3pm, to speak and sign his latest release, The Button Man.

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Mark Pryor has just released The Button Man, a prequel to his Hugo Marston series. What’s the twist? This one is set in London, not Paris, and Marston has just begun his new career as head of US Embassy security. At the sleepy embassy, he spends much of his time researching Jack the Ripper and trying to link the serial killer with other, American serial killers, in particular the Servant Girl Annihilator of late 19th century Austin.

One night, while on the historical prowl for evidence in a graveyard, Hugo comes across a more recent corpse – a dead woman, hung by the neck, face covered in a white shroud. The corpse turns out to be an American starlet. The starlet’s husband, also an actor, is in jail for killing a farmer while driving drunk. If there was not enough scandal already, the actor, upon release, won’t stay put in the American embassy and Marston must cooperate with British police to find the rogue American before he, too, pops up dead in a graveyard. Marston’s search leads him to a mysterious manor in the countryside used for secretive and rather salacious purposes, and he must get aid from a mysterious young woman with a strange name and a double life.

As Marston continues to search for the American actor, he gains many an opportunity to ruminate over the current state of affairs in society, including such topics as England’s lack of a death penalty, the possibility of redemption for criminals that have served their time, and the extreme susceptibility to exposure and blackmail of those members of society who lead taboo lives. In general, however, Marston pursues his target with vigor, leading to quite a few thrilling chase sequences as Marston grows closer to the truth. Pryor carefully structures the narrative to include just as much conversation as action, and every scene obeys the old writing adage to either move the plot forward or aid in character development.

The stunning English scenery, like the Parisian backdrops of Marston’s previous adventures, shines throughout the book, and Pryor has a particular gift in bringing the spookiness of the old country to an American audience. Pryor makes good use of cemeteries, manor houses, tiny English villages, and even Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum to impeccably meld place and setting. His portrayal of England – sunk under the weight of history – almost makes me glad to be an American, although many of the historical issues with which British characters in the story grapple are still very much part of the American present. Fans of the series will find that despite the difference in setting, Pryor’s latest fits in perfectly with the rest of the Hugo Marston novels, and I look forward to many more Marston stories to come.

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You can find all the Hugo Marston books – The Bookseller, The Crypt Thief, The Blood Promise, and The Button Man, on our shelves now and via bookpeople.com. Mark Pryor will read from and sign his new novel Saturday, September 13, at 3 pm, on BookPeople’s second floor. All BookPeople events are free and open to the public.