Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction DECEMBER 2015 THE “BEST OF” 2015 End the Year With RON RIPLEY The “Malta Trio” TASHA ALEXANDER CHRIS KUZNESKI, LINDA FAIRSTEIN GRAHAM BROWN & BOYD MORRISON SUE GRAFTON Across the Pond PATRICIA CORNWELL CHRISTINE POULSON NAIL-BITING EDGE OF SEAT READING WITH A TOUCH OF ROMANCE THIN ICE VENDETTA NO PLACE TO HIDE “The queen of inspirational “A thrill ride from start to fi nish, Close calls, a race to save the day, romantic suspense the fi rst book in Harris’ and a big old dog named Gus add hits a home run.” Nikki Boyd Files series is fi lled to fast-paced action adventure.” with twists and surprises.” —Library Journal —Booklist —RT Book Reviews, TOP PICK n Available wherever books and ebooks are sold. From the Editor CREDITS John Raab When I sat down to write this month’s President & Chairman letter “From the Editor,” I was all set until th Shannon Raab Friday, December 4 , came around and Creative Director something happened that changed my Romaine Reeves direction. CFO First let’s set the stage. I’ve been to several conferences and have spoken with hundreds, Amy Lignor Editor if not thousands, of authors. Now, besides the big names, there is a common theme asked: Jim Thomsen “How can I get my books into Barnes and Copy Editor Noble?” That is a question that can now, sort of, be answered. On December 4th, B&N Contributors released their quarterly earnings report and it wasn’t great news. The stock plunged 20% Mark P. Sadler and their CEO announced that the company was reinventing itself by adding more toys Susan Santangelo th DJ Weaver and secondary products because of poor book sales. Now, on Monday, December 7 , he CK Webb backed off that statement a little by saying that, “books are still the soul of the business.” Kiki Howell Kaye George I would hope so since they have “Booksellers” in their company name. Weldon Burge I know that those same authors believe that if they could only sell in B&N they would Ashley Wintters Scott Pearson be an instant success—making millions. However, getting into that store shouldn’t be D.P. Lyle M.D. your priority, because if you do have a printed book, you’re most likely already selling in Kathleen Heady Stephen Brayton the largest bookstore in the United States: Amazon.com. B&N is very difficult to get into Brian Blocker at a national level, unless a few things happen. First, your publisher better put a ton of Andrew MacRae money behind the book to entice B&N to stock it on their shelves. The publisher should Val Conrad Melissa Dalton then spend even more to place your title on the front shelves, or it may simply die in the Elliott Capon back. You may see a regional author, let’s say in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who is able to sell J.M. LeDuc Holly Price their work in their local B&N, but will that Kari Wainwright really help with sales? David Ingram Jodi Hanson E-books are the best way for an author Susan May to gain an audience and do it quickly. If Jenny Hilborne Anthony J. Franze authors could only grasp that times are Kristin Centorcelli changing and they need to focus on writing Jerry Zavada S.L. Menear and then marketing, they may have a much Leslie Borghini better experience. Writing should be fun. Mary Lignor Julie Whiteley Writing should give an outlet for creativity Sara Guisti in ways other art forms can’t. Focus on Jeff Ayers Elise Cooper what’s important, and that’s to write the very best story you can. We can’t stress this Customer Service and Subscriptions: enough; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Slow For 24/7 service, please use our website, and steady wins the race and will help build www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at a solid foundation for the future, where the 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 ultimate dream of becoming a full-time Calabasas, CA 91302 writer is attainable and long lasting. Suspense Magazine does not share our magazine subscriber list with third-party John Raab companies. CEO/Publisher Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- Suspense Magazine ■ tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- 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 CONTENTSUSPENSE MAGAZINE December 2015 / Vol. 068 International Thriller Writers: Reader’s Corner By Jon Land . 3 Across the Pond with Christine Poulson By Chris Simms . 4 Forensic Files: DNA By D .P . Lyle, MD . 6 Excerpt: “The Boylan House” By Ron Ripley . 7 Inspiration Found in the Darkest of Places: Meet Ron Ripley . 10 Through the Glass By Laura Kathryn Rogers . 13 Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews . 20 Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews . 44 Featured Artist: Babette van den Berg . 45 2015 “Best of” Introduction . 49 Excerpt: “The Adventuress” By Tasha Alexander . 81 The “Malta Trio”: Chris Kuzneski, Graham Brown & Boyd Morrison . 85 10 Tips to Make Your Twitter Skyrocket By Lynne Constantine . 90 Everyday Heroes: Florent Groberg By Joseph Badal . 98 Excerpt: “The Short Drop” By Matthew FitzSimmons . 99 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS READER'SCorner Recommendations by Jon Land Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author The great thing about my peers in International Thriller Writers is that we genuinely root for each other’s success. Nothing pleases me more than seeing one of my ITW pals rocket up the bestseller lists. I’m not a jealous person, but do I long for that kind of elusive success with my latest Caitlin Strong, “Strong Light of Day”? Oh yeah, for sure! But here’s the thing: My following eight picks for must-reads deserve the success they’ve garnered, not just because they’re written by my friends, but because they’re damn good—all superlative thrillers you won’t be able to put down: “MAKE ME” by Lee Child, September 8: Lee has never been better, treating us to a “random” Reacher where simply getting off a train in the wrong town leads to his violent unraveling of a conspiracy with its roots in the Deep Web. A modern day western extraordinaire. “FRICTION” by Sandra Brown, August 18: The First Lady of Suspense’s stunning tale of the burgeoning relationship between a Texas Ranger and a judge whose life he saved in a courtroom gunfight. The Coen brothers should do the movie. “THE BONE LABYRINTH” by James Rollins, December 15: A non-stop adventure by the best all-out high action writer in the business. “THE PROMISE” by Robert Crais, November 10: Much worth the long wait as Bob teams old friends Elvis Cole and Joe Pike with newer ones, Scott James and his German Shepherd partner Maggie, in a tour de force that demonstrates why he’s the master of the post-modern detective novel. “THE CROSSING” by Michael Connelly, November 3: Harry Bosch novels are great, Mickey Haller tales even better, for my money. But combine the two and you have a book that’s almost too much fun to be legal. “THE CORRUPTED” by Lisa Scottoline, October 27: A brilliant character study meshed with a legal thriller that makes us care about its people on every single page. “CRIMSON SHORE” by Doug Preston and Lincoln Child, November 10: The return of Special Agent Pendergast serves up another neo-gothic tale set wondrously against a Salem, Massachusetts backdrop. Arthur Conan Doyle himself would be proud. “FINDERS KEEPERS” by Stephen King, June 2 (not a friend—yet!): With all his books and iconic stature, the master is still making magic, and this sequel to “Mr. Mercedes” is a shape-shifting masterpiece of a novel as well as a thriller. Hey, maybe someday one of my Caitlin Strong books will make somebody’s list. Ah, perchance to dream... ■ Jon Land is the USA Today bestselling, award winning author of the 38 novels, including eight titles in the critically acclaimed Caitlin Strong series, the latest of which is “Strong Light of Day.” Next up is “Takedown,” his second nonfiction book chronicling the dogged battle of a celebrated undercover drug officer against the biggest drug gang in the country, coming from Forge in March of 2016. Jon is a 1979 graduate of Brown University, lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and can be found on the Web at jonlandbooks.com or on Twitter @jondland. SuspenseMagazine.com 3 FROM ACROSS THE POND With Christine PoulsonBy 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 writes about crime from a UK perspective. A GOOD OCCUPATION? I believe it was Agatha Christie who remarked that ‘murder was a good occupation for a woman at home.’ What she might have added was that, nevertheless, it was important for that woman to get out of the house now and then. It is true that the long slog of writing a novel does tend to be done mostly at home (not many of us can afford a separate office).