Posts Tagged: thriller novels

W.L. Ripley is the author of two critically-acclaimed series of crime novels -- four books featuring ex-professional football player Wyatt Storme and four books about ex-Secret Service agent Cole Springer. His latest novel is Storme Warning, a stunning new mystery/thriller that we're publishing in February. We will also be re-releasing Ripley's other books through 2015 and early 2016. I live in rural Missouri, which is not in the middle of nowhere despite anything you may have heard. The middle of nowhere is a good fifty yards south of my house. Still, it’s two thousand miles from New York City and the publishing industry.  I’ve never been there and in no hurry to go. I am not a... more

Read More of STORMING THE GATES: How To Write A Sure-fire, Can’t Miss, Guaranteed-To-Get-A-Read, Fiction Proposal

Novelist James L. Thane, author of No Place to Die and Until Death, shares his fondness for Tom Kakonis' gambling thriller Shadow Counter. Shadow Counter is the third and final volume in Tom Kakonis’s excellent series featuring Timothy Waverly, a professional card player who has found nothing but trouble ever since Kakonis first introduced him in Michigan Roll. At the end of the second book, Double Down, he and his long-time partner Bennie Epstein had to race away from another dicey situation in Florida. It’s now 1993, and they’ve landed in Vegas, living in a pitiful house and trying to fly under the radar while they attempt to cobble together the stake that will put... more

Read More of Shadow Counter: Kakonis Scores Again

I think it was Heywood Hale Broun who said, “When a professional man is doing the best work of his life, he will be reading only detective novels,” or words similar. I hope, even at my age, I have my best work ahead of me, but when I was writing The Death of the Detective, in my leisure hours I was exhausting the classic English who-dun-its written between the Wars, favoring Dorothy Sayers and Freeman Wills Croft, while also re-reading Raymond Chandler and re-discovering Nero Wolfe. In this regard I shared the addiction with the likes of William Butler Yeats, William Faulkner and FDR, among others. My first two novels, the companion novels, Toyland and House Across the White... more

Read More of Mark Smith on Writing THE DEATH OF THE DETECTIVE

Any self-respecting fan of Law & Order knows that the popular cop show franchise often draws its inspiration from crime stories that are “ripped from the headlines.” And no matter how many disclaimers emphasize that if the characters or plot bear any resemblance to a real-life individual or event it is completely coincidental, we instinctively recognize the original source. As consumers of popular culture, as participants in everyday modern life, we encounter dark and mysterious circumstances on a daily basis. Unless you have been residing among the Amish, or have elected to forego all modern conveniences by choice, you likely have heard about the activities of Jodi Arias —... more

Read More of Ficton That’s Ripped from the Headlines

We've combined the first few books in some of our best series of crime novels into single, omnibus volumes...to make it much easier to sample and experience these award-winning, highly acclaimed tales...and at a big savings over buying the individual books. You don't want to miss these Super Crime Combos! Now Available for Pre-Order...and delivered on Thanksgiving Day BRAGG V1 - The first three, powerhouse novels in Jack Lynch’s Edgar Award-nominated and two-time Shamus Award-nominated Bragg series of PI thrillers...now together for the first time ever in one omnibus edition!Pre-Order the Ebook Pre-Order the Trade Paperback THE COMPLETE DEEMER - All three of Dallas... more

Read More of Super Crime Combos from Brash Books

Great crime writers like James Patterson, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and even horror writers like Stephen King draw readers into their stories by creating complex villains we love to hate. In writing my crime novels, I pay just as much attention to developing the villain (or in some cases, villains) as I do when crafting the protagonist. Both characters must have strong, complex personalities and interest the reader to the point of near obsession. If a writer can do that, he or she has pulled the reader into the dark world all thriller readers want – fast, dangerous, and with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. WHAT MAKES A GREAT VILLAIN? Not too long ago, Publishers Weekly... more

Read More of Great Crime Writers Create Memorable Bad Guys