Melissa Westemeier

Wildwood, Amy Pease’s sequel to Northwoods, gripped me from the first scene when a young woman is discovered missing. We chat about her fictional setting of Shaky Lake, which is based on Wisconsin’s Minocqua resort area. The formidable Sheriff Marge North and her son Elia again team up with Alyssa Mason, an FBI agent from Chicago to investigate why and how an undercover informant disappeared. Their search leads them to discover terrifying secrets about a local rehab clinic. L

Bestselling writer Bruce Robert Coffin started writing following his storied career as a police detective sergeant in Maine. His mysteries are fast-paced, action-packed, and gripping from the first page. We discuss his new series featuring Detective Brock Justice, the fun he’s having bringing Justice (both literal and figurative) to different locations around the state of Maine, and the secret to how he writes such strong female characters. Bitter Fall yanks readers’ attentio

Award-winning children’s author Ross Montgomery wrote a killer read for grownups after getting inspired by Halley’s comet trip over Cornwall in 1910. Deploying the humor and criminal elements he gleaned from watching Clue as a kid, The Murder at World’s End delivers a plot twister of a mystery when servants and family members and scientists and lunatics converge at Tithe Hall in anticipation of the apocalypse.

It's that time of year when people start talking about making resolutions, but I don't because I think they suck. Resolved means "firmly determined to do something." A resolution is "a firm decision to do or not do something." Decisions doesn't mean squat in my book. Making a decision is as pointless as making a wish, it's just thoughts and words which are meaningless without action and effort. Decisions don't mean anything actually changes. I'm a woman of ACTION because s

USA Today Bestselling author and Agatha winner Ellen Byron’s new release, Crescent City Christmas Chaos tosses carolers, holiday parties, a cookbook project, and a shady thief wearing a snowman costume into this Cajun mix. Ricki James-Diaz’s hands are full when her parents come to town, her boyfriend’s filming in a Christmas cooking show special, and of course Bon Vee is hopping with festive shoppers. It’s a perfect time for a murder investigation! Ellen dishes about her pa

TWO guests, double the fun in this episode where Kelly and Kristina discuss how social media and celebrities can be a toxic mix. What’s the truth? What’s the conspiracy theory? How deep can people crawl down rabbit holes? Inspired by real life headlines and pop stars, the Mancaruso sisters wrote a twisty thriller about a celebrity journalist who gets sucked down rabbit holes while investigating accusations about iconic pop star Harlow Hayes. Kristina and Kelly dish about pop

Eva Jurczyk’s newest book, 6:40 to Montreal , is an homage to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express . In this locked room thriller, 6 passengers and 1 steward get trapped in train, during a blizzard, with no wi-fi and all their fears and grief surface as the situation gets worse. We’ve all got irrational (or rational?) fears about being trapped, but Eva raises the stakes by drawing on her own experience with illness and how that changes how we view life. No spoilers

A ghost story in October is tempting enough, but I couldn’t wait to meet a woman whose tagline is mysterious, spooky, cozy + kooky ! Olivia Blacke’s newest Ruby and Cordelia Mystery, Death at the Door , continues Ruby’s quest to learn why Cordelia was killed but another body turns up TrendCelerate. We discuss Olivia’s passion for ghosts (including her haunted bookshelf), the crafty way she bridges the normal and supernatural in this series, and why Cordelia makes a perfect fo

Aaron Philip Clark creates a dark world for his PI Trevor Finnegan to solve crime and describes how he wrote this bulk of his latest book, The Bluest Night, over 3 days at an artist’s retreat in Ojai. Drawing from his past as a screenwriter and a LAPD recruit, this SoCal native brings amazing authenticity and detail to the page. We discuss the threats that lurk inside gated communities, strange people, and magnificent sunsets that create the backdrop for the Trevor Finnegan s

Martha Waters is known for writing regency romcoms, but her latest title, And Then There Was The One , mashes up cozy mystery and romance...

M.J. Robotham cut her teeth writing WWII historical fiction, but her newest release, Mrs. S py, drops readers into the exciting, vibrant...

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I had no idea when I began writing Old Habits Die Hard that publishers wouldn't touch it unless it was part of a series. Obviously being...

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OLD HABITS DIE HARD It feels like Christmas morning--all the anticipation bubbling for weeks, even months--and it's finally here! You can...

Readers, fellow writer Lois Winston is on the page (and the case!) today...   It’s pretty much a universal truth that cozy readers love...