I’m 25k words into the new book and feel like I’m flailing around in a pool of Jell-O. Part of me knows this is completely normal. Part of me is terrified I forgot how to write. Deep breath. Write the next sentence.

Okay, let’s get to it.

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

3 LINKS

• We all want to go somewhere, even just in our own heads. CrimeReads looks at the exploding sub-genre of destination thrillers “Part-Christie, part Conde Nast Traveller.”
  
  
• NPR’s Fresh Air looks at two recent thrillers that use plagiarism as the primary plot device.
  
  
• New month, new books. Looking forward to reading Lippman’s return to fiction, BATH HAUS caught my interest and I always spend at least one beach day with the annual Riley Sager.

2 QUOTES

Two about mystery novels this week:

• “When I am thickening my plots, I like to think ‘What if … What if … ‘ Thus my imagination can move from the likely, which everyone can think of, to the unlikely-but-possible, my preferred plot.” – Patricia Highsmith
  
  
• “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” – Arthur Conan Doyle

1 QUESTION

• Do you read the same author each month of the year? I do tend to read favorite authors as soon as I can. The last few years, I’ve found July and Riley Sager go together pretty well. Perhaps with a beach chair and a boat drink.

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Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series