I’ve been a dog owner my entire life, from my childhood mutt, Paddy, to our current nine-year-old cockapoo, Daffodil. To me, a home isn’t a home without a dog thumping its tail somewhere inside. When I started writing mysteries, I realized that some of my favorites featured dogs. The animal’s loyalty, joy, and unwavering love were a necessary counter to the darker themes mysteries often explore.
Tallo’s protagonist is a hot mess who you can’t help but root for. The young Augusta (Gus) navigates growing up, grief, and a dangerous murder investigation with a tough facade and a sensitive interior. Tallo’s evocation of a sweltering summer mystery is a great read. The dog in this book is old, farty, and wonderful.
“Dark August is a tightly-paced cauldron of a thriller about small town corruption, murder and mayhem, in the vein of Sharp Objects and All The Missing Girls. A macabre and confidently twisty debut.” — Lisa Gabriele, internationally bestselling author of The Winters
An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death—and last case—than she ever could have imagined.
Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great…
I believe many writers suspect they are Strangers in a Strange Land. How ironic that I, a confirmed atheist, should use a biblical quote to describe the mindset of authors. Some discover where they belong through their writing. My book recommendations have a strong sense of place, whether it be the Old West, wartime Berlin, or modern-day Scotland. I was born into a 300-year-old N. Ireland Protestant Plantation family, yet many people saw us as interlopers: we weren’t quite Irish, and we weren’t quite British, yet we held dual passports. It was not until I left Ireland that I realized my Irish Heritage exerted a stronger pull than my British.
Like myself, Rankin didn’t start writing fiction until he left his native country. His books could only be set in a city like Edinburgh, with its blend of Puritan zeal, parsimony, and violence. His depiction of his hometown is so enthralling that it started a tourist boom, much like Oxford experienced with Colin Dexter.
I adore how he brings back Rebus after retirement as a detective and straight into conflict with former colleagues and criminals. Rankin realizes that a good detective must be closer to the dark side to be effective. I admire Rebus’s imperfections, even how he copes with his health problems. He’s no white hat, but he gets the job done—his way.
A series of seemingly random disappearances - stretching back to the millennium. A mother determined to find the truth. A retired cop desperate to get his old life back...
It's been some time since Rebus was forced to retire, and he now works as a civilian in a cold-case unit. So when a long-dead case bursts back to life, he can't resist the opportunity to get his feet under the CID desk once more. But Rebus is as stubborn and anarchic as ever, and he quickly finds himself in deep with pretty much everyone, including DI Siobhan Clarke.
True crime stories offer a window into the past, transporting readers to another time and place. They reveal human behaviour at its worst and people striving to do the right thing. And the narrative is always dramatic and compelling, with mysteries to be solved, suspects to be captured, justice to be done. My books profile a Jazz Age con artist, a Victorian Era serial killer, and a gentleman jewel thief of the 1920s. I write a column of true crime stories and book reviews for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and I teach in the MFA in Creative Nonfiction program at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
What became of Ambrose Small? That’s the mystery at the heart of this riveting story of wealth, lies, and betrayal. The Toronto theatre magnate disappeared in 1919, on the day he made a fortune from the sale of his chain of vaudeville and movie houses. Was he kidnapped and murdered before he could cash in, or did he want to disappear? Daubs explores this century-old cold case and immerses readers in 1920s Toronto, a city with a straitlaced reputation—dubbed “Toronto the Good”—but no shortage of sinners and shady characters. This richly detailed account is as absorbing as any fictional whodunit.
Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.
Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.
For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.
THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…
I’m a contemporary mystery junkie. Realistic tales, set in the modern world always grab my attention. In a creative writing course in college, one professor suggested the old ‘write what you know’ approach. I don’t know everything, but I know what I like. Mysteries! I thrive on distinctive characters, those who are willing to put every effort into getting to the bottom of the situation. Sharp, tight dialogue and descriptions are essential. Give me that, and I’ll be back for more. This is my passion. Come along if you want a thrill and a surprise or two.
I’ve always enjoyed mysteries, especially police procedural stories. Harry Bosch is the kind of detective that you want to root for. During his lengthy career, Bosch followed the motto that ‘everybody counts or nobody counts.’ That approach speaks volumes to me, especially when writing my own stories.
Investigating a cold case homicide requires turning over all the evidence, digging into the interviews, and developing new theories and suspects. This is dramatically different from a ‘fresh’ case, where there can be pressure from multiple directions to find the guilty party and bring them to justice quickly.
I like Connelly’s style and have read every one of his books that I can get my hands on. Bosch ruffles feathers, but gets it done!
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and…
There is something about a 'happily ever after' that, no matter how hard it is to get there, it is so satisfying when you do. If there is a little humor mixed in with mystery that can take your emotions on a rollercoaster, that’s all the better. I decided to write romance because I do believe in fairy tales. I believe love is a choice. You make it what you want. I am a romantic suspense author because I love the thrill of solving the crime. In many cases, truth is stranger than fiction. Many times I use real-life issues and moments in time in my writing to pique the readers' curiosity.
There is so much I loved about this book and this entire series. The series Bootleg Springs, about the Bodine family, was co-written by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score. Whiskey Chaser has a sassy heroine named Scarlet, who I absolutely adore. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. When she meets a big city visitor at her lakeside retreat her quick wit and take no prisoners attitude proves she can do anything a man can do…and more. Whiskey Chaser is the first book in the series that mixes romance, humor, and a great mystery.
I want this with you, Dev. I want a big house and wild kids and bonfires. Raised by her three overbearing brothers, Scarlett is a hell-raising tomboy with a tool belt. A tornado stirring up trouble everywhere she goes. Her favorite pastimes? Drinking any man under the table and two-stepping. But she has zero interest in love. Scarlett’s only being neighborly when she claims her sexy next-door neighbor as her new pet project.
Devlin is a man at rock bottom. Marriage, political career, five-year plan to Washington, D.C. All destroyed with one well-placed jab. The golden boy is now the…
Blind Faith has a
complex interwoven plot that captured my interest from page one.
Each plot piece was a story in itself, and the interconnections provided the correct
mix of intrigue and foreshadowing. My interest was stoked, and I wanted to see
the resolution that brought all of the elements together.
The book is set between Montana and Oregon,
states I have only spent a few days in. Reading this book provided an
understanding of the people who live in these states and a feel for
daily life. The descriptions were so vivid I could picture every scene in my
mind. Yet these details were filtered throughout the story, so I did not
feel I was receiving a geography lesson.
Long-buried secrets come back with a vengeance in a cold case gone red-hot in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman’s second novel, perfect for fans of Laura Lippman and Greer Hendricks.
For decades, the unsolved murder of Father Michael Leary has haunted Billings, Montana, the community he served. Who summoned the priest late one autumn night, then left his body in a sandstone gully for the ravens and other wild scavengers?
And it’s haunted no one more than Lindsay Keller, who admired and confided in him as a teenager. Compelled by his example to work for justice, she became a prosecutor.…
I am an author of mysteries with three published books in the genre to date. Novels involving a mysterious house will immediately grab my attention. Throw in an otherworldly presence and I’m hooked. So it was no surprise when my muse guided me to create a mystery series that centers around a Victorian home haunted by the spirits of its original inhabitants. Inspiration came from personal experience—a real-life ghostly encounter in my New England country home which bordered an ancient cemetery—and influence from classic tales that delve into the paranormal and the psychological. This is the type of book I will always rush to read (and write).
The Lake House was recommended to me because the style of writing and the themes of the story have been compared to my own books.I especially enjoy the techniques of interweaving present-day stories with tales from the past and employing multiple perspectives. Kate Morton’s characters are always well-developed, and her descriptions provide atmospheric depth. The country lake home, Loeanneth—beautifully described in its prime—is an abandoned, crumbling estate decades later. Family secrets abound and having two unrelated mysteries at work brings texture to the story. As a writer, I do appreciate when one of the main characters is an author, and I enjoyed observing Alice Edevane's approach to her writing life. Be patient as the mystery twists and builds. You won’t be disappointed!
June 1933, and the Edevane family's country house, Loeanneth, is polished and gleaming, ready for the much-anticipated Midsummer Eve party. But by the time midnight strikes and the fireworks light up the night skies, the Edevane family will have suffered a loss so great that they leave Loeanneth forever. Seventy years later, after a particularly troubling case, Detective Sadie Sparrow retreats on an enforced holiday to her beloved grandfather's cottage in Cornwall. Venturing further into the countryside on her daily runs, she stumbles upon a long-abandoned house surrounded by overgrown gardens and dense woods, and learns the terrible story of…
I write mysteries and I love to read them. The mysteries I write are traditional and cozy. The focus is on my sleuth as she solves murders, her relationships, and on the local setting. These past few years I've enjoyed reading mysteries quite a bit edgier than the ones I write. These books are filled with characters that are often unstable or emotionally damaged. The murders are more brutal; the plots are more complex. Psychological thrillers veer off in many directions, and the person narrating the story is not always reliable. You can't take for granted that what a character says is true. Your best bet is to observe the action and enjoy the ride!
A writer is working on a true crime book when she goes out into a snowstorm and discovers a child. Many years earlier, two young girls ventured out into the night. One returned to discover her parents have been murdered and her brother is a suspect. The other girl never returns. Who is this child and how did he get there? Going from the current mystery to the cold case years earlier, the solutions to both are resolved with a truly surprising punch.
“Fully realized, wholly absorbing and almost painfully suspenseful...The journey is mesmerizing.” —New York Times
A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.
True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.
I like a cleverly written book. I loved this because it was a sequel to a book that I didn’t think needed one, and I was interested to see how the author handled it. Superbly, of course.
I adored Lisa Jewell’s writing and the twists and turns she pulled off in her plot were wonderful. I enjoyed the follow-on storyline, which dovetailed perfectly with the original.
* #1 UK SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * * A NEW YORK TIMES BSETSELLER * * OVER 2,000 5 STAR REVIEWS *
'I was ENTHRALLED' Gillian McAllister 'A GRIPPING read' Shari Lapena 'A sheer PLEASURE to read' Harriet Tyce 'Artful, slippery, HUGELY SATISFYING' Louise Candlish 'The story EVERYONE has been waiting for' Adele Parks ___________
LONDON. Early morning, June 2019: on the foreshore of the river Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones.
DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene and quickly sends the bag for forensic examination. The bones are…
Barbara Ross writes one of my favorite mystery series, the Maine Clambake mysteries. The cast of characters feels so real, as does the scenery—a small coastal town in Maine.
A new installment in Barbara’s series feels like coming home to a favorite vacation destination with old friends. In this book, smart, loyal, hardworking Julia Snowden is asked to accompany her mother to an old friend’s memorial service on a nearby island, known as a summer refuge for old money families.
When the death begins to look more like murder than an unfortunate accident, the Snowden women can’t resist investigating. I particularly loved the mother-daughter dynamics in Hidden Beneath.
In Barbara Ross’ award-winning series featuring sleuth Julia Snowden and her family’s coastal Maine clambake business, two mysteries rock the colony of Chipmunk Island after a suspicious memorial service has Julia and her mother shifting into some family sleuthing.
Serving up mouthwatering shellfish, the Snowden Family Clambake has become a beloved institution in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. But when new clues rise to the surface five years after the disappearance of Julia Snowden’ s mother’s friend, the family business shifts to sleuthing . . .
Julia and her mother, Jacqueline, have come to the exclusive summer colony of Chipmunk Island to…
