Mike Donohue Books

6 Creepy & Unsettling Books for Fall

I’m not one that loves the gore and guts of the horror genre but I do quite like a book that can disturb and unsettle without always resorting to blood. The type of book that lingers long after you finish. The type of book that doesn’t neatly fit into one genre but brings all sort of story elements to bear to make you cringe and shiver.

These are some of my favorite genre-bending books for the encroaching dark nights of fall. Read more “6 Creepy & Unsettling Books for Fall” →

writing

8 Steps to Finally Finish Your First Novel

Writing is much like any other craft. It’s not exactly hard to do though it is hard to do well. Writing a book isn’t necessarily hard it just takes time. String enough dedicated, persistence days spent on anything, a book or a painting or training for a marathon and you will reach your goal.

I don’t claim to be any kind of expert, but I have managed to finish a number of books and stories. If just sitting down each day feels a little vague to you, here are the 8 steps I use to keep writing word by word and day after day. Read more “8 Steps to Finally Finish Your First Novel” →

books

5 Thriller Authors I’ve Never Read, But Will Soon

Last year, on a whim at the library, I picked up one of John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers books. I’d read a lot of Prey books but hadn’t read any from his other series. I’m glad I did. I loved them and quickly blew through five more in a race to catch up. They’re great.

But I also started to wonder what I else I might be missing out on.

I’m pretty well read in the mystery and thriller genre but there is only so much time in the day to read and I still some embarrassing holes in my reading history.

To try to start patching up those holes, I’m targeting 5 established or best-selling authors this year that for one reason or another, I’ve never read. Read more “5 Thriller Authors I’ve Never Read, But Will Soon” →

reviews

My 10 Favorite Mystery & Thrillers Read in 2018

Final tally, or close to it, I might squeeze in another book or two, for books read in 2018: 82.

I read a lot of commercial thrillers this year, even for me, as I wanted to really try to dig in and look at the mechanics of the genre for my own writing.

This was also the year I took a break from podcasts and tried more audiobooks, mostly while I walked Dash. I ended up listening to 21 books on audio, which accounts for the jump in total books read. I’m usually around 60 or so, about a book a week on average.

So what books left an impression? What are the books I can still remember months later? These are my favorite reads of 2018. Read more “My 10 Favorite Mystery & Thrillers Read in 2018” →

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My Favorite True Crime Podcasts

The first season of Serial showed how well true crime and podcasting could work together to tell a compelling narrative. And many, many podcasts since have tried to duplicate that success. Some work better than others. These are the five true crime podcasts that I believe are worth your time and worth mentioning in the same breathe as Serial.

books

5 Modern Classic Paperback Thrillers

Calling these classics might be pushing the definition a bit, but they were all written more than 15 years ago and I personally think they all hold up really well and would likely find bestsellers lists again if they were released today.

If you find yourself in a used bookstore in a beach town this summer, you could do a lot worse than picking up one of these five thrillers to read while soaking up some sun. Read more “5 Modern Classic Paperback Thrillers” →

books

5 Recent Crime Books for Your Summer Vacation

When people find out you’re a “reader” you get asked about books. I don’t mind. In fact, it’s one of my favorite topics, especially mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction. Starting with the Hardy Boys and my mom’s fascination with Murder, She Wrote, I’ve been hooked on the genre almost since I could read. I remember getting in some trouble in fifth grade for bringing in an “adult” mystery for free reading time. My mom backed me up.

Now that it’s summer, I often get asked about books to bring to the pool or the beach or on vacation. Here are 5 recent mysteries to consider if you want some thrills and chills while you read in the summer sun.

books

My Favorite Mystery/Thrillers of 2017

In no particular order, these are the mysteries and thrillers that stuck with me (when you read as much as I do, if you can remember the plot after a few days, it’s the sign of a good book) and that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a friend.

If you need a book to read over the holiday break or start the year right, I promise you could do much worse than any on this list. Read more “My Favorite Mystery/Thrillers of 2017” →

reading

4 Kindle Unlimited Thriller Authors to Try for Free

One great Amazon Prime membership benefit that is often overlooked, especially for bibliophiles, is the ability to read one book in the Kindle Unlimited program for free each month. Given that the price of a lot of Kindle books can still be high, 12 free books a year is a good deal and can further help you recoup the cost of that rising Prime membership. Of course, getting the book on your Kindle and reading it are the easy part. Picking a good book might be a bit more challenging.

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