Mike Donohue Books

January 16th, 2020

Happy Thursday! I hope your reading week is going well. Welcome to this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday.

We are now more two weeks into 2020. How are your new year’s resolutions going? Something like 90% of people have already bailed. Stay strong! Especially if one of your resolutions was to read more books.

I’ll try to uphold my promise of creating weekly content with “the most crime fiction enthusiasm per word” of any post or email on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

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If you are a fan of Richard Price or Dennis Lehane, this story in the NYTs about the adaptation of Stephen Kings THE OUTSIDER for HBO is worth a read. “Detectives believe and make judgments upon what they see,” Price said. “And then you’re asking this cop to say, O.K., forget the Age of Reason, we have to go backward to the Age of Faith.”

I’ve always found Jo Nesbo to be an interesting person, he had such a varied career before becoming a best-selling author, and thoughtful interview. This piece in The Guardian is no different as he talks about the future of Harry, violence against women, and bedside reading.

LONG BRIGHT RIVER and AMERICAN DIRT seem to be the early 2020 front runners for most buzzed about crime/literary crossover. NPR has a typical glowing review of DIRT.

2 QUOTES

We did first lines last week so how about some quotes this week.

‘Life is about working out who the bad guy is.’ – Sophie Hannah

‘People don’t read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end.’ – Mickey Spillane

1 QUESTION

I’ve been in a bit of a crime fiction reading slump to start the year. No book seems to really excite me and keep me glued to me seat.

How many pages do you give a book before you put it down and move on to the next one?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

3-2-1

January 9th, 2020

Happy Thursday! I hope your reading week is going well. Welcome to the first edition of 3-2-1 Thursday (shameless stolen from James Clear).

I’m in the midst of getting over that holiday hangover and plotting out my next Max book. In addition to that I’ll try to uphold my promise of creating a little content with “the most crime fiction enthusiasm per word” of any post or email on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

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Marie Claire has a great profile of Meg Abbott, one of my favorite crime fiction writers, as she acts as the showrunner for USA’s adaptation of her novel DARE ME. When people say they don’t really read crime fiction, I often recommend Abbott or Laura Lippman and pretty soon they’ve changed their minds.

Criminal Element looks at 4 authors that used true-crime events as inspiration and jumping off points for their crime fiction.

The New York Times currently has an excerpt of Liz Moore’s very buzzy LONG BRIGHT RIVER. Have this on request and hope it comes in soon at my local library. It will immediately jump to the top of my teetering TBR.

2 QUOTES

I love fist lines. So simple but so important for both the reader and writer. Hit me with a good first line and I’ll cut you fifty pages of slack.

They were in one of the “I” states when Zeke told Isaac he had to ride in the trunk for a little while. ~ Laura Lippman, By a Spider’s Thread

When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man. ~ Richard Stark, Firebreak

1 QUESTION

If I look past additional installments of my favorite author’s (new Sandford, new Connelly, new Child, etc) Moore’s LONG BRIGHT RIVER might be my most anticipated mystery/thriller of 2020. It’s definitely my top pick for the winter.

What mystery/thriller/suspense book are you looking forward to most this year?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

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My Favorite Mysteries & Thrillers from 2019

I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers throughout the year. Some I forget the main character and the plot within a day. Others stick with me. These are my favorite new releases from 2019 that hung around in my head the longest. Read more “My Favorite Mysteries & Thrillers from 2019” →

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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” →

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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” →

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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” →

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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.

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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” →

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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.

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