Why am I passionate about this?

I’m not sure why the dark side of humanity has always fascinated me, as it does so many others. I’ve read mystery and horror stories ever since I was a young boy, gravitating to ever darker books as I aged. I’m a pantser—that means that I don’t totally know where a story is going when I start, so I discover it right along with the characters. I think evoking emotion is key to writing a riveting tale, so I try to imagine what my character is feeling as I chronicle their experience. Part of being able to do this well is reading other writers who can, such as the authors on this list.


I wrote

Book cover of Sister!

What is my book about?

Gen Z detective Natalie McMasters confronts the awesome power of money and privilege. After Nattie discovers she has an identical…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Kisscut

Thomas A. Burns Jr. Why did I love this book?

Kisscut is the second book in Karen Slaughter’s Grant County series.

Slaughter’s books are dark, and this one is no exception. The darkness is magnified because I think her heroine, Dr. Sarah Linton, is an innocent at heart.

Even though Sarah, a pediatrician, doubles as the Grant County coroner, she tends to see the best in people until the worst appears before her in a way she can’t ignore.

After her ex-husband commits a necessary but appalling act, Sarah discovers a threat to the community’s children which she’s compelled to follow until its unspeakable end is revealed.

The depravity she uncovered haunted me long after I finished the book.

By Karin Slaughter,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When a teenage quarrel in the small town of Heartsdale explodes into a deadly shoot-out, Sara Linton -- paediatrician and medical examiner --finds herself entangled in a horrific tragedy. And what seems at first to be a terrible but individual catastrophe proves to have wider implications when the autopsy reveals evidence of long-term abuse and ritualistic self-mutilation.

Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver start to investigate, but the children surrounding the victim close ranks. The families turn their backs. Then a young girl is abducted, and it becomes clear that the first death is linked to an even more brutal…


Book cover of The Surgeon

Thomas A. Burns Jr. Why did I love this book?

The Surgeon is the first book in Gerritsen’s immensely popular Rizzoli and Isles series.

Detective Jane Rizzoli is a cop’s cop with a huge chip on her shoulder from years of working in a patriarchy.

As a homicide detective, she has seen it all, which is why it’s all the more chilling when the serial killer she’s chasing begins to worm his way under her skin.

Gerritsen is a physician, so her medical descriptions are accurate and clinical, and again, serve to accentuate the horror of the crimes her antagonist is perpetrating.

Even as a man, I was able to identify completely with Rizzoli by the climax of the book and experience the horror she felt right along with her.

By Tess Gerritsen,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Surgeon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A briskly paced, terrifically suspenseful work that steadily builds toward a tense and terrifying climax.”—People (Page-turner of the week)

This ebook edition contains a special preview of Tess Gerritsen’s I Know a Secret.

He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of his methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, prompting the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” Led by Detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, the cops must consult the victim of a nearly…


Book cover of Eyes Without A Face

Thomas A. Burns Jr. Why did I love this book?

Eyes Without a Face is a serial killer book with a unique perspective, the story of a female serial killer told by herself.

She chronicles her murderous journey from college through three decades of her life, and in the process, she made me understand the fascination and the rush she gets from killing.

She justifies her actions by explaining why the victims deserved to die, and I found myself agreeing with her logic in most cases.

Perhaps this one should be read with the lights on because you’ll discover some uncomfortable truths about yourself.

By Betsy Ashton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eyes Without A Face as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When her sorority sisters are engaged in sex, drugs, and rock and roll, the unnamed narrator finds her true calling in life when she kills her first victim. She doesn't have a neon sign stating, "Warning, Serial Killer," following her around. She delights in the realization that her role separates her from the people around her. A chameleon by nature, she exploits her ethic and sexual ambiguity to hide in plain sight. She kills up close and personal, because she wants her victims to know they are about to die. And she remains active for nearly three decades.


Book cover of Method 15/33

Thomas A. Burns Jr. Why did I love this book?

Method 15/13 is a book about a pregnant teen who is kidnapped by a gang who wants her child so they can sell it on the black market.

However, what they don’t know is that she’s an autistic prodigy with sociopathic tendencies who’s planning her escape and revenge from day 1.

This is Home Alone on steroids, and the young woman’s precise planning is so positively chilling that I almost felt sorry for the bad guys. Almost.

By Shannon Kirk,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Method 15/33 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

USA Today Best-Selling Author Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Winner National Indie Excellence Award Winner Kidnapped, pregnant teen plots a calculating escape and merciless revenge Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who's just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped . . . Alone . . . Terrified. Now forget her . . . Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn child and to exact merciless revenge. She…


Book cover of The Poet

Thomas A. Burns Jr. Why did I love this book?

Michael Connelly is the immensely successful author of the Harry Bosch books, but The Poet is the first book in his much shorter Jack McEvoy series.

McEvoy is a reporter who has a penchant for chasing down serial killers, and unfortunately becoming a target as well.

The psychological horror here comes from Connelly’s exacting and precise account of who the killer, dubbed the Poet, is and how he came to be.

I discovered this along with McEvoy and came to realization that he was becoming a target before he did. It’s a long book, but I found that I did not want to put it down before I learned how it played out.

By Michael Connelly,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Poet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Jack begins to investigate the phenomenon of police suicides, a disturbing pattern emerges and he soon suspects that a serial killer is at work, one who sets up his victims and leaves "suicide" notes drawn from the dark poems of Edgar Allan Poe.


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of Sister!

What is my book about?

Gen Z detective Natalie McMasters confronts the awesome power of money and privilege. After Nattie discovers she has an identical twin who’s committed a senseless murder, her son Eduardo and his friend are kidnapped by a perverted billionaire who plays with people’s lives for sport. Entering his walled estate is a piece of cake, but getting out again is another matter entirely. While their fam is frustrated trying to convince the authorities that Nattie and Eduardo are in deadly danger, she plays cat and mouse with a malignant narcissist, his venomous consort, and some unexpected and perverted houseguests. The twisted ending packs a punch you won’t soon forget! Sister! was a Claymore Award finalist at the Killer Nashville writing conference.

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Lethal Impulse

By Steve Rush,

Book cover of Lethal Impulse

Steve Rush Author Of Lethal Impulse

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Investigator Instructor Outdoors lover Book enthusiast Researcher

Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

He’s riddled with guilt. She’s annoyed with the status quo.

The death of a crime boss’s daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl’s murder. Tess Fleishman’s pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him.

Lethal Impulse

By Steve Rush,

What is this book about?

He's riddled with guilt. She's annoyed with the status quo. The death of a crime boss's daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl's murder. Tess Fleishman's pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him. As Neil delves into the heart of the town's secrets, will truth deliver solace? Or will Tess prevail?


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