Jungle Red Roll Call--Count Off Now!

Hank (taking photo) Rhys and Debs at Bouchercon!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: So. Bouchercon. All kinds of fun and friendship PILES of books. But the thing that touched me the most was how many people said to me--"Oh! I love Jungle Red. And read it very day."  Great, great, great, I'd say. But then the person would continue:  "But I never comment."

"Oh!" I said. "Please say hello! It makes such a difference to all of us that we know you are there". And it truly does.

A better shot--with Andrew Grant and Molly Weston

So today is Jungle Red roll call. Lurkers and listeners, no problem. Lurking and listening is a good thing. But today, just today, tell us who you are and where you are--and what you're reading. Or are about to read. Or just finished and love. Or what you're working on.

I'm Hank Phillippi Ryan. It's really Harriet, okay? And I like it. (Now, at least.) I live in Boston, and am the investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate. I've been a reporter for 40 years now! I'm in the midst of writing my 10th thriller, an untitled (as yet, and I'm sure you'll hear more about this) standalone, and am 74,000 words in. About 50,000 of those words are great. Plus, I've gotta hurry since it's due January 1. La dee dah.

 My newest thriller SAY NO MORE comes out November 1-- to amazing reviews!  (Ah. No pressure, it's just my career. And see below to win an ARC!)

I am in LOVE with the book I'm reading, called THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT by Graham Moore--a historical thriller about the rivalry between Thomas Edison (my hero but I fear he's going to be the bad guy) and George Westinghouse. It is terrific.

I'm also about to start FORGOTTEN CITY by the brilliant Carrie White. She is amazing and her writing is,too.  (I found her via Robin Agnew of Aunt Agatha's.) 

And for inspiration, the brilliant REACHER SAID NOTHING, the hilarious and thoughtful Andy Martin's Boswellian chronicle of Lee Child. Highly recommended. 

 How about you? Lurkers, please! Chime in, if only just this once! 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm Deborah Crombie (Deb or Debs to my friends, but NOT Debbie!) and I live in north Texas but I write British crime novels featuring Metropolitan Police detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. The 17th series novel, GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS, is out February 17th (that's a nice coincidence) and I can't wait! In the meantime, I'm starting #18.

And I'm reading one of my Bouchercon giveaways, THE COLD, COLD GROUND, by Adrian McKinty, which is fabulous. McKinty has been on my to-read list for a good while, in part because Gerard Doyle, who reads my audio books, also reads McKinty and highly recommended him. Now I can see why. And I'm dying to read Andy Martin's REACHER SAID NOTHING. I heard so many good things about it at Bouchercon.

HALLIE EPHRON: I'm Hallie (not short for anything) Ephron and I live in suburb south of Boston and I write creepy suspense novels, standalones. I've set them in my hometown (NEVER TELL A LIE; COME AND FIND ME), in the Bronx (THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN), and in Beverly Hills where I grew up (NIGHT NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT.) I'm waiting for my new novel (working title: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR), which is set in South Carolina, to come back with copyedits. And I have only the slimmest glimmer of what I'm going to write next an panicking because I need to get it started. 

I teach writing at writing conferences, and right now I'm putting together materials for workshops I'll be giving at Surrey International Writers Conference (Vancouver, BC), a one-day for Mad Anthony Writers in Hamilton, Ohio, and the New England Crime Bake which is practically in my backyard.

I just finished reading Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs, which somehow I missed it. Brilliant brilliant plotting, writing that's nearly invisible and you get lost in it immediately, and Juliet Blackwell's LETTERS FROM PARIS which is a delicious romance wrapped in a historical mystery. And my TBR pile is tall and topped right now with Susan's THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Aw, thanks, Hallie! I'm usually just Susan, Susan MacNeal, or "Mom! MOM! MOOOOOOOOM!" I write the Maggie Hope series of New York Times-bestselling mysteries, set during World War II, which began with MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY. The sixth book in the series, THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE, is coming out October 4 and I'm hard at work on the next, THE PARIS SPY, which will be published in hardcover. I live with my husband and eleven-year-old son in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Right now I'm in serious deadline mode, but when the new book's in, I'm keen on reading the new Flavia De Luce, THRICE THE

BRINDED CAT HATH MEW'D by Alan Bradley, as well as the new Sherlock Holmes-inspired short story collection, ECHOES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger (and featuring three of the Reds!).  

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm Lucy, aka Roberta Isleib, who was responsible for both the golf lovers and the advice column mystery series. For the last few years, I’ve been writing the Key West food critic mystery series as Lucy Burdette. The seventh book in that series featuring food critic Hayley Snow came out in April (KILLER TAKEOUT.) This series is set in Key West, Florida, a place I love dearly and live in for more than half the year. I always say if you can’t find characters and plot ideas in Key West, you’re not looking very hard.

I'm working on something new, but way too superstitious to tell you about it. Please all keep your fingers and toes crossed that it sells soon? And I'm reading Rhys Bowen's latest Georgie book, CROWNED AND DANGEROUS. It's funny and clever and falls for me in the category of "comfort reading," because I know the characters and it feels like visiting old friends. I also read LETTERS FROM PARIS, Hallie--great fun for francophiles! And just finished a book of essays about psychotherapy, that you'll hear more about week after next.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: My name is Julia Spencer-Fleming, which is actually my maiden name and believe it or not, my husband also has a hyphenated last name. I live in the countryside near Portland, Maine, in a 200-year-old house that always needs work. I have three kids: The Smithie, looking for that career-starting job after getting her MLIS degree; The Sailor (formerly The Boy) at A School in Naval Station Great Lakes, and Youngest, a junior in high school. I also have one dog, two cats, and I occasionally find time to work on writing the 9th book in my Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series.

I recently read THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR by Helen Simonson, who authored the amazing MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND. The new novel isn't as absorbing as PETTIGREW, and becomes much darker than I expected from the blurb, but it was full of perfectly realized, engaging characters, and I can recommend it to you all.

The next book up I haven't started yet: Curtis Sittenfeld's AMERICAN WIFE. I didn't read it when it came out because it didn't sound like my thing - a roman-a-clef about Laura Bush? - but I so enjoyed ELIGIBLE, I thought I'd give the earlier novel a try.

RHYS BOWEN:  My name is Rhys Bowen, which as some of you know is my grandfather’s name, taken as a pen name when I started writing mysteries (and I really prefer it to my given name!) I am a transplanted Brit who divides her time between California and Arizona. I currently write two historical mystery series: The Molly Murphy novels, set in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century and the lighter Royal Spyness books. But I have been working on something quite different so please look out for a big book announcement in the upcoming weeks. Very exciting and game changing for me!
As for reading: I read The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders on the plane coming home from Bouchercon. Victorian melodrama and I loved it. Next up, if I get time between juggling book deadlines, is Louise Penny’s latest The Great Deliverance.

HANK:  And we at Jungle Red send our most heartfelt condolences to Louise Penny on the death of her beloved (to all!) husband Michael. He was a joy.

And after today--my already towering TBR pile is about to go to critical mass. Julia, I LOVED Eligible! So glad someone else did. 

But Red and Readers--time for you to join the roll call! Regulars and lurkers, tell us about yourself and where you are and what you're reading and writing!  And one lucky commenter wins an advance copy of SAY NO MORE!


And coming up this week! Tomorrow, a famous new YA author looks back at some classics--with surprising results! (Truly, you won't believe it.) And later in the week--Gigi Pandian's best birthday gift EVER (we hope you get one, too); then a brilliant publicist gives the keys to success.  (Whoa.)  And more!