Book Review: THE DEAD CERTAIN DOUBT by Jim Nesbitt

Book Review: THE DEAD CERTAIN DOUBT by Jim Nesbitt

THE DEAD CERTAIN DOUBT is a noir gem, peppered with American muscle cars, a hard-drinking hero, and universal life lessons. Ed Earl Burch is a Dallas private eye of a certain age. With an angel on one shoulder and the devil everywhere else, he’s too young to retire,...

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New Release! BLACKMAIL AT THE GALLIANO CLUB

New Release! BLACKMAIL AT THE GALLIANO CLUB

New release! Today is release day for BLACKMAIL AT THE GALLIANO CLUB, the second book in the Prohibition-era historical thriller series. Grab a seat at the bar. Big things are happening. Beer and Blackmail Lido, New York. The year is 1926, Prohibition is in full...

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The 3 Golden Rules of Lying and Deception

The 3 Golden Rules of Lying and Deception

You’ve been granted a tour of the original Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building outside Washington, DC. Pass the statue of Nathan Hale as you walk through the big glass doors of the front entrance. Try not to gawk. Once inside, the Great Seal stretches...

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Book review: THE MONOGRAM MURDERS by Sophie Hannah

Book review: THE MONOGRAM MURDERS by Sophie Hannah

I love reading a good mystery as much as I love writing them! Here's what I read this week. A new Hercule Poirot mystery Mystery fans can’t get enough of Agatha Christie’s fussy Belgian detective (cue Sir Kenneth Branagh, please!) and THE MONOGRAM MURDERS shows why....

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Book Review: SWEETLAND by Dareth Pray

Book Review: SWEETLAND by Dareth Pray

Debut thriller SWEETLAND takes off like a rocket and never loses speed. Author Dareth Pray is one to watch! Erin Stark is a new kind of female thriller heroine, giving fictional male colleagues like James Reece (THE TERMINAL LIST) and Jack Reacher (BETTER OFF DEAD) a...

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Best Prohibition-era Reading

Best Prohibition-era Reading

A tall frosty glass of Prohibition, ballplayers and mobsters? I drank up a dozen books while researching 1926 for the Galliano Club thriller series. Now that MURDER AT THE GALLIANO CLUB has hit your favorite bookstore, I highly recommend the following: SCARFACE AND...

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Killer Nashville’s success story

Killer Nashville’s success story

There is a success story behind the Killer Nashville International Mystery Writer’s Conference. The weekend among my fellow writers always inspires and recharges. This was my 4th time attending. The schedule is geared to help attendees connect with other authors as...

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Book Review: THE GUILTY DIE TWICE by Don Hartshorn

Book Review: THE GUILTY DIE TWICE by Don Hartshorn

THE GUILTY DIE TWICE offers a memorable cast of characters, two pivotal crimes, lots of deliciously grubby political machinations, and both sides of the death penalty argument. The writing is both fluid and precise, without (thankfully) lots of legal jargon. The...

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Book Review: A NEAPOLITAN INTRIGUE by Kate McVaugh

Book Review: A NEAPOLITAN INTRIGUE by Kate McVaugh

Past and present collide in this clever thriller that moves between present-day Naples, Italy, and Berkeley, California in 1969. A NEAPOLITAN INTRIGUE deals with serious topics with a smooth prose and a dab of humor at the right moments. I read it in one day, and...

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Spying on Elon Musk?

Spying on Elon Musk?

Elon Musk hardly needs an introduction these days, but here goes. He’s the richest man in the world, has a droll sense of humor, is a naturalized US citizen (born in South Africa) and has 7 children. Founder of blazing-into-the-future companies Tesla and SpaceX, on 30...

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President Trump vs Mexican drug cartel labs

President Trump vs Mexican drug cartel labs

Mark Esper has written about his stint as secretary of defense during the last year of President Donald Trump’s administration in A SACRED OATH. Before the book came out this month, excerpts published in the New York Times revealed that President Trump, frustrated by...

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How a Real Cliff Diver Tames Her Fears

How a Real Cliff Diver Tames Her Fears

Ellie Smart is a professional cliff diver, but not an adrenaline junkie. Riiiight. A native of Missouri and former collegiate diver at UC Berkeley, with a Masters degree in sports and exercise science, Smart is the only American woman with a permanent billet on the...

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Book Review: A PALE HORSE by Charles Todd

Book Review: A PALE HORSE by Charles Todd

I’ve been gobbling up the Inspector Ian Rutledge historical mystery series by Charles Todd and A PALE HORSE is a prime example of what makes this post-WWI series so irresistible. You get a travelogue of Great Britain, layers of plot complexity, and a flawed hero who...

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At least you didn’t fall into a narco sinkhole

At least you didn’t fall into a narco sinkhole

Imagine taking a nap on your sofa one afternoon, only to be awakened when the floor collapses, pitching you into a sinkhole. But it’s not a true sinkhole, it’s a tunnel built by drug cartel smugglers that runs under your house. This happened last week to a man in...

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The Best Thrillers set in Exotic Locations

The Best Thrillers set in Exotic Locations

I was recently invited to curate a page on Shepherd, a new book discovery website. Warning, this site can easily become your new favorite rabbit hole. Authors are invited to introduce their book at the beginning of a showcase of books similar in genre or theme. I...

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Book Review: Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

Book Review: Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

I love Goldberg’s Ian Ludlow series, starting with the ridiculously wonderful KILLER THRILLER, in which a nerdy writer repeatedly saves the world, but I was willing to go along for a more serious ride in BONE CANYON. A traditional police procedural, BONE CANYON...

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New Release! Road to the Galliano Club

New Release! Road to the Galliano Club

ROAD TO THE GALLIANO CLUB, prequel to the Galliano Club historical thriller series, is available now in Kindle and paperback formats. The Galliano Club historical thriller series has been in the works for over a year, with excerpts doled out in the Mystery Ahead...

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