Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved mysteries and crime thrillers since I worked at the legendary R.J. Julia Booksellers in high school. A lifelong love of books and movies led me to pursue a career in screenwriting and later in indie publishing. My most popular books, including Seattle On Ice, Chokecherry Canyon, and The Grimwood Trilogy all mix fast-paced action with film references and plenty of humor.


I wrote

Firepower

By Mike Attebery,

Book cover of Firepower

What is my book about?

Firepower is the second book in my Four Corners thriller series, it tells the story of a small-town newspaper reporter…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Big Sleep

Mike Attebery Why did I love this book?

There are two authors that all crime writers look up to. The first is Raymond Chandler. If ever there was a master of pure style, it was Chandler. Turn to any page and pick a paragraph, you’re sure to find a description or a turn of phrase that will stop you in your tracks. I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle with the plots of Chandler’s books, but the ins and outs of his stories are beside the point, all the elements of the classic mysteries are there, rich and powerful men with twisted secrets, femme fatales with opaque motives, and world-weary detectives who have seen it all before, or think they have, until their latest case turns their worlds upside down. This is what great crime writing is all about!

By Raymond Chandler,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked The Big Sleep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Raymond Chandler's first three novels, published here in one volume, established his reputation as an unsurpassed master of hard-boiled detective fiction.

The Big Sleep, Chandler's first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, a private detective inhabiting the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s, as he takes on a case involving a paralysed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail and murder.

In Farewell, My Lovely, Marlowe deals with the gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon, and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women.

In The High Window, Marlowe searches the California underworld for a priceless gold coin and finds himself…


Book cover of Get Shorty

Mike Attebery Why did I love this book?

Every crime writer loves Raymond Chandler, but there’s one author they idolize above all others: Elmore Leonard. There’s a reason Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing continually makes the rounds; he knew how to keep readers turning the pages, most notably by leaving out the stuff that people are likely to skip. Get Shorty is my favorite of Leonard’s books. It’s funny. All of the characters are people you’d like to have a drink with. And the action takes place in a world that has always fascinated me: Hollywood. This book is just terrific fun.

By Elmore Leonard,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Get Shorty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A thriller filled with Leonard's signatures - scathing wit, crackling dialogue, twisted plot, mad scams - and set in the drug sodden world of Hollywood.


Book cover of The Old Man

Mike Attebery Why did I love this book?

I love a good chase element in my crime stories, and no one does them better than Thomas Perry. There’s a reason this guy co-wrote thrillers with Clive Cussler for so many years, he knows how the keep the story moving just as fast as a bullet. For my money, The Old Man is Perry’s best book. First of all, the main character is literally named Chase, Dan Chase. And the action kicks in within the first few pages and never really slows down. Perry doles out the character details on a need-to-know basis in between breathless escapes as we follow the not so innocent Dan from his home in New England, to a Pacific Northwest island that is very close to my heart.

By Thomas Perry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Old Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES

A finalist for the Barry Award for Best Thriller

To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big dogs and a grown daughter with a
life of her own. But most sixty-year-old widowers don't have multiple drivers' licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country and two Beretta nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run.

Now, the toppling of a Middle Eastern government suddenly makes Dan Chase, and the stunt he pulled thirty-five years ago as a young hotshot in army intelligence,…


Book cover of The Ranger

Mike Attebery Why did I love this book?

Ace Atkins is a master of the crime genre. It’s no wonder Robert B. Parker’s estate tapped him to carry on the Spenser series. He’s great at capturing places and the internal monologues of weary men. He’s also able to tell stories just seedy enough to keep readers curious, without making them cringe. The first book in Atkins’ Quinn Colson series is on par with Elmore Leonard’s Raylan Givens books. Quinn seems entirely real, the small town he returns to after a years-long absence feels lived in and believable. And the pacing is masterful. Whereas Perry drags readers along for the action, Atkins makes you feel as though you’re sitting in the backseat, riding down the winding roads of Tibbehah County in northeast Mississippi as Quinn uneasily approaches another backcountry crime scene.    

By Ace Atkins,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ranger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Northeast Mississippi is hill country, rugged and notorious for outlaws since the Civil War, where killings are as commonplace as they were in the Old West. To Quinn Colson, just back from a tour of Afghanistan, it's home. But home has changed.

Quinn returns to a place overrun by corruption. His uncle, the county sheriff, is dead - officially it was suicide, but others whisper murder. In the days that follow, it will be up to Colson, now an Army Ranger, to discover the truth - not only about his uncle, but also about his family, friends, hometown and himself.…


Book cover of The Thursday Murder Club

Mike Attebery Why did I love this book?

This book is a fairly recent addition to the world of crime fiction, but there’s a reason it has been such a breakout hit. I can’t recall the last time I so instantly fell in love with the characters in a book. Every member of Osman’s crew of elderly sleuths feel believable and strangely inspiring. Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce, and Ibrahim are all three-dimensional, fully developed individuals, each with their own cockeyed but wise outlooks on the world. Their internal thoughts and observations inevitably ring true. And the twists and turns in the plot come just as frequently as the laughs. I love this series and hope new installments become an annual publishing event. 

By Richard Osman,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked The Thursday Murder Club as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment

"Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." -Wall Street Journal

"Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." -Parade

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to...
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead…


Explore my book 😀

Firepower

By Mike Attebery,

Book cover of Firepower

What is my book about?

Firepower is the second book in my Four Corners thriller series, it tells the story of a small-town newspaper reporter investigating a series of fiery murders linked to the New Mexico energy market. This book is the best example of what I aim for in all of my crime novels, specifically, a lightning-quick pace, good characters, a sense of place, and touches of humor. The last element is the key. I don’t enjoy books (or authors) that take themselves too seriously, so I’m always looking for novels with a sense of humor. With Firepower, I think I struck the balance I’ve always been aiming for. In movie terms, I’d say it rests somewhere between Chinatown and Sneakers. 

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The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

Book cover of The Open Road

M.M. Holaday Author Of The Open Road

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up a fan of an evening news segment called “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” Kuralt spotlighted upbeat, affirmative, sometimes nostalgic stories of people and places he discovered as he traveled across the American landscape. The charming stories he told were only part of the appeal; the freedom and adventure of being on the open road ignited a spark that continues to smolder. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are our annual family road trips, and I still jump at the chance to drive across the country.

M.M.'s book list on following the open road to discover America

What is my book about?

Head West in 1865 with two life-long friends looking for adventure and who want to see the wilderness before it disappears. One is a wanderer; the other seeks a home he lost. The people they meet on their journey reflect the diverse events of this time period–settlers, adventure seekers, scientific expeditions, and Indigenous peoples–all of whom shape their lives in significant ways.

This is a story of friendship that casts a different look on a time period which often focuses only on wagon trains or gunslingers.

The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

What is this book about?

After four years of adventure in the frontier, Win Avery returns to his hometown on the edge of the prairie and tracks down his childhood friend, Jeb Dawson. Jeb has just lost his parents, and, in his efforts to console him, Win convinces his friend to travel west with him―to see the frontier before it is settled, while it is still unspoiled wilderness.

They embark on a free-spirited adventure, but their journey sidetracks when they befriend Meg Jameson, an accomplished horsewoman, lost on the Nebraska prairie. Traveling together through the Rocky Mountain foothills, they run into Gray Wolf, an Arapaho…


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