It Was A Dark And Stormy Book Club

Samantha Downing is the author of the USA Today and #1 International Best Seller, My Lovely Wife, She was born and raised in Marin County, California, and now lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next thrilling standalone. Mary Lawrence lives in Maine and writes the Bianca Goddard Mysteries set in Tudor London featuring a cast of commoners. Bianca uses her wits and a smattering of alchemy to solve murders in the slums of Southwark. Her debut, The Alchemist’s Daughter (Kensington, 2015) was named by Suspense Magazine as a “Best Book of 2015” in the historical mystery category. Her articles have appeared in several publications most notably the national news blog, The Daily Beast. The Bianca Goddard Mystery series also includes Death of an Alchemist, Death at St. Vedast, The Alchemist of Lost Souls, and the forthcoming The Lost Boys of London.

This months recipient of the IN AGATHA'S FOOTSTEPS goes to Laura Lippman. She was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working full-time and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards.She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association. Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade.After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light.Ms. Lip

Amy Stewart is the New York Times best-selling author of ten books, including Girl Waits with Gun and the rest of the Kopp Sisters series, which are based on the true story of one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs and her two rambunctious sisters. The books are in development with Amazon Studios for a television series. Her popular nonfiction titles include The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential. While they have not been adapted for television, there are a few bars around the world named after The Drunken Botanist, which is even better.Misty Simon always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock… Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time. She knows how to hula, was classically trained to sing opera, co-wrote her high school Alma Mater, and can’t touch raw wood. Never hand her a Dixie cup with that wooden spoon/paddle thing. It’s not pret

Bess Carnan - 2019 Winner of the William F. Deeck – Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers. These days she and her husband live in Orlando, Florida with their rescued garbage cat, Squeaker, and an endless stream of foster kittens. In between feedings, flea baths, and snuggles she writes cozy mysteries that are really love letters to all the places she’s lived.Makita Brottman - She is a writer, mostly of non-fiction. Her work blends memoir, history, psychoanalysis, and creative speculation. Currently, she is especially interested in reconsidering and interrogating the true crime genre. This interest is at the heart of her most recent book, An Unexplained Death (Henry Holt, 2018).

Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Internationally Bestselling Author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series : My Sister's Grave (2014), Her Final Breath (2015), In the Clearing (2015), The Trapped Girl (2016), Close to Home (2017) and A Steep Price (2018). Dugoni's espionage novel, The Eighth Sister, inspired by real events, released in April 2019.His critically acclaimed literary novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (2018) won Suspense Magazine's Crimson Scribe Award as The Best Book of 2018 and has drawn comparison's to novelist John Irving's work. Dugoni also won a Golden Microphone for his narrationo that novel. Connect with him on Facebook @AuthorRobertDugoni, on Twitter @robertdugoni, and on Instagram, robertdugoni, authorDugoni is also the author of the David Sloane series: The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, Bodily Harm, Murder One and The Conviction. Dugoni is the winner of the 2015 Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction, has twice been a finalist for the Harper Lee Award fo

S.C. PERKINS is a fifth-generation Texan who grew up hearing fascinating stories of her ancestry and eating lots of great Tex-Mex, both of which inspired the plot of her debut mystery novel. Murder Once Removed was the winner of the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition. She resides in Houston. We talk about the debut book in her genealogy mystery series, MURDER ONCE REMOVED.Leslie Karst, now retired from the law, she spends her time cooking, singing alto in her local community chorus, gardening, cycling, and of course writing. Leslie and her wife, Robin, and their Jack Russell mix, Ziggy, split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i. We talk about the latest in her Sally Solari culinary mystery series, MURDER FROM SCRATCH.

Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of The New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today-bestselling Maggie Hope mystery series, starting with the Edgar Award-nominated and Barry Award-winning Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, which is now in its 22nd printing. She is currently at work on The Prisoner in the Castle, the eighth novel in the series.We discuss an opinion piece in the Boston Globe Updated June 17, 2019 by Clea Simon "He wrote/she wrote. On gender in mystery writing"

We interview Lou Berney who is the author of November Road (a Washington Post Best Book of 2018), The Long and Faraway Gone (winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Macavity, and ALA awards), Whiplash River, and Gutshot Straight, all from William Morrow. He’s also written a collection of stories, The Road to Bobby Joe, and his short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. He teaches in the MFA program at Oklahoma City University. His website is louberney.comAnn Dark Highlights "The Tale of Two Murders" by Heather Redmond, In the winter of 1835, young Charles Dickens is a journalist on the rise at the Evening Chronicle. Invited to dinner at the estate of the newspaper's co-editor, Charles is smitten with his boss's daughter, vivacious nineteen-year-old Kate Hogarth. They are having the best of times when a scream shatters the pleasant evening. Charles, Kate, and her father rush to the neighbors' home, where Miss Christiana Lugoson lies unconscio

Steve Hockensmith is the author of more than a dozen published novels, including two Edgar finalists, a New York Times bestseller and a Foreword Reviews IndieFab Mystery Book of the Year. He's written several series, including the "Holmes on the Range" mystery/Western hybrids and three tarot-themed whodunnits. He's also a prolific writer of mystery short stories, having appeared in Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock magazines dozens of times. We also highlight two books we are currently reading. An American Family: A Gripping Contemporary Suspense Drama by Jackson Baer. and The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson. The remarkable new account of an essential piece of American mythology—the trial of Lizzie Borden—based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence.

In our next installment of In Agatha's Footsteps, we interviewed Charles and Caroline Todd. Charles and Caroline are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. They write the Best selling Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford mystery series. We discuss how they write as a team and how Ian and Bess are letting Charles and Caroline know where the story will go. We talk about the latest in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series "The Black Ascot"

Paul Haynes is a Los Angeles-based writer. Known as "The Kid" in Michelle McNamara's I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, Paul worked closely with Michelle as her researcher and investigative partner, and helped finish the book after her death.Originally from South Florida, Paul's work with Michelle was the culmination of a decadelong obsession with unsolved serial cases, and the Golden State Killer in particular. He has also worked as a film critic, video editor, and screenwriter, and is currently co-executive producing the HBO docuseries of Michelle's book.

We interview Hannah Dennison. British born, Hannah originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. For many years Hannah taught mystery writing workshops at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program in Los Angeles, California. She has served on numerous judging committees for Mystery Writers of America and is currently on the MWA board for 2018-2019. After twenty-five years living on the West Coast, Hannah returned to the UK where she shares her life with two crazy Hungarian Vizslas. She enjoys all country pursuits, movies, and theatre, reading and seriously good chocolate.We then welcome back Best Selling Author Ellen Butler to talk about the latest in her Karina Cardinal mystery series- "Fatal Legislation" When a senator drops dead at Karina Cardinal’s feet, her status quickly changes from “dogged DC lobbyist” to “person of interest.” Certain the FBI could change that status to “suspect” at any m

We interview David Reichenbaugh and discuss his book. October 2, 2002. A bullet pierced the window of a crafts store in Maryland, just missing the cashier. But other bullets hit their targets. In Pursuit follows the hunt for the Beltway snipers during the twenty-three-day shooting spree that terrorized Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. David Reichenbaugh—the criminal intelligence operations commander for the Maryland State Police, and commanding officer at the scene during the snipers’ capture in Myersville, Maryland—played a major role in the investigation from the first day of the killing spree through its final act, as the snipers were cornered in a rest area in western Maryland. He is one of very few people who know the complete details of the investigation and capture of the snipers. Working against the clock with few clues and little evidence, hundreds of investigators from federal, state, county, and city law enforcement agencies struggled to find answers to the questions: Who were the

In our next installment of In Agatha's Footsteps we interview Anne Hillerman and talk about her latest“ Book the Tale Teller Continuing a LegacyThe Tale Teller merges parallel mysteriesWhen Ann took over the series that made her father, Tony, famous, she gave voice to the female characters in the series, bring­ing them into the mainstream narrative without taking anything away from the male characters upon whom the series was built. Hillerman wisely left the best parts of her father’s beloved characters’ storylines intact while creating compelling new additions. This time, in The Tale Teller (Harper, $26.99, 320 pages, 9780062391957), three paral­lel tales merge with unexpected results for each of the three protag­onists. Retired cop Joe Leaphorn is investigating a case that the local museum director would like to have cleared up before her imminent retirement, that of a priceless traditional Nava

We interview award-winning author John DeDakis who is a former CNN Senior Copy Editor for the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning news program "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis (pronounced deh-DAY-kiss) is the author of four mystery/suspense novels -- Fast Track, Bluff, Troubled Water, and Bullet in the Chamber. The novels provide a behind-the-scenes look at real-world journalism. We discuss his latest book "Fake" available September 1, 2019.Next we interview John Verdon, author of the Best Selling Dave Gurney Mystery Series. Including THINK OF A NUMBER, SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT, LET THE DEVIL SLEEP, PETER PAN MUST DIE, WOLF LAKE and WHITE RIVER BURNING.

We go from one end of the mystery genre to the other. First we interview Lea Wait USA Today best-selling author and speaker who writes the Mainely Needlepoint mystery series, the Shadows Antique Print mystery series, and the Maine Murder Mystery series. We also talk about her new Post-Civil War Mystery "Justice & Mercy".Then we interview Pulitzer prize-winning author Edward Humes and discuss his true crime book "Burned-A Story of Murder and the Crime that Wasn't". A chilling and vivid narrative of Joann Parks who is currently servinglife. A 30 year old arson-murder conviction now being reopened as the science behind it is challenged as mere guesswork.

In our last but surely not least episode of Agatha Nominees we interview Nancy J. Cohen Nominated for Best Nonfiction for Writing the Cozy Mystery (Orange Grove Press), Ben Guterson nominated for Best Children's Y/A Mystery for Winterhouse (Henry Holt), Shari Randall nominated for Best First Novel for Curses Boiled Again (St. Martin's) and Jane Ann Turzillo nominated for Best Nonfiction for Wicked Women of Ohio (History Press)

Round four of our special Agatha Nominee interviews. Ellen Byron nominated for Best Contemporary Novel for Mardi Gras Murder (Crooked Lane Books), L.A. Chandlar nominated for Best Historical Novel for The Gold Pawn(Kensington), Bruce Robert Coffin nominated for Best Contemporary Novel for Beyond the Truth (Witness Impulse) and Dianne Freeman nominated for Best First Novel for A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder (Kensington)

Help us celebrate our PODIVERSARY! Find out who some of our favorite books and guest were over this past year. We also run the numbers and let you know what were the most listened to episodes.

Round three of our special Agatha Nominee Interviews. Cindy Callaghan nominated for Best Childrens Y/A for Potion Problems (Just Add Magic) (Aladdin), Annette Dashofy nominated for Best Contemporary Novel for Cry Wolf (Henery Press) and Aimee Hix Nominated for Best First Novel for What Doesn't Kill You (Midnight Ink)