May 2009 Archives

June? Really? Already? Halfway through the year and I'm still writing '08 every time I try and note down the date.

Not withstanding, of course, I have as ever been trawling the darker edges of the UK writing scene to bring you news of your favourite crime and thriller writers both known and unknown. It's coming up to Festival time here in the UK, with Harrogate next month and Edinburgh the week after that. While later this month sees Dundee throw its own literary bash with some spectacular special guests. But before that kicks off, I am honour bound to point out that on 16 June both that rapscallion of crime writing Stuart MacBride and that most elegant of crime dames, Aline Templeton, will be appearing together for Dundee Book Events, of which more information can be found here: www.dundeebookevents.blogspot.com within the next few days.

With that over, then, its time for our usual whistlestop tour of news, nonsense and unashamed plugs for the best of the UK crime and thriller writers...

In response to his overwhelming fan support, Robert Liparulo, author of the best-selling Dreamhouse Kings--an action-adventure series for young adults--is personally autographing 30,000 copies of his books.

Liparulo will spend 10 hours a day for seven consecutive days at the Nelson Fiction warehouse in Nashville, Tenn., signing his name to copies of House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods, the first two installments of the Dreamhouse Kings series. The books will then be made available to students nationwide by Scholastic at book fairs and other special events.

"Seeing young readers' response to these books has been humbling. This is just one small way I can think of to thank them," said Liparulo, whose latest Dreamhouse Kings installment, Timescape, is scheduled for release on July 7th.

The marathon signing session will take an estimated seven 14 hour days to sign 30,000 books, with three people working in an assembly line fashion; the first to open the book and place it in front of Liparulo, the second (Liparulo) to sign it, and a third person to take it away and box it for shipment.

Liparulo has also spent recent months visiting elementary, middle and high schools across the country to meet Dreamhouse Kings fans. A recent visit to a Baton Rouge, La., middle and high school came when the entire student community pitched in to sponsor the trip. In addition to speaking to assembly of 1,000 students, Liparulo met with individual classes to talk about the writer's life, how he created the Dreamhouse Kings series, and how the students themselves can find their passion in life at an early age.

Here's what was featured in the June Edition of the Big Thrill
click on a book title to read the feature story

• RUSSIAN ROULETTE by Austin S. Camacho
• TRUST NO ONE by Gregg Hurwitz
• THE SHROUD OF HEAVEN by Sean Ellis
• RED HOT LIES by Laura Caldwell
• THE DOOMSDAY KEY by James Rollins
• BENEATH BONE LAKE by Colleen Thompson
• PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART by J.C. Hutchins & Jordan Weisman
• RETURN TO ME by Christy Reece
• THE BOURNE DECEPTION by Eric Van Lustbader
• BREWED, CRUDE AND TATTOOED by Sandra Balzo
• COLD BLACK HEARTS by Jeffrey J. Mariotte
• SECOND DEATH OF GOODLUCK TINUBU by Michael Stanley
• LITTLE LAMB LOST by Margaret Fenton
• PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S SECRET by Steven Wilson
• PULSE by Jeremy Robinson
• DIE FOR YOU by Lisa Unger
• BACK TO LIFE by Linda O. Johnston
• THE HUMAN DISGUISE by James O'Neal
• DEEP DOWN by Karen Harper
• QUIET TEACHER by Arthur Rosenfeld
• THE CHEATER by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
• CHILD FINDER by Mike Angley
• ONE SCREAM AWAY by Kate Brady
• THE THIRD SECRET by Michael Parker
• MURPHY'S LAW by Rebecca Sinclair
• MEMORY COLLECTOR by Meg Gardiner
• KEEPER OF LIGHT AND DUST by Natasha Mostert
• QUARANTINED by Joe McKinney
• KILLING RED by Henry Perez
• CITY OF FIRE by Thomas Fitzsimmons
• THE WELLWISHERS by Richard Fountain
• THE NUDE by Dorothy McFalls
• FROZEN FIRE by Bill Evans & Marianna Jameson
• MEDUSA by Clive Cussler & Paul Kemprecos
• A Between The Lines in-depth interview with bestselling thriller author David Baldacci
• Plus International News from Mike Nicol in South Africa, Russel McLean in the UK, and Declan Burke in Ireland.

Most people might describe David Baldacci is a "lawyer turned novelist" (and one of the most successful, too). But that is not entirely accurate. It's more like Baldacci is a reader who wanted to write, and kept up that dream during law school and after.

"I was a library rat as a kid and I loved books that captured me for days in the wonderful world of words," Baldacci explains. "I wanted to do that for others. Then all through law school and after becoming a practicing attorney, I was writing. So the leap from lawyer to full time writer didn¹t need much motivation."

Nor did he need much of a leap to get to the top of the bestseller lists. It didn't hurt that his first novel, Absolute Power, was turned into a hit Clint Eastwood movie. But it also helped that Baldacci is a craftsman who takes his writing seriously.

"Building characters with depth and dialogue that 'rings true' are the keys to what I consider a great novel. Also I¹ve gotten smarter about research and knowing what to leave in and what to cut. I don¹t write textbooks and a writer has to fight the impulse to leave all his hard research work in the book. It invariably kills the narrative drive of the story."

No problem with narrative drive in Baldacci's body of work. His latest hardcover, First Family, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, and the paperback of The Whole Truth has spent thirteen weeks on the Times extended Mass Market list.

Monthly Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Jon Butters, the winner of this month's BIG THRILL giveaway. Jon will receive an assortment of signed thrillers including The Third Secret by Michael Parker, Back to Life by Linda O. Johnston, DNA by W. Craig Reed, The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir, Stranger in Paradise by Jackie Griffey, Quarantined by Joe McKinney, Strong Enough to Die by Jon Land, Dead Men's Dust by Matt Hilton, Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl, Deep Down by Karen Harper, She Loves Me Not by Wendy Corsi Staub, Dead Before Dark by Wendy Corsi Staub, and One Scream Away by Kate Brady.

All subscribers to THE BIG THRILL webzine are automatically eligible for the monthly drawing. Click here to subscribe to the BIG THRILL email.

Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett's specialty is the psychological autopsy -- an investigation into a person's life to determine whether a death was natural, accidental, suicide, or homicide. When Jo is asked to do a psychological autopsy on a living person -- one whose memory is damaged -- all her skills are put to the test.

Ian Kanan has anterograde amnesia, and can't form new memories. Jo finds herself racing to save a patient who can walk and talk and yet can't help Jo figure out just what happened to him. Suddenly a string of clues arises, relating to a freakish biological agent code-named "Slick", a missing woman, and a secret partnership gone horribly wrong. Jo realizes her patient's addled mind may hold the key to preventing something terrible from happening in her beloved San Francisco.

"An astonishing writer." -- Tess Gerritsen

"The story just keeps coming. She is up there with Michael Connelly and Lee Child." -- Stephen King.

Meg Gardiner is the author of the Evan Delaney novels, including the Edgar Award winning CHINA LAKE. Her first Jo Beckett novel, THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB, won the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Procedural Novel. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, she currently lives in London.

Arthur Rosenfeld is the originator of a fiction genre now known as "Kung Fu Noir." He is a martial arts master and philosopher, so it's no wonder his books are packed full of martial arts action, Chinese history, philosophy and mystery.  His latest novel, QUIET TEACHER, a Xenon Pearl Martial Arts Thriller, is the second in a series.  The first book, THE CUTTING SEASON, won two major awards, ForeWord Magazine and the U.S.A. Book Awards.

In QUIET TEACHER, Dr. Xenon Pearl, a celebrated neurosurgeon, continues as a secret vigilante. He has kept his avenging sword sheathed and his dark secret hidden, but when a multi-car accident occurs, he finds himself with a scalpel in hand once more. He is brought face-to-face with secrets of his childhood, lessons from lives already lived, and a master teacher whose clandestine biological research into 'animal venoms' may be the key to his redemption.

He is the author of six novels, two nonfiction books, several screenplays and numerous magazine articles, and a regular contributor to blogs, Basil&Spice and the Huttington Post. An authority on the spiritual dimensions of Eastern thinking for a Western world, he has been seen on Fox News and other networks, and heard on numerous national radio programs. A few years back, along with the Dalai Lama, he was a finalist for the prestigious Books for a Better Life Award for his bestseller THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRONIC PAIN. Currently, he consults for the pharmaceutical industry and presents lively, inspirational workshops applying ancient wisdom to health, conflict resolution, stress-management and team-building from New York to Hawaii.

So when does he have time to write?  I recently managed to catch up to him and to ask a few questions.

Obviously, there is a lot going on in your novels in addition to the martial arts elements.  With the tendency to "type" of mysteries and thrillers these days, do you worry that the "Kung Fu Noir" tag might actually push away readers who just aren't that into martial arts but might actually love your work?  What would you say to those folks who might shy away?

I do believe that anyone who likes a good novel will enjoy my books. My publisher favors the martial arts focus because he has made a business serving that audience. The strategy has been to build a strong following among the kind of folks who like The Transporter and Quentin Tarantino films and even James Bond movies and then branch out. The "kung fu noir" moniker does make me smile, but there is an awful lot more to my stories than martial arts action.

What was the inspiration for MEDUSA?

I have written fourteen books and every one of them started off with a pretty good concept only to bing and bong through each chapter like a ball lighting up the board of a pin-ball machine. Medusa, which was the eighth in the NUMA Files series with Clive Cussler, was no exception. There were times writing it when felt as if I were the one with snakes growing out of my head.

Medusa was more a case of desperation than inspiration. I had been reading about how the thinning arctic ice might open the Northwest Passage and create a conflict among countries over the riches in oil and minerals that might become accessible. I had even come across a study that outlined how the U.S. Navy should prepare for the eventual meltdown. Since Cussler books normally start with a historical prologue, I came up with the lost Henry Hudson expedition.

Clive was in Los Angeles involved in the lawsuit over the filming of his book Sahara, but I tracked down the name of his hotel and sent my proposal off to him. He wrote back and said he liked the concept, but called a few days later. "I've got bad news," he said. He had checked with his son Dirk, who is co-writing Clive's Dirk Pitt series, and he had already started a book with virtually the same idea as mine. It used the lost Franklin expedition instead Hudson's.

That really hurt. After sulking for a few days I dug into my idea bin and found some material on ocean biomedical research. The creation of pharmaceuticals to fight diseases such as cancer from chemicals found in ocean creatures is expected to be a big deal. Sometimes those chemicals are deadly toxins. I had the idea of one of those toxins being taken from a rare jellyfish called the Blue Medusa, and smuggled out of a lab by a Chinese agent. The toxin would be used to poison an Indian technological entrepreneur, thereby crippling that country's surging high tech industry.

I even came up with an Indian investigator named Shandra Patel who tries to figure out the plot and hooks up with Kurt Austin, leader of NUMA's special assignments team. I wrote several chapters with this engaging and intelligent young lady until I decided to dump the whole Indian connection after talking it over with Clive. It had become too unworkable and unwieldy for me to handle. Instead, I fleshed out a Chinese immunologist named Song Lee who had a bit part in the earlier version. Clive and I decided not to make the Chinese government the Bad Guys, but to put the blame on a particularly weird Chinese triad criminal organization.

The triad had produced a virus aimed at destabilizing the Chinese government, but didn't want to unleash the bug until it had the vaccine. So the Bad Guys hijack the undersea lab where the vaccine is being developed by the U.S. and Chinese governments. Every writer I know has a mind that resembles an attic crammed with trunks and boxes of stuff that might come in handy one day. I'm no exception. I had always been fascinated by the historic Beebe bathysphere dive. In it went. I live not far from New Bedford, which was once the whaling center of the world, so I used an ill-fated whaling expedition as the historical hook. I had read somewhere about a whaler being swallowed by a sperm whale. Throw that into the mix. The whaling trip tied in Micronesia and the ancient ruins of Nan Madol to the story. In they went. I tossed in a hijacked Russian Typhoon submarine, a hideaway in a defunct underwater volcano, and some repulsive mutant jellyfish. Somehow the thing hung together, and it was with a great sigh of relief that I typed those magic words that bring a smile to the face of every scribbler.

Lisa Unger novels take the reader on a journey inside the psyche of the American family.  The dynamics and secrets that some families might share make Unger ask the question:  How much can you really know someone?  Her novel, Beautiful Lies, was nominated for a Thriller Award for best novel.  Her latest, Die For You, continues the tradition of insightful and compelling thrillers.  She talked to contributing editor Jeff Ayers about her background and her new book.

What did you do before you decided to become a writer?

I've been a writer all of my life. I can't remember a time before I defined myself this way.  But I never believed I could make my living at it - probably because that's what I was told. And on graduating from college, I needed to get a job - a real job, with a paycheck every two weeks!  So I did the closest thing I could to actually following my dreams, I went into publishing and became a book publicist.  It was a crazy job, but a really fun and dynamic one.  My eight years in publishing gave me permission to do what I wanted to do.  After all, I spent every working day promoting people who were doing it.

What prompted your switch?

So my publishing job just kept getting bigger and bigger and the amount of time I spent on my writing got smaller and smaller until I wasn't really writing at all.  And then I had an epiphany.  I realized one ugly day that everything about my life was wrong - I was with the wrong guy, I was devoting 110% of myself to a job I didn't love, and that I was letting the only dream I had of my life drift away. I realized that five, ten years down the road I was going to have to look at myself and say, "You know what?  You never even tried."  I couldn't live with that.  

So I got serious about my writing, starting writing every day.  That might mean getting up at four to write before work, or writing on my commute, or during my lunch hour, or staying in on weekends.  It might be just a page or a paragraph - but I wrote something every day.  And it took about a year and a half to finish that book. I started it when I was nineteen and finished it when I was twenty-nine.

Eager to exploit a potentially lucrative energy source, billionaire Dennis Cavendish has begun to tap the crystalline methane under the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Eco-terrorism kills his science team and releases gigatons of poisonous methane into the water and atmosphere, causing untold deaths. If the release isn't stopped, all life on earth will soon disappear.
 
Suspected of the sabotage and marooned far from home, Cavendish's beautiful and brainy security chief, Victoria Clark, along with methane expert Dr. Sam Briscoe and the U.S. government, must find a way to seal the break in the ocean floor and nullify the methane that is already poisoning the planet.

"The science makes sense, the gore factor is off the chart, and the villains are high-end despicable, so count on this one for a no-calorie summer snack--perfect for lazing on the beach or passing time in the airport." -- Booklist

"Evans and Jameson follow their bestselling debut, Category 7, about an evil scientist and his man made hurricanes, with an eco-thriller with an even more imaginative premise. ... Readers will race right along with Dr. Sam Briscoe, a methane specialist, and the novel's other good guys as they feverishly strive to save the world." -- Publishers Weekly

Bill Evans is the multiple Emmy Award-winning, nationally renowned senior meteorologist for WABC in New York City. Marianna Jameson spent more than fifteen years working in the aerospace, defense, software, and environmental engineering fields before turning her hand to writing award-winning fiction. Evans and Jameson's first collaboration, Category 7, appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. Frozen Fire is their second novel.

In a plot ripped out of the daily newspapers, Colleen Thompson delivers yet another thriller that's sure to grab readers by the throat and set their hearts racing. But this book will also pull emotions out of them that they didn't expect. Contributing editor Cathy Clamp sat down with the author and found out how the story came about.

You've made this a timely book with a heroine returning from a war zone. Do you have anyone in your life that's serving overseas, or how did you create the reactions you've given the heroine?

Coming through the Houston airport one day, I was privileged to witness the emotional reunion of a returning soldier with his family, complete with balloons and banners, hugs and tears, and a crowd of onlookers spontaneously bursting into applause. As a mom, I was especially moved by the way the young dad and his little daughter hugged so fiercely. And then I got to thinking, how horrible would it be if you came back and no one came to meet you... if the family you'd been living for had somehow disappeared?

Coming home to find her house has become a meth lab is another issue ripped from the newspaper pages. Do you have first hand knowledge about the battle against drugs in Texas, or did you speak to local cops to get the sight, sound and feel into your head to give to Ruby when she first finds the house?

Through my husband, a Houston firefighter/EMT, I am fortunate to have access to an amazing group of experts, and I've been hearing many stories about the horrendous hazards posed by both meth addiction and meth labs. Firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders told me how they have to be constantly on the alert for the harsh reek that can warn them of the highly-explosive chemicals used in far too many hidden labs. Afterward, it didn't take much digging to find out the labs have become a huge problem in isolated, wooded areas in East Texas.

Writing as James O'Neal, award-winning crime novelist James O. Born explores new worlds with the recent release of THE HUMAN DISGUISE, a crime story set twenty years in the future and O'Neal's first science fiction thriller. THE HUMAN DISGUISE is the story of Detective Tom Wilner, a former war hero living in a world ravaged by disease and war, who must summon the courage of his past to battle the terrifying truth of his present: We are not alone.

Publisher's Weekly gave THE HUMAN DISGUISE a starred review and said O'Neal's "self-assured, hard-edged writing style, solid characters and wildly entertaining plot will keep readers enthralled."

On the eve of his novel's launch near his home in South Florida, O'Neal answered a few questions posed by The Big Thrill.

Drawing from your background of twenty years in law enforcement, you have already become an award-winning author of a series of successful crime novels. What made you decide to venture into science fiction?

I've always loved science fiction, so it was natural.  My contemporary novels are expected to be dead-on accurate in tactics, procedure and anything police related.  I wanted the freedom to use more imagination. It was flat out fun.

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a writer once you began THE HUMAN DISGUISE?

Starting all over as a completely unknown author and meeting the people at a new publisher. Both experiences have been very interesting. I could not think more of Tor senior editor Bob Gleason, Eric Raab or Tom Dorhety himself.  They know books and are engaged in all aspects of a book's journey from idea to publication.

Being a pick-'n'-mix of CAP posts for the month of May. To wit:

Alex Barclay's (right) BLOOD RUNS COLD wins the crime writing prize at the Irish Book Awards.

Alan Glynn's forthcoming WINTERLAND gets very impressive pre-pub blurbs from Ken Bruen, John Connolly, Adrian McKinty and Jason Starr.

Why don't Irish crime-and-thriller readers read Irish-set crime and thrillers?

John Banville calls Declan Burke's currently-under-consideration novel BAD FOR GOOD "a cross between Flann O'Brien and Raymond Chandler", causing said Burke to spontaneously combust in oleaginous flames of smug self-congratulation. 

Ken Bruen is making more movies: ONCE WERE COPS has been optioned, and - whisper it - possibly AMERICAN SKIN too.

John Connolly wins the inaugural Sexiest Irish Crime Writer Award, whether he wants to or not.

LOCK DOWN will be Sean Black's debut when it's published in July. How come all the pseudonyms are 'Black' these days?

Contributing editor Declan Burke is the author of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE (2003) and THE BIG O (2007). A freelance writer and novelist, he hosts a website dedicated to Irish crime fiction, Crime Always Pays (http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com/). He lives in Wicklow, Ireland, with his wife Aileen and daughter Lily, and is not allowed to own a cat.

After Elsbeth, Countess Mercer's husband died fighting the French on the Peninsula, the young widow hoped to quietly spend the rest of her days with her uncle and his two spirited daughters. A public exhibition of a nude painting of her ruins her plans. This isn't the first time the painter, Dionysus, has caused havoc in her life. But she vows it will be the last.

Nigel, the Marquess of Edgeware, a reclusive but powerful figure in the ton has connections with Dionysus and reasons to protect the artist's true identity. He hopes that seducing the lady will be the swiftest and most effective means of diverting her attentions away from that blasted painting.

Together they must risk their hearts and their lives in order to uncover the secret behind THE NUDE.

McFalls has a special gift for handling serious subjects with a gentle touch, an invaluable trait that will endear her to Regency romance fans.-- Patty Engelmann, Booklist

This is one of the best historical romances that I have read in the last few years...so if you are a fan of historical romance or suspenseful mystery, this novel is just the thing for you. ~5 Stars!~ -- Maura Frankman, The Romance Studio

McFalls' tale is a wonderful combination of mystery, suspense and romance. ~4 Stars!~ -- Romantic Times BookReviews

Dorothy McFalls resides on an artsy beach community in South Carolina with her sexy sculptor husband and two dogs and playful kitty. An environmental urban planner by profession and wildlife biologist by education, she gave up her day job to devote her time to writing in 2001. She writes Regency romances, mysteries, romantic adventure fiction, and short stories.

This month, I have the pleasure of featuring Eric Van Lustbader, New York Times bestselling author of the continuing Jason Bourne series, his own thrillers, and the creator of numerous epic fantasies, including the Pearl Saga trilogy and the Sunset Warrior series.

His latest novel, THE BOURNE DECEPTION, picks up where The BOURNE SANCTION left off.

Jason Bourne's nemesis Arkadin is still hot on his trail and the two continue their struggle, reversing roles of hunter and hunted. When Bourne is ambushed and badly wounded, he fakes his death and goes into hiding. In safety, he takes on a new identity, and begins a mission to find out who tried to assassinate him. Jason begins to question who he really is, how much of him is tied up in the Bourne identity, and what he would become if that was suddenly taken away from him...

Meanwhile, an American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt by what seems to be an Iranian missile. A massive global investigative team is assembled to get at the truth of the situation before it escalates into an international scandal. Jason Bourne's search for the man who shot him intersects with the search for the people or the group that brought down the airliner, which leads Bourne into one of the most deadly and challenging situations of his entire life. With the threat of a new world war brewing, Bourne finds himself in a race against time to uncover the truth and find the person behind his assault, all the while being stalked by his unknown nemesis.

While some authors might find it difficult to adopt an established character, especially one as well known as Jason Bourne, Eric found it easy. From a Steve Berry interview, Lustbader says this about the first Bourne book he wrote. "I knew Jason Bourne inside and out; I knew what made him tick. This knowledge made it extraordinarily easy for me to write a novel with him as the lead character. In fact, it seemed altogether natural. I think this is because Jason Bourne's situation is very emotional. I am a writer who believes in character first, and though the storyline in THE BOURNE LEGACY moves like a shot, each and every character in it is real and three-dimensional. The novel is very emotional."

Action and suspense are vital for thrillers, but unless the reader connects on an emotional level with the book's characters, especially its main character, the reader won't merge into the story. Eric takes this to heart and knows a good book pulls the reader in and holds him there.  In every Eric book, the reader experiences the story as if he or she's actually in the story.  In essence, the reader becomes an invisible character.

I asked Eric a couple of questions about his approach to thrillers in general.  His answers track with the importance of connecting with his readers.

You write about events that, if real, would make most Americans quite nervous and probably unable to sleep at night. Why do you think we possess a desire to be thrilled/entertained by such frightening scenarios?

Being scared by stories allows us to feel the thrill of being frightened in a completely controlled environment. No matter how dire things get we know that we're always safe, and when the hero comes through in the end we're right there with him.

Imagine a world where soldiers regenerate and continue fighting without pause, and where suicide bombers live to strike again. This is the dream of Richard Ridley, founder of Manifold Genetics, and he has discovered the key to eternal life: an ancient artifact buried beneath a Greek inscribed stone in the Peruvian desert.

When Manifold steals the artifact and abducts archaeologist Dr. George Pierce, the United States Special Forces Delta operative, Jack Sigler, callsign King, and his "Chess Team"--Queen, Knight, Rook, Bishop and their handler, Deep Blue--give chase. They must save Pierce and stop Manifold before they change the face of genetics--and human history--forever.

"Robinson's latest reads like a video game with tons of action and lots of carnage. The combination of mythology, technology, and high-octane action proves irresistible. Gruesome and nasty in a good way, this will appeal to readers of Matthew Reilly." -- Booklist

"Jeremy Robinson's latest novel, PULSE, ratchets his writing to the next level. Rocket-boosted action, brilliant speculation, and the recreation of a horror out of the mythologic past, all seamlessly blend into a rollercoaster ride of suspense and adventure. Who knew chess could be this much fun!" -- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST ORACLE

"PULSE contains all of the danger, treachery, and action a reader could wish for. Its band of heroes are gutsy and gritty. Jeremy Robinson has one wild imagination, slicing and stitching his tale together with the deft hand of a surgeon. Robinson's impressive talent is on full display in this one." -- Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT

"Here's a neat twist: a young adventure thriller writer - whose heroes save the world - saves the world of adventure thrillers. In a genre glutted with popcorn gimmicks and tired rip-offs, Jeremy Robinson dares to craft old-fashioned guilty pleasures - far horizons, ancient maps, and classic monsters - hardwired for the 21st century. There's nothing timid about Robinson as he drops his readers off the cliff without a parachute and somehow manages to catch us an inch or two from doom." -- Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of THE DESCENT and YEAR ZERO

JEREMY ROBINSON is the author of four thrillers including Kronos and Antarktos Rising, the latter of which is scheduled to be released as an animated feature film in Spring 2010. His novels have been translated into eight languages. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. For more information visit his website at www.jeremyrobinsononline.com.

Air Force Special Agent, Major Patrick O'Donnell, is a tough-as-nails investigator who discovers he has a unique psychic gift. He is recruited into a TOP SECRET black world community, overseen by the FBI, which leverages his skills to solve child abductions. He proves himself particularly gifted at this important endeavor, but he soon discovers this black world has an even darker underbelly when those close to him begin to die mysteriously. To make matters more complicated, the government has other plans for his psychic skills...after all, it is October 2001, and there is a War on Terror underway! Agent O'Donnell must find abducted children, hunt for terrorists, and solve the murders that occurred because of his work...but most significantly, he must protect his own family who have become trapped and threatened in a twisted web of government intrigue.

"Child Finder is a gripping, intriguing, rare, and accurate look into the U.S. Intelligence Community. Angley uses his long government career to weave a believable fiction tale that is as current as today's news. Once you finish the book, you will be anxious to read the rest of the trilogy!" -- Gerald E. Pratt, Operations Officer, National Security Agency (retired)

"I loved this book!  This is a book for anyone who loves political suspense, secret government agencies, and uniquely gifted heroes!  A former Military Intelligence Officer, the author's background adds credibility to this fascinating look into covert operations.  But just because he knows what he is talking about doesn't mean he can tell a good story or especially write one!  Luckily for those of us who love secret undercover organizations, paranormal stories, and great intriguing suspense filled tales, Mike Angley has it all together.  I can't wait to read the next two books in the series!" -- Stephanie Boyd, Armchair Interviews

Colonel Michael "Mike" Angley retired from the Air Force in 2007 following a distinguished 25 year career as a Special Agent with the Office of Special Investigations (OSI). He held 13 different assignments throughout the world, among which were five Command tours. He is a seasoned criminal investigator and was one of the Air Force's senior-most counterintelligence and counterterrorism operators. He has an M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from King's College. In 2001, he served as a National Defense Fellow and Adjunct Professor of International Relations, Florida International University.

Standing near him makes me feel tired. Tired and slothful. His bibliography takes my breath away. Jeffrey J. Mariotte writes enough books that you get the idea he works like crazy; works like there's no tomorrow. And he does it with the sort of casual passion and discipline that true heroes display when shrugging off their heroism.

"I'm a freelance midlist writer," says Mariotte with his signature mix of candor and humor. "The choices are between disciplined and hungry, so I choose disciplined. It is, of course, possible to be both disciplined and hungry, but so far I haven't learned the trick of being lazy and rich."

This careful blend of discipline and passion - no matter the source - has led to the publication of 39 novels. "A couple more are coming out later this year," Mariotte says. "In addition to those I've written a ton of comic books and graphic novels, and collaborated on a pair of nonfiction books."

The most recent of the novels is Cold Black Hearts, the third installment in Mariotte's "border trilogy" of supernatural thrillers which also includes Missing White Girl and River Runs Red. However, the three books aren't linked by story or characters, but by setting and theme.

"Missing White Girl is set close to home," explains Mariotte, "in southeastern Arizona's border region, and is most explicitly about issues of immigration and border security." In the next book, River Runs Red, the action jumped over to El Paso and West Texas, but with that book "the border issues are less central." 

Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's newest book The Cheater (Tor Forge) weaves the lives of three women in an intense and taut legal thriller.  Lily Forrester returns from Rosenberg's New York Times bestsellers, Mitigating Circumstances and Buried Evidence.  This time Forrester is a county judge in Ventura, California.  She meets another lawyer, the charming and vivacious Anne Bradley, but their friendship shatters when Bradley accuses Forrester's husband of rape.  Meanwhile, FBI agent and profiler Mary Stevens is on the trail of a black widow serial killer who lures cheating husbands to their deaths and mutilates their bodies.

The story is an intricate, psychological drama.  Rosenberg's intensely psychopathic villain introduces a fascinating weapon into the arsenal of fiction thrillers: the drug Versed to sedate her victims and eliminate them in humiliating and gruesome ways.  Forrester struggles with her personal demons and this plays into the hands of the serial killer.  Stevens finds her professional skills tested to their limits as she pursues a murderer across a web of deceit and misdirection.  The climax is not a simple consolidation of plot lines but a collision--a controlled crash that will leave the reader practically stumbling out of the wreckage, emotionally drained yet very satisfied. (You may want to smoke a cigarette afterwards.)

The inspiration to write The Cheater came from two incidents.  First, Rosenberg was compelled to draw upon the actual story of a girl who was abandoned by her father to die along a deserted winter road.  This experience, when combined with sexual molestation, could drive the victim to rationalize committing acts of chilling violence against others.  Second, Rosenberg learned about alibi clubs and was convinced they'd be great plot devices to add more mystery to already suspenseful plots.

How would you describe your latest book Back to Life?

Linda O. Johnston's Back to Life is a dark, sexy and suspenseful paranormal romance, published by Silhouette Nocturne.  It's about a woman with the Valkyrie power of bringing the near-dead back to life... or not.  She's a K-9 cop, and accidentally imparts some unanticipated powers to a SWAT officer whose life she saves.

How did the idea for this book come to you?

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to take a Baltic Sea cruise.  I visited several Scandinavian countries, and was interested to see that very little today spoke of the fascinating legends of their past.  I started doing research on my own--and Back to Life was the result!

You write in a wide variety of genres, from traditional mysteries to paranormal romance - what are the benefits and challenges of having such a diverse range of projects on your plate?

I love to exercise versatility in my writing--all aspects of it!  I'm also a lawyer and intersperse drafting contracts and other legal documents with my fiction writing.  Because the market for fiction is so changeable and sometimes unpredictable, I think it's an advantage to be able to switch tones and subjects to be able to keep writing and selling.  Even so, all my fiction stories contain mystery and/or suspense.

What drew you to write about the paranormal in Back to Life?

My first published novels were paranormal--time travel romances.  I have also written other stories for Silhouette Nocturne based on Alpha Force, a covert military unit composed of shapeshifters.  While writing paranormal stories, a writer can let her imagination run wild... and that's what I do!

Which authors inspire you?

I read a lot in the genres in which I'm writing... and in which I aspire to write.  The authors who inspire me tend to change often.

Contributing editor, Clare Langley-Hawthorne, was raised in England and Australia. She was an attorney in Melbourne before moving to the United States, where she began her career as a writer. Her first novel, Consequences of Sin, has been nominated for the 2008 Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery Macavity award. The second in the Ursula Marlow series is The Serpent and The Scorpion. Clare lives in California with her family.  

Posing as an underage teenager, Samara Lyons is out to trap an online predator. Smart, fiery, and fresh off a broken engagement, Samara is up for the challenge. But this challenge might not be so easy. Her boss, Noah McCall, head of a private international corporation called Last Chance Rescue, can't disguise his raw, physical desire for Samara--and she's going crazy battling her own feelings toward him. The middle of a high-stakes op, with the fate of dozens of innocent lives on the line, is not the time to indulge in sensual delights.

Then the sting explodes, forcing Noah to face his dark past, and throwing Samara into the middle of an evil tug-of-war. Noah must confront an enemy he knows better than anyone else in the world while Samara must find a way to stay alive. Now it's no longer a matter of desire, it's all about survival.

4 1/2 Stars -- Romantic Times

The dramatic adventures continue in the second book of hot new talent Reece's trilogy. Book two sets its sights on the founder of Last Chance Rescue, Noah McCall. Emotionally damaged by his horrendous upbringing, this hero has his heart locked down, but heroine Samara Lyons is no shrinking violet. Together, these protagonists play with life-and-death stakes, and danger emanates from every page. Take a walk on the perilous side ... you won't be disappointed!

After eighteen years with a major insurance company, Christy Reece left her career and pursued her dream of writing. She holds a BSW from the University of Memphis and is a member of Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Alabama with her husband, two adorable canines and one very shy turtle. RETURN TO ME is her second book in a three book series.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Harper has been published for 25 years, and in 2006 she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award. In DEEP DOWN, Harper explores the theme of "you can't go home again." Jessie Lockwood is notified that her mother never returned from counting the endangered and lucrative herb ginseng near Jessie's Appalachian hometown of Deep Down, Kentucky. Now a research scientist in Lexington, Jessie returns home to find her missing mother with the help of Sheriff Drew Webb, the man she secretly loved. In a race against time, Jessie and Drew learn something strange is happening to women in the deep woods. Amid legend and fear, only two things make sense to Jessie. At any cost, she is desperate to find her mother. And she can't help falling desperately in love with Drew all over again.

Romantic Times Bookreviews praises DEEP DOWN: "A strong plot, a pair of well-written characters and a genuinely spooky atmosphere add up to yet another sterling effort from Harper. Fast-paced and absorbing, this one will keep readers turning pages far into the night."

"Unlike most novelists who seem to start their creative process with character or plot, I usually start with setting," says Harper. "I need a place I love which is evocative--and, hopefully, fairly isolated.  I love using small towns, whether in Amish Ohio, the Everglades of Florida, or Appalachian Kentucky. My agents call my suspense novels enclave books, that is, books that take the reader into a world with which they might be unfamiliar. The mountains and valleys of Appalachian Kentucky really speak to me, and I used this setting once before in an earlier thriller, THE BABY FARM. My characters live deep down in the backcountry of Appalachia. But the novel is also about what is deep down in people's hearts--fears, family, friends, lovers and life's trials."

In The Shroud of Heaven, Sean Ellis introduces us to a new hero with an strangely appropriate last name. For more than a decade, Nick Kismet has traveled the world protecting priceless relics and cultural heritage sites from looters, while searching for answers to the mystery that has haunted him since the first Gulf War - a mystery that has defined his life. Now, a new war has brought him back to the bloody battlefield of Iraq where his search began. Summoned by his friend and mentor, Pierre Chiron, Kismet soon finds himself on the trail of the holy relics of Solomon's Temple, captured centuries before by Babylonian conquerors and thought to be lost to history. But Chiron's quest is not merely to find ancient artifacts; he seeks to find proof-the very fingerprint-of God. Driven to uncover secrets that have haunted mankind for millennia, pursued by a mysterious assassin and an enemy consumed by hatred, Nick and Pierre journey into the desert to find the terrible truth. But one man's quest to find God will unleash Hell.

As Ellis explains, the story has a distinctive "Indiana Jones" feel to it. "Probably the biggest inspiration to me as a writer was Raiders of the Lost Ark, and to a lesser extent, the subsequent IJ films, because here you have this unstoppable action hero, in constant danger, and looming over it all is this supernatural element that is way outside his ability to control.  I love reading stories like that, and I love writing them.

The Wellwishers follows John Gideon, a CIA operative, and Natalie Reyes of the FBI as they fight to save a gifted set of twins known as wellwishers. Kept in extreme isolation these sisters have a unique gift - whatever they wish for together comes to pass in reality - and controlling them has been the cause and crusade of many world leaders. As the twins become more difficult to command, it is Gideon and Reyes who step in as their protectors, beginning a thrilling standoff against greed and domination.

Mélange of political thriller, X-Files-ish science fiction and romance...some strange doings at Kulbeda Station. -- Publishers Weekly

Fun to read...if you like action, a high body count, and - get this - well-developed characters you hope won't get killed despite the chances they take and odds against them. -- Concord Monitor

Couple of attractive good guys to root for...The Wellwishers is a good, old-fashioned supernatural thriller spy novel complete with chase scenes, explosions...all courtesy of a new-fashioned novelist. -- Portsmouth Herald

Richard Fountain is a celebrated author. His first novel, THE WELLWISHERS, was released in August 2008 by Silver Dagger Mysteries, an imprint of The Overmountain Press. A native of Massachusetts, Fountain is married and is the proud father of three children.

An insider's tale of a dedicated pair of New York City cops who uncover a heinous scheme of arson that will keep you spellbound from begining to electrifying end.
 
"Fitzsimmons is a worthy successor to Ed McBain, the king of gritty crime novels" -- Stephen Coonts

Thomas Fitzsimmons worked ten years as a New York City cop in the precinct dramatized by Paul Newman's film; "Fort Apache, the Bronx." A US Navy veteren, he currently works as head of security for many A-list Hollywood stars.

Fifteen years ago, newspaper reporter Alex Chapa made a name for himself when he broke the story of Kenny Lee Grubb's capture, after police were led to the killer's house by ten-year-old Annie Sykes. Now, less than a week before Grubb is scheduled to be executed, Chapa is summoned to the prison for a final interview. But instead of engaging in the usual death row topics of remorse and religious conversion, the killer boasts that his work continues. Not only is someone retracing his deadly steps, but Grubb assures Chapa that Annie Sykes, now a woman in her mid-twenties, will be the copycat's final tribute.

This sends Chapa on a quest to find Grubb's last victim, the one that got away, to save the young woman from a fate the killer planned for her fifteen years earlier. But Chapa isn't the only one searching for the elusive Annie Sykes. And Annie isn't the only one whose life needs to be saved...

"Sometimes a book comes along that invigorates and breathes new life into a genre. Henry Perez's Killing Red is just such a novel. Here is a debut that blends mystery and suspense into a riveting thriller. Intense, lightning-paced, brilliantly executed, Killing Red is a novel that demands to be read in one sitting. A sensational and amazing debut!" -- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Judas Strain

"Fascinating! Killing Red is not for the faint of heart. It kept me turning pages long into the night." -- Lisa Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

"Killing Red is an intense, smart read, and Alex Chapa is a character of flesh and blood. A terrific debut--bravo!" -- Marcus Sakey, award winning author of Good People, At the City's Edge, and The Blade Itself

"Killing Red heralds a meteoric debut! Compulsively readable, crafted with surgical skill, Henry Perez's first novel tells a decade-spanning story of how evil can plant its seeds in the most mundane of all places and then spread like kudzu.Not since Thomas Harris burst onto the scene with Black Sunday has a debut thriller come along that sinks its hooks this deep into a reader from page one. Here's a public service message to all thriller lovers: Do not start this book at night if you want to get any sleep, because you will be up until you cross the finish line - pulse racing, skin sweaty - but happy as hell you decided to go on this magnificent thrill ride. Highest recommendation!" -- Jay Bonansinga, national bestselling author of Perfect Victim, Shattered, Twisted, and Frozen

"Great! Fast, frightening, and pure literary dynamite. Killing Red is the best debut thriller I have ever read." -- J.A. Konrath, award winning author of Whiskey Sour, Fuzzy Navel, and Dirty Martini

"Henry Perez has crafted an astonishing debut thriller that showcases both his reporter's eye for detail and some serious writing chops. Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a sleepless night. Once you pick up Killing Red, you won't put it down." -- Sean Chercover, award winning author of Trigger City and Big City, Bad Blood

Henry Perez has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade. Born in Cuba, he immigrated to the U.S. at a young age, and lives in the Chicago area with his wife and children. Killing Red is his first novel.

San Antonio is under military quarantine due to a deadly flu epidemic. Inside the quarantine walls, SAPD Homicide Detective Lily Harris is discovers a murder victim among the dead at a mass burial site. Lily's investigation puts her in the middle of a battle between a corrupt local government, a beleaguered medical institution, and a civilian population threatening to boil over into revolt. As violence spreads throughout the city, Lily must race to escape the quarantined and bring the truth to the world before it's too late.

"McKinney has woven a taut whodunit." -- Kim Paffenroth, author of Dying to Live.

"A Crisply written police procedural set in a ravaged plague zone...rich in character and action, often brutal and sometimes touching. It's hard to put down." -- Bruce Boston, author of The Guardener's Tale.

"Very real cops...you're gonna like this guy." -- Tom Monteleone.

Joe McKinney is a homicide detective for the San Antonio Police Department with extensive training in forensics and disaster mitigation. He is the author of the novel Dead City and more than thirty short stories. He currently lives and works in San Antonio.

What else can explain how Murphy McKenna managed to get herself stuck in an unexpected, early-in-the-season Maine blizzard? In a very remote cabin. With dead phones. And impassable roads. Could there be a worse time for a desperate, badly wounded man to show up on her doorstep?

Instinct demands Murphy not trust Garrett Thayer. After all, the man refuses to give her a straight answer about anything. Even her precious Himalayan cat, Moonshine, is suspicious. Who wouldn't be? Not only is Garrett hurt, he's also apparently been out wandering in the storm with nothing more than a duffel bag stuffed with money, antique jewelry (a bottle of antihistamines?) -- and a gun.

Will Murphy's conscience allow her to turn her back on the handsome stranger who may be a thief, a bank robber, or worse ...?

"Rebecca Sinclair has penned a humorous tale of two unlikely people stranded in a snowstorm, thrown in a furry feline, and come up with a winner. Creatively using Murphy's Laws to begin each chapter, and tying the chapter directly to the quoted "law", Ms. Sinclair displays her unique and creative writing ability. MURPHY'S LAW is a winner." -- Romance Communications.

"Rebecca Sinclair makes the transition from historical to contemporary romance with panache. MURPHY'S LAW is witty, wicked and wonderful." -- Deb Stover, best-selling author

"Rebecca Sinclair shifts smoothly into this genre with a funny, heartwarming story about everything that can go wrong before two people find exactly what's right. An irresistible story for anyone who has ever felt as though MURPHY'S LAW is in effect." 5 Stars!! -- The Word Museum

Rebecca Sinclair's first book, California Caress, a romance novel, was published in 1989. 12 more books followed. She thinks it appropriate that her "lucky 13th" novel should also be her first light contemporary suspense.

Rebecca lives with her family in southern New England, in a house built in the late 1800's. She considers the ghosts that came with the house a pleasant perk.

In 1941 the third secret of out Lady of Fatima is removed from the secret archives of the Vatican and replaced with a bible scripture. The 'forgery' then goes missing with a fortune in gold, hijacked in the North African desert by a British Army patrol. The gold is hidden in the Tibesti Mountains. Twenty years later the gold comes to light and begins a frantic chase to seize it along with the third secret. It involves the Vatican, the Italian Mafia and an Englishman. If the 'forgery' is discovered, it will bring the whole credibility of the Roman Catholic Church into disrepute.

Michael Parker was born in 1941. Married for 49 years to Pat. We have four sons and ten grandchildren. I have worked as an office boy, Merchant Seaman, Technician with the Royal Air Force, maintenance technician in the food industry and in the Middle East.

My hobbies are writing, keyboard playing, football, snooker and Speedway. I am a born again Christian and attend a local Christian fellowship here in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca in Spain where I retired to twelve years ago.

I have been writing all my adult life. My previous novels are: North Slope, Shadow of the Wolf, Hell's Gate, The Eagle's Covenant and The Devil's Trinity.

Many of your concepts are pulled from the news, or from scientific journals--what was the based-upon-fact genesis of THE DOOMSDAY KEY?
 
Whenever I start a novel, I'm always looking for two things: a bit of science that makes me go "what if?" and a piece of history that ends in a question mark.  In this book's case, the bit of history involves a mystery surrounding the people who actually built Stonehenge and the hundreds of other Neolithic stone rings that dot northern Europe. I came upon an astounding new theory that is incorporated into this book, but to tell you more would ruin the surprises.

As to the science, it cuts to the core of a hot debate, one centered on the use of genetically-modified foods and the corporate war going on to gain patents and control of the world's food supply. To give you some hint of the power behind this, I'll refer you to a fateful quote from Henry Kissinger.  "Control oil and you control nations, but control food and you control all the people of the world."

But how do ancient stone builders and modern genetic science tie together?   The answers can be found within THE DOOMSDAY KEY.
 
You open your new novel with a terrifying reference to the prophecies of the popes which loosely predicts that the current pope, Benedict, is the next to the last pope and that the next pope will oversee the world's end. Can you tell us a little bit more about these prophecies?

During the twelfth century, an Irish Catholic priest named Saint Malachy had a doomsday vision while on a pilgrimage to Rome. In that trance, he was given knowledge of all the popes who would come until the end of the world. This grand accounting--a cryptic description of 112 popes--was recorded and safeguarded in the Vatican archives. Over the centuries, the descriptions of each pope in that book have proved to be oddly accurate--up to and including the current head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI. In Saint Malachy's prophecy, the current pope is listed as De Gloria Olivae, the Glory of the Olives. And the Benedictine Order, from which the pope took his name, does indeed bear the olive branch as its symbol. But most disturbing of all, Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th pope.  And according to this oddly accurate prophecy, the world ends with the very next one. Could this be true?  Only time will tell.

Mia Lockhart has a secret. Her mother was a Keeper, as was her grandmother -- women who were warriors, healers and protectors. When a mysterious man enters her life, she is put to the test. Adrian Ashton is a brilliant scientist -- and a killer. With the aid of an ancient martial arts text he has mastered the art of capturing the chi of his opponents -- the vital energy that flows through their bodies. When he targets the man Mia loves, it becomes a fight to the death in which love is both the greatest weakness and the greatest prize.

"Original and daring...a tale as sizzling as it is sultry." --  Jon Land in The Providence Journal

"Sstunning...Mostert has delivered another knock-out treat" -- Daily Mail (London)

Natasha Mostert is a South African living in London. Educated in Johannesburg and at Columbia University, New York, she holds graduate degrees in Lexicography and Applied Linguistics.

Her books are dark, psychological thrillers with a strong dash of mysticism. Season of the Witch, won the Book to Talk About: World Book Day Award 2009. Film rights were optioned by Allotria Productions and Handpicked Films. Her latest novel, Keeper of Light and Dust, is a story about chi, martial arts, tattoos, quantum physics and muscled men. Future goals include writing poetry, executing a perfect spinning backkick and meeting the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.

Not much happened on the crime fiction scene during May so here's an alternative true crime story in the making: I live on the slope of a mountain on what is called the urban edge.  This means where my property ends wild mountainside begins.  At the moment this wild mountainside is overgrown with alien vegetation.  In other words thick bush.  And we all know that in thick bush lurk the baddies.

A couple of nights ago, at midnight to be precise, a house lower down the slope that also borders on this infested land was attacked by two men.  I say attacked because the men threw rocks through a window and tried to force the front door open with a crowbar.  The house was alarmed and connected to an armed response unit and the siren went off.  Undaunted the men barged in.  The owner's son tried to defend the house but his mother hauled him into a room and locked the door.  As the house belongs to the owner of a security company (how stupid were these robbers or where they casing the joint because they reckoned he'd have guns?) it wasn't long - three minutes in fact - before he and his security operatives pitched up.  But by then the robbers had fled into the thick bush, taking nothing.

Margaret Fenton's debut thriller, LITTLE LAMB LOST, was seven years in the making and from the early reviews; it was seven years of well-spent time.

Fenton a Gulf Coast native has been an active member of her local Mississippi chapter of Sisters in Crime long before she thought of writing, but when challenged by the late Anne George who asked her why she didn't write a thriller, if she was such a big fan, Fenton went to work.

With nearly ten years as a child and family therapist before taking a break to focus on her writing, Fenton's work tends to reflect her interest in social causes and mental health, especially where kids are concerned.

LITTLE LAMB LOST opens when Social Worker Claire Conover's young client, Michael, is found dead and his mother, Ashley, has been arrested for his murder. And who made the decision to return Michael to Ashley? Claire Conover. Ashley had seemingly done everything right - gotten clean, found a place to live, worked two jobs, and earned back custody of her son. Devastated but determined to discover where her instincts failed her, Claire vows to find the truth.

What Claire finds is no shortage of suspects. Ashley's boyfriend made no secret that he didn't want children. And Ashley's stepfather, an alcoholic and chronic gambler, has a shady past. Then there is Michael's mysterious father and his family? Or Ashley herself? Was she really using again?

Red Hot Lies (MIRA, June release) kicks off Laura Caldwell's summer mystery trilogy. The other 2 books follow in July and August.

How did you come up with the idea for this series?

I had never written a series before and the thought somewhat intimidated me, because these characters would have to expand and grow over the course of the books, I was sure. I had never particularly enjoyed a series where characters don't age or change very much as the books progress. Another challenge was how to allow a reader to start on book number 2 (Red Blooded Murder) or book number 3 (Red, White & Dead) and to give them enough background information without giving away what happened in the previous books.  Although they are a trilogy, the books are crafted so that they can be read in any order.

What I found was that I enjoyed writing the trilogy tremendously. I loved the fact that at the end of a book, I didn't have to give up the character. Instead, I was about to bring them right back. I would get to see what they did next. I also love the ability to explore different concepts, character traits and experiences that a character might have and see how they would respond to new ones. All the characters in these Red books--not just the main character--evolve during the course of the trilogy.

In what ways are you and Izzy alike and in what ways are you different?

What Izzy and I have in common: red hair; troublesome blushing problems; attended University of Iowa for undergrad; attended Loyola University Chicago for law school; took classes at Loyola of Rome during a law school summer; we're both Chicago lawyers; she lives in Old Town near where I used to live; she and I both love dive bars, especially the ones with popcorn machines.  

Differences between Izzy and me - she is younger; she is cooler; I've never moonlighted as a private eye (although I did stake out a witness once with one of the best PIs in the city of Chicago while I was researching this book); although I've done some entertainment law, Izzy's entertainment law practice is at a much higher level than mine was; I used to drive a scooter, but after an accident decades ago, I gave it up and yet I still miss it.

Amateur sleuth Maggy Thorsen makes her fourth appearance in the June release from Severn House of BREWED, CRUDE AND TATTOOED. The co-owner of a coffee shop (Uncommon Grounds) in Wisconsin, Maggy has been trapped inside the coffeehouse by inclement weather. She is heading out for food when she stumbles over the body of Way Benson, a local developer and owner of the mall. She also discovers other storm refugees in the mall--and a killer on the loose among them.

Author Sandra Balzo has been awarded the Robert L. Fish Award and the Macavity Award for Best Short Story in 2004, and her clever cozy mysteries have also been nominated for Anthony and Macavity Awards.

Sandra worked in corporate public relations, event management and publicity for 20 years before turning to fiction. She has handled the publicity for three Bouchercons, World Mystery Conventions, as well as the International Association of Crime Writers and was a national board member of the Mystery Writers of America.

Tell us how you came to create Maggy Thorsen, the "brash, sassy" protagonist of your series.

After Maggy's dentist husband leaves her for his hygienist ("Little Miss Tooth d'Lay"), Maggy quits her cushy public relations job to open a coffeehouse with two friends. The day of their grand opening she arrives to find one of her partners dead in a pool of skim milk. Happily, four books later people keep dropping like flies.  

In BREWED, CRUDE and TATTOOED, Maggy and her fellow shop-owners are trapped by a freak May "thundersnow." It's a rare weather phenomenon -- thunder, lightning and enormous amounts of sodden snow falling in a short period.  When Maggy stumbles over the body of their landlord, who apparently tried clearing the snowblower blade with his head, everyone becomes a suspect.  And, since they're all trapped with no means of communication, it plays like an English country house mystery.  In a strip mall.  I had great fun with it.

As for where Maggy comes from ... I guess she is me. Except for being taller, younger and braver.  She's willing to say the things I only think. Which is why, of course, I love to write her.

Michael Stanley debuted strong last year with A CARRION DEATH - just nominated for a Macavity Award, and Strand Magazine Critics' Award, plus an LA Times pick for top ten crime novels, and a finalist in the Minnesota Book Awards.

Now the author team of Stan Trollip and Michael Sears is reaping rave reviews for their sequel, THE SECOND DEATH OF GOODLUCK TINUBU in which their wily protagonist Detective Kubu investigates brutal murders at a bush camp in Botswana. While local police assume the motive is linked to the deadly drug trade, Kubu believes the obvious is not what it seems and sets a clever trap to find the truth.

Africa has long been thought a land of mystery; now it seems to be a land of mystery writers as  more novelists are setting their plots on the dark continent. How did you settle on Botswana?

Since the middle 1980's we have traveled to Botswana and Zimbabwe for game and bird watching.  Stan's a pilot and would rent a single-engine plane and fill it with friends and wine and head out into the bush.  On one of these trips, we watched hyenas devour a wildebeest.  By morning, everything was gone, flesh and bones, except for the horns and hooves.  Aha, we thought, if we ever wanted to get rid of a corpse, leaving it to hyenas would be perfect.  Nothing would be left.  Difficult to build a case when there is no body.

The idea went nowhere for about 15 years, even though we occasionally talked about writing a story around it.  Then in 2003, when Stan retired, Michael wrote a draft of the first chapter.  Stan liked it and inquired what happened next.  Michael didn't know, so we got together and hammered out the bits of a plot.

Why do you think so many readers appreciate African tales?

We think that readers in the States and the UK are beginning to read crime novels set in more exotic locations for a couple of reasons.  First, there so many stories set in New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles, that readers are looking for something different.  Second, few readers have been to Africa or other exotic locations.  So the settings themselves are appealing, over and above the story.  That is one reason why we pay very careful attention to detail.  We want our readers to come away with a reasonably accurate understanding of the physical and cultural aspects of Botswana.

Kate Brady's debut novel, ONE SCREAM AWAY, started with a hero.

And after adding in accompaniment in the form of a distressed protagonist, creepy dolls and a vicious serial killer, the music professor had what she hoped was a keeper.

"I guess I always thought authors worked until they got every word just the way they wanted it," Brady said. "Maybe some do, but for me, it's been more like preparing a piece for a concert: When the performance date arrives, you go on stage with the piece even if the F-sharp is still a little flat or the tenuto isn't quite perfect in the tenor section."

The result is a novel bestselling thriller author Allison Brennan said had "pitch-perfect pacing."

Antiques expert Beth Denison finds herself confronting a killer who leaves a trail of dead women--and dolls that only she would recognize for what they are. Standing between her and her own gruesome demise is a former FBI agent, Neil Sheridan, who sees clues of his own in the dolls.

And as the murders creep closer and closer to Beth, both she and Neil must confront their pasts... or surrender to a violent end.

But despite the grim subject matter, writing ONE SCREAM AWAY, due out in June from Grand Central Publishing, was a gratifying experience, Brady said. 

ITW author and contributing editor CJ Lyons sat down with JC Hutchins, one half of the writing team (with co-author Jordan Weisman) behind Personal Effects: Dark Art (St. Martins, June 2009) to discuss what it takes to write a "transmedia" novel.

Tell us about Personal Effects: Dark Art and how you and Jordan Weisman came to write it.

Personal Effects: Dark Art focuses on Zach Taylor, a young art therapist working at Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital, an asylum for dead-enders. He uses his patients' personal effects to decipher the secrets of their psychoses. But Zach is soon overwhelmed when a new patient arrives at "The Brink": an alleged serial killer who is psychosomatically blind ... and doesn't want to be cured.

Zach's investigations start with interviews and art sessions, but then take him far from the hospital grounds -- and often very far from the reality that we know. The book recently received a starred review in Publishers Weekly.

Jordan is the man with the plan, regarding the creation of Personal Effects. In 2007, he connected with St. Martin's and presented a brain-bending innovation in publishing, which he and author Sean Stewart had pioneered the year before with the YA title Cathy's Book -- the "transmedia novel." At its simplest, a transmedia novel is a traditional book combined with a multimedia-fueled "out of book" narrative experience.

When you purchase a copy of Personal Effects: Dark Art, an envelope accompanies the novel. It contains authentic-looking items (such as photos, documents and business cards) that are directly referenced in the book. By following clues in the novel and in these transmedia artifacts, readers are propelled into a story-enhancing narrative told via phone, email and on the web. In the world of Personal Effects, book is just the beginning.

What kind of research did you do for Personal Effects?  Any adventures in research?

The greatest challenge I faced during the pre-writing process was wrapping my head around the potential and nuances of transmedia storytelling. Jordan is a founding father of this form of tale-telling: he was instrumental in creating the Alternate Reality Game genre, a (mostly) online-based -- and often very ambitious -- version of the "out of book" experience seen in Personal Effects: Dark Art. I was a newcomer to this trailblazing way to tell stories, but was keen to learn everything I could.

One of the most important things Jordan expressed to me in those early weeks of the project was that the portals to our "out of book" experiences could never feel forced, cheesy or gimmicky. The edict: each item that came with the novel must have a narrative or resonantly emotional effect on the story and reader. Putting narratively-hollow "bling" in that envelope was verboten; instead, we wanted to craft a lean-and-mean tale that moved people. I admired that creative commitment, as it served the reader above all. It's ethical storytelling, if that makes sense. No sizzle. All steak. Once I understood that, the story practically wrote itself.

Steven Wilson was born in Ohio and raised in Wisconsin. He has been fascinated by history since he was a child. One of his first books, a birthday present from his aunt, was THE CIVIL WAR by Bruce Catton. He was equally enthralled by motion pictures, working in his great-uncle's theater at the age of seven, hauling tins of un-popped popcorn to the concession counter.

He's held a variety of jobs including tower clock repairman, factory worker, shoe salesman, stock boy, roofer, construction worker and now, museum curator. Wilson began writing novels in 1993, after a sketchy attempt to write short stories.

His eclectic interests include motion picture history, movie soundtracks, 19th Century military history, and World War II. He works fulltime as a curator and museum consultant and writes part-time. He considers research as least as important as the writing, and plans to write some non-fiction works in the future.

Let's get to know him...

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S SECRET is the second in the Fitz Dunaway series.  Tell us about this character.

Fitz is a bit like me, outspoken, impatient, and short-tempered. I like him even if he is socially clumsy. He's honest, bright, and not easily deterred.
 
Your interest in Abraham Lincoln goes deeper than source material for a book.  Give us the lowdown.

I'm constantly involved in some form of Lincoln study as the curator of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial. Believe it or not, it's a massive field, and I will always be a struggling student.
 
Can readers jump in with this new book, or do they need to have read PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S SPY first?

No, not really. There are some transition points of course but nothing that can't be overcome by careful reading.

Austin S. Camacho talks with contributing editor Janice Gable Bashman about Russian Roulette, the fifth book in the Hannibal Jones series.

Libby Fischer Hellman, author of the Ellie Foreman suspense series, states, "Russian Roulette delivers a whipsaw of a plot with more layers than a Vidalia onion. Camacho gets it right with solid storytelling and compelling characters, all set in the off-beat neighborhoods of the Nation's Capital." Why is Russian Roulette so compelling?

In Russian Roulette, Washington DC PI Hannibal Jones is forced to take a case for a Russian assassin who will kill Hannibal's woman if he refuses. What makes the story so compelling is the characters: Hannibal, the African American detective driven by fear for his woman's life; Alexandr, a professional killer trying to protect the woman he loves; Gana, the wealthy Algerian who has stolen Alexandr's woman but has more secrets than he can contain; and Viktoriya, the woman the two men are fighting over. She's a Russian femme fatale with secrets of her own.

What triggered the idea for Russian Roulette?

I wanted to humanize Hannibal by showing what happens to him emotionally when someone attacks his Achilles Heel - his long time girl, Cindy Santiago. He's separated from her through the entire book. At the same time, I was fascinated by the idea of a detective being forced to take a case he doesn't want. Also, I had this assassin who is kind of a funhouse mirror reflection of Hannibal Jones who describes himself as a troubleshooter. I had to see how they'd interact.

Your protagonist Hannibal Jones describes himself by saying, "I'm not really a detective, although I do have a private investigator's license. And I'm not a bodyguard, although I have been known to protect people from danger. And I'm not a strong-arm man, but I do sometimes have to fight on the job. I'm a troubleshooter. I help people out of tight spots." Why do readers love Hannibal Jones so much, and what makes him a good protagonist?

Hannibal is an anachronism, a traditional hero out of the 1940s, dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Women love him because he clings to the old values - chivalry, honor, honesty, that whole code most pulp era detectives had. Men love him because he believes in the direct approach, but is confused (as many of us are) by the shift in gender roles that took place in the last half of the 20th century.

The 2009 Indianapolis Bouchercon committee is delighted to announce the nominees for the 2009 Anthony Awards, recognizing excellence in the mystery genre in 2008.

Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [William Morrow]
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger [Atria]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur]
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer [Doubleday]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central]

Best Paperback Original
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
Money Shot by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy [Berkley]
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane [Dell]
South of Hell by P.J. Parrish [Pocket Star]

Best Short Story
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and
Mistletoe [Ace]
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled
[Kensington]
"Killing Time" by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery
Magazine (November)
"Skull and Cross Examination" by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery
Queen's Mystery Magazine (February)
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her [William Morrow]
"The Secret Lives of Cats" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery
Queen's Mystery Magazine (July)

Best Critical Nonfiction Work
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by
Frankie Y. Bailey [McFarland]
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson
[Perseverance Press]
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography by Jeffrey Marks [McFarland]
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a
Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale [Walker & Company]

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein [Random House]
Paper Towns by John Green [Dutton Juvenile]
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson [Delacorte]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton
Lee Stewart [Little, Brown]
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen [Knopf]

Best Cover Art
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by
Linda L. Richards [Minotaur]
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by
Elizabeth Zelvin [Minotaur]
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure
[Minotaur]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and
written by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust
[Hard Case Crime]

Special Service Award
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

Final voting will take place during Bouchercon 2009, the 40th Annual World Mystery Convention, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on Saturday, October 17, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

Please visit www.bouchercon2009.com for more information.

ITW contributing editor, Keith Raffel, bonded with Gregg Hurwitz at ThrillerFest last year when they discovered their common background: Bay Area upbringing and the same college and grad school. Now Keith has caught up with Gregg again to discuss Trust No One which Christopher Reich calls "magnificent" and which David Baldacci says puts Gregg "at the forefront of suspense writers."  

Is your next book is Trust No One or We Know?

It is Trust No One in the U.S. and We Know in the UK and Australia.

Can you give us a sneak preview?
 
It opens with Nick Horrigan, an average guy in his mid-thirties, awakening in the middle of the night when a SWAT team literally crashes into his apartment and knocks him across the room. Clueless and groggy, he's dragged outside to a street filled with dark sedans and police lights. A Black Hawk helicopter banks over the apartment complex and sets down - incredibly - on his street. As he's dragged toward it, he tears free of the agents and asks where the hell they're taking him. And the lead agent replies, "A terrorist has just seized control of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. He's threatening to blow it up. And the only person he'll talk to is you."

The Sunday Telegraph says, "The breathtaking pace of this thriller is set from the opening scene."  How do you keep it going?

This is far and away my fastest paced book. So the challenge was to keep that momentum hurtling forward while not sacrificing character or plausibility. It was something of a balancing act, and I hope readers find that I pulled it off.
 
Are you writing what Graham Greene called an "entertainment?"  Or are you shooting for more?

I always put it all out there on the page. I never feel like I'm done with a book until it has - after draft upon draft - thoroughly exhausted me. But at the same time, I'm wary of drawing my own conclusions about my work. I am all about story. At the end of the day, I want to write the best goddamn tale I can and if readers find something more there, then I'm quite pleased.

The Crime Writers of Canada have announced the nominations for the 2009 Arthur Ellis Awards. Winners will be announced on June 4th. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Best Short Story
Pasha Malla, "Filmsong" in Toronto Noir (Akashic Books)
James Powell, "Clay Pillows" in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (June 2008)
Peter Robinson, "Walking the Dog" in Toronto Noir (Akashic Books)
Amelia Symington, "An Ill Wind" in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Sept/Oct 2008)
Kris Wood, "Thinking Inside the Box" in Going Out with a Bang (RendezVous Crime)

Best Non-Fiction
Daphne Bramham, The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect (Vintage Canada/RHC)
Sharon Butala, The Girl in Saskatoon: A Meditation on Friendship, Memory and Murder (Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins)
Alex Caine, Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods (Vintage Canada/RHC)
Michael Calce & Craig Silverman, Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken (Penguin Canada)
Kerry Pither, Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror (Penguin Canada)

Best Juvenile
Vicki Grant, Res Judicata (Orca)
Susan Juby, Getting the Girl (HarperCollins)
Elizabeth MacLeod, Royal Murder (Annick Press)
Norah McClintock, Dead Silence (Scholastic Canada)
Sharon E. McKay, War Brothers (Penguin Canada)

Best Crime Writing in French
Jacques Côté, Le Chemin des brumes (Alire)
Maxime Houde, Le Poids des Illusions (Alire)
André Jacques, La Tendresse du serpent (Québec Amérique)
Sylvain Meunier, L'Homme qui détestait le golf (La courte échelle)
Antoine Yaccarini, Meurtre au Soleil (VLB éditeur)

Best First Novel
Nadine Doolittle, Iced Under (Bayeux Arts/Gondolier)
John C. Goodman, Talking to Wendigo (Turnstone)
April Lindgren, Headline: Murder (Second Story Press)
Howard Shrier, Buffalo Jump (Vintage Canada)
Phyllis Smallman, Margarita Nights (McArthur & Company)

Best Novel
Linwood Barclay, Too Close to Home (Bantam)
Maureen Jennings, The K Handshape (Castle Street Mysteries/Dundurn)
James W. Nichol, Transgression (McArthur & Company)
Louise Penny, The Murder Stone (McArthur & Company)
Michael E. Rose, The Tsunami File (McArthur & Company)

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel
Pam Barnsley, This Cage of Bones
Gloria Ferris, Cheat the Hangman
Stephen Maher, Salvage
Douglas A. Moles, Louder
Kevin Thornton, Condemned

Mystery Readers International announced 2009 Macavity nominations today, for books published in the previous year. Awards will be presented at Bouchercon in October. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Best Mystery Novel:

    * Sean Chercover: Trigger City (Wm. Morrow)
    * Deborah Crombie: Where Memories Lie (Wm. Morrow)
    * Declan Hughes: The Dying Breed (UK) / The Price of Blood (US) (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
    * Arnaldur Indridason: The Draining Lake (Minotaur)
    * Lisa Lutz: Curse of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster)
    * Louise Penny: The Cruelest Month (Minotaur)
    * Louise Ure: The Fault Tree (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery:

    * Zoe Ferraris: Finding Nouf (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
    * Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf)
    * G.M. Malliet: Death of a Cozy Writer (Midnight Ink)
    * Charlie Newton: Calumet City (Simon & Schuster)
    * Scott Pratt: An Innocent Client (Onyx)
    * Michael Stanley: A Carrion Death (Harper; Headline)
    * Dan Waddell: The Blood Detective (Minotaur)

Best Nonfiction/Critical:

    * Frankie Y. Bailey: African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study (McFarland)
    * Leonard Cassuto: Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories (Columbia Univ.)
    * Kathy Lynn Emerson: How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries (Perseverance Press)
    * David Geherin: Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction (McFarland)
    * Harry Lee Poe: Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories (Metro)
    * Kate Summerscale: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian  Detective (Walker)

Best Mystery Short Story:

    * Dana Cameron: "The Night Things Changed" (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
    * Sean Chercover: "A Sleep Not Unlike Death" (Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington)
    * Toni L.P. Kelner: "Keeping Watch Over His Flock" (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
    * Laura Lippman: "Scratch a Woman" (Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow)
    * Tom Piccirilli: "Between the Dark and the Daylight" (EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery:

    * Rhys Bowen: A Royal Pain (Berkley)
    * Ward Larsen: Stealing Trinity (Oceanview)
    * David Liss: The Whiskey Rebels (Thorndike/ Random House UK)
    * Jeri Westerson: Veil of Lies (Minotaur)
    * Karen Maitland: Company of Liars (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)
    * Kelli Stanley: Nox Dormienda (Five Star)

Congratulations to all Edgar winners and nominees!

BEST NOVEL

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

The Foreigner by Francie Lin (Picador)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

China Lake by Meg Gardiner (New American Library - Obsidian Mysteries)

BEST FACT CRIME

American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime
of the Century by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr.
Harry Lee Poe (Metro Books)

BEST SHORT STORY

"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book
Group - Little, Brown and Company)

BEST JUVENILE

The Postcard by Tony Abbott (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin Young Readers Group - Dutton Children's
Books)

BEST PLAY

The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

"Prayer of the Bone" - Wire in the Blood, Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (BBC
America)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY

In Bruges, Screenplay by Martin McDonagh (Focus Features)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)

GRAND MASTER

James Lee Burke
Sue Grafton

RAVEN AWARDS

Edgar Allan Poe Society, Baltimore, Maryland
Poe House, Baltimore, Maryland

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd (St. Martin's Minotaur)