Nonpareil Nonfiction

In keeping with the original primary theme of this blog, namely a focus on research and reference in crime fiction, I thought I'd take note of the nonfiction titles that are the cream of the crop according to the various 2021 awards organizations. Just in case you missed these fascinating books, here they are, in alphabetical order, with information from the publishers:

Black Hands: Inside the Bain Family Murders by Martin Van Beynen, which won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Nonfiction. This is the story of a mass-murder that divided a nation, which began in a rickety old home on a cold June morning in 1994, where five members of a seemingly ordinary New Zealand family were gunned down. There were two suspects. One lay dead from a single bullet to the head. The other was the only survivor: David Bain. Since then the country has asked: Who killed the Bain family? David, or his father Robin? And why? Award-winning journalist Martin van Beynen has covered the Bain story closely for decades. His 2017 Stuff podcast, Black Hands - based on the manuscript for this book - was a runaway success in New Zealand and overseas, downloaded more than 4 million times and topping the charts in New Zealand and around the world. Now, van Beynen brings the story up to date for 2020, exploring the case from start to finish, picking through evidence old and new, plumbing the mysteries and motives, interviewing never-before-spoken-to witnesses and laying out the complex police investigation and judicial processes, seeking to finally answer the question: Who was the killer?

H R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime, by Sheila Mitchell, which won the Macavity Award for Best Critical/Biographical. Henry Reymond Fitzwalter "Harry" Keating, known to his many readers as H.R.F. Keating, was the author of more than 50 books, favorite among them his series featuring Indian Inspector Ganesh Ghote. In H.R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime, his wife Sheila Mitchell offers an intimate view into the life and writings of one of the most revered authors of British crime fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. With honest reflection, Mitchell brings readers behind the scenes, through the highs and lows of the enduring literary career of her husband, who along with his many writing accolades and achievements was a devoted family man. Rich in detail, H.R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime is the definitive portrait of the artist and man. With an Introduction from Len Deighton.

Missing from the Village: The Story of Serial Killer Bruce McArthur, the Search for Justice, and the System That Failed Toronto’s Queer Community, by Justin Ling, which won the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Nonfiction Book. In 2013, the Toronto Police Service announced that the disappearances of three men—Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, and Majeed Kayhan—from Toronto's gay village were, perhaps, linked. When the leads ran dry, the investigation was shut down, on paper classified as "open but suspended." By 2015, investigative journalist Justin Ling had begun to retrace investigators' steps, convinced there was evidence of a serial killer. Meanwhile, more men would go missing, and police would continue to deny that there was a threat to the community. On January 18, 2018, Bruce McArthur, a landscaper, would be arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. In February 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of eight men. This extraordinary book tells the complete story of the McArthur murders. Based on more than five years of in-depth reporting, this is also a story of police failure, of how the queer community responded, and the story of the eight men who went missing and the lives they left behind. In telling that story, Justin Ling uncovers the latent homophobia and racism that kept this case unsolved and unseen. This gripping book reveals how police agencies across the country fail to treat missing persons cases seriously, and how policies and laws, written at every level of government, pushed McArthur's victims out of the light and into the shadows. 

Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane, which won both the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction and the Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical. In 1933, Joan Harrison was a twenty-six-year-old former salesgirl with a dream of escaping both her stodgy London suburb and the dreadful prospect of settling down with one of the local boys. A few short years later, she was Alfred Hitchcock’s confidante and one of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of his first American film, Rebecca. Harrison had quickly grown from being the worst secretary Hitchcock ever had to one of his closest collaborators, critically shaping his brand as the “Master of Suspense.” Harrison went on to produce numerous Hollywood features before becoming a television pioneer as the producer of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A respected powerhouse, she acquired a singular reputation for running amazingly smooth productions— and defying anyone who posed an obstacle. She built most of her films and series from the ground up. She waged rough-and-tumble battles against executives and censors, and even helped to break the Hollywood blacklist. She teamed up with many of the most respected, well-known directors, writers, and actors of the twentieth century. And she did it all on her own terms

Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, and Obsession (Sarah Weinman, editor), which won the Anthony Award for Best Critical or Nonfiction Work (and was also an NPR Best Book of the Year). Acclaimed author ofThe Real Lolita and editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s (Library of America) and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives (Penguin), Sarah Weinman brings together an exemplary collection of recent true crime tales. She culls together some of the most refreshing and exciting contemporary journalists and chroniclers of crime working today.  Michelle Dean’s “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick” went viral when it first published and is the basis for the TV showThe Act and Pamela Colloff’s “The Reckoning,” is the gold standard for forensic journalism.  There are 13 pieces in all and as a collection, they showcase writing about true crime across the broadest possible spectrum, while also reflecting what makes crime stories so transfixing and irresistible to the modern reader.

Witness: An investigation into the brutal cost of seeking justice by Louise Milligan, which won the Davitt Award from Sisters in Crime Australia for Best Nonfiction Crime Book. A masterful and deeply troubling exposé, Witness is the culmination of almost five years' work for award-winning investigative journalist Louise Milligan. Charting the experiences of those who have the courage to come forward and face their abusers in high-profile child abuse and sexual assault cases, Milligan was profoundly shocked by what she found.  During this time, the #MeToo movement changed the zeitgeist, but time and again during her investigations Milligan watched how witnesses were treated in the courtroom and listened to them afterwards as they relived the associated trauma. Then she was a witness herself in the trial of the decade, R v George Pell. Through these experiences, interviews with high-profile members of the legal profession, including judges, prosecutors and the defence lawyers who have worked in these cases, along with never-before-published court transcripts, Milligan lays bare the flaws that are ignored and exposes a court system that is sexist, unfeeling and weighted towards the rich and powerful. In Witness, Milligan reveals the devastating reality that within the Australian legal system truth is never guaranteed and, for victims, justice is often elusive. And even when they get justice, the process is so bruising, they wish they had never tried.

Words Whispered in Water by Sandy Rosenthal, which won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Nonfiction. In the aftermath of one of the worst disasters in U.S. history, Words Whispered in Water tells the story of one woman’s fight—against all odds—to expose a mammoth federal agency—and win. It’s a horror story, a mystery, and David and Goliath story all in one. In 2005, the entire world watched as a major U.S. city was nearly wiped off the map. The levees ruptured and New Orleans drowned. But while newscasters attributed the New Orleans flood to “natural catastrophes” and other types of disasters, citizen investigator Sandy Rosenthal set out to expose the true culprit and compel the media and government to tell the truth. This is her story. When the protective steel flood-walls broke, the Army Corps of Engineers—with cooperation from big media—turned the blame on natural types of disasters. In the chaotic aftermath, Rosenthal uncovers the U.S. corruption, and big media at root. Follow this New Orleans hero as she exposes the federal agency’s egregious design errors and eventually changes the narrative surrounding the New Orleans flood. In this engaging and revealing tale of man versus nature and man versus man, Words Whispered in Water proves that the power of a single individual is alive and well.

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black, which won the Crime Writers’ Association ALCS Gold Dagger for Nonfiction. internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist Dame Sue Black taking us on a guided tour of the human skeleton and explaining how each person's life history is revealed in their bones, which she calls "the last sentinels of our mortal life to bear witness to the way we lived it." Her narrative follows the skeleton from the top of the skull to the small bones in the foot. Each step of the journey includes an explanation of the biology—how the bone is formed in a person's development, how it changes as we age, the secrets it may hold—and is illustrated with anecdotes from the author's career helping solve crimes and identifying human remains, whether recent or historical. Written in Bone is full of entertaining stories that read like sce

 

Author R&R With Margaret Fenton

Margaret Fenton was born in Florence, Alabama, and grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Ocean Springs. She received her B.A. in English from the Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans, and her Master of Social Work from Tulane. She worked in Children's Mental Health for fourteen years before becoming a writer. Hence, her work tends to reflect her interest in social causes and mental health, especially where kids are concerned. She has been a planning coordinator of the mystery conference, Murder in the Magic City, since its inception in 2003. Margaret lives in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover with her husband, a retired software developer, and their three adorable Papillons.

Margaret's series featuring child welfare social worker, Claire Conover, includes Little Lamb Lost, Little Girl Gone, and the most recent installment, Little White Lies, in which the office of Black mayoral candidate, Dr. Marcus Freedman, is bombed. While Marcus is found safe, his campaign manager, Jason O'Dell, is discovered dead in the rubble. Claire's office gets a call about Jason's daughter, Maddie, who was left in daycare and becomes Claire's latest charge as she investigates what happened.

There are more questions than answers when it's revealed that Jason O’Dell was living under an assumed name. He's actually Jason Alsbrook, son of prominent local mine owner, James Alsbrook, whose mining company has an unseemly notoriety for having the most mining accidents and deaths in Alabama. Not surprisingly, there are many people who would wish harm to him and to his family. But who would’ve acted on that hatred?

As she works to keep little Maddie safe and find out who would’ve harmed Jason—and why—Claire uncovers a complex web of deception, secrets, and lies. While she struggles to piece together this dangerous puzzle, Claire weathers the storms in her personal life that threaten to rip apart everything Claire holds dear. In the end, will all the little white lies come with a big cost?

Margaret Fenton stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about her writing:

 

Hi everyone! My name is Margaret Fenton and I write the Little social work mysteries published by Aakenbaaken and Kent.  Three books are out in the series so far: LITTLE LAMB LOST, LITTLE GIRL GONE, and LITTLE WHITE LIES.  I’m working on number four, titled LITTLE BOY BLUE.  The books feature child welfare social worker Claire Conover, who is an investigator for the Jefferson County Department of Human Services in Birmingham, Alabama.  She’s been doing this job for several years and comes from a family of people who are service-minded, especially her father. 

First, a little about me, the author.  I have a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Tulane University, and for close to fifteen years I worked as a mental health consultant for the Department of Human Resources here in the real Jefferson County.  My team would evaluate children and families who came under the oversight of DHR, and offer them services including in-home family therapy, case management, psychiatric services, and more.  The goal was to try to keep them out of foster care. I worked very closely with all the child welfare social workers in the county at the time and became familiar with how things in that world worked.

From this short bio, I’m sure it’s not hard to see that my research into some aspects of the books comes from reality.  Claire’s character comes from several of the social workers I knew in real life, who were dedicated and determined to do the best for their clients. I got to see first-hand how the work affected their lives and families as well as some of the frustrations they faced.

That being said, I also break some of the rules.  In LITTLE GIRL GONE, Claire meets a 13-year old black girl named LaReesa Jones, and they develop a long-term relationship. She eventually becomes her foster mother, but in real life that would never be allowed.  Social workers are allowed to foster, but the child cannot be one that they have investigated or have had anything to do with professionally.  LaReesa is a culmination of all of the resilient kids I worked with over the years. Kids who have faced so much strife and stress and somehow manage to succeed, even with some bumps along the way.

Most of my characters are based on real people. There is a romance that develops when Claire meets Grant Summerville in LITTLE LAMB LOST.  He’s a very tall, very cute man who becomes Claire’s boyfriend.  Oh, but then there’s Kirk Mahoney, the sexy bad-boy reporter from the News. Claire is not allowed to share any information with him about any of her cases, but that doesn’t stop him from asking. Again and again.  Both Grant and Kirk are based on different sides of my husband’s personality. He likes to guess which ones.

Thank you for allowing me to share all this with you, and I hope you’ll check out the books!

 

You can find out more about Margaret Fenton via her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Little White Lies is available in digital and print editions via all major online booksellers.

Author R&R with Robbie Bach

Robbie Bach is best known for founding and leading the team that created the Xbox. Today he is an entertaining storyteller and catalyzing voice who writes books and speaks to audiences on leadership, creativity, strategy, and civic issues. He also serves on the national board of governors for Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Magic Leap, an augmented reality company, and is the co-owner of Manini’s, Inc., a gluten-free pasta and baking company. In 2015, he published his first book, Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal. His first thriller novel, The Wilkes Insurrection, debuts today.

In the novel, the relative calm at Offutt Air Force Base is shattered when commercial Flight 209 crashes down onto its runway. From the flaming wreckage, Major Tamika Smith must try to rescue survivors and make sense of the tragedy. But this isn't just an isolated incident. In a time of national unrest and division, a cunning shadowy mastermind is tearing down the United States from the inside out, playing law enforcement like puppets. Soon, thousands are dying and there are precious few leads. Can Tamika and an unlikely collection of committed Americans stop the destruction in time to rescue a nation descending into chaos?

Robbie stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing the book:

 

People, Places and Things

By nature, I’m a detail oriented person, so when I set out to write my debut novel, The Wilkes Insurrection, I made an early commitment to getting things “right.”  For fiction to be believable, it has to have a level of accuracy that commands the reader’s respect and attention.  Since my storyline involves avionics, virtual reality, the military, politics, the dark web, and more, it required substantial research to augment whatever knowledge I already possessed in those areas.  And I used the full range of techniques to gather the data I needed.  Think of this as the “People, Places, and Things” of an authentic story.

My writing actually began with a number of short chapters for four or five characters that were running around in my head.  At the time, I had no clue how they might fit together or how a plot would develop.  But each of them had a profession, a personal background, and a life history that needed to be genuine.  Some of that I could create out of thin air – but I quickly ran into the constraints of facts and reality.  As an example, my main protagonist, Major Tamika Smith, is a reservist in the Air Force.  Since I’ve never served in the military, I did plenty of web-based research on ranks, functions, and base locations.  I also interviewed or received written feedback from two Generals, a Lieutenant Colonel, and two Captains in the Air Force with particular focus on military etiquette, communications, and procedure.  Making the People believable – likeable in some cases and despicable in others – was foundational for the plot.

The Wilkes Insurrection takes place all over the United States – and also has a scene in Afghanistan.  Strong fiction requires putting the reader “on location” by describing the scene well and creating a sensory image for them.  While I had been to some of my plot locations, many others were new for me.  In some cases, like Kandahar, Afghanistan, I relied on internet imagery, location descriptions, maps, and other forms of research to create a picture in my own mind.  But as often as possible, I visited my sites personally.  I went to Washington, DC for a Boys and Girls Club Board of Governors meeting.  I spent hours during breaks Ubering between Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Pentagon (in a suit in August, no less!) taking pictures and notes on various locations.  The next morning, I got up early and took a 7 AM Amtrak train to Baltimore, again to familiarize myself with the train (spoiler alert:  and it’s bathrooms).  Making the Place real – sometimes glorious and sometimes in destruction – is essential for a thriller.

Beyond the characters and locations, I was very focused on various technical details.  For a reader, there is nothing worse than going through a story and thinking, “Oh, I know that’s not right.”  I worked for Microsoft for 22 years, including being a founding leader and Chief Xbox Officer for that business, so people assume I understand technology deeply.  In fact, I have no formal technical training and don’t play video games(!).  So when I delved into the dark web, cybersecurity, and virtual reality in my novel, I had more exploration to do.  As an example, I met with over a dozen startup CEOs in the Seattle area who were building virtual reality products to understand the business and technical challenges they were facing.  From these interviews, I created a series of business issues for a mythical company, Cybernoptics, that framed an important portion of The Wilkes Insurrection plot.  Because of my background, I know that plenty of people with technical skills will read my book – and I want them to know that getting the Things accurate mattered to me.

Not all research and reference work requires extensive effort.  The internet, if used carefully, has a wealth of information that can fill in small gaps.  This was immensely helpful as I worked to get some very specific details correct.  So how many passengers can fly on a 757? How fast can world class female sprinters run the 400?  Or, how tall is the Oroville Dam?  There are also some areas where being less specific is helpful.  A successful author once told me that you either have to say “they made love,” or take the risk of getting very, very specific.  I choose the latter!!

Finally, I will point out, that despite my search for accuracy, I believe in literary license.  As an author, I had to gauge the fine line between authenticity and a reader’s willingness to suspend disbelief in the rush of a great plot.  That is an essential part of the art of writing great fiction.

 

You can find out more about the author and the book via this website, and also follow the author on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The Wilkes Insurrection is currently available in hardcover for in-store pick-up or shipping from all major booksellers. The ebook version will be available November 2.

Author R&R with James McGrath Morris

James McGrath Morris is a biographer and award-winning writer of narrative non-fiction. His works include The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism, which was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year; and, Jailhouse Journalism: The Four Estate Behind Bars. He is also the author of the Kindle Singles Revolution by Murder: Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and the Plot to Kill Henry Clay Frick. In 2019 he received the BIO Award, which is given to a writer who has made a major contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of biography. 

His newest book is Tony Hillerman: A Life, which offers a balanced portrait of Hillerman’s personal and professional life and provides a timely appreciation of his work, including the almost accidental invention of Hillerman’s iconic detective Joe Leaphorn and the circumstances that led to the addition of Jim Chee as his partner. Hillerman’s novels were not without controversy, and Morris examines the charges of cultural appropriation leveled at the author toward the end of his life. Yet, for many readers, including many Native Americans, Hillerman deserves critical acclaim for his knowledgeable and sensitive portrayal of Diné (Navajo) history, culture, and identity.

James stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about "How Hillerman Taught Me To Accept My Mistakes":

 

In 1979, I wrote Tony Hillerman a fan letter. I was then working as a reporter in Jefferson City, MO, and I was curious to find out if the state’s capitol had been the model for his book The Fly on the Wall.

Apparently I wasn’t the only person to ask this question. “I run into reporters all over who say, ‘I know which State Capitol you are using. You use Jefferson City, Missouri or . . . ,’” said Hillerman. “You know they tend to be alike. It was actually based on the Capitol at Oklahoma City, where I had worked.”

I had briefly meet Hillerman the previous year or two when I was working as a journalist in Albuquerque, NM, where he lived. In my letter I reminded him of our passing acquaintance and asked about the possible connection between his book and Missouri’s capitol.

He replied. This was several years before his Navajo mystery novels became best-sellers generating such extensive fan mail that he ceased being able to write back. In his letter to me, Hillerman, unfailingly polite, said his fictitious capitol building might include some similarities with Missouri’s but was based on Oklahoma’s.

Then Hillerman asked if I had spotted the mistake in the book? I had not. So as not to give it away instantly, the author had taken the sheet of stationery out of his typewriter and put it back in upside down. That way the answer appeared upside down so I could not read it immediately.

When I flipped the page, I learned that the protagonist John Cotton had removed his shoes in a nighttime visit to the capitol, so that the men chasing him would not hear his steps on the marble floor, but he never put them back on. He then walked through streets wet with sleet, took a cab ride, and arrived at the final scene in the house of the Democratic Party state chairman, all in stocking feet.

“Readers do pay close attention. I get letters from ones who just read to find errors,” Hillerman said. “The best one I’ve ever had,” Hillerman commented with regard to reader complaints, “was when I got a call at 10 p.m. one night. The fellow said, ‘I used to have a lot of respect for you until I’ve just been reading Dance Hall of the Dead. Don’t you know deer don’t have gall bladders?’”

Over the course of eighteen Navajo novels, Hillerman would err no more than most writers but his immense readership included many eagle-eyed fans who eagerly pointed out mistakes. Re-reading Hillerman’s books and studying his papers in the course of preparing  a biography of his life, I found the author had a healthy attitude about the small errors he made. He accepted the fact that they were inevitable and unless they were major, errors could make for a good story. And, Tony Hillerman loved a story.

I’ve come to adopt his approach and often think about how, usually with a laugh, he recounted to audiences some of the mistakes he had made in his books. Over time, he grew fond of the one involving John Cotton’s shoeless night trek through bad weather, frequently sharing it with readers, like with the fan who wrote him in 1979.

 

You can learn more about Morris and his work via his website, and also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Tony Hillerman: A Life is available today from the University of Oklahoma Press via all major booksellers.

An Avalanche of (Non-Charity) Anthologies

Yesterday, I took note of some recent anthologies for charity, but there are many more anthologies based on other themes and events that have come through the publishing pipeline recently. Here are some of those titles:

Under the auspices of New York City’s The Mysterious Bookshop and its affiliated Mysterious Press, Lee Child has selected twenty short crime tales as the Best Mystery Stories of the Year. The award-winning Mysterious Press senior editor, Otto Penzler, brings his decades of anthologist experience to this new annual publication, each of which will feature a different bestselling author to serve as guest editor. The inaugural edition includes tales by Stephen King, Sara Paretsky, Doug Allyn, Jim Allyn, Michael Bracken, James Lee Burke, Martin Edwards, John Floyd, Jacqueline Freimor, Alison Gaylin, Sue Grafton, Paul Kemprecos, Janice Law, Dennis McFadden, David Marcum, Tom Mead, David Morrell, Joyce Carol Oates, Joseph S. Walker, and Andrew Welsh-Huggins.

Meanwhile, Steph Cha is taking the helm of the Best American Mystery and Suspense series (formerly edited by Penzler), with best-selling crime novelist Alafair Burke joining her as the first guest editor. Spanning from a mediocre spa in Florida, to New York’s gritty East Village, to death row in Alabama, this collection reveals boundless suspense in small, quiet moments, offering startling twists in the least likely of places. The lineup of featured authors includes Jenny Bhatt, Christopher Bollen, Nikki Dolson, E. Gabriel Flores, Alison Gaylin, Gar Anthony Haywood, Ravi Howard, Gabino Iglesias, Charin Jones, Aya de Leon, Preston Lang, Laura Lippman, Kristen Lepionka, Joanna Pearson, Delia C. Pitts, Eliot Schrefer, Alex Segura, Brian Silverman, Faye Snowden, and Lisa Unger.

This Time For Sure is the latest Bouchercon Anthology, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan and available from Down & Out Books. What would you do if you had a second chance? A do-over? How far would you go to get back at the one who got away, the one who did you wrong, the one who tricked you, manipulated you, ignored you? Twenty-two brilliant skilled authors now offer their journeys into revenge, revealing how they would even the score, turn the tables, make things right. One used a map. One a tape recorder. A decoy. A disguise. A lie. One even used a banana. Featured authors include Craig Johnson, Gabriel Valjan, Kristen Lepionka, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Karen Dionne, Clark Boyd, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Elizabeth Elwood, Damyanti Biswas, Martha Reed, Lucy Burdette, Sharon Bader, Alexia Gordon, Alex Segura, Edwin Hill, Steve Shrott, Elisabeth Elo, Alan Orloff, G. Miki Hayden, Charles Todd, Heather Graham, and Ellen Clair Lamb.
 

Midnight Hour, edited by Abby L. Vandiver and published by Crooked Lane, showcases 20 mystery and suspense stories written by people of color, each with a pivotal moment set at midnight. Highlights include Callie Browning’s twisty "Dead Men Tell No Tales, which centers on the murder of the prime minister of Barbados; Christopher Chambers’s clever "In the Matter of Mabel and Bobby Jefferson," in which Shane, an English major now working the night shift at an insurance company call center, wearily concludes, "It’s going to get funny tonight," but he doesn’t know the half of it; Tina Kashian’s unsettling "Cape May Murders," Sona and Priya, both mothers of young daughters, go away for a relaxing weekend at the Jersey Shore and wind up sharing their B&B with a murderer; and Sanjay, the Hindi Houdini, finds his séance spinning out of control in Gigi Pandian’s droll, "The Diamond Vanishes."
 

Untreed Reads recently released Monkey Business, featuring a Who's Who of award-winning crime writers paying homage to the Marx Brothers in fourteen short stories, each inspired by one of the brothers' studio films. Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers...over the two decades between 1929's The Cocoanuts and 1949's Love Happy, the Marx Brothers-Groucho, Harpo, Chico (and sometimes Zeppo) entertained movie-goers around the world with their madcap antics, rapid-fire dialogue, and prowess on the piano, the harp, and in song. Authors with stories here include Donna Andrews, Frankie Y. Bailey, Jeff Cohen, Lesley A. Diehl, Brendan DuBois, Terence Faherty, Barb Goffman, Joseph Goodrich, Robert Lopresti, Sandra Murphy, Robert J. Randisi, Marilyn Todd, Joseph S. Walker, and editor Josh Pachter.

The stories in Murder by the Glass: Cocktail Mysteries, also from Untreed Reads, infuse this collection of deadly deeds with a variety of potent potables from light-bodied puzzles to edgier tales with bitter consequences. This anthology includes works by Allie Marie, Betsy Ashton, Frances Aylor, Mary Dutta, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Diane Fanning, Debra H. Goldstein, Libby Hall, Maria Hudgins, Teresa Inge, Maggie King, Kristin Kisska, Allie Marie, K. L. Murphy, Alan Orloff, Josh Pachter, Shawn Reilly Simmons and Heather Weidner.
 

So West: Love Kills is the latest anthology from Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter. From the wilds of Arizona’s Rim country to its dusty lowland deserts, you’ll find it all within the pages of So West: Love Kills. Bonds forged and broken. Covenants kept and cast aside. Love nurtured and left to rot. Not everything is as it seems. Not everyone can be trusted. But one thing is for certain—love hurts. Sometimes it even kills! Contributing authors include Shannon Baker, Mysti Berry, Meredith Blevins, Patricia Bonn, Lauren Buckingham, Susan Budavari, William Butler, Patricia Curren, Meg E. Dobson, Beverly Forsyth, Denise Ganley, Roberta Gibson, Katherine Atwell Herbert, Tom Leveen, Susan Cummins Miller, Charlotte Morganti, Julie Morrison, Claire A. Murray, Kris Neri, Karen Odden, R K Olson, D.R. Ransdell, Kim Rivery, Elena E. Smith. 

Stores in the Capitol Crimes 2021 Anthology, Cemetery Plots of Northern California (with a foreword by best-selling author Catriona McPherson), delve into the creative minds of Capitol Crimes members. The setting: Northern California. The theme: that place we all finally must visit, the cemetery. The plots and characters are as diverse as the authors. And their stories will touch your spirit where adventure and fear intersect. The featured stories are from Donna Benedict, Melissa H. Blaine, Jenny Carless, Chris Dreith, Eve Elliot, Elaine Faber, Kenneth Gwin, Kim Keeline, Virginia Kidd, Nan Mahon, Jennifer Morita, Karen Phillips, Richard Schneider, Terry Shepherd, and Joseph S. Walker.

Another Sisters in Crime chapter, SinC NY-TriState, has published the anthology, Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5. Injustice may lurk inside a swanky Manhattan apartment, a high school classroom, a Soho art gallery, a Madison Avenue church, the waters traversed by the Staten Island ferry, turn-of-the-century Lower East Side, or the Brooklyn suburbs. The crime committed may involve homophobia, xenophobia, child abandonment, sexual abuse, white privilege, ageism, or literary snobbery. Regardless, these tales are designed to both enlighten and delight readers of suspense who seek out a bit of fairness and integrity in the city that may never sleep but does often rectify its wrongs. Participating authors include Lori Robbins, Catherine Siemann, Cathi Stoler, Anne-Marie Sutton, D.M. Barr, Roz Siegel, Kathleen Marple Kalb, Ellen Quint, Mary Jo Robertiello, Catherine Maiorisi, Nancy Good, Nina Mansfield, Susie Case, Stephanie Wilson-Flaherty, Nina Wachsman, and Elle Hartford.

There's also Death by Cupcake, edited by Jess Faraday. A cupcake sounds so innocent, but these cupcakes aren’t always sweet. In fact, many lead to a sticky end. But only for those who truly deserve it. Featured stories include "The House Next Door" by Lee Mullins;" Sweet Anaphylactic Revenge" by Meg Candelria; "Tea & Misery" by Tracy Falenwolf; "Hello Goodbye Cupcake" by Mark Hague; "Cupcakes and Emeralds" by Maggie King; "The Third Act" by Gay Toltl Kinman; "Up a Pole Without a Paddle" by JoAnne Lucas; and "Little Miss Cupcake" by Korina Moss.
 

Bristol Noir has published two new anthologies: Tainted Hearts & Dirty Hellhounds, featuring Alpheus Williams, Andrew Davie, Anthony Neil Smith, B.F. Jones, Ben Newell, Blake Johnson, Bobby Mathews, C.W. Blackwell, Curtis Ippolito, David Tromblay, Don Stoll, F.J. Romano, Gabriel Hart, Graham Wynd, Ian Ayris, Jason Butkowski, J.B. Stevens, and John Bowie; and Savage Minds & Raging Bulls, with stories from John Bowie, M.E. Proctor, Mark Atley, Mark McConville, Max Thrax, M.Jack Hall, MJ Newman, Nathan Pettigrew, Paul D. Brazill, Phil Hurst, Richard Barr, Russell Day, Scott Cumming, Stephen J. Golds, Tom Leins, William R. Soldan, Wilson Koewing, and Zakariah Johnson.
 

Murderous Ink Press has just published Crimeucopia - Careless Love. Is love ever perfect? Or is it an obsession that remains rather than just a passing phase? And who’s to say that Revenge isn’t, in fact, a dish best served hot from the flames of passion? Fifteen writers tell us about affairs of the heart – some with humor, some with a darker intent, and others that are never quite exactly what they seem. There are stories from Steve Sneyd, Ange Morrissey, James Roth, Michael Wiley, Gustavo Bondoni, Matthew Wilson, Peter W. J. Hayes, Wil A. Emerson, Brandon Barrows, Bern Sy Moss, Michael Anthony Dioguardi, Russell Richardson, Robert Petyo, Sam Westcott, Bryn Fortey, and Vicky LaPerso – all of whom take us on roller coaster rides through a fictional Tunnel of Love. 
 

One of Down & Out Books' latest anthologies (with a release date of October 11) is Trouble No More. Turn on any classic rock station, and you’ll hear Southern Rock tunes that will make you stomp your foot and sing along to. The hard-rocking pioneers of the genre left behind a legacy of hard living that endures today. The stories in Trouble No More celebrate those pioneers. Find ramblers, gamblers, swindlers, and double-dealers within these pages, all striving to survive more than the Southern humidity. There are twenty-one stories of heartbreak, murder, robbery, and barnyard brawls from Bill Baber, C.W. Blackwell, Jerry Bloomfield, S.A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Michel Lee Garrett, James D.F. Hannah, Curtis Ippolito, Jessica Laine, Brodie Lowe, Bobby Mathews, Brian Panowich, Rob Pierce, Joey R. Poole, Raquel V. Reyes, Michael Farris Smith, J.B. Stevens, Chris Swann, Art Taylor, N.B. Turner, and Joseph S. Walker.

 

Anthologies for Charity

Some recent anthologies that are raising money for various charities have popped up in my various newsfeeds lately. Here are some of the more recent ones that are helping to provide money and awareness for Covid relief, cancer, and violence against women:

This Halloween, a group of crime writers including Peter James, M W Craven, T M Logan, and Trevor Wood are publishing a spooky crime anthology to help raise funds for the Barnardos Children in Crisis Appeal, set up in the wake of the "shadow pandemic" created by Covid-19. The collection, Afraid of the Shadows, features 20 short stories edited by Miranda Jewess, editorial director at Viper. It is the third volume in the bestselling Afraid of the Light series, launched during the March 2020 lockdown, which has raised thousands of pounds for its chosen charities. It includes contributions from CWA Short Story Dagger shortlistees Victoria Selman, Elle Croft, Robert Scragg, James Delargy, and Dominic Nolan, as well as stories by Phoebe Morgan, S R Masters, Clare Empson, Matt Wesolowski, N J Mackay, Kate Simants, Jo Furniss, Heather Critchlow, Adam Southward and Rachael Blok.

Telos Publishing has picked up a new crime anthology edited by USA Today bestselling author, Samantha Lee Howe. The book, titled Criminal Pursuits: Crimes Through Time, has been put together by Howe to raise money for the charity POhWER which works to give a voice to those struggling with Human Rights issues in the UK. The authors taking part are: A A Chaudhuri, Raven Dane, Caroline England, Paul Finch, Samantha Lee Howe, Rhys Hughes, Maxim Jakubowski, Awais Khan, Paul Magrs, Sandra Murphy, Amy Myers, Bryony Pearce, Christine Poulson, and Sally Spedding.

The Pixel Project, established to end violence against women, has launched its first charity anthology, Giving the Devil His Due, published in partnership with Running Wild Press. Best described as "The Twilight Zone meets Promising Young Woman," the anthology will feature sixteen stories in homage to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, one of the largest annual anti-violence against women events in the world. Edited by Rebecca Brewer, formerly of Ace (Penguin Random House), the anthology includes sixteen major names and rising stars in Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror today including Angela Yuriko Smith, Christina Henry, Dana Cameron, Errick Nunnally, Hillary Monahan, Jason Sanford, Kaaron Warren, Kelley Armstrong, Kenesha Williams, Leanna Renee Hieber, Lee Murray, Linda D. Addison, Nicholas Kaufmann, Nisi Shawl, Peter Tieryas, and Stephen Graham Jones.

The C Word: For some lockdown has been murder is a collection of short stories collated during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise money for NHS Charities Together. Described as "a plethora of wonderful stories created by a wide variety of writers, each with their own unique style," the anthology includes contributions from Steve Mosby, Sophie Hannah, Elly Griffiths, Sarah Hilary, and twenty other crime fiction authors.

The fourth installment in Gutter Books’ Rock Anthology Series, Coming Through in Waves, pays tribute to Pink Floyd and is edited by horror author and cancer survivor T. Fox Dunham. Coming Through in Waves weaves together a plethora of dark, strange, and intriguing images that only Pink Floyd could inspire, with stories by Dunham, K. A. Laity, Paul Brazill, Allan Rozinski, A. Patterson, Morgan Sylvia, S. Lauden, Andy Rausch, Tom Leins, and Kimberly Godwin. A portion of the proceeds from this project will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to which T. Fox Dunham, a survivor of a rare form of lymphoma, is indebted.

Back in February, Down & Out released The Great Filling Station Holdup, edited by Josh Pachter, featuring crime stories inspired by the music of Jimmy Buffett, famous for his iconic "Margaritaville." Here, you can enjoy stories from Leigh Lundin, Josh Pachter, Rick Ollerman, Michael Bracken, Don Bruns, Alison McMahan, Bruce Robert Coffin, Lissa Marie Redmond, Elaine Viets, Robert J. Randisi, Laura Oles, Isabella Maldonado, Jeffery Hess, Neil Plakcy, John M. Floyd, and M.E. Browning. A third of all royalties are being donated to two charities co-founded by Jimmy Buffett, Singing for Change and the Save the Mantee Club.

Author R&R with Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg has been a Visiting Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Hunter College, the Writer's Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a Founding Member. His freelance work has appeared in such publications as Esquire, New York Magazine, GQ, Elle, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times Book Review. He's also the author of the Henry Swann detective series: Swann Dives In; Swann's Last Song, which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel; and Swann's Lake of Despair.

In his latest book, Canary in the Coal Mine, PI Pete Fortunato works out of a friend’s real estate office after spending a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town. He lives from paycheck to paycheck, so when a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.

Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband in the apartment of his client’s young, stud lover—shot once in the head, case closed. But when his client’s check bounces and Albanian gangsters kidnap him in hopes he’ll lead them to a large sum of money the dead man allegedly stole, he begins to realize he’s been set up to take the fall for the murder and theft. In an attempt to get himself out of a jam, Fortunato winds up on a wild ride that takes him down to Texas where he searches for his client’s lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder.

Charles Salzberg stopped by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about researching and writing the book:

 

Researching: My Dirty, Little Secret

Years ago, I became friends with a guy I met when we worked the two lowest jobs at New York magazine. I was in the mailroom; he worked the photostat machine. Both aspiring writers, we quickly bonded and formed a writer’s group. A year or two later, his first novel was picked up by a prestigious publisher and he was, understandably, over-the-moon.

In his novel, which takes place in Alabama where he grew up in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, he mentions blue mailboxes. One day, he gets a call from the copyeditor informing him that during that era all mailboxes around Mobile were grey. They asked him to change it.

It seemed silly to me at the time. It’s fiction, right? So, what difference does it make if the mailboxes in his novel are blue or grey or polka-dot?

Over the years, as I began to get my own novels published, I realized it wasn’t silly at all. Facts do matter, even in fiction and there’s a practical reason why they do. What writer hasn’t received an email from a reader that goes something like, “I read your book and loved it, but on page 137 you said that 88^th Street runs east but it really runs west...”

That’s not the only reason accuracy is important. If readers can’t rely on the author to get facts right, it renders the whole work suspect.

Case in point. Bob Dylan’s memoir, Chronicles. On the first page, Dylan writes, “…then down to Jack Dempsey’s restaurant on 58^th and Broadway…” Only Dempsey’s wasn’t on 58^th Street, it was on Broadway between 49^th and 50^th streets (I used to pass it every day one summer when I worked as a messenger in the Garment District). If Dylan and his editors can’t get this fact right, how can we trust anything Dylan writes?

This is one reason why doing research, even when it comes to fiction, is essential.

Back when I was making a living as a magazine journalist, I developed my own approach to research. The temptation, especially when starting out, is to research the heck out of everything. But I soon learned there’s a risk with over-researching. The result can be that you get so bogged down in research that when it comes time to write the article, you’re overwhelmed to the point of freezing up, not knowing how you’re going to squeeze everything into your 2,000-word limit. So, you quickly learn to limit the amount of research you do.

I found the less research I did the better interviewer I became. If I knew too much about a subject going into the interview, I ran the risk of not asking the right questions, because I already knew the answers. Instead, I’d keep asking questions until I reached the point where I could successfully channel that information into prose my readers could understand.

I have friends who do just the opposite. They’re more comfortable doing heavy research. Their argument, and it’s a valid one, is that the more they know the less likely they’ll “miss” something important to ask. There’s no right or wrong, but rather it’s a matter of style.

When it comes to fiction, the goal is to create a world that makes sense, while at the same time keeping readers turning pages to find out what’s going to happen next. The last thing you want is readers getting stuck on that “fact” that’s not true, like where Jack Dempsey’s restaurant really was.

And so, if you’re wise, you’re obliged to get the facts right. In Canary in the Coal Mine, for instance, Pete Fortunato, a down and out PI, runs afoul of the mob. I needed to find a group that was especially violent and ruthless. The only way to do that was to research, which ultimately led me to the Albanian mob, a group so violent and unpredictable that even the Mafia won’t deal with them.

Fortunato suffers from anger management issues and insomnia (not a good combination). So, I had to research anger management groups to see the kinds of exercises he would have been put through. I also quizzed friends who suffer from insomnia to find out what that’s like.

For me, research often has to do with geography. I like writing about places I’ve never been—so Wikipedia, Google and Google maps come in very handy. My first crime novel, Swann’s Last Song, was written before the Internet was around. I wanted parts of the novel to take place in Los Angeles, the wilds of Mexico and Berlin. Only trouble was, I’d never been to any of those places. So, I interviewed friends who’d been there. I pored over maps. I read magazine articles. And then I sat down and plunked Swann into those places.

My best friend, who’d actually been to L.A. read the manuscript and asked, “When were you in L.A.?” “Never,” I replied. “Then how did you capture it so well?” Easy. Research. And after the book came out, I was invited to a small book club. One of the women, who was from Mexico, said to me, “you really got the Mexico part so well. When were you there?” She was surprised when my answer was, “Never.” And I can thank the research I did for that.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, I did absolutely no research for this essay.

 

You can learn more about Charles Salzberg at his website and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Canary in the Coal Mine is now available via Down & Out Books and is available in digital and paperback formats in all major online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Author R&R with Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books, from clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington; the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books; the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House; and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane. Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival, and she is also the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. 

Delany's latest novel, Deadly Summer Nights, is the first installment in a new historical cozy series. It’s the summer of 1953, and Elizabeth Grady is settling into Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. As a vacation getaway, Haggerman’s is ideal, and although Elizabeth’s ostentatious but well-meaning mother is new to running the resort, Elizabeth is eager to help her organize the guests and the entertainment acts. But Elizabeth will have to resort to untested abilities if she wants to save her mother’s business. When a reclusive guest is found dead in a lake on the grounds, and a copy of The Communist Manifesto is found in his cabin, the local police chief is convinced that the man was a Russian spy. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure, and with the fate of the resort hanging in the balance, she’ll need to dodge red herrings, withstand the Red Scare, and catch a killer red-handed.

Vicki stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about writing and researching her books:

 

Researching the 1950s is surprisingly easy. After all, so many people still alive were there. I will confess that even I was there, although not paying attention to the political and social customs and issues of the time.

When I set about writing the first in my Catskills Summer Resort mysteries, I had a wealth of information to draw upon. There are hundreds of movies made during the time period available on streaming networks or YouTube. Not historical re-enactments in the style of Bridgerton or Outlander, but movies that were contemporary when they were filmed.

I loved watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing, Esther Williams in the water, gritty hard-boiled detectives like Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon (although that was made in 1941). Movies are a fantasy, sure, but they are also reflective of their times. Nightly entertainment in a grand fashion was a key part of vacationing at the big hotels in the Catskills, so that forms an important part of my book and some key scenes are set in the ballroom. I watched the dance movies to help set the mood in the ballroom of my Catskills Hotel. I listened to big band music by the likes of Glenn Miller. I studied the clothes, the furniture, the tilt of a cigarette in the mouth of a sophisticated woman and watched peoples’ expressions and listened to the slang or formal speech patterns. 

All of which helped me, I hope, to create the feel of the times, particularly in those minor but important details such as the cut of a character’s dress or her hair style or what she might order from the bar.

People who were there often say the most important part of any Catskills vacation was the food, both quality and quantity. Thus, descriptions of food are vital in the book for helping set the mood. I read a lot of cookbooks from the era and looked at design magazines, many of which are available online. I can’t say I tried cooking anything I read about though. Jell-O salads with canned pineapple just doesn’t appeal.

As for the specific history of the Catskills at the time of the famous resorts, there’s a lot of first-hand information available. Family vacation shots and publicity photos are easy to find on the Internet. And a photo, as has been said, is worth a thousand words. 

But when an old picture isn’t enough, many people have very fond memories of the times they spent at the great hotels, or cheap bungalow colonies, either as guests or as employees, or children of owners and employees.  “Mountain Rats” the latter called themselves and have written about it. 

I relied on Growing up at Grossinger’s by Tania Grossinger, Catskills Culture by Phil Brown, and It Happened in the Catskills by Myrna Katz Frommer & Harvey Frommer as sources.

The Catskills in the 1950s:  girdles and stockings, fancy cocktails, grand ballrooms, cigarette smoke (and more cigarette smoke), angel food cake and Cheez Whiz on celery sticks, Reds under the beds and slow-moving fans. Comedians and big bands and glamorous singers. Paddle boats and bellhops, tomato cocktails and Jell-O salads, swimsuit competitions and unattended children.

I hope you’ll take a trip back in time with Elizabeth Grady and Olivia Peters and enjoy your time at Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. It is, after all, 1953.  Now, please light me another cigarette and then fetch me a martini, while I help myself to a slice of that pineapple upside down cake.

 

You can learn more about Vicki Delany and her books via her website, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads. Deadly Summer Nights will be launched tomorrow and available via all major booksellers.

Author R&R with Lorie Lewis Ham

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was thirteen, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper and publish six mystery novels. For the past eleven years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she also produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast.

Her latest novel, One of Us, is the first in the new Tower District Mystery Series set in Fresno's dining, arts, and entertainment hub. It centers on children’s book author, Roxi Carlucci, who finds herself starting over again after her publisher drops her book series. With no income, she has to pack up her life on the California Coast, along with her pet rat Merlin, and move in with her cousin, P.I. Stephen Carlucci, who lives in Fresno. 

Stephen talks Roxi into helping out with a community theatre production, which is also a fundraiser for a local animal rescue. Little did she know that someone would be murdered during a rehearsal, and that she and Stephen would be hired to find the killer. The culprit has to be one of Roxi’s new acquaintances, since the theatre was locked at the time of the murder, but no one seems to have a motive. Could the local gossip website hold any clues? Can Roxi and Stephen stop the killer before he strikes again?

Lorie stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching her novels:
 

My books tend to rely heavily on the old adage “write what you know.” A lot of that comes from the fact that I prefer to sit down and write the first draft without doing a lot of research and editing—then later do what research is needed to fill in the gaps. Writing what I know makes that possible. I am very much a pantser! The only real exception is information I need for the murder.

My first book series was published in the early 2000s and featured a gospel singing amateur sleuth named Alexandra Walters. I spent over 20 years singing gospel music with my family. It was set in a fictional version of my hometown. The new book, One of Us, is set in one of my favorite local places to hang out in, the Tower District of Fresno, CA.

When I first decided to start a new series, I was going to have my main character Roxi Carlucci run a small animal rescue—I ran one out of my home for over 10 years. But by the time I actually got around to working seriously on the first book, the mystery book world had been flooded with books involving animal rescue, so I decided to change things up a bit—although there is an animal rescue connection in the book. The plot of the book involves community theatre—something else I have a connection to. And by the end of the book, Roxi becomes a podcaster—something I have been doing for the past three years with my podcast, Mysteryrat’s Maze.

Roxi also works as a part time P.I. with her cousin Stephen, which isn’t something I have done, but it is something I did a lot of research on for my first series in which Stephen also appears. The Carlucci family has ties to the Mafia, something I also did a great deal of research on for my first series. Now saying I did research into those things may seem to contradict what I first said, but the difference is that they were things I already had an interest in and already knew something about.

When it comes to the mystery side of things there is still a certain amount of “write what you know” as well. As soon as I was old enough that I didn’t need my parent’s permission, I went on several ride-alongs with the local police department—partially because I wanted to be a mystery writer, but also because I considered becoming a cop. For those same reasons, I took some Criminal Justice classes at community college—funny enough I knew enough from all of my mystery TV watching and reading that the classes were a breeze.

For the rest of the details of the crime I have a wonderful library of How Dunnit Books and a couple of great resources I can go to and say—“Hey if this happened how do you…?” One is a former chief of police, and the other many of you may know, mystery author D.P. Lyle.

For any other little things along the way, I am thankful for the internet! Especially during a pandemic. While finishing One of Us I went online several times to double check details about the Tower District like street names and business names, since I couldn’t go there in person. So for me, research is mostly what I know and what I already love!
 

You can learn more about Lorie and her book One of Us on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Twitter and Facebook. One of Us is available on Amazon; for the Nook and paperback on Barnes and Noble.com; and on Kobo. You can also hear an excerpt from One of Us read on the Mysteryrat's Maze podcast via this link.