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Elaine’s Literary Salon welcomes back prolific novelist Jeff Markowitz and his newest book, “Maximum Security”

The agenda for our brunch event:

• Noon: Meet, greet, and order food and drinks from Elaine’s award-winning menu
• 1pm: Our 45-minute interview begins, followed by a 15-minute Q&A with the audience to be produced on our popular podcast and video series
• 2pm: Guests talk with the author, buy his books, and get them signed!

Meet the Author: Jeff Markowitz is the author of seven novels, including his newest title, Maximum Security, a Mafia crime novel inspired by the real-life experiences of a “retired” wiseguy. Jeff spent more than 40 years creating community-based programs and services for children and adults with autism, including twenty-five years as President and Executive Director of the Life Skills Resource Center, before retiring in 2018 to devote more time to writing. In October 2021, an epic late-night puzzle hunt based on his novella, Motive for Murder, raised more than $1 million for at-risk children in NYC. Jeff is a Past President of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Learn more: jeffmarkowitz.com

 Also by Jeff Markowitz:

• The Other (details are below)
• Motive for Murder
• Hit or Miss
• Death and White Diamonds
• It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Murder
• A Minor Case of Murder
• Who is Killing Doah’s Deer?

About Jeff’s new book, Maximum Security: Matteo Mori’s earliest childhood memories were running errands for the made men at Frankie’s social club. There was nothing special about the club, just a couple of Formica tables, wood paneling on the walls, and pictures of Sicily taped to the paneling.

What made the club special were the members. Whenever Matteo opened the door, Frankie and his men would be there, wearing their fine Italian suits and sporting their pinky rings. Matteo would do anything to earn a seat at the table with Frankie and his crew.

It didn’t take long before Matteo had his own social club, and his own crew. He had everything a man in his line of work could ask for… until the day that success caught up with him, and he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in maximum security.

What critics are saying:

“Darkly funny, brutally candid, and impossible to put down.” — Gabriel Valjan, author of The Company Files and the Shane Cleary Mysteries

About Jeff’s previous novel “The Other” 

For Abe Dubinski and his family, life on the canal is peaceful and productive. Employed as a lock tender, Abe is responsible for the safe passage of barges carrying anthracite from Pennsylvania to New York. When the canal company announced its plan to close the canal in 1933, Abe worried about his job and his company home. Still, in his heart, he knows his family will be okay. But the peace is shattered when a Nazi youth camp opens on the banks of the canal.

Under the direction of their Nazi leaders, more than one hundred teenage boys in brown shirts erect tents in the fields that abut Abe’s home. Threats of violence put his wife and children in imminent danger. Abe Dubinski must take action to protect his family, even if that action threatens his very soul. Ninety years later, Charlie Levenson moves into the former lock tender’s house, intent on living out his remaining years quietly after the death of his wife, Zoya Aziz.

A series of threatening encounters with strangers compels Charlie to examine the circumstances of his wife’s death. If he’s right, his granddaughter may also be in danger. Charlie must put his dream of a quiet life on hold. No matter the cost, Charlie has a responsibility to stand up to hate. What would you do to protect your family when the Nazis come to town?

Watch the interview on ElainesLiterarySalon.tv.

Be sure to visit Elaine’s in Old Town, VA, when you are in the Washington, DC area: elaines-restaurant.com.

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About Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes suspense and thriller novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, in the 20 years Jeffrey worked as a counter-terrorism specialist, he wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times have interviewed him, and he’s appeared on CNN Declassified, National Geographic’s Narco Wars, ABC News, and Discovery ID. He has a BS in Journalism and an MS in Criminal Justice.

Jeff is a #1 Amazon bestselling author who’s won the Claymore Award, PenCraft’s Best Fiction Book of the Year, and a Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal. His debut novel, Furious, is one of Black Rose Writing’s bestselling thrillers, and The Forever Game was selected as one of the Best Medical Thrillers of the 21st century. Severn River Publishing launched four books in the Nathan Burke international thriller series, and Library Journal selected The Havana Syndrome as one of the best books of 2025.

He owns Elaine’s Literary Salon in Alexandria, VA, where he counsels writers and interviews authors. He hosts Elaine’s Literary Salon podcast, which reaches 1.5 million people per month and is #1 on both Apple and Spotify for literary salons. The video version of the series is available on YouTube: ElainesLiterarySalon.tv. Jeffrey is an Authors Guild ambassador for the DC area and a frequent panelist at conferences and book festivals. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com

About ElaineLiterarySalon.com: A home for authors everywhere, the Salon features writers on our popular podcast that ranks #1 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for literary salon shows. Watch all of the videos in the series on YouTube at ElainesLiterarySalon.tv

Find Elaine’s Literary Salon events here: ElainesLiterarySalon.com