My 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide is live! The guide contains 45 recent and upcoming releases plus new titles in book series, fiction/nonfiction pairings, stellar mystery series and some anticipated spring and summer releases. All of these will make great reads for this winter and many are books you won’t see many other places; I strive to find those under-the-radar gems. If you are interested, fill out the Google form and submit a tip of your choosing.

Mystery/Thriller Episodes

Nov. 4, 2022

Interview with Robert Crais - RACING THE LIGHT

In this interview, Robert and I discuss Racing the Light, how Elvis and Joe have evolved over time, incorporating current events into his novels, creating new storylines over a 19-book series, whether he is a plotter or a pantser, and much more.

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Sept. 7, 2022

Interview with Deanna Raybourn - KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE

In this interview, Deanna and I discuss Killers of a Certain Age, where the idea for this book originated, writing a contemporary story, how creating this story differed from creating the Veronica Speedwell books, the title she wanted for the book, how society's perception of aging has changed in t…

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Aug. 2, 2022

Interview with Gillian McAllister - WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME

In this interview, Gillian and I discuss Wrong Place Wrong Time, plotting this one out, creating the right pacing for the story, finding the right title, the difficulty of building in twists, her podcast, not feeling constrained by the thriller genre, ruminating on how much time changes people, and…

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Aug. 1, 2022

Interview with Hayley Scrivenor - DIRT CREEK

For this special episode, Carol Ann Tack of Top Shelf at Merrick Library and I interview Hayley Scrivenor together. We talk about her debut novel Dirt Creek , how the different titles and covers came about for the U.S., UK, a...

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July 27, 2022

Interview with Sarah Pearse - THE RETREAT

In this interview, Sarah and I discuss The Retreat, her fascination with local history and time's relentless march forward, making the island a central character of this novel, using a consultant to make sure the police procedural aspects of the story ring true, how sibling dynamics are set early a…

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July 19, 2022

Interview with George Dawes Green - THE KINGDOMS OF SAVANNAH

In this interview, George and I discuss The Kingdoms of Savannah, his stunning book cover and how it came into being, the 25th anniversary of The Moth, his writing process, the number one thing he likes to hear from readers, his ties to Savannah, the unique inspiration for Morgana, and much more.

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July 13, 2022

Interview with Lucy Clarke - ONE OF THE GIRLS

In this interview, Lucy and I discuss One of the Girls, exploring the dynamics of a bachelorette party, creating her own fictional Greek island, the easiest and hardest characters to write, including periodic Greek chorus interludes, the difficulty in getting her UK cover correct, and much more.

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June 22, 2022

Interview with Julie Clark - THE LIES I TELL

In this interview, Julie and I discuss The Lies I Tell, why con artist stories are so popular right now and creating a female con artist who uses gender stereotypes to her advantage, writing dual timeline stories, the nod to her characters from The Last Flight, the hardest character to write in thi…

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June 21, 2022

Interview with Joey Hartstone - THE LOCAL

In this interview, Joey and I discuss The Local, how Marshall, Texas came to be the patent lawsuit capital of the U.S., how he learned about Marshall and decided to write this book, writing a book versus writing for the screen, his fabulous book cover, and much more.

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May 4, 2022

Interview with Erica Ferencik - GIRL IN ICE

In this interview, Erica and I discuss Girl in Ice, how she likes to "follow her fascinations," writing an arctic setting, hovering on the cusp of what is real and what is imaginary, her incredible research trip, the incident that inspired this story, and much more.

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April 5, 2022

Interview with Landis Wade - DEADLY DECLARATIONS

In this interview, Landis and I discuss Deadly Declarations, the Mecklenberg Declaration of Independence, setting the series in a retirement community, his Charlotte Readers Podcast, using letters written between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, crafting an Author's Note, and much more.

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March 18, 2022

Simone St. James - THE BOOK OF COLD CASES

Simone and I discuss The Book of Cold Cases, creating an accused female serial killer, how swapping the gender roles changes every aspect of the story, the true crime phenomenon, the recent discovery by a reader of the actual motel sign used for The Sun Down Motel cover, and much more.

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March 15, 2022

Peng Shepherd - THE CARTOGRAPHERS

Peng and I discuss The Cartographers, the true story about an event with a gas station map in the early 1900s that inspired a portion of this story, phantom settlements and how they have fallen out of favor now that people have moved to relying on electronic maps, how the use of maps changed once o…

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March 11, 2022

Peter Swanson - NINE LIVES

Peter and I discuss Nine Lives, writing his take on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, why Agatha Christie has stayed so popular and relevant, his writing process, pacing in thrillers, and much more.

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March 1, 2022

Louise Candlish - THE HEIGHTS

Louise and I discuss The Heights, including her own phobia in the novel, how she created the format for this one including writing a book within a book, building a story based on the lengths parents will go to for their children, which character she voiced in the audiobook, and much more.

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