Why am I passionate about this?

From my first foray into poetry when I was in high school, I've been creative writing for over fifty years. Poetry proceeded into writing alternative song lyrics to established songs while in college. After graduating I naively pursued a career as a professional song lyricist, achieving limited success and unable to continue. While in the midst of a long career in the landscape industry, upon realizing that I wanted to write a novel based on an idea I had, I eventually completed a supernatural thriller titled, The Poe Consequence. Years of watching detective shows and reading memorable crime thrillers provided the inspiration to write a murder mystery as well. You Say Goodbye is the result. 


I wrote

Book cover of You Say Goodbye

What is my book about?

After a temperamental meltdown on stage, Sean Hightower, a regretful and resentful 'one-hit wonder' rock musician hoping for a comeback,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Axeman

Keith Steinbaum Why did I love this book?

This unique story intelligently and creatively brings the reader a true story with both fictional and actual characters from 1920s New Orleans, including one of jazz's greatest icons, Louis Armstrong. I learned a lot about early twentieth-century New Orleans and an account of a real-life serial killer that plagued the citizenry for a nightmarish one-and-a-half-year period of time. Admittedly, there are graphic descriptions of the serial killer’s evil deeds that you may prefer to skip over, but that will neither detract from the flow of the storyline nor create any confusion.

As a fan of jazz music, and a fan of engaging crime stories, fact or fiction, The Axeman’s Jazz took me on a journey back in time to 1920’s New Orleans, complete with colorful physical descriptions of both the city, the people, and the music. This seemingly could have been a fun whodunit fictional novel, so the fact that it’s actually a story based on fact, and a wildly unique one at that, certainly puts this book as a highly recommended crime story for this list. 

By Ray Celestin,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Ray Celestin skillfully depicts the desperate revels of that idiosyncratic city and its bizarre legends in his first novel, THE AXEMAN." - The New York Times Sunday Book Review (Marilyn Stasio, Crime Columnist)

The Axeman stalks the streets of New Orleans...

In a town filled with gangsters, voodoo, and jazz trumpets sounding from the dance halls, a sense of intoxicating mystery often beckons from the back alleys. But when a serial killer roams the sultry nights, even the corrupt cops can't see the clues. That is, until a letter from the Axeman himself is published in the newspaper, proclaiming that…


Book cover of The Woman in the Window

Keith Steinbaum Why did I love this book?

This is a beauty of a page turner about an agoraphobic who drinks bottles of wine, overindulges in her prescribed pill allotment, and who comes to think that she witnesses a murder while looking through her camera lens into the home of the family next door. But will anyone believe her based on her current mind altering habits? Finn is to be commended for her obvious research into agoraphobia. This brings a realism that is both necessary and intriguing. On the surface, one might think this is a re-do of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, but Finn's story is quite different.

For those of us who enjoy a good whondunit thriller, we each of have our own reasons why we’re drawn into this popular genre. For me, one of the aspects that places one story over another is when a subject matter, the protagonist in this case, has a personality trait that is both complex and sympathetic, involving research on the author’s part to make that character credible. Finn’s descriptions of what an agoraphobiac endures is excellent while she simulataneously keeps the reader guessing as to what the heck is going on. 

By A. J. Finn,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Woman in the Window as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

Soon to be a major motion picture produced by 20th Century Fox, starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore

'Astounding. Thrilling. Amazing' Gillian Flynn

'One of those rare books that really is unputdownable' Stephen King

'Twisted to the power of max' Val McDermid

'A dark, twisty confection' Ruth Ware

What did she see?

It's been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too…


Book cover of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Keith Steinbaum Why did I love this book?

Historical fiction is a genre that I often turn to when searching for the next book to read. Eric Larson brings us a masterful story about an obsessive architect and a brilliantly deceptive serial killer during America's highly creative yet oft-times frightening pre-20th Century society—with the Chicago World's Fair as the main focus. I found myself lost in Larson’s literary time machine of the incredible chaos from that period of Chicago’s history. You’ll read about many famous names and their inventions, which is an added bonus.

I was once again transported back in time to a factual crime drama that occurred in another major American city—this time, Chicago. Once again, it’s a story of the attempt to find a serial killer and the multi-layered consequences that took place during this fantastically exciting yet simultaneously tragic period of time in the city’s history. As the reader of the story, I was educated about what inventions originated from that World’s Fair in the 1920s that have been around me my entire life, while also reading a thrilling story of trying to find an elusive serial killer. 

By Erik Larson,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked The Devil in the White City as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Chicago World Fair was the greatest fair in American history. This is the story of the men and women whose lives it irrevocably changed and of two men in particular- an architect and a serial killer. The architect is Daniel Burnham, a man of great integrity and depth. It was his vision of the fair that attracted the best minds and talents of the day. The killer is Henry H. Holmes. Intelligent as well as handsome and charming, Holmes opened a boarding house which he advertised as 'The World's Fair Hotel' Here in the neighbourhood where he was once…


Book cover of Mr. Nobody

Keith Steinbaum Why did I love this book?

Steadman needed to offer the reader a believable character in terms of who she is in relation to the storyline. In this case, the protagonist is a clinical psychologist who is tasked with putting the pieces of information together to find out who the mysterious man is that was found wandering on the beach. The man doesn't know either, and is at a loss to explain how he wound up on the beach in the first place.  But it’s not just a ‘simple’ case of amnesia because that would be too simple a diagnosis. The buildup to the eventual discovery, leading to the surprising and climactic ending, made this a fun read for me. 

Authors who are able to combine elements of a mysterious character and an intriguing storyline that carries you through the action of a unique concept is a winning formula for whodunits or just good mysteries of any sort. In my novel that was my goal as well. I wanted to create an engaging mystery while simultaneously introducing memorable characters. If successful, whether it be me, or authors like Catherine Steadman, the synergy of those two combined elements offer a better opporunty to enhance the reader’s enjoyment.

By Catherine Steadman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mr. Nobody as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


'Fans of The Silent Patient will love it' CJ TUDOR
'Very clever, brilliantly compelling' BA PARIS
'Cinematic and gripping' SARAH VAUGHAN
'Original, ingenious and utterly gripping' JP DELANEY

*** Memento meets Sharp Objects in this superb thriller from the bestselling author of Something in the Water, a 2019 Richard & Judy Book Club pick ***

When a man is found on a Norfolk beach, drifting in and out of consciousness, with no identification and unable to speak, interest in him is sparked immediately. From the hospital staff who find themselves inexplicably drawn to him; to international medical experts who are…


Book cover of The Third Twin

Keith Steinbaum Why did I love this book?

Scientific cloning fears come to life and the possible consequences of that dynamic? The protagonist, a geneticist, makes a startling and extremely consequential discovery and away we go. The story is a combination of science, crime drama, and bad guy intrigue that keeps the reader wondering how things will play out in terms of experiments and mysterious, secretive plots. Follett offers an array of engaging characters that left me pulling for some and proverbially punching others. As with the other Ken Follett novels I’ve read, the man does his research which offers educational elements as a bonus without it interfering with the flow. And the ending is a beauty. 

Questions about who we really are in terms of ourselves and maybe, just maybe, a cloned twin ‘out there’ who apparently isn’t the nice person you are? Why and how could that be? Creative ideas such as this, from the imagination of great storytellers like Ken Follet, inspire me to summon the most from what I can offer as an author. My philosophy as a writer is straight forward: Would I enjoy my own novels? Authors like Ken Follet, of whom I have great admiration, sets a standard for great storytelling and necessary research. As long a I can say I did the best I could and, using the sports term, ‘I left it all on the field,’ then I can be proud of my effort. 

By Ken Follett,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A thrilling, chilling story of hidden evil, The Third Twin is a heart-stopping, spine-tingling story from master of suspense, Ken Follett.

An Impossible Result
Jeannie Ferrami, a scientific researcher investigating the behaviour of identical twins who have been raised separately, uncovers a perplexing mystery; identical twins who were born on different days, to different mothers, in different places.

A Blossoming Love
One, Steve, is a law student and the other, Dennis, a convicted murderer. As Jeannie works with Steve on her project she finds herself falling in love with him, but their world is shattered when he is accused of…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of You Say Goodbye

What is my book about?

After a temperamental meltdown on stage, Sean Hightower, a regretful and resentful 'one-hit wonder' rock musician hoping for a comeback, returns to his girlfriend's condo seeking comfort from the woman he loves. But after letting himself in, he discovers her naked body on the bed, murdered by a bullet to the head.  When the police detective arrives and sees the two taped pieces of paper on the wall with the word, "hello," on one and "goodbye" on the other, he realizes that the renowned serial killer, The Beatles Song Murderer, has struck again. In the days that follow he reaches another conclusion—the Beatles Song Murderer might be somebody Sean knows, and knows well.  But who could that be?

Book cover of The Axeman
Book cover of The Woman in the Window
Book cover of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

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Steve Rush Author Of Lethal Impulse

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Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

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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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