Boswell presents two Thrillwaukee events - Tracey S Phillips with Marianne Flynn Statz and Lee Goldberg with Jon Jordan, plus United We Read with Su Cho, Anthony Correale, Lauren Maddox, and Liam Callanan, David A.F. Sweet on 1972 Olympic basketball, with a Saturday event from novelist Billy Lombardo

Here are the Boswell doings for the week of February 3, 2020.

Tuesday, February 4, 7 pm, at Boswell:
Tracey S Phillips, author of Best Kept Secrets, in conversation with Marianne Flynn Statz

Wisconsin author, artist, and musician Tracey S Phillips chats about her debut suspense novel with retired City of Madison Police Detective Marianne Flynn Statz.

New York Times bestseller Karen Harper calls Best Kept Secrets “a twisty, tantalizing read. Beautifully put together. Look out… there’s a new female detective (and talented author) in town.” And Sarah Meuleman, author of Find Me Gone, calls it “a thrilling ride!”

The scene of homicide detective Morgan Jewell’s latest case is far too similar to the scene of her childhood best friend’s murder. Years ago, she vowed she would find justice, and now she hopes this is the case she’s been waiting for, the one that will set her back on the killer’s trail. But the closer she gets, the more she’s forced to confront her memories. Did her friend have a secret that got her killed? And did she even know her friend at all? This dark, twisty new novel takes friendship and obsession to the next level.

Wednesday, February 5, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Lee Goldberg, author of Lost Hills, in conversation with Jon Jordan

Two-time Edgar and Shamus Award nominee and television writer/producer Lee Goldberg returns to Milwaukee with his latest mystery, the first installment in a new series in which a viral-video-star cop’s first case as an LA County homicide investigator takes a horrific, blood-spattered turn. He’ll chat with Jon Jordan, founder of Crimespree magazine and longtime programmer of the Murder + Mayhem conference.

Bestselling author Michael Connelly says, “Lost Hills is Lee Goldberg at his best. Inspired by the real-world grit and glitz of LA County crime, this book takes no prisoners. And neither does Eve Ronin. Take a ride with her and you’ll find yourself with a heroine for the ages. And you’ll be left hoping for more.” And Boswellian Chris Lee adds, “a snappy procedural that’s a real crackerjack!”

Chris is one of three Boswell booksellers who enjoyed Lost Hills. Says Tim McCarthy: "It started with me just wanting to read a story by the guy who wrote the Monk and Diagnosis Murder books and TV shows. It ended with me thoroughly enjoying this intense and entertaining police procedural... I'm looking forward to seeing Eve Ronin again. She's complicated, and she's bound to get even better with age!"

Thursday, February 6, 7:30 pm, at Boswell (note later start time):
UWM's United We Read

Boswell is pleased to host the February 2020 installment of the UWM English Department's United We Read Student and Faculty Reading Series. Each month, United We Read features UWM students and faculty writers presenting original work at unique venues throughout the Milwaukee community.

This month's edition, on Thursday, February 6, 7:30 pm, features readings by Su Cho, Anthony Correale, Lauren Maddox, and faculty reader Liam Callanan.

Friday, February 7, 7 pm, at Boswell:
David A.F. Sweet, author of Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final

Chicago sportswriter David A.F. Sweet investigates what was perhaps the most controversial championship game in sports history, the basketball final between the United States and the USSR during the 1972 Olympic Games. Sweet is author of Lamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Professional Sports and has written for the Los Angeles Times and launched columns for the online editions of The Wall Street Journal and NBC Sports.

1 – 2 – 3. That’s as long as it took to sear the souls of a dozen young American men, thanks to the craziest, most controversial finish in the history of the Olympics. The U.S. team, whose unbeaten Olympic streak dated back to when Adolf Hitler reigned over the Berlin Games, believed it had won the gold medal that September in Munich, not once, but twice. But it was the third time the final seconds were played that counted.

Of course, the 1972 Olympics are remembered primarily for a far graver matter, when eleven Israeli team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists, stunning the world and temporarily stopping the games. Through interviews with many of the American players and others, Sweet relates the horror of terrorism, the pain of losing the most controversial championship game in sports history to a hated rival, and the consequences of the players’ decision to shun their Olympic medals to this day.

Our buyer Jason Kennedy is a big fan of Three Seconds in Munich. He highly recommends University of Nebraska's basketball series, of which Sweet's history is the latest entry.

Saturday, February 8, 2:00 pm, at Boswell:
Billy Lombardo, author of Morning Will Come, in conversation with Andy Fine

Chicago author Billy Lombardo chats about and reads from the newly revised, special edition of his novel, being published as part of Tortoise Books New Chicago Classics series. He’ll be in conversation with UW-Madison graduate Andy Fine. Lombardo is the 2011 Nelson Algren Award winner and the managing editor of Polyphone Lit, a literary magazine for high school writers.

Originally published as How to Hold a Woman by Dzanc, Lombardo’s first novel is an exquisite portrait of a fractured family. Alan, Audrey, and their two sons are floundering with how to remain human in the face of the worst of all tragedies, the loss of the family’s eldest child.

Morning Will Come is both a product of its time and place, a Chicago that doesn’t quite exist anymore, and a universal, eternal story of family love and contention, a journey through the losses that tear us apart and, with luck, bring us home again to the only other people who understand our pain. It’s a novel about loving one another through the damage, and how loss hangs like a specter over everything, rendering each nuance more precious, more beautiful, for its precariousness.

More on our upcoming events page.