Mike Donohue Books

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Beyond the Classics: 5 Overlooked Hitchcock Thrillers Worth Watching

Psycho was on AMC the other night and I caught it from the beginning for the first time in years. I can’t remember the last time I saw the scene of Vivien Leigh driving in the rainstorm before she ends up at the hotel and meets Norman Bates.

The whole opening 20 minutes has an almost surreal, off-kilter feel. It is definitely a classic for many reasons beyond just the shower scene, but also just one of many from Hitchcock’s oeuvre that continues to influence filmmakers today. If you are a fan of the genre and Psycho, Vertigo, or Rear Window are the only films of his that you know, you are missing out.

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Darkness Unveiled: Top 5 Dennis Lehane Books You Can’t…

One of my favorite crime writers, Dennis Lehane, is back with a new novel next week, Small Mercies. It’s been a long time coming. It’s his first since 2017’s Since We Fell. He took time off from novels, but he was still writing, mostly for television, including The Wire, Mr. Mercedes, and the recent Apple TV limited series Blackbird. Set in 1974 amid the Boston busing crises, Small Mercies appears to blend three of his consistent motifs: history, crime, working-class Boston, and his exploration of the darker side of human nature. Lehane is known for his meticulous research and his ability to create vivid and immersive settings. Advance reviews have been glowing and I can’t wait to read it.

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The History and Flavor of the Oklahoma Onion Burger:…

If you read The Salt House, you might recall it continues Max’s love of diner food, this time hitting up the southwest for one of the most beloved burgers in the United States – the Oklahoma onion burger. This burger has a fascinating history and a unique flavor that keeps people coming back for more. The Oklahoma onion burger appears to be having a bit of a moment recently, including a write up and recipe in The New York Times. Great! More people deserve to know about this quirky American classic.

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Uncover the Best Mysteries & Thrillers Published Since 2012

Mysteries, thrillers, and suspense books have been capturing the imaginations of readers for centuries. Whether it’s the twists and turns of a classic whodunit or the nail-biting suspense of a psychological thriller, there’s something about this genre that keeps us readers coming back for more. In this post, I’ll be discussing the my picks for the best mysteries, thrillers, and suspense books published in the last ten years.

recipes

Easy Pull Apart Dinner Rolls

A quick, and almost fool proof, dinner roll recipe that can be made the same day or the day before with an overnight slow proof. These rolls are soft with a slight tang and are perfect with butter or mopping up gravy. This is our family's go-to recipe for holiday dinner rolls.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Rest/Proof 2 30

Servings 24 rolls

Ingredients

4 cups 512 g all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for shaping
2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt 10 g
2 tablespoons 25 g sugar
2 teaspoons 8 g instant yeast
1 cup 236 g warm water (~100 F)
1 cup 236 g buttermilk
6 tablespoons melted butter divided
Sea salt or Kosher salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour salt, sugar, and instant yeast.
In a 2-cup liquid measure pour the hot water over the buttermilk and let stand for 10 minutes. Give it a stir. The buttermilk may likely look curdled. This is fine.
Pour the buttermilk mixture and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter over the flour mixture. Stir until a sticky ball of dough forms and all the flour is incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or twel and set aside in a warm place to rise for approximately 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Flour a work surface and sprinkle flour lightly over the dough and around the edges. The dough will be very sticky, so use flour as needed. Gently coax the dough out of the bowl onto the floured work surface and shape into a rough ball. Use a bench scraper to divide the ball into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion roughly into a ball, then use a bench scraper to divide each ball into 6 roughly even portions (don't stress too much about them being all exactly equal) to create 24 small pieces total.
Using as much flour as necessary, shape each piece roughly into a rough circular dough ball. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan, spacing them evenly apart.
You can pause here and cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. Otherwise, heat the oven to 375ºF. Let the dough rise, uncovered, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the dough pieces have puffed to almost fill the pan. (If you refrigerate overnight, remove the pan 30 to 45 minutes prior to baking.)
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove pan from the oven and immediately brush the surfaces of the rolls with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle flaky salt over top to taste. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the pan out onto cooling racks and invert onto a plate or serving platter

Notes

To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off.

If you don’t have a 9×13-inch pan, you can also use two 8- or 9-inch round or square pans.

blog

Shaking the Tree Audiobook – Coming this Fall

Shaking the Tree is now officially in audiobook production with Tom Campbell narrating.

Here is a quick 30 second tease from the book’s opening prologue.

recipes

Chewy Oatmeal Date Cookies

A cookie classic that will help improve any bad day. They are cookie comfort food and simple, quick, and easy to make. They are easily adaptable. This recipe can handle up to a cup of add-ins if dates aren't your thing. Swap in raisins, chocolate chips, or dried fruit, nuts, or a combination.

Make a whole batch and then freeze half for later in the week when that craving is sure to hit

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 stick 8 oz of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all puprose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped Medjool dates
1 tsp cinnamon optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F and adjust racks to upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream the butter and sugars on medium until light and fluffy. At least 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time and incorporate fully.
Add the vanilla and combine.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (except the oats and add-ins, if using).
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low until just incorporated.
Add the oats and add-ins and mix on low again.
Portion the cookies onto the sheets. Leave at least an inch or two for spreading.
Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through.
Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely

Notes

If your dates are old or died out, soak them for five minutes in hot water.

Any combination of add-ins works well just keep it to about a cup in total.

3-2-1

April 21st, 2022

Gearing up to start a new book and find myself fighting the feeling of “been there, done that” expertise. I’ve written six series genre books at this point. There are certain reader expectations to be met. Conventions to follow. It would be simple to eschew innovation and fall into the trap of mindlessly filling in the blanks and checking those boxes.

I believe the best way to achieve true mastery, not just average competence is to try to remain ignorant. Or at least open to new possibilities within your constraints. That’s how you best push those constraints and surprise the reader.

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

3 LINKS

With the continued rise of podcasts and audiobooks, happy to see more mainstream pubs devoting time to specifically reviewing audiobook productions. The latest NYTs column includes the genre mashup THE CARTOGRAPHERS.
Sarah Weinman continues to use her (newish) column to review mysteries and thrillers that would typically get less big press attention, this week highlighting, THE BANGALORE DETECTIVES CLUB, Ron Corbett’s new series, and the new Joe the Bouncer thriller.
The LAT times checks in with Don Winslow on how the Greek and Roman classics inspired his “well crafted, troubling” CITY ON FIRE, the first in a planned trilogy.

2 QUOTES

Quotes from Don Winslow this week:

“When the devil comes, he comes on angel’s wings.”

“In the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘I can resist everything but temptation.”

1 QUESTION

Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you prefer a single narrator or more of a radio-style production?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

3-2-1

April 14th, 2022

Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” So often it seems that we want to work easily at work worth doing.

After the book launch and some downtime to re-charge, I’m starting to gear up to write the next book. Why write another? Because it’s challenging and you rarely have regrets in life when taking on and completing challenging work.

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

3 LINKS

The Guardian’s thriller round up looks at Winslow’s first in a new trilogy CITY ON FIRE set in Providence, RI in the 80s, plus another in a rush of Japanese-translated thrillers, and plus others.
The Seattle Times’ Plot Thickens column collects reader recommendations on mystery series set in the past. Not a lot new to genre fans but maybe a good reminder if that’s what you’re feeling. Personally I’d add Rennie Airth’s John Madden series, especially the early ones.
The Guardian reviews Samuel Jackson’s “rip-roaring” audiobook narration of Chester Himes’s grimly comic, fast-paced and intermittently blood-spattered novel, A RAGE IN HARLEM. Could be just what’s needed to bring Himes’s novels to a wider, modern audience.

2 QUOTES

Quotes from Chester Himes this week:

“Don’t ever lean your whole weight on happiness, Jimmy. You fall too hard too hard when it gives away.”

“It was the code of Harlem for one brother to help another lie to white cops.”

1 QUESTION

Have you ever read any of Himes’s Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones novels? What did you think?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

3-2-1

April 7th, 2022

The most frequent question I often get is ‘How do you find the time to fit it all in.’ All, presumably, being a full-time job, a parent, exercising, socializing, reading and writing books. How? Do you sleep three hours a night? No, actually, I almost always sleep almost eight hours a night.

One big key is to make consistent, everyday progress. You don’t write a book in a day, or a week, or a month. You write it one word at a time. One day, one hour, at a time.

The other big secret? Divide all those to-do item into distinct categories and it’s alright to be a little selfish, too. 1) things I need to do, 2) things I want to do, and 3) things other people want me to do. You probably won’t get to number 3 very often. Don’t feel guilty. It’s called having boundaries.

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

3 LINKS

Kirkus interviews Alex Segura about SECRET IDENTITY, comics in the 70s, Patricia Highsmith, NPR superheroes, and what he’s been reading lately.
With TOKYO REDUX now out in paperback, The Guardian talks to David Peace about Japan, the still unsolved Sadanori Shimoyama case, whether he’s a crime writer or not, and writing 300,000 unusable words.
Paste Magazine looks at the upcoming spring streaming adaptations of books including Shining Girls, Slow Horses, Bosch: Legacy, and Tokyo Vice. Hoping they do justice to Beukes’s book. Really enjoyed that one in print.

2 QUOTES

Quotes from Donald Ray Pollock’s Knockemstiff this week:

“A lot of people get the wrong impression, think there’s something romantic or tragic about hitting bottom.”

“Because of who we were, I already knew what we would do.”

1 QUESTION

Did you watch the Netflix adaptation of Pollock’s THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME? What did you think?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

Notebook

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

3 LINKS

2 QUOTES

1 QUESTION

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1 QUESTION

3 LINKS

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1 QUESTION