Mystery/Thriller Episodes

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Lisa and I discuss Woman on Fire, the 2013 event that inspire this book, how the ownership of certain pieces of art is one of the only remaining issues left from World War 2, her favorite and least favorite characters …