Ken Kuhlken

1 - What's your latest?

Ken Kuhlken: THE BIGGEST LIAR IN LOS ANGELES.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Ken Kuhlken: To be delighted by a gripping story and learn who was responsible for the upcoming World War III.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Ken Kuhlken: He’s obsessed with redeeming the damage his mother has done.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Ken Kuhlken: Aimee Semple McPherson preaching to a parrot, because I’m a fan of comic relief.

5 - What's next?

Ken Kuhlken: 1935, Tom Hickey’s search for his long-gone father leads him to authors B. Traven and Ambrose Bierce and gunslingers Pancho Villa and the Sundance Kid.

Tom Lowe

1 - What's your latest?


Tom Lowe: THE 24TH LETTER

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Tom Lowe: You'll be entertained. If you you enjoy a face-paced mystery/thriller, THE 24TH LETTER is the type of novel that grabs the readers and engages them for the 84 hours in which the story happens.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Tom Lowe: The main character is Sean O'Brien. Since I have written four books in this series (two published), I'm aware of much of his persona. However, in THE BLACK BULLET, a side of O'Brien is reveled that I didn't know existed.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Tom Lowe: There are many scenes in THE 24TH LETTER that I find in the favorite category. One of the chapters I really enjoy is when O'Brien discovers the connection between the killer and something in the Bible.

5 - What's next?

Tom Lowe: I've finished THE BLACK BULLET and THE BUTTERFLY FOREST. My new agent is trying to decide what's next. Maybe he'll flip a coin.

Thomas Perry

1 - What's your latest?

Thomas Perry: My latest is a stand-alone suspense novel called "Strip," which will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on May 13, 2010.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?



Thomas Perry: I would say that you should read "Strip" because you've never read anything like it before. It's an original story about the final week in power of a minor criminal boss in contemporary Los Angeles. It includes the unique stories of a number of other characters which overlap with his story. Parts of it are funny, others exciting, and others moving. It's very fast-paced, and the complex stories mesh with extraordinary efficiency. It's beginning to build some buzz among booksellers, who have already received their advance copies, and so far it's received starred reviews in Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal. No bad reactions yet that I know of.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Thomas Perry: One thing that's unusual that I hadn't thought about much is the fact that while Claudiu "Manco" Kapak, the old gangster and club owner, is at the center of the story, there are about nine characters who are described, followed, and studied as though they were the "main" character. For the time when each is on stage, we see him as he sees himself--the center of the universe.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Thomas Perry: I have a lot of favorite scenes in this book, but I'll pick one. Early in the book "Manco" Kapak is confronted by Joe Carver, the man he's been hunting because he suspects Carver is the masked man who robbed him while he was making a night deposit at his bank. Carver has come to Kapak's house to tell him he's innocent. But he has broken in while Kapak is in the shower. They have their conversation, and Carver goes out a window and leaves through the back yard. Kapak, still naked, but seeing his chance to settle things, runs to his bedroom for his pistol, and fires at Carver's back as Carver disappears among some bamboo plants. Kapak was in a hurry, so he's fired through the tall bedroom window without opening it. Now, as he watches, the glass comes apart in sheets, falls to the floor, and shatters into thousands of tiny particles that pepper his naked body from his forehead to his toes. He spends the next chapter in the police station talking to a police lieutenant while trying to hide the fact that he is in desperate discomfort from the ground glass on the most sensitive surfaces of his body. The combination of his extraordinary self-control and the ridiculous nature of his self-inflicted injury make me laugh. It also signals to the reader that this is going to be a hard week for Kapak.

5 - What's next?

Thomas Perry: What's next is the third novel in the sequence that began with The Butcher's Boy and was followed ten years later by Sleeping Dogs. The new book picks up the stories of the long-retired professional killer, who lives in England as Michael Schaeffer, and the Justice Departmentemployee Elizabeth Waring, who first discovered his existence twenty years earlier.

Laura Childs

1 - What's your latest?

Laura Childs: My latest book is THE TEABERRY STRANGLER, the 11th book in the Tea Shop Mystery Series.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Laura Childs: Pick up THE TEABERRY STRANGLER because it's fun and soothing like a cozy mystery, but has the pacing of a thriller (so a thrillzy!) It also made it onto the New York Times Bestseller List - very unusual for a cozy.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Laura Childs: My main character, Theodosia, gave up a stressful job in marketing to run the Indigo Tea Shop. I didn't set out to give her my background and engineer a major career shift, but it's awfully darn close to what I ended up doing!

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Laura Childs: My favorite scene is the big, crazy ending where a rather proper Theodosia gets into a knock down-drag out fight with the bad guy!

5 - What's next?

Laura Childs: Next up is SCONES & BONES. Theodosia introduces the new culinary trend of tea and cheese - but with a bizarre murder, raft of suspects, and bungled investigation, something smells funny, and it's not just the Gorgonzola!

Denise Mina

1 - What's your latest?


Denise Mina: STILL MIDNIGHT.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Denise Mina: Well, it's short. It's a police procedural, there are lots of twists, some blood spilled, and a giant pile of money and a family blown apart. Hurrah!

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Denise Mina: She's tall. Being a short arse myself I always assume everyone else is looking up perpetually but actually, I think she's a giant five foot eight.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Denise Mina: Favorite scene is when one of the gangsters gets out of the car to avoid having to listen to the other one rant about his ex wife. He finds himself near to a woman he adores and goes and leans on the wall of the building she is in, revelling in his proximity. I felt that stone of the wall on my back when I wrote it.

5 - What's next?

Denise Mina: A second Alex Morrow book called 'The End of the Wasp Season' about the social earthquake that came from the financial crash.

Rhys Bowen

1 - What's your latest?

Rhys Bowen: THE LAST ILLUSION, the 9th Molly Murphy mystery. Molly witnesses a horrible illusion gone wrong, meets Houdini and is hired to find out who is trying to kill him.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Rhys Bowen: All of my Molly Murphy books give a fascinating glimpse into life at the turn of the century. This one features Houdini, the world of illusionists and international espionage. It's a fast paced read. One review said, "You won't breathe until you've finished it."

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Rhys Bowen: I know my main character pretty well, after nine books. She is brave, headstrong, not always prudent, wants to be independent and make her own mark in society, which is not easy for a woman of her time, but also wants security and to be loved. Hence her constant dilemma.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Rhys Bowen: I have to say I enjoyed writing about a lady really being sawn in half. Not that I am gruesome but I've been labeled a "oozy" writer for so long that it was fun to write a really shocking opening scene.

5 - What's next?

Rhys Bowen: I'm just finishing the next Molly book--set in New York's Chinatown. Again fascinating research. And my next Royal Spyness book, featuring Lady Georgiana, 34th in line to the throne but penniless, comes out in September. It's called ROYAL BLOOD.

Jane Cleland

1 - What's your latest?

Jane Cleland: SILENT AUCTION, out in mid-April.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Jane Cleland: Josie Prescott, the protagonist, uses her knowledge of antiques to solve the crime; it’s smart and interesting.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Jane Cleland: Josie knows the questions to ask. This book features info about scrimshaw; she didn’t know a lot about it, so she learned.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Jane Cleland: When she visits a scrimshander in his studio, complete with waterfall, perched in the gorgeous New Hampshire fall foliage. I also like the ending… the last few chapters… sweet things happen.

5 - What's next?

Jane Cleland: I’m working on the 6th in the series—DEADLY APPRAISAL. The pivotal antique is vintage clothing.

Brian Freeman

1 - What's your latest?

Brian Freeman: My fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE arrives in U.S. stores on April 13. The paperback of my last book, IN THE DARK, was just released on March 30. Check out all of my books at my all-new web site,www.bfreemanbooks.com.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Brian Freeman: Both THE BURYING PLACE and IN THE DARK are exactly what I want to achieve in psychological suspense: deep characters whose emotions andsecrets drive the intense drama. Read them because you can't put them down and you have to get to the final twists -- but keep them on your shelf and pick them up again because you want to re-experience the characters.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Brian Freeman: Jonathan Stride makes a lot of mistakes...some in his personal life, some in his professional life. Then again, that's what makes him human, and I think that's why readers relate to him.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Brian Freeman: The last chapter of IN THE DARK may be my favorite scene in any of my books. It gets me every time.

5 - What's next?

Brian Freeman: My sixth book is done -- a stand-alone in the same psychological suspense style, set in Door County, Wisconsin. Stay tuned!

Sandra Balzo

1 - What's your latest?

Sandra Balzo: FROM THE GROUNDS UP, which came out March 1.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Sandra Balzo: My main character, Maggy Thorsen, has had her coffeehouse destroyed by a freak May snowstorm. She has to start over (you guessed it) from the grounds up. New location (a historical train station) and new partner (Sarah Kingston, the Brookhills real estate agent who give new meaning to "Don't partner with someone who's crazier than you are"). Never one to listen even when she's talking to herself, Maggy launches her new endeavor, only to find Sarah's nasty uncle squished under the wheels of a commuter train. It only gets worse from there. How could you NOT read it??

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Sandra Balzo: Maggy, apparently, is a masochist.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Sandra Balzo: Maggy's first meeting with Sarah's cousin Ronny. In contrast today-of-the-week panties, Ronny is all about decade-of-the-day. Today he's Mr. Rogers Meets West Side Story.

5 - What's next?

Sandra Balzo: A CUP OF JO is the sixth book in the Maggy Thorsen series and will be out in the US in September (June in the UK). THEN, the first book (RUNNING ON EMPTY) in a brand new series, which will alternate with the Maggys. I'm pumped!!

Linwood Barclay

1 - What's your latest?

Linwood Barclay: NEVER LOOK AWAY

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Linwood Barclay: It will help me with my mortgage payments. Also, everyone says it is my best book so far.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Linwood Barclay: He's too trusting. It gets him into some very big trouble.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Linwood Barclay: Can't tell you. The favorite scenes are all surprises and I can't give them away.

5 - What's next?

Linwood Barclay: Have one more rewrite to do of the book that will come out in 2011, tentatively titled CAN'T BE TRUE.

Dave Zeltserman

1 - What's your latest?

Dave Zeltserman: KILLER will be out in May, which is the third and final book of my "man out of prison" noir trilogy.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Dave Zeltserman: KILLER is quite a bit different than the first two in the series, SMALL CRIMES and PARIAH. It's a quieter book, more meditative, with a subtle mystery running through it, and a shocking conclusion. With its spare prose and tight, fast pacing, I think it's an absorbing crime read, as well as a fascinating character study.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Dave Zeltserman: That's a tough one. I lived and breathed the main character, Leonard March, for months while writing this book.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Dave Zeltserman: I can't tell you my favorite scenes, it would give too much of the book away. But one of the scenes I liked quite a bit was where Leonard plays hero and stops a liquor story robbery before it happens. I liked the way that scene plays out, how Leonard's action surprise him as much as they do the two punks, and the way it confuses the image of Leonard from despised hit man to hero.

5 - What's next?

Dave Zeltserman: THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD is coming out this August. It's not crime fiction,
although it has a norish tone to it, and I think it's a book that's going to surprise any reader familiar with my crime fiction.

Karen E. Olson

1 - What's your latest?

Karen E. Olson: PRETTY IN INK, the second in the tattoo shop mystery series >>

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Karen E. Olson: PRETTY IN INK is all about drag queens and who's trying to kill them. Brett Kavanaugh, my tattoo shop owner/amateur sleuth, has a personal reason for getting involved and she finds herself in the middle of a possible terrorist plot as she maneuvers her way around the clues. The book is set in Vegas, which is so much fun and over the top.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Karen E. Olson: She's way too nosy but can't help herself.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Karen E. Olson: The first scene in the book, when Britney Brassieres gets hit with a wayward champagne cork and topples over on her six inch heels. Chaos ensues, and Brett matches wits with a responding cop, but not in the way you might think. It sets the scene for the entire book.

5 - What's next?

Karen E. Olson: The third in the series, DRIVEN TO INK, will be out in September. In that one, Brett discovers the body of a Dean Martin impersonator in her trunk.

Naomi Hirahara

1 - What's your latest?

Naomi Hirahara: BLOOD HINA, my fourth Mas Arai mystery, was available on March 2, 2010.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Naomi Hirahara: If you like tales of an everyman layered with history, you might enjoy Blood Hina.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Naomi Hirahara: More than being defined by his ethnicity or age, he's a regular bloke who wants a little more out of life.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Naomi Hirahara: One of the last action scenes, because I get a kick out of picturing an eightysomething man with a deadly weapon.

5 - What's next?

Naomi Hirahara: The fifth in the series. This time it's all about baseball. I hope that I can pull it off.

Lori Armstrong

 - What's your latest?

Lori Armstrong: My latest NO MERCY, the first book in the Mercy Gunderson series.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Lori Armstrong: Who doesn't love a kick-ass female character who can out shoot and out drink you?

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Lori Armstrong: That she'd probably rather shoot you than drink with you.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Lori Armstrong: The prologue, because it sets the tone for the book.

5 - What's next?

Lori Armstrong: Finishing up the second book in the series, MERCY KILL.

Clea Simon

1 - What's your latest?


Clea Simon: "Grey Matters," the second Dulcie Schwartz mystery, which comes out (in the US) in March. (It's been out in the UK since Dec.)

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Clea Simon: Because I adore Dulcie as a character? Oh, that's your next question. OK, because I use this sort-of-cozy, slightly paranormal to reexamine motive and the classic genre mystery problem of having a cast full of people who are hiding something and may be motivated to kill. How's that?

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Clea Simon: Well, that I'm really fond of her. Also, she's more naive than I realized originally. She's an academic and she is very smart, but she's a little dopey about people. She doesn't walk into danger. She's certainly not a "don't go in the basement" femme jep type of heroine. But she thinks that her intellect will help her out even when she needs something a little more concrete to go on.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Clea Simon: Possibly when she's interviewing one of the suspects - in the guise of doing an errand for her thesis advisor. She is talking with a crotchety book binder, a real artisan who has little use for the modern world, and she realizes that he's like some wild animal: fine in his own habitat, but a little scary.

5 - What's next?

Clea Simon: Dulcie #3! I have only the slightest idea of a plot as yet, but I do have a deadline. I'm also hoping to find a home for my tongue-in-cheek hardboiled mystery, my "pet noir," soon - but more on that if and when it happens.

Raffi Yessaran

1 - What's your latest?

Raffi Yessaran: My latest novel is 2 IN THE HAT (Ballantine, April 13, 2010), the sequel to 8 IN THE BOX (Ballantine Paperback, March 23, 2010).

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Raffi Yessaran: Here's why you should read 2 IN THE HAT (and you might want to read 8 IN THE BOX  first):

A serial killer the cops thought was long gone.

A good detective racing the clock to stop the murders.

A chilling and twisty thriller that will leave readers gasping.

A major spike in gang homicides has Boston on edge, leaving a growing body-count of bangers in its wake and the city’s police and DA’s office scrambling to catch up. Even the mayor’s Street Saviors taskforce of ex-cons, devoted to steering kids out of the thug life, are working overtime to stop the bloodshed. But who will stop the even greater threat that’s about to descend when a murderous psychopath steps out of the past?

Memories of the infamous Blood Bath Killer still loom large, especially for homicide detective Angel Alves, who helped bring down the multiple-murderer whose rampage shocked the city. So when a pair of students turn up bizarrely slain, Alves fears another serial killer is stalking Boston. A fear that becomes fact when his ex-partner, Wayne Mooney, recognizes the murders as the work of the Prom Night Killer—whose unsolved crimes have haunted Mooney for a decade. Now, with hands-on assistant DA Conrad Darget backing them, Alves and Mooney set out to stop grim history from repeating itself. But matching wits with a twisted mind is a dangerous game. Especially when there are no rules—and your allies may really be your enemies.

You should also read it because Robin Moore—author of The French Connection—says Raffi Yessayan is “the best prosecutor-turned-crime-writer to hit the streets since George V. Higgins and Scott Turow.”

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Raffi Yessaran: My main characters are Assistant District Attorney Conrad "Connie" Darget and Homicide Detective Angel Alves. Two men committed to making the streets of Boston safe. Although their jobs usually involve taking gangbangers off the street for their involvement in drug-related shootings, they now face the difficult task of trying to catch a serial killer who is terrorizing the city. In the process they learn that everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted. I learned that the more complex the motivation, the more intriguing the character.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Raffi Yessaran: One of my favorite scenes is when ADA Connie Darget is trying to convince a concerned mother to let her teenage son testify against a gang member for a shooting. The mother's emotions run high as she fights with Connie to keep her son out of the investigation. She is concerned about his safety if he is seen as a snitch on the street. Ultimately, Connie convinces her that he can keep her son safe and that he can garner the support of the entire community to back her son against these thugs who are terrorizing the neighborhood. As the scene ends, Connie feels the pressure he has put on himself. Now he has to deliver on his promise.

5 - What's next?

Raffi Yessaran: My next project will be a sequel to the sequel. It will be the last installment of the trilogy. Who knows, maybe I'll even introduce another serial killer.

Lynne Heitman

1 - What's your latest?

Lynne Heitman:  My latest published work is "Exit Interview," which was included in the anthology Boston Noir, published last October by Akashic Books.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Lynne Heitman:  Before Akashic asked for a submittal, I hadn't written a short story in over 10 years, not since a beginning writing class at the University of Washington. What I wrote then was definitely not for publication. I found novel writing soon after and that was the end of my short-story writing career. From that standpoint, "Exit Interview" is a departure. It's also my first published work in third person with a main character that is not Alex Shanahan. That might be why you the writer would be interested. You the reader might be interested in what one woman does after she gets passed over for a well-deserved promotion one too many times. She takes a particularly direct form of revenge against her insufferable boss, the downtown financial services firm they both work for, and the male gender in general.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Lynne Heitman:  Sloan lives in a beautiful condo on Beacon Street with bay windows that look out over the Charles River and Cambridge, but she never opens the curtains.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Lynne Heitman:  I had a fun time writing Sloan's rage and watching it explode all over the people who she believes did her wrong. I particularly liked writing the scene from her perspective where she killed her boss, and finding that one random detail that flipped her switch and turned a perfectly law-abiding(though tightly wound) woman into a murderer.

5 - What's next?

Lynne Heitman: Don't know. Maybe I'll try another short story.

SJ Rozan

1 - What's your latest?


SJ Rozan: THE SHANGHAI MOON

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

SJ Rozan: It will take you through today's New York, World War II Shanghai, and a chapter in history (the story of the European Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai) that you probably didn't know existed.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

SJ Rozan: She -- Lydia Chin -- is beginning to mature, right before my eyes.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

SJ Rozan: The one where her cousin saves the day. More than that would be a spoiler, but it's my favorite because I totally didn't see it coming (and it cracks me up, but I'm easily entertained).

5 - What's next?

SJ Rozan: A Bill Smith thriller, where Lydia gets kidnapped by a madman and Bill has to save her by playing the madman's games.

Toni L.P. Kelner

1 - What's your latest?

Toni L.P. Kelner:  Who Killed the Pinup Queen?, the second "Where are they now?" mystery from Berkley Prime Crime.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Toni L.P. Kelner:  It's got nearly naked women, cowboys, and murder. What more could you want in a mystery? And on a personal note, I need people to buy this book to buy for our guinea pigs. Pellets and hay don't come cheap--Patch and Spot are counting on you. (I could attach a photo of the two of them looking needy, but since guinea pigs pretty much just have the one expression, it wouldn't work very well.)

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Toni L.P. Kelner: I realized Tilda might ask this kind of question herself. She's a freelance entertainment reporter, and does lots of interviews.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Toni L.P. Kelner:  In Pinup Queen? Probably the denoument, which I had a lot of fun with. Lots of suspense, or so I hope.

5 - What's next?

Toni L.P. Kelner:  In March, I'll have a story in Carolyn Haines's anthology Delta Blues, from Tyrus Books, and in April, I'll have a story in the Charlaine Harris/MWA anthology Crimes by Moonlight. Plus Charlaine and I have our third co-edited anthology--Death's Excellent Vacation--in August.

Shelia Connelly

1 - What's your latest?

Shelia Connelly: Red Delicious Death, #3 in the Orchard Mystery series, came out March 2.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Shelia Connelly: The Orchard Series focuses on a woman who was forced out of her Boston banking job and finds herself saddled with a creaky colonial farmhouse and an orchard she knows nothing about--plus the body of her ex-boyfriend in her back yard. She's learning fast, if only those bodies would stop showing up to complicate her life.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Shelia Connelly: That it's fun to throw unexpected things (like bodies--plural) at my heroine Meg Corey to see how she reacts. Why make her life easy?

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Shelia Connelly: Only one? I'm fond of the final scene in Rotten to the Core (August 2009), when Meg and her maybe-current-boyfriend come home, having solved the most recent murder and wrapped up all the loose ends nicely with an excellent dinner, hoping for...well, you can guess--and they are surprised to find her mother waiting on the doorstep.

5 - What's next?

Shelia Connelly: A new series from Berkley Prime Crime, about a fundraiser who works in a Philadelphia museum (she finds not only a body but a multi-million-dollar theft--and you thought fundraisers led boring lives). Look for the Museum Series in Fall 2010.