Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction MAY 2015 A Look Inside J.T. ELLISON ALLISON BRENNAN’S Joins Anthony J. Franze “COMPULSION” on Writing 10 Years of ThrillerFest: Step Into Suspense With THE MASTERS SPEAK JOHN SANDFORD GREG ILES ACE ATKINS KRISTI BELCAMINO From the Editor Every story has a beginning, middle, and ending. CREDITS John Raab No great shocker there, right? What I would President & Chairman like to do is focus on, what I call, the “next day conversation piece,” or better yet, the ending. How Shannon Raab Creative Director many of you after the series finale ofThe Sopranos talked about it the next day? Or, when you’ve Romaine Reeves watched 24, couldn’t wait to see the last episode, CFO because you knew it would be electric? Amy Lignor Now if you’re like me, maybe you only read Editor the first forty pages and think, “there is no way Jim Thomsen I’m going on because the beginning was just that bad.” Yes, all three parts need to work Copy Editor together to create the perfect story. I’m going to give you my list of the best movie endings ever. Contributors Mark P. Sadler Susan Santangelo 10. Devil’s Advocate: Made you think the whole thing was real…or not? DJ Weaver But taking his own freewill made it brilliant. CK Webb 9. Basic Instinct: Up until the final five seconds you really didn’t know Kiki Howell Kaye George who the killer was; then again, do you still maybe wonder? Weldon Burge 8. Murder by Death: Did you see that coming? Enough said. Ashley Wintters Scott Pearson 7. Inception: Do you think the top stopped spinning? D.P. Lyle M.D. 6. Shutter Island: You might have thought that you figured it out right Kathleen Heady before it ended, but when he didn’t get well—or did he—it made you Stephen Brayton Brian Blocker think. Andrew MacRae 5. Primal Fear: While this ending might have already been played before, Val Conrad Melissa Dalton it was still a surprise when he clapped his hands. Elliott Capon 4. The Sixth Sense: All the clues were right in front of your face, but that J.M. LeDuc is what made it great, you sometimes can’t see what is staring straight at Holly Price Kari Wainwright you. David Ingram 3. The Skeleton Key: While I’m not a fan of Kate Hudson, she did an Jodi Hanson Susan May excellent job in this movie, and not every ending is happy. Jenny Hilborne 2. Fight Club: Another Ed Norton flick, and seeing him run around at Anthony J. Franze the end of the movie finally figuring it out is awesome. Kristin Centorcelli Jerry Zavada 1. No Way Out: If you haven’t seen the movie, rent it now. You will shake S.L. Menear your head at the ending because this one you won’t see coming. Leslie Borghini Mary Lignor Julie Whiteley Of course I’m sure some people, well maybe Sara Guisti most people, will say I forgot this one or that one. Jeff Ayers Elise Cooper And I’m sure I did. But this is my list, and if you think you could make a better one, I challenge you Customer Service and Subscriptions: to do so. Email me at editor@suspensemagazine. For 24/7 service, please use our website, com and send me over your list. I’ll post the best www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at email in the blog site. 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 Now that we’ve talked about endings, it’s time Calabasas, CA 91302 for you to start at the beginning and read the rest of Suspense Magazine does not share our magazine subscriber list with third-party the magazine. companies. John Raab CEO/Publisher Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- Suspense Magazine ■ tions must be payable in U.S. funds. “Reviews within this magazine are the opinions of the individual reviewers and are provided solely for the purpose of assisting readers in determining another's thoughts on the book under discussion and shall not be interpreted as professional advice or the opinion of any other than the individual reviewer. The following reviewers who may appear in this magazine are also individual clients of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: Mark P. Sadler, Ashley Dawn (Wintters), DJ Weaver, CK Webb, Elliott Capon, J.M. LeDuc, S.L. Menear, Leslie Borghini, Susan Santangelo, and Amy Lignor.” SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENT SUSPENSE MAGAZINE May 2015 / Vol. 064 Across the Pond with Linda Stratmann By Chris Simms . 3 International Thriller Writers: Reader’s Corner By John A . Connell . 5 The Hunter By Jack Kappelhof . 6 Rules of Fiction with J.T. Ellison By Anthony J . Franze . 12 Excerpt: “Compulsion” By Allison Brennan . 15 Gun Shy By DJ Swykert . 18 Forensic Files: Cause of Death? By D .P . Lyle . 21 Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews . 23 Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews . 38 Featured Artist: Maryam Ahadh ..................................39 Copy Editor’s Corner: The Hand is on the Other Foot By Jim Thomsen . 43 10 Years of ThrillerFest—The Masters Speak By Kimberley Howe . 47 Fatal Finale By Jim Norman . 52 We Found Beatrice Bonner By B .R . Stateham . 62 Modern Variations on the Golden Age Mystery By Charlie Cochran . 68 Smugglers By Rylend Grant & Dikran Ornekian . 70 FROM ACROSS THE POND With LINDA STRATMANNBy Chris Simms Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author I’m delighted to bring readers of Suspense Magazine a feature from the UK’s Crime Readers’ Association. In it, an author from over here will write about crime writing from a UK perspective. THE MURDEROUS COOK “I wonder if I have annoyed Linda recently?” said a friend sitting down to dinner at my house after looking at my collection of true crime books. Crime and cooking have both been great interests of mine from an early age, and until recently, I have been reassuring people that they are not associated. My most recent novel, “An Appetite For Murder,” however, features the world of diet in the 1880s for which I read a lot of fascinating material about Victorian beliefs on weight and nutrition. In the last year I have been writing a book on the history of homicidal poisoning in the nineteenth century—not only the cases themselves, but what science and the law did to try and combat murder by poison. During my researches, I have encountered administration of poisons in dishes that are not commonly made nowadays—and it occurred to me to try and recreate them. My husband has been very good about agreeing to try these dishes. The—um—active ingredient has been in all cases omitted, of course! It does mean, however, that when I suggest making something for dinner I haven’t made before, his first question is “Who died from that?” So I can report that the yeast dumplings in white sauce, with chopped parsley substituting for arsenic, (Eiza Fenning 1815) were unexpectedly good. Rabbit smothered in onions was not something I would usually cook, but we enjoyed it, though if I did it again I would use chicken. In that particular case (Robert Donnall 1816) the poison was not delivered in the actual dish, but the presence of liberal amounts of onion confused the results of the poison tests done on the victim’s stomach contents. I have just completed a chapter for the forthcoming CWA true crime compilation, “Truly Criminal” (April 2015), on a French case from 1823 (Mme Boursier) that involves a breakfast dish of rice pottage. I managed to find a contemporary recipe, which I slightly updated for the modern palate; readers will not only be able to read about the murder but get the recipe as well. In due course I will be making chicken with truffles (Marie Lafarge 1840) and damson pudding (Betty Eccles 1842). In fact, it would be possible to hold a dinner party with each course consisting of a dish that has been featured in a poisoning case. To add to the dining pleasure the guests would, as they ate each dish, be regaled with the story of the relevant murder. SuspenseMagazine.com 3 It sounds like a great idea to me, but so far everyone to whom I have suggested it has been less than enthusiastic. I really don’t know why. Bon appétit! I LOVE THE SOUND OF RAINFALL IN THE MORNING One question writers are often asked is whether they listen to music when they are writing, and if so, what are their favorite tracks. Some say they just listen for pleasure, others find actual inspiration or stimulus from music, matching their choice to the book being written. I have an unusual relationship with sound, since I have two hearing disabilities: tinnitus and hyperacusis. Both define what I can listen to. The constant noise from tinnitus can be distracting and the best way of dealing with it is to occupy my mind with something else—writing being an ideal activity! While spending many hours in writing and research, although the loud hissing in my right ear is always there, my mind is so engaged that I tend not to notice it. Sound masking can be very useful, too, and I make a lot of use of my Spotify account, seeking out natural sounds such as rainfall, rivers, and the sea, which I play as a soothing accompaniment to my work. Music can also be a good background, but I have to choose it carefully.