Are you ready for The Lake Escape?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: So when you hear the phrase “summer read,” what do you think about? It’s one of the best kinds of books there can be, right?

It means the fragrance of Coppertone and the taste of fresh lemonade and the knowledge that you have absolutely no responsibilities for the days to come. You don’t necessarily have to be at the beach, of course, a summer read is equally delightful if you are cozied up in a rocking chair at home, at a campsite in the midst of the piney woods, or, on an Adirondack chair at the edge of a gorgeous lake.

Summer read. That means a book that is transporting, fascinating, relatable, twisty, and absolutely entertaining.

And of course,  lots of high stakes ,manipulative characters, and gasp-worthy storytelling. As in every good novel, it makes you think: what would I do?

Ooooh. Do I have a summer read for you! Well, the fabulous Jamie Day does, at least.

One lucky commenter will win their very own copy of Jamie Day’s brand new THE LAKE ESCAPE! Read this first, and then answer our question, and you will be entered to win!

With Friends Like These…

By Jamie Day
Bestselling author of THE LAKE ESCAPE and THE BLOCK PARTY


Why do we hurt the people we love?

It's an age-old question with no simple answer, yet it happens all the time. Tales of betrayal have captivated us for millennia. We relate to them on a fundamental, visceral level. Most of us have hurt someone we love, regardless of our intentions. So why do some of these situations escalate into revenge plots, while others choose to stay connected to those who have caused them pain?

As fiction writers, our job isn't to preach or give advice on intimate relationships. What we do is write about them, craft drama, and create "what if" scenarios that are entertaining, intriguing, and often serve as cautionary tales. And hopefully, along the way, we include insights into human nature and the pursuit of self-discovery.

In my new thriller, "The Lake Escape," three lifelong friends gather for their annual summer vacation. Everyone is excited to spend time at beautiful Lake Timmeny in peaceful northern Vermont—their home away from home. (Don't look for it on a map; it's entirely fictional.) 

At the start of the book, one of the main characters, David, uses his newfound wealth to build a huge house that blocks his two closest friends' view of the lake. 

You might think that's so crazy nobody would ever do such a thing, but I based that plot point on personal experience. After a couple who lived in my neighborhood divorced, the ex-wife built a house to block her ex-husband's view. Not exactly a warm relationship, but it shows the pettiness and vengefulness of a marriage gone sour.

How would you respond if a friend or loved one did that to you? Would you call the police? File a lawsuit? Or would you suck it up and complain behind their back? You do have to live with these people, after all—unless you decide to move.

Often, when writing a novel, thinking of the most extreme reaction leads to the best story. Nobody will enjoy a plotline where the character shrugs it off and says, "Oh well, have fun in your new big house." On the other hand, if arson were suddenly involved, readers would be on the edge of their seats. But the situation cannot heighten to the point of absurdity, or you won't feel connected to what’s happening. The goal is to balance extremes and still make the story and relationships feel relatable.

Conflict is the engine of fiction—it's what keeps the reader turning the page. But that's not the only thing. Characters count, too. The reader needs to care about the character embroiled in the conflict. That's because everything we do in life is a reflection of ourselves.

We are all on a journey of self-discovery, but we can learn a great deal from the experiences of others. Reading opens gateways for us to explore the whys and what-ifs of countless situations we could never experience in a single lifetime. We can dive into the depths of others' hearts and minds, addressing issues that, in real life, can be too painful to explore. 

And while we may not find a simple answer to questions such as, 'Why do we hurt the people we love?' we will stumble across multiple possibilities—and learn a lot about ourselves and human nature along the way. With the safety of unreality that fiction provides, we'll hopefully have some fun in the process.

And besides, without these human foibles, what would I have to write about?


HANK: SO true! (And don’t even get me started about the new house next door to us. GRRRR. I am  NOT inclined to say "oh well, have fun in your big new house." Just saying.)


ANYWAY! Reds and readers,what’s your favorite lake getaway? Or where would you like to go? One lucky commenter will win THE LAKE ESCAPE!

THE LAKE ESCAPE

The next riveting summer suspense by the author of THE BLOCK PARTY and ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY, Jamie Day.


WILL THIS BE THE BEST WEEK OF THEIR LIVES... OR THE LAST?

JULIA, DAVID, AND ERIKA grew up together spending summers at their idyllic Vermont lake homes for as long as they can remember. Now adults— with their own sullen teens, endless mortgages, and low-voltage sex lives— the three friends have amassed secrets over the years.

This summer, David is eager to show off his newly renovated home—which now blocks his friends’ cherished lake views—and his much-younger girlfriend. He also, unwittingly, brings a nanny with a hidden agenda. What could possibly go wrong?

When David’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a shouting match, Julia and Erika wonder just how well they know their lifelong friend. The lake harbors a harrowing past: two young women, with no known connection, vanished without a trace thirty years ago. Did the lake take another?

As a search is mounted, an intricate web of lies, deceits, and betrayals spanning generations starts to surface, and everyone finds themselves in danger of becoming the next victim. Of the lake, or something darker.




Jamie Day lives in one of those picture-perfect, coastal New England towns you see in the movies. And just like the movies, Jamie has two children and an adorable dog to fawn over. When not writing or reading, Jamie enjoys yoga, the ocean, cooking, and long walks on the beach with the dog, or the kids, or sometimes both.

Let Us Entertain You

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: BREAKING NEWS #1. Tonight is the Reds and Readers Happy Hour! Make sure to join us on the Red and Readers page of Facebook at 5PM ET.

Yes, 5 PM ET. (It’s 7:00 somewhere we’re sure, but we’ll be live at five!) Info, scoop, gossip, news and PRIZES! So we will see you there. At FIVE.

And Breaking News #2. The winner of ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS is Margo! Margo, email me your address here. And I will send you the book! Crossing fingers you love it.

And thanks to Margo, I learned about Anna Russell, an opera singer extraordinaire who, à propos of our past two days’ conversations, perfectly explains Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung. Which we all need to know. It is life-changingly entertaining.


But don’t watch now. Because now—speaking of entertaining! One of the dearest friends of the Reds, Ellen Byron.

Her post today is hilarious, as usual, and wonderfully revealing—but also today, even touching. (oh, and whoo hoo, giveaway below!)

FREE TO BE… ME!

By Ellen Byron

When I go to mystery conventions, people often mention how enthusiastic and upbeat I am. This means a lot to me because it’s a one-eighty from how I had to present myself in my past career as a sitcom writer-producer, where at one point I sublimated my personality so much that I earned the joking nickname “Debbie Downer” on a show.

I came to my first television job from a background as a playwright and comedy improviser, the latter of which encouraged a broad personality.

I quickly learned this made me the butt of jokes. Most of the writers’ rooms I worked in skewed heavily male. They were usually comprised of me, my writing partner, one other woman writer and ten to twelve guys. Don’t get me wrong, I love the menfolk. But the male sense of humor is generally different from a woman’s, leaning more toward teasing and put-downs. I took the jokes good-naturedly, knowing being sensitive doomed your career. But my goal became tamping down any aspect of myself that might make me a target. My humor became darker. I learned to excel at comebacks. I love bright colors but stopped wearing them to avoid drawing visual attention to me. See how I don’t stand out in this group shot of the cast and crew from Still Standing? (BTW, In a telling irony of my television career, I became closer to some of the men I worked with than the women because we gals were always in competition for the few seats available to us at the table.)



I was still on guard when I first segued from TV to mysteries. I don’t think mystery folk I met in the early days of my segue would have complimented me on my sparkling personality! But as I realized how warm and welcoming our community is, I began to relax. 

Gradually my cheerier, occasionally silly side re-emerged and I felt like I could finally be all of who I am —which now includes “Debbie Downer.” My mystery friends will tell you that I still throw off dark zingers and am always good for a comeback. But I’ve never been happier and more comfortable with who I am, evidenced by how I goofed around when I recently reconnected with actor friends Amy Yasbeck and Steven Weber from Wings, where I worked for three years.



Dee Stern, the protagonist of my Golden Motel Mystery series, is a former sitcom writer trying to make a new life for herself as the proprietor of a rustic retro motel in California’s Gold Country. Writing her allows me to channel so many of my own experiences working in television and feelings about it into the series. 

In the first book, A VERY WOODSY MURDER, Dee has to contend with a writer she couldn’t stand suddenly showing up at the motel. In SOLID GOLD MURDER, my new release and the second book in the series, she’s conflicted about a project that might draw her back into “the business.”

If I were Dee, I’d feel conflicted too. I did love my former career. On every lot where I worked, from Paramount to Disney to Universal or Fox, I always took a moment to drink in the fact I was walking in the shadow of film and TV legends. But I’ve found my tribe in the mystery community. And I’ve found myself. I get to be… me!

Readers, have you ever had to adjust your personality to a workplace? Comment to be entered into a giveaway for a copy of A VERY WOODSY MURDER, Golden Motel Mystery #1.


HANK: Thank you, dear Ellen! Let me just say: every day. The other day on the plane there was a crying baby, and I thought—wouldn’t be hilarious if we grown-ups could just let go and do that? WAH!

How about you, Reds and readers?

And don’t forget, see you tonight at 5:00PM ET on The Reds and Readers Facebook page!

SOLID GOLD MURDER

Dee Stern’s Golden Motel promises a tranquil getaway for outdoor lovers in the scenic Californian village of Foundgold. But when Dee accidentally triggers a modern gold rush, she suddenly turns her peaceful retreat into a hotspot for mayhem and murder . . .

With the summer season looming, former Hollywood sitcom writer Dee Stern has one small goal—scrubbing her motel’s unflattering moniker as the “Murder Motel.” Dee and ex-husband-turned-business-partner Jeff Cornetta are excited to introduce a family-friendly panning activity complete with fool’s gold just in time for the peak tourist months. Except neither could have anticipated the discovery of a real gold nugget or the ensuing social media frenzy. In a flash, the viral sensation draws grizzled prospectors, wide-eyed adventurers, and trend-chasing thrill seekers to the abandoned mines scattered around the woods . . .

The instant popularity proves great for business, but it also attracts a group of out-of-touch Silicon Valley techies with dreams of striking it rich—again. Dee finds herself particularly annoyed by the insufferably smug Sylvan Burr, a retired CEO who sold his startup before age 30 and won’t let anyone forget it. But things take a sinister turn when Sylvan meets a grim fate at the bottom of a mineshaft, leaving Dee at the center of a deadly mystery that could end her days as a motelier. And while Sylvan had plenty of enemies, Dee suddenly faces adversaries rooting against her own success. Now, with her life and the future of the Golden Motel hanging by a thread, Dee must unearth a minefield of suspects and outwit a greedy killer before she finally digs herself too deep . . .

Buy  Solid Gold Murder here!

Ellen Byron is a bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico), and Golden Motel Mysteries. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Sign up for her newsletter!

Cartoons, Satire, and Games, Oh My!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yesterday’s discussion about the opera – – you all are so wonderful! Made me think about a couple of things. First, happy Tuesday! And I am so happy to see you. 

And as a result, there's a giveaway today! Keep reading. 

But yesterday, someone mentioned learning about opera from Bugs Bunny. Absolutely! And I found a great clip of it. Just a tiny bit.

It's still SO funny!

Also, we need to mark the life of the hilarious Tom Lehrer, whose seemingly simple but actually brilliant satirical songs have made me laugh until tears come down my cheeks. 

He died this week at 90-something, and left so many of us knowing all the words.  

You've heard the unbelievably outrageous Vatican Rag, right? And Who’s Next, so prescient.

Each song so perfectly written, not only ingeniously worded, but with the perfect type of music. His hilarious homage/obituary for Alma Mahler for instance, is a  Viennese waltz.

Also.  I’m seeing articles now, more than one, more than two, about the rising popularity of mah-jongg.

Do you know how to play mah-jongg?

I have a vague vague vague memory of my Gramma Minnie playing it, and I remember thinking that the tiles were gorgeous, and that I wish I knew what they meant. And then it all vanished from my life somehow.

So I looked up how to play mah-jongg on YouTube. And here it is. 

Friends, I got through 52 seconds of it before I thought nope, nope, nope, I have no idea.

Do you know how to play? 

And those are my random notes for this Tuesday. Which of them would you like to discuss? 

And, just to tempt you, one commenter will win an advance review copy of ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS. The only caveat is that you need to leave a review... somewhere :-)

A Night At The Opera!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Reds and readers, you are such a wise and literate crowd, and we’ve talked about books and magazines and movies and TV shows in our days – – but have we ever talked about opera?

Last week we went to Tanglewood, the beautiful music venue in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, to walk in the gardens and look at the art and to attend two concerts – – one of which was a performance of Tosca.  We had seen Tosca once before, in Rome! At one of the very settings where the opera takes place, the Castel Sant'Angelo.

But this night, the performers were accompanied by the entire Boston Symphony Orchestra playing the gorgeous Puccini, and it was quite a tour de force. And though it was in Italian, there were supertitles of the dialogue in English above the stage, which made it easily understandable.

Sometimes the libretto of opera is a little…weird. Possibly that’s just the translation, but when everything has to be song, the performers wind up singing things like:

SACRISTAN

Oh! So sorry!

Be sure to close up when you leave.

CAVARADOSSI

Run along!

SACRISTAN

I'm going.

But Tosca is a fantastic story! And just as timely as ever, with the villain Scorpia, arrogant and power-hungry, using his ill-gotten power to control everyone around him.

As our hero Cavaradossi sings:

CAVARADOSSI

Scarpia? That licentious bigot who exploits

The uses of religion as refinements

For his libertine lust, and makes

Both the confessor and the hangman

The servant of his wantonness!

That sort of struck a chord with me. How about you?

And from the standpoint of crime fiction, there is such a suspenseful twist in the plot – – Scarpia, the villain, has captured Cavaradossi, and is about to have him shot by a firing squad. Tosca, the gorgeous jealous beauty, agrees to have a night of passion with him if he only pretends to execute her lover–and then allows them to escape.

Scarpia knows he has to make it look like he’s killed Cavaradossi, but he promises Tosca his sharpshooters will use only blanks.

This is all singing, remember :-)

But as Scarpia sings his instructions to his henchmen, we know, from the haughty  lift of his eyebrows and his sarcastic intonation, that he is actually giving instructions to them to use real bullets. And kill Cavaradossi.

But!  Tosca believes him. And sings, (of course,) to her lover, not to fear the firing squad, but that he must be a good actor and pretend to be shot and killed and then she will come take him away to the countryside.

Uh Oh. The audience knows that this is not going to happen.

And I have to say, the suspense of watching that firing squad line up, ( and it’s not often a firing squad has the Boston symphony to accompany it,) had everyone in the audience thinking run run, Scarpia was lying! And there was a poor Tosca, believing she had saved her lover.

And after the shots, she sings, of course, what a good actor, you really look believably dead! Or something like that.

And then she realizes what’s happened – – and a lot more drama ensues. And I haven’t even told you the whole thing, including a couple of murders.

But the music was gorgeous, and the performers were terrific, and it was a memorable summer evening under the roof of the Tanglewood music shed. 

Reds and readers, do you like opera? Do you go to outdoor concerts in the summer?  

LUCY BURDETTE: I do like opera, though I don’t know many and don’t understand a lot. When we were going to Paris, I convinced John to go to the opera with me. We saw Rigoletto from excellent last minute seats–it was glorious! I noticed that La Traviata will be at the Met this spring. That’s the one opera I’m familiar with because an old flame was performing in it in CT and did a lot of practicing LOL, so I’ll definitely go.

We are booked to go to Tanglewood in a couple of weeks. Luckily some good friends live in Lenox, so it’s much easier for us. We love going to see the rehearsals during the day too!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Fun post, Hank! I had season tickets to the opera for at least a decade, back in the 80s/90s, with a friend. But I suppose life intervened in one way or another and we gradually stopped going.  But this last year, I talked Kayti into going to a performance of Tosca (loved your dialogue breakdown!) and she loved it so much that she bought us FRONT ROW tickets to see Boheme this last spring! That was so amazing (only problem being we nearly broke our necks trying to read the supertitles!)

We just bought tickets to see Carmen in the fall and I’m very excited to introduce her to that glorious production and music. I’m really enjoying rediscovering a lot of this music myself as well as sharing it with her

RHYS BOWEN:  I’m a big opera fan. My aunt took me to Rigoletto when I was 12 and I was hooked. For several years I sang in an opera chorus and absolutely loved it. It’s also a challenge as it’s not like a choir where other singers are singing the same notes  as you. And you have to act while you sing. I was in La Traviata and cried every night in the third act ! I had to make sure my make up didn’t run. 

I do love Tosca and almost all Italian opera. And Mozart. I’ve sung Magic Flute.And Carmen.  But I can’t get into Wagner. To me it’s not hummable!

JENN McKINLAY: I’m with you on Wagner, Rhys. I used to have season tickets for the Arizona Opera (before kids) and I would groan whenever Wagner was in the line-up. My favorite production was a reimagined Carmen (by Arturo O’Farrill) set in a Cuban cigar factory in 1958. Carmen smuggles guns to her soldier and the rebels - it was brilliant!

HALLIE EPHRON: When I was in high school, they took us to see a comic opera. It was Gianni Schicchi … Something about a barber and that’s all I remember.  

In Padua on my honeymoon we went to see an opera in the ancient arena. Aida. I remember it went on for more than 4 hours and the seats were hard and we hadn’t eaten dinner. 

A Philistine, I know.

I was a huge fan of Broadway musicals because our parents took us to all the ones that traveled to Los Angeles. Carousel. Oklahoma. Annie get your gun. And we had the record albums and I’d play them over and over and sing along and dance around in our den. I never made the leap to opera.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: When I was a kid in Germany, a child-appropriate performance at the Stuttgart Opera was a part of our Christmas celebrations - I saw Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, and Cenerentola (Cinderella.) But it was my college professor boyfriend (don’t judge!) who made me into the opera lover I am today. He took me to Mozart’s comic operas: The Marriage of Figaro, Abduction from the Seraglio and my fave, Cosi fan Tutti. 

I utterly fell in love, and gradually expanded my tastes to include other light operas, then the dramatic warhorses, then Wagner (in a category all his own) and finally modern compositions. The most amazing opera I’ve heard in recent years, in fact, was The Hours (2022) based on Michael Cunningham’s bestseller. 

Thank God for the Met’s simulcasts! I haven’t seen a live performance in years, but I’m a regular attendee at the Frye Academy Theater on opera Saturdays.  

HANK: And I will never forget the day in Paris when were just happen to be at the Champs de Mars when the Three Tenors were about to perform. It was a free concert, can you believe it? And we found a perfect spot on the grass, and we were transported.

Of course, any performance of anything is awful if you are hungry or cold or confused or bored or not in the mood.

If you’d like a tiny taste of some perfect opera, please please listen to these. I dare you not to love them. And they are completely hummable. 

Here’s O mio Babbino caro, from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. (Maria Callas!)

Here’s the duet from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers. (This is a great version, but it's not on video.)

Here’s Nessun Dorma, from Puccini’s Turandot. (Pavarotti!)

(And go look for yourself for the irresistible Carmen, and the gorgeous Madame Butterfly, and the tear-inducing La Boheme. Oh, and again, I dare you not to start marching around to the Triumphal March from Aida.)

Here--at the Met! No elephants in this version, but it is WAY ridiculously over the top. The music is incredible, but I am still laughing at the performance. And imagining the cast call for the supernumeraries: "Anyone, anyone, we'll take ANYONE!)

Reds and readers, tell us how you feel about opera. 

(We’ll do musicals another day.)