The Authors

 

Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the world of the Amish.  The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder.

Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award and a nomination for an “Audie Award” for best mystery audiobook.  Her work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists and earned a spot on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel.

In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, three Appaloosas, and two feisty but loveable Blue Heelers. Learn more at lindacastillo.com.


Kirstin Chen is the award-winning, best-selling author of three novels. Her latest, Counterfeit, has been recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Daily, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Parade, The Millions, Electric Lit, and more.

She is also the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. Born and raised in Singapore, she lives in San Francisco. Learn more at kirstinchen.com.


Brian Freeman writes psychological thrillers that have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. His novel Spilled Blood won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards, and his novel The Burying Place was a finalist for the same award. His novel The Deep, Deep Snow was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

He has also been named by Putnam and the Robert Ludlum estate as the official author to continue Ludlum’s famous Jason Bourne franchise. Brian’s first Bourne novel The Bourne Evolution was named one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2020 by Kirkus.

He is particularly known for the “you are there” sense of place in his novels, from dead-of-winter Minnesota to the tropical storms of Florida. He scouts real-life locales for all of his books and brings to life dramatic settings such as Duluth, San Francisco, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Door County, Wisconsin.  “Nobody writes weather like Brian Freeman,” says one reviewer.

Brian has lived in Minnesota for more than 35 years with his wife, Marcia, who is his partner in life and in the book business.  They both stay closely connected to Brian’s readers. Learn more at bfreemanbooks.com.


Kate White is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels of suspense: eight standalone psychological thrillers, including The Second Husband (June ’22), and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries.

For fourteen years Kate served as the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave nine years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.

She has been nominated for many awards in her media career, including an International Thriller Writers award. Her first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick and #1 bestseller on Amazon. She has been published in countries around the world. Learn more at katewhite.com.


Authors’ Books

 

The Hidden One by Linda Castillo

Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister.

The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help, but she quickly realizes she has a personal connection to the crime. The handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate’s first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?

Someone doesn’t want Kate asking questions. But even after being accosted and threatened in the dead of night, she refuses to back down. Is she too close to the case—and to Jonas—to see clearly? There’s a killer in the Valley who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. Will they get to Kate before she can expose the truth? Or will the bishop’s secrets remain hidden forever?

Purchase at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase online at www.bookshop.org.


Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen

Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.

Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences.

Purchase at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase online at www.bookshop.org.


I Remember You by Brian Freeman

On the Fourth of July, Hallie Evers dies at a rooftop party in Las Vegas.

Hours later, she wakes up in the hospital, disoriented but alive. Why can’t she find the doctor who revived her? Why does her head feel crowded and loud? Why do her memories feel both foreign and familiar? Her self-doubt spirals into crippling paranoia.

Hallie knows that mental illness runs in her family—her mother suffered from delusions that led to an early death. But now even Hallie’s dreams are fraught with details that seem like more than imagination—vivid images of a city she remembers but has never visited in her life. As she embarks on a cross-country search for answers, Hallie catches glimpses of what feel like another person’s memories. It’s a dark, horrifying, tragic vision…of someone else’s murder.

But is any of it real?

Purchase at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase online at www.bookshop.org.


The Second Husband by Kate White

After losing her husband, Derrick, in what appears to have been a random street crime, thirtysomething Emma has built a new life with widower Tom, who is kind, handsome, driven, and successful. Emma is finally able to feel safe again, both in her relationship with Tom and in the home they’ve made together on the Connecticut shore.

Then one day a homicide detective shows up at Emma and Tom’s door asking questions. Though Emma had been cleared of her husband’s murder, it appears that law enforcement is taking another look at her and the case.

What do they know? Are they on the right track this time? And most importantly, will the renewed investigation ruin Emma’s chances of a happy life?

Purchase at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase online at www.bookshop.org.


Your Hosts

 

Karen Dionne is the USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of the award-winning psychological suspense novel The Marsh King’s Daughter, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in the US and in 26 other languages. Her follow up novel, The Wicked Sister (August 2020, G.P. Putnam’s Sons), is also an international bestseller and was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2020.

The Marsh King’s Daughter was also chosen as one of the best books of 2017 by iBooks, Hudson Booksellers, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Irish Independent, Library Journal, Shelf Awareness and many other booksellers and reviewers, and is soon to be a major motion picture starring Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn.

Both The Wicked Sister and The Marsh King’s Daughter were selected by the Library of Michigan as Michigan Notable Books, and The Marsh King’s Daughter took home the Barry and the Crimson Scribe Awards for Best Novel. Visit Karen at www.karen-dionne.com

Karen’s newest novel is The Wicked Sister. “Dionne paints a haunting portrait of a family hurtling toward the tragic destiny they can foresee but are powerless to stop.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Purchase The Wicked Sister at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase The Wicked Sister online at www.bookshop.org.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of thirteen novels of suspense.  She has won five Agathas, four Anthonys, two Macavitys, the Daphne, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark award. National reviews have called her a “master at crafting suspenseful mysteries” and “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her 2019 book The Murder List won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the year. Her 2020 book is The First to Lie, of which the Publishers Weekly starred review said, “Stellar.” It  was a nominee for the Anthony Award  and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her upcoming thriller, The House Guest, will be published in January 2023.

Hank is also an award-winning investigative reporter at Boston’s WHDH-TV. In addition to 37 EMMYs and 14 Edward R. Murrow awards, Hank’s won dozens of other honors for her ground-breaking journalism. Hank is  the co-host of First Chapter Fun, hosts the online mystery interview program for the acclaimed A Mighty Blaze, is a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and served as past president of national Sisters in Crime. Learn more at www.HankPhillippiRyan.com.

Hank’s current novel, Her Perfect Life, published September 14, 2021 with starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.  “Superlative…this is a fast-paced, surprise-packed treat.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)  It was chosen a Best of 2021 by The Strand magazine and Suspense Magazine, and is now  an Agatha Award nominee for Best Contemporary Novel.

Purchase Her Perfect Life at an independent bookstore near you.

Purchase Her Perfect Life online at www.bookshop.org.