Jennifer Chow, Rob Osler and Harini Nagendra Agatha Nominee interviews

Dark and Stormy Book Club

Jennifer Chow, Rob Osler and Harini Nagendra
Show Notes
On this episode we finish our interviews with nominees for the Agatha Awards which will be
given at Malice Domestic this year.
We first talked with Jennifer Chow who is nominated for her book “Death By Bubble Tea”
(Berkley) for Best Contemporary Novel.
When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play
tour guide to a relative she hasn't seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it's a
wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night
Market. Yale hasn't cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine's career as a social media
influencer as adequate experience, but because she's just lost her job at her local bookstore,
she feels she has no choice.
Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it
eventually picks up thanks to Celine's surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They're quite shocked
that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit--literally--when one of their customers turns up dead.
Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink
as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together
to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they'll be serving is time.
We talked then with Rob Osler who is nominated for a Best First Novel for his book “Devil's
Chew Toy” (Level Best).
Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with
the police knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has
gone missing and they suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is
Camilo?
Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends
—Hollister and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them,
Hayden learns that Camilo is a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and
whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the
cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously, the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo.
The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time
job. The store’s owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And
then there’s Camilo’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When
Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking
connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted scheme that’s made both of them
rich.
The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget
Sound, where they’ll finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his
family.
And Finally, we talked with Harini Nagendra who is nominated for a Best First Novel for her book
:The Bangladore Detective's Club” (Constable)
Solving crimes isn't easy.
Add a jealous mother-in-law and having to wear a flowing sari into the mix, and you've got a
problem.
When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry doctor Ramu, she's resigned
herself to a quiet life.
But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden
for some peace - and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the
party turns into a murder scene.
When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her
and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel
to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn't as hard as it seems
when you have a talent for maths, a head for logic and a doctor for a husband.
And she's going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition
and intrigue in Bangalore's darkest alleyways . . .
We congratulate each and every nominee and wish them all the best of luck with their writing
and in life.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Which author used the following pseudonyms in their career. Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer,
Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige,
and Anthony North?
a. Dean Koontz
b. James Patterson
c. John LeCarre
d. Michael Connelly
The answer is a. Dean Koontz. Known pseudonyms used by Koontz during his career include
Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols,
Owen West, Richard Paige, and Anthony North. As Brian Coffey, he wrote the "Mike Tucker"
trilogy (Blood Risk, Surrounded, Wall of Masks) in acknowledged tribute to the Parker novels of
Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake). Many of Koontz's pseudonymous novels are now available
under his real name. Many others remain suppressed by Koontz, who bought back the rights to
ensure they could not be republished; he has, on occasion, said that he might revise some for
republication, but only three have appeared — Demon Seed and Invasion were both heavily
rewritten before they were republished, and Prison of Ice had certain sections bowdlerised.
This week's question is:
P.D. James began her writing career while she worked where?
a. A school
b. a Law firm
c. a factory
d. a hospital
Tune in next week for the answer.