What We're Reading

 LUCY BURDETTE: Just in time for stocking stuffers, it’s what we’re reading day! I have a few things to suggest. Of course, I picked up Rhys’s new Georgie Royal Spyness mystery right away. This one featured a very pregnant Georgie with a new French chef, and a nearby neighbor with a poison garden. It’s delightful, as always, and there is a cameo from none other than Agatha Christie.

Sometimes I read so many mysteries that I feel like I need to cleanse my palate with a non-mystery novel. This time I chose Love Marriage by Monica Ali. I absolutely loved this story of a pair of engaged English doctors of Indian descent, whose lives go off the rails once their quirky families meet. I’ve had this book on my stack for a year and I’m so glad I read it!

If you’re in the mood for a thriller with a suburban Connecticut setting, I can recommend Elise Hart Kipness's debut, Lights Out. I enjoyed the sports reporter character, Kate Green, and look forward to reading about her in action in the next book. The town of Greenwich, Connecticut was a strong character as well.

Now I have to ask: has anyone read The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese? John and I chose this to listen to on our week long voyage south. He’s an amazing writer, but the book is so long! He introduced so many different stories that I assume will come together in the end. We only made it through 15 hours of listening, with 15 more to go! So now John is tasked with finishing it and summarizing the high points for me. Some friends insisted it was their favorite book of the year with a magnificent ending, so I may pick up a paper copy to finish.

JENN McKINLAY: Per Julia’s recommendation, I am reading N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. Brilliant!!! I recently finished The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and I can see why it’s so popular - high stakes and action packed and steamy! I recently read the horror/thriller Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey. Very creepy! And for romance, I highly recommend The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy (aka Hannah McKinnon). So much fun!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m deep into my Christmas-themed reading already: I’m reading Kate Carlisle’s THE TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS, Janice Hallett’s epistolary novella THE CHRISTMAS APPEAL, and in the rom-com category, I’m about to start THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING, by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley, which takes place in a snow-bound small town in 2000, when Christmas, Hanukkah and Ramadan all intersected.

And in non-seasonal books, remember this when summer rolls around again: AGONY HILL by Sarah Stewart Taylor. I got to read it for blurbing purposes and it was SO good, even if I’m still blinking at a book set in 1965 as being “the first novel in a new historical series.” Yes, I was very small at the time and don’t remember it, but I’m pretty sure my lifetime isn’t historical. Right, guys? Right?

HALLIE EPHRON: I just finished Christian Cooper’s memoir, BETTER LIVING THROUGH BIRDING: NOTES FROM A BLACK MAN IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Cooper is the Black birder who took the viral video of a woman who called the police on him in New York’s Central Park ramble… But the book is much more than that. It’s about growing up nerdy and waking up to the wide world of birds. And writing for Marvel. And traveling. And finding his voice as a Black author and a gay guy. 

RHYS BOWEN: Not too much time for reading recently but I just read a book I had to blurb called THE WARTIME BOOK CLUB by Kate Thompson. It was set on the island of Jersey and was harrowing, touching and very real. Since I’d been doing my own research on Jersey in the summer everything was very personal for me.

Now in the middle of THE ECHO OF OLD BOOKS by Barbara Davis.  Fascinating so far.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I haven't been reading as much as usual, because of my listening to my books on Audible project, but I've read–and loved–Rhys's PROOF OF THE PUDDING, and Paula Munier's HOME AT NIGHT, so good! I've also been reading my way through Alexia Gordon's Gethsemane Brown series, as I did a panel with Alexia at Crime Bake. I also loved S.J. Bennett's MURDER MOST ROYAL (I adore this series.)

Top of my to-read pile is Jenn's SUGAR PLUM POISONED, and the new Richard Osman.

LUCY: I started Paula's book last night--it's excellent! The other two are on my pile as well.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, oh, listen you all--do you know of Cara Hunter? I had not heard of her, and had to (got to!) interview her, and as a result, read her essentially interactive thriller MURDER IN THE FAMILY, which is brilliant and incredible!  Go look it up–it is a tour de force in structure, and I adored it, and I instantly ordered a whole pile of her other books, beginning with CLOSE TO HOME, which is also fabulous. Oh, I am so happy to have discovered her!

I loved Janice Hallett’s A CHRISTMAS APPEAL, all written in emails, but don't be put off, it’s so brilliant.  I am a massive fan of her other books, too. Tess Gerritsen’s new THE SPY COAST is fantastic–so well written, about a retired spy who uses her current “invisibility”--we’ve all felt that, right?--to her advantage. Highly highly recommended. Oh, one more–Sulari Gentill’s THE MYSTERY WRITER,  which is super-meta, and genius, and (underneath)  a terrifying and thought-provoking take on the publishing industry.

We're almost afraid to ask, but Reds, what are you reading??

Jungle Red Check-In

LUCY BURDETTE: Back when I was the faculty advisor for the Yale peer counselors, we started every meeting with a check in. The kids could talk about how they were feeling or something terrific that was happening or something that felt difficult. So I declare today a jungle red check in! I'll start…

We have been in the process of moving from Key West to Connecticut for the summer. It's really lovely both places, but the transition is murder! I miss Key West desperately the minute we leave, and I'm sure I will be feeling the same way about Connecticut in the fall. So I am just getting back to my writing, trying to solve a knotty plot problem with my suspense attempt. And wrestling with the plot of my Key West mystery in process. In some ways, the Key West mystery is so much easier because I know the characters and I love the setting I'm using (the Harry Truman Little White House). Of course it's still hard, because I really want the story to feel fresh! 

My hubby and I are very excited about visiting our grandbaby (and her parents of course) later this week. She has started to crawl, and crawls to any electronic device that she sees, and breaks into a huge smile when she sees us on the screen. More photos to come, natch. She's grown and changed a lot since this was taken!

photo by Micolo J

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I have a feeling I wish I could name. I am wandering around the house, unable to concentrate and unable to decide what to do. That should be easy, because my to-do list is enormous.  But I just hit "send" on the second-to-final draft of my as-yet-untitled standalone, and am now experiencing some kind of malaise because it seems like something is missing. I think what's missing is the enormous pressure of a looming deadline. Now that it's not looming, there's the space where it used to be. And that's odd to fill. I should be happy, right? But that's more likely to happen when/if the editor is pleased.

I may also be very very tired.

But! The ducks in the back yard are so happy, and our tulips are glorious-I have five vases full in our family room/kitchen/breakfast place--and yes, I am very happy with the book. Very. Cannot wait to tall you all about it. And now, returning to my crossed fingers.

HALLIE EPHRON: And I am at the opposite end (more in Lucy's turf), wallowing at the start of a new manuscript where every page... make that every paragraph involves a decision about where I want the novel to go. Creating characters and putting them in their places, each with their own wardrobe and attitude and issues and back story with some notion of where it's all going. I'm exhausted just thinking about it and wishing I was much further along.

Moreover, major distraction! I'm ramping up for a book launch June 6. Early reviews are all good, some really good. My launch schedule is brilliant! Hank will be interviewing me at Brookline Booksmith on the 6th and (yay!) Lucy will be here. The next night my daughter is coming in from NY for my event at my local library where I'll be speaking and introducing my friend whose doll-maker mother inspired YOU'LL NEVER KNOW DEAR. She says she's bringing me a doll, which I plan to take with me the next day to to the California Crime Writers Conference. And on... FanTAStic stuff.

Now if I can just relax enough to enjoy it.

photo by Lucie Provencher

INGRID THOFT: Okay, deep breath.  So far, 2017 has been a doozy.  DUPLICITY launched, and I went on a wonderful book tour.  I joined Jungle Reds and joined a terrific community of readers and writers.  A family member had major surgery and is still recovering, and I’ve been contending with a herniated disc that doesn’t want to heal. Oh, and I’m working on a new book.  Taking a short break from my Fina Ludlow series, I’m writing a standalone thriller/suspense/mystery that is exciting and challenging me in equal parts.

My hope is that body parts will heal and the creative juices will run like a mountain river in springtime.  I’m reminded of a quote that my mother has on display, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.  It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”  Cheers to that!

JENN MCKINLAY: Ingrid, I love that quote. It's a good reminder that the rain will come and is necessary for growth so you might as well try to find the joy in it. My check in feels more like a rollercoaster ride. ASSAULT AND BERET came out in January and is the final in the London series. A thrill and a bump as the car grinds up to the next peak. CARAMEL CRUSH just came out in April and that was great fun because it did really well and hit the BN bestseller's list! Whoosh! Hands in the air, everyone! And then, life happened. One of my Hooligans needs major surgery and if all goes as planned, we will be spending much of June in the Phoenix Children's Hospital. Hub and I are pretty freaked out, which is sort of like that terrifying feeling accompanied by the clack, clack, clack of the car climbing to the topmost part of the roller coaster, you know, when you think you'd really like to bail but jumping isn't an option. We have the best surgeon for the procedure in one of the best hospitals for children, so we're hoping that a Whoosh! of great relief will follow our boy's successful surgery. For now, we're just strapping in and hoping for the best. Of course, I decided to branch out into romantic comedy writing this year, and the first book in the series ABOUT A DOG comes out right before my boy's surgery. Funny, how I just don't give a hoot about this book right now. I hope it does well, and it's already gotten a starred review from Booklist, but it's just not a priority for me anymore. Frankly, I'll be happy when the rollercoaster docks and I can go for a cotton candy.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I think we all dream of nice, quiet, orderly years, but they never seem to happen. That's probably a good thing, because we'd be bored witless, but I, at least, am dreaming of a nice quiet summer in which to write a big chunk of my new book. I'm closer to Hallie's state than Hank's, still in that planning and plotting and character building phase when the book hasn't quite taken on a wayward life of its own. I do have a working title, though, which makes me very happy since I never make much progress until a book has a name.

In September I'll go to England for a month to do research and just to soak up English life. October is Bouchercon in Toronto, then a speaking date in Tulsa. Then it will be the holidays and I'll be in deadline funk until the next book is finished and, hopefully, the cycle starts all over again. In the mean time, I'm planting roses and gardening and enjoying playing with my granddaughter.

photo by shira gal

RHYS BOWEN: Oh, how I can appreciate what Jenn is going through! On the actual day that In Farleigh Field hit #1 on Kindle I was sitting on a hard chair in a hospital waiting room while my husband had major surgery. Instead of that celebration dinner I got home at 10:30 p.m.and opened a can of tomato soup. It really made me think about what was really important in this life!

So I've enjoyed the unreal highs of a book that has done really well at the same time as working to get John back on his feet and help him put on weight again.
Writing-wise I've just turned in next year's big stand-alone, called THE TUSCAN CHILD. I was excited to do this as it is two separate stories in two time periods, therefore quite a challenge. I love the freedom of being able to decide what I want to write next! So I'm at that between-books moment when I can breathe and tidy up my office. And hopefully we're heading for Europe in a couple of weeks.

Also I have a new Royal Spyness book coming out in August, called On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service, and a Molly book coming out in November called The Ghost of Christmas Past. Yes, I know, three books in one year is insane. I keep trying to slow down but nobody will let me!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm juggling working on the book (the same book, sigh,) driving a busy teen around, walking the dog and keeping a 200-year-old house from falling down around our ears. I went to my agent's house in Nantucket for a few days in April to write, and it was a wonderful, inspiring getaway.

The "driving busy teen around" thing includes the dreaded college tours - youngest is nearing the end of her junior year and its time to get serious about prepping for university. It's very odd to think that Ross and I could be empty nesters in a little over a year. I may need to get another Shih Tzu to fill the gap.

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Jungle Red Readers, tell us what’s new in your lives!

The Scoop!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: The week between Christmas and New Years! When we think: “Where did the time go?” And “Next year I’ll do my holiday cards on time, with labels.” And “I should join the gym.”

We also look ahead with delight and wonder and anticipation—anything is possible! 

So what are the Reds up to?

I am about to type the two scariest words in the English language: CHAPTER ONE.  (Chapter one of the next Jane and Jake thriller, Forge 2015! which I think will be titled WHAT YOU SEE.) (“Chapter One” is about all I have right now. Hmm.)

TRUTH BE TOLD is on its way to the galley-makers, hurray. It’ll be out in September 2014, hurray. (When it comes to money, it can be hard to recognize the bad guys.) (Or something like that.)  

THE WRONG GIRL is going gangbusters, on several Best of 2013 lists, hurray, a multiple-week Boston Globe bestseller, hurray, and a Reviewer’s nominee for Best Suspense Thriller. Hurray.

And Mary Higgins Clark award winner THE OTHER WOMAN is out in paperback!

And will I see you at SLEUTHFEST? I'm a featured guest, with Ace Atkins and Laura Lippman! (Nice!) How about you, Reds?

RHYS BOWEN: I'm excited about this year as I have two really fun books coming out--CITY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT, the 13th Molly Murphy book, is published in March with more fanfare than usual... maybe because it takes place in the art world of Paris! I'll be signing around the country and doing events also with Cara Black, whose new Aimee Leduc book comes out at the same time. so we can talk about Paris then and now.

And in August the new Royal Spyness book comes out: it is called QUEEN OF HEARTS and it takes Georgie on a transatlantic liner and finally to 1930s Hollywood. Palm trees, movie stars...and murder.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I have another Molly e-story coming out on January 7th. It's called “Through the Window.”

Have a wonderful holiday!

 HALLIE EPHRON: Rhys, as always I am in awe. I am (really I am!) finishing the book that I'm calling NIGHT NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT. Figuring out the ending. And if all goes well it will (YES!) be out next year. Can I say it's a historical in an exotic setting: 1965 and 1985, Beverly Hills, in the shadow of the movie business.

 In the meanwhile, THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN is just out in paperback. It's on sale at Hudson News, so if anyone sees it in an airport would you email me a picture? 

 And it just made Sarah Weinman's list of the year's 10 best crime fiction! http://offonatangent.tumblr.com/post/70697707034/favorite-crime-fiction-of-2013.

  LUCY BURDETTE: First, hooray for Hallie on making that top ten list--that was a wonderful book and I can't wait to read about Hollywood. Rhys's books sound delightful too!

I have two books slated for 2014 also, though saying that in print makes my eyes twitch and my neck harden to concrete. (You would twitch too if you knew what page I was on, and when the draft was due, LOL.) That said, SEASON'S GRIEVINGS will be out next December.

But I'm so, so, so excited about my February book, MURDER WITH GANACHE. It's got Hemingway cats, and cupcakes, and wedding drama, and family angst...and a murder of course. But to me it's about finding and embracing family in whatever shape they come...

 

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Congrats, Hallie!

Next year, the fourth book in the Maggie Hope series will be released in the summer — called The Prime Minister's Secret Agent. It's set in Edinburgh, Arisaig, London, Washington, and Pearl Harbor. 

And I'm thrilled to be researching and writing the fifth in the series — the working title is The First Lady's Confidante.

 DEBORAH CROMBIE: The trade paperback of THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS comes out in late February.  And in late March, Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid #16, TO DWELL IN DARKNESS!

So I can sort of say I have two books out in 2014:-) (Unlike Rhys, who really does!) I'm very excited about the new book. 

 And I think I will have some other very fun news but I'm not announcing it until it's official, sometime after the first of the year.  So that's my teaser!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: As usual, the rest of you make me look like a slacker. I'm not sure when the trade paper edition of THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS will be released - it probably depends in part on when I finish my work-in-progress, HID FROM OUR EYES. My publisher's goal is for me to finish it by February. My goal is to finish it before 2015. Hopefully, I'll be able to split the difference. 

I've got a couple of very exciting events to look forward to in 2014: in February, I'm going to be the guest of honor, with Robert Dugoni, at MURDER IN THE MAGIC CITY. Then in April, I'll be teaching and speaking at Calvin College's FESTIVAL OF FAITH AND WRITING. 

In the meantime, I'm going to go crazy wondering what Deb's news is. Deb, can't you let us know? Your sister bloggers? Darn it.  

 

HANK: Debs!  DETAILS!  And wow, a terrific year for Jungle Red—and we hope, for you, too. Thank you thank you thank you for everything...What are you up to?