Fiction - Mystery & Thriller

SAMANTHA JAYNE ALLEN has an MFA in fiction from Texas State University. Her stories and essays have been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Common, and Electric Literature. Raised in small towns in Texas and California, she now lives in Atlanta where she works as a bookseller. Her debut thriller is forthcoming from Minotaur Books.

REED ARVIN began his career as one of the most innovative producers, lecturers, and authors in the Christian media. His music productions include work with Amy Grant, Jars of Clay and many others. He is also an award-winning composer of television music and the author of four novels: THE WIND IN THE WHEAT; THE WILL; the gripping legal thriller BLOOD OF ANGELS; and the critically acclaimed THE LAST GOODBYE.

SEAN MICHAEL BAILEY is the pen name of a New York Times bestselling author of non-fiction. His first novel, 1787, is a fast-paced thriller about a cyber-battle that takes place high in the skies.

JULIET BLACKWELL is the New York Times bestselling author of LETTERS FROM PARIS, THE PARIS KEY, THE LOST CAROUSEL OF PROVENCE, THE VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE, and OFF THE WILD COAST OF BRITTANY. She also writes the Witchcraft Mystery series and the Haunted Home Renovation series. As Hailey Lind, Blackwell wrote the Agatha-nominated Art Lover’s Mystery series. A former anthropologist, social worker, and professional artist, Juliet is a California native who has spent time in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France. https://julietblackwell.net/

CLAIRE BOOTH is an award winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Miami Herald, San Jose Mercury News, and Philadelphia Inquirer. As a reporter for the Contra Costa Times, she began covering the Taylor Helzer murder case and wrote a nonfiction account of Helzer’s life and crimes, THE FALSE PROPHET: CONSPIRACY, EXTORTION AND MURDER IN THE NAME OF GOD. In fiction, she is the author of the Sheriff Hank Worth series comprised of THE BRANSON BEAUTY, ANOTHER MAN’S GROUND, A DEADLY TURN, and FATAL DIVISIONS. http://www.clairebooth.com/

DEB CALETTI is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of over sixteen books for adults and young adults, including HONEY, BABY, SWEETHEART, a finalist for the National Book Award; A HEART IN A BODY IN THE WORLD, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; and GIRL, UNFRAMED, which received seven starred reviews; and THE EPIC STORY OF EVERY LIVING THING, which was named a best book of the year by Amazon, Kirkus, Booklist, BookPage, and the Bank Street College of Education, and received five starred reviews. Her books have also won the Josette Frank Award for Fiction, the Washington State Book Award, and numerous other state awards and honors, and she was a finalist for the PEN USA Award. She is also the author of the Tales of Triumph and Disaster series for middle grade readers. Her new young adult novel, PLAN A, is about a sixteen-year-old girl’s road trip across the country to get an abortion, and has been named a best book of the year by School Library Journal and Kirkus and received four starred reviews. http://debcaletti.com  

AMY SUITER CLARKE is a writer, communications specialist and true crime podcast enthusiast. Originally from a small town in Minnesota, she later moved to London and earned an MFA in Creative Writing with Publishing at Kingston University. She currently works for a university library in Melbourne, Australia. Her debut novel GIRL, 11 sold in 15 territories, was translated into 12 languages, and was reviewed by the New York Times Book Review, Mystery and Suspense Magazine, and Publishers Weekly.

MEGAN COLLINS holds an MFA from Boston University. She has taught creative writing at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Central Connecticut State University. She is also the managing editor of 3Elements Review. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her work has appeared in many journals, including Compose, Spillway, Rattle, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Find her online at www.megancollins.com, on Twitter @ImMeganCollins, and on Facebook @megancollinswriter.

THERESA COLLINS has worked for the Shorenstein-Hays Nederlander Organization in theater management for more than 25 years. She managed the Golden Gate, Orpheum, and the Curran Theater in San Francisco. She is also the author of THE LAW OF REVENGE, a fast-paced thriller set in the "Hollows" of Kentucky, and its sequel, THE LAW OF THE DEAD.

SARAH CROUCH is known for her accolades in the world of athletics as a professional marathon runner. She has had freelance work featured in Active Magazine, Competitor Magazine and Citius Magazine among other titles. MIDDLETIDE is her debut novel, a literary thriller that celebrates her upbringing in the Pacific Northwest.

MICHAEL CROW is the pseudonym for a prize-winning, critically acclaimed novelist whose work has been translated and published in nine languages. Using this nom de plume, he has published RED RAIN and THE BITE, noir-thrillers about Luther Ewing, a street cop with a shadowy past. The most recent novel in the Ewing series is NO WAY BACK.

KIERAN CROWLEY was an award-winning reporter for the New York Post whose investigative skills led to his deciphering of the Zodiac Killer’s secret code. His first book was SLEEP MY LITTLE DEAD: THE TRUE STORY OF THE ZODIAC KILLER. He is also the author of the true crime books BURNED ALIVE, THE SURGEON’S WIFE, and ALMOST PARADISE, about the murder of Ted Ammon. His most recent thriller is HACK, a Shepherd Novel. He is currently working on the follow-up, SMASH.

LIBBY CUDMORE worked in video stores, bookstores and temp agencies before settling down in Upstate New York to write. THE BIG REWIND is her first novel.

LAURIE L. DOVE is a reporter and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications and garnered several honors for outstanding journalism. She graduated with a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University. Dove, who is of Native heritage, was adopted and raised by Mennonite farmers. She is an adjunct professor who currently lives and writes in Kansas. Find her at lauriedove.com.

JOHN EARLY teaches writing and literature at Moorhead State University in Minnesota. He has published numerous poems and short stories and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His first novel, FLESH AND METAL, is a stylish whodunit.

DIANE FANNING is the Edgar-nominated writer is the author of fifteen true crime books and 11 mysteries.  She has served as a consultant to 48 Hours, is a regular presence on 14 seasons of Deadly Women, and appeared on the Today Show, 20/20, Forensic Files, Snapped, the Biography Channel, Investigation Discovery, E! and the BBC as well as numerous cable network news shows and radio stations across the States and Canada.  Raised in Baltimore, she moved to Virginia, then south Texas, and she now lives in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford, Virginia. http://dianefanning.com

LAYNE FARGO writes dark, dramatic stories that support women’s rights—and also women’s wrongs. She’s the author of psychological thrillers They Never Learn and Temper, co-author of the #1 bestselling Audible Original series Young Rich Widows (coming to paperback in spring 2024), and co-creator of the Unlikeable Female Characters podcast on Lit Hub Radio. Her first work of women’s fiction The Favorites is forthcoming from Random House in early 2025. 

J.E. FISHMAN, a former Doubleday editor and literary agent, is the author of three nonfiction books and eight novels, including the thrillers PRIMACY, CADAVER BLUES, THE DARK POOL, and the Bomb Squad NYC series. Under the pen name Dana I. Wolff, he also writes horror novels, the first of which, THE PRISONER OF HELL GATE, adds a terrifying twist to the story of Typhoid Mary and North Brother Island.
www.jefishman.com

AMY GENTRY is the author of Good as Gone, a New York Times Notable Book, and Last Woman Standing. She is also a book reviewer and essayist whose work has appeared in numerous outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Salon, the Paris Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Austin Chronicle. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Chicago and lives in Austin, Texas.

SIMON GERVAIS is a former member of the Canadian Secret Service who specializes in international-terrorist thrillers rooted in authenticity. His THE THIN BLACK LINE was published in April 2015 by The Story Plant, inaugurating the Mike Walton series. It will be followed by a digital novella, THE LONG GRAY LINE, and a second novel, A RED DOTTED LINE.

BETH HAHN studied art and writing at The University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and earned an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She attended The Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, and her short stories have appeared in Necessary Fiction, The Hawai'i Review, The South Carolina Review, and The Emrys Journal. She has been granted an April 2015 residency at The Ragdale Foundation. THE SINGING BONE, forthcoming from ReganArts, is her first novel.

USA Today bestselling author JAMES HANKINS grew up in New Jersey, went to NYU Film School, then moved to Hollywood to write screenplays. Later, he became a lawyer and practiced law in Boston, MA with one of the largest law firms in the United States. After the birth of his twin sons, he decided to stay at home and write full time. He now lives north of Boston and spends his time writing books and helping to raise his sons. He is the author of BROTHERS AND BONES, JACK OF SPADES, and DRAWN. SHADY CROSS follows the harrowing decision of a small-time crook, Stokes, as he discovers a backpack filled with much needed cash—money that’s also needed to ransom an innocent child. His most recent novel, THE PRETTIEST ONE, is about a woman who wakes up with no memory of why she’s covered in blood, carrying a gun, and the main suspect in a murder case. His most recent thriller, THE INSIDE DARK, is about a crime novelist drawn into a serial killer’s twisted game. jameshankinsbooks.com

 JUDE HARDIN holds a B.A. in English from the University of Louisville, and currently works as a Registered Nurse in a major urban medical center in north Florida. When he’s not pounding away at the computer keyboard, Jude can be found pounding away on his drums, playing tennis, reading, or down at the pond fishing with his son. His debut thriller, POCKET-47, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and raves from the New York Times. His most recent novels in the Nicholas Colt series are CROSSCUTand SNUFF TAG NINE. He is currently at work on the next book in the series, KEY DEATH.
judehardinbooks.com

A.J. HARTLEY is the Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is also a screenwriter, theatre director and dramaturg. Despite his background in academia, he is a prolific commercial fiction writer, and his first novel, an international thriller entitled THE MASK OF ATREUS, was sold in over 12 countries, and became a USA Today bestseller. He is also the author of ON THE FIFTH DAY, which hit the New York Times bestseller list, WHAT TIME DEVOURS, and the SEKRET MACHINES and CATHEDRALS OF GLASS trilogies with Tom DeLonge. He is also the author of two fantasy novels, ACT OF WILL and WILL POWER, were published as hardcover originals and ACT OF WILL received a starred PW review. He is the author of a 3-book middle grade series, DARWEN ARKWRIGHT. His first YA is STEEPLEJACK, a rich atmospheric novel about a young girl who climbs the tall towers in a land resembling Victorian Africa, which will be followed by two more novels in the series.
http://ajhartley.net/

TONY HEALEY is the bestselling author of the Harper and Lane series published by Thomas & Mercer. He is also the author of several novels in the Ralph Compton Western series published by Berkley. Tony lives in Brighton, Sussex, with his wife and four daughters.

ELIZABETH HEIDER is a PhD physicist who works for Microsoft's AI4Science Research Program. Her short fiction has earned recognition from the Santa Fe Writer Awards and the New Century Writer Awards, as well as writing and research for government agencies and for the European Space Agency’s Human Spaceflight program where she worked as a scientist. Raised in Utah, she lived and worked in Naples for several years, deploying as a civilian analyst aboard U.S. and European Naval ships. She is based in The Hague. Her debut MAY THE WOLF DIE, a crime novel, is forthcoming from Viking.

TRACI HOHENSTEIN is the author of the Rachel Scott Adventure series, which includes BURN OUT and ASYLUM HARBOR. Both titles are available in paperback in volume 1 of THE RACHEL SCOTT ADVENTURES and as e-books. The Hollywood Hills series is her newest, consisting of SPECIAL DELIVERY and SPLIT DECISION. She is currently at work on the third book in the Rachel Scott Adventure series.
www.tracihohenstein.com

DOUG HORNIG's previous novels include FOUL SHOT; THE DARK SIDE; DEEP DIVE; and STINGER. His short fiction, poetry, and articles have been published in numerous magazines, including Playboy and Business Week. His nonfiction includes THE BOYS OF OCTOBER, about the 1975 Boston Red Sox.

DHARMA KELLEHER writes gritty tales about outlaws, renegades, and misfits, including IRON GODDESS and its sequel SNITCH, forthcoming from Random House’s Alibi imprint.
dharmakelleher.com

JENNA KERNAN is a bestselling author who has written over 30 romantic suspense, Western historicals, paranormals and thrillers. Winner of the Book Buyer’s Book award and a two-time RITA finalist, Jenna’s newest work A KILLER’S DAUGHTER is currently out and THE HUNTED GIRLS is coming soon.Jenna lives in Florida with her husband. www.jennakernan.com

SARA KOFFI is a thriller writer from Memphis, TN, which means she's always rooting for The Grizzlies and always catching up on Netflix cult documentaries. By day, she's a Narrative Designer for a mobile gaming app, and, by night, she's an overenthusiastic cat mom. As a writer, she strives to explore the nuances of "unlikable female characters" and humanize Black women by giving them space on the page to breathe. Her debut novel is WHILE WE WERE BURNING, a domestic thriller exploring race and class through the eyes of two very different women: one a white housewife, the other her Black personal assistant, who is hiding secrets and tragedies that connect her to her new employer in shocking ways.

J. A. KONRATH, who regularly speaks at mystery and horror conventions, is the author of a series of thrillers starring Lt. Jacqueline (Jack) Daniels including WHISKEY SOUR; BLOODY MARY; RUSTY NAIL; DIRTY MARTINI; FUZZY NAVEL; CHERRY BOMB; SHAKEN; and STIRRED. His horror books, AFRAID; ENDURANCE; TRAPPED; ORIGIN; and DRACULAS, are all written under the pseudonym Jack Kilborn. His science fiction novel, TIMECASTER, is written under the pseudonym Joe Kimball. He is also the editor of the anthology THESE GUNS FOR HIRE: 31 SHORT STORIES ABOUT HITMEN. With Ann Voss Peterson, he is the author of the Chandler trilogy, consisting of FLEE, SPREE, and THREE.
www.jakonrath.com

VICTORIA LAURIE is a professional psychic intuitive who lives in Michigan. She is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, the Psychic Eye mysteries about professional intuitive Abby Cooper in which she has already published more than fifteen novels, and the Ghost Hunter series about beloved character M. J. Holliday. Her newest series, the Life Coach Mysteries kicked off with COACHED TO DEATH which was followed by TO COACH A KILLER and COACHED IN THE ACT. She also penned the self-published novel A SPELL TO UNBIND. For children, she wrote a historical fantasy series for a middle grade audience, THE ORACLES OF DELPHI KEEP and the YA thrillers WHEN and FOREVER, AGAIN.  www.victorialaurie.com

JOHN LOCKE attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, went into insurance sales, and broke every company sales record, becoming an Area Vice President of the company by age 21.  He moved to Louisville, KY where he built his own insurance company.  At age 35, he purchased Consolidated American Live, changed the name to Freedom Life Insurance Company, and appointed more than 6,700 insurance agents in 34 states.  He has written numerous marketing manuals, two nonfiction books, and nine novels. He is the author of the popular Donovan Creed thriller series about a former CIA assassin, including LETHAL PEOPLE, SAVING RACHEL, and VEGAS MOON. He is also the author of a series of westerns following Creed’s ancestors, most recently, EMMETT & GENTRY, as well as BOX about a vindictive, sex-crazed, but very talented pediatric surgeon.

The late JAY MacLARTY was a successful entrepreneur who appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows. He also spent nearly a year working inside the administration of a presidential campaign. His novels include THE COURIER; BAGMAN;LIVE WIRE; and CHOKE POINT, a series of fast paced thrillers starring Simon Leonidovich, an international courier of dangerous packages.

DAVID MORRELL is the bestselling, award-winning author of such action classics as FIRST BLOOD (the basis for the blockbuster Rambo movies); THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE; THE FIFTH PROFESSION; EXTREME DENIAL; THE PROTECTOR; and dozens of other titles that have won him passionate fans around the world. Stoker Award-winning CREEPERS is a gripping, suspenseful thriller about urban explorers. CREEPERS protagonist Frank Balenger returns in SCAVENGER, an old-fashioned cat and mouse game with a modern technological twist. Morrell has penned nonfiction titles including FIREFLIES: A FATHER’S TALE OF LOVE AND LOSS and THE SUCCESSFUL NOVELIST. David has a Ph.D. in American Literature from Penn State and was formerly a professor in the English department of the University of Iowa. He has also self-published several essays, including “John Wayne”; “Marilyn Monroe”; “Rambo and Me”; “Nelson Riddle”; and “Frank Sinatra.” He is the author of MURDER AS A FINE ART, a new historical suspense novel, featuring Thomas DeQuincey and its sequel INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD. He is currently at work on the third book in the series, RULER OF THE NIGHT.
www.davidmorrell.net

RENA OLSEN is a writer, therapist, teacher, sometimes singer, and eternal optimist. By day she tries to save the world as a school therapist, and at night she creates new worlds in her writing. She is the author of the debut THE GIRL BEFORE and the forthcoming WITH YOU ALWAYS, both novels of psychological suspense.

JUDITH POST received a Master’s Degree from Indiana University as an elementary school teacher and taught 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades for six years before having her two daughters. She is the author of numerous fantasy and paranormal titles, including FALLEN ANGELS. Writing as JUDI LYNN, she is also the author of the six-book Mill Pond contemporary romance series which begins with COOKING UP TROUBLE and OPPOSITES DISTRACT. Her USA Today bestselling series of house-flipping cozy mysteries includes THE BODY IN THE ATTIC, THE BODY IN THE WETLANDS, THE BODY IN THE GRAVEL, THE BODY IN THE APARTMENT, THE BODY FROM THE PAST, and THE BODY IN THE BEAUTY PARLOR. www.judithpostswritingmusings.com

MICHAEL PRESCOTT has worked a screenwriter, magazine freelancer, and archival researcher. He has authored six novels under the pseudonym Brian Harper. His first novels under the pseudonym Michael Prescott are COMES THE DARK, STEALING FACES, and THE SHADOW HUNTER. He followed those up with LAST BREATH, NEXT VICTIM, and IN DARK PLACES. DANGEROUS GAMES, is the first in a trilogy featuring FBI agent Tess McCallum and freelance security consultant Abby Sinclair, who appeared separately in two of his earlier books. MORTAL FAULTS and FINAL SINS complete the series. His latest book is the reissued edition of THE SHADOW HUNTER. He is currently working on a new thriller.

J.R. RAIN is the author of the popular Samantha Moon series, Jim Knighthorse series, and Vampire for Hire series.

BERNARD SCHAFFER is an author, full-time police detective, and father of two. As a twenty-year veteran police officer, he’s a court recognized narcotics expert, a graduate of the prestigious Top Gun Undercover Law Enforcement Training Program, child forensic interviewer, and possesses a Class A certification in the use of wiretaps. A child actor, Schaffer appeared in multiple television commercials, performances at the Walnut Street Theater (where his picture still hangs in one of the upper, darker corners), Saturday Night Live, and the Nickelodeon series Don’t Just Sit There. The author of multiple independently-published books and series, including Superbia, Grendel Unit, Guns of Seneca 6, and more, Schaffer's next book THE THIEF OF ALL LIGHT is forthcoming from Kensington Books Summer 2018 and will be followed by a sequel. 

SHAWNA SEED is a writer and editor whose career has taken her to both coasts and several spots in between, working for publications ranging from the Dallas Morning News to ESPN.com.  Originally from Kansas, she's lived in seven states and every continental U.S. time zone. She and her husband now call Dallas home.  Her books include IDENTITY, a suspense novel set on the Texas Gulf Coast, and NOT IN TIME, a mystery about looted art. Her next project is called BOYS I HAVE DATED.
shawnaseed.com

LORD IAN STRATHCARRON is a professional escapee, a travel writer and adventurer who lives and works on his yacht Vasco da Gama. He lived in the Orient for many years, working as a freelance foreign correspondent and TimeLife stringer and founded Japan + Europa Press Agency, since sold to Reuters. He has since written the spy thrillers Invisibility and Black Beach, and the historical travel works JOY UNCONFINED! LORD BYRON’S GRAND TOUR RE-TOURED and INNOCENCE AND WAR: MARK TWAIN’S HOLY LAND REVISITED. He is now completing the second part of a Mark Twain travel trilogy THE INDIAN EQUATOR, MARK TWAIN’S INDIA REVISITED.
www.twaintraveler.com

HALLEY SUTTON holds an MFA in Writing from Otis College of Art and Design. She lives in Playa del Rey and spends her free time chasing Hollywood noir trivia. THE LADY UPSTAIRS, her first novel, is forthcoming from Putnam in 2020. 

KATHLEEN TAYLOR is the author of FUNERAL FOOD; SEX AND SALMONELLA; HOTEL SOUTH DAKOTA; MOURNING SHIFT; COLD FRONT; and FOREIGN BODY, all installments in the Delphis Series mysteries featuring a cast of oddball characters and a wisecracking heroine who is too smart for her own good. Proving her versatility, she is also the author of KNIT ONE, FELT TOO; YARNS TO DYE FOR; I HEART FELT; FEARLESS FAIR ISLEKNITTING; and THE BIG BOOK OF SOCKS. She has recently self-published THE NUT HUT.

CAROLYNE TOPDJIAN is the author of THE HITMAN’S DAUGHTER, coming in Winter 2022 from Agora Books. She has published in PRISM International, Dreamers Magazine and Firewords Quarterly and is a professor in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber College in Toronto. A two-time Pitch Wars mentor, she lives in a 112-year-old haunted house.

CAMILLA TRINCHIERI has published ten books in both English and Italian, including THE PRICE OF SILENCE and most recently, DESIRE, INC. She has also had short stories and personal essays published.  She received an MFA from the Columbia Graduate Writing program.

SANDRA SG WONG writes fiction across genres. She is a finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence and a nominee for the Whistler Independent Book Awards. She holds an honours BA in English literature and speaks four languages at varying levels of proficiency, though she usually only curses in one of them. IN THE DARK WE FORGET, in which a woman wakes by the roadside with amnesia and discovers that her now-missing parents are winners of a multimillion-dollar jackpot, is her latest book. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta. www.sgwong.com  

KRISTIN WRIGHT is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and has simultaneously been a small-town general practice lawyer handling criminal defense and the vice president of the elementary school PTA. She lives in Virginia with her husband, sons, and two beagles. For more information about the author visit www.kristinbwright.com.

CHRISTOPHER J. YATES was born and raised in England. He studied Law at Oxford University, which he says led very naturally into a career in puzzles, both as an editor and compiler. He has represented the United Kingdom at the World Puzzle Championships, written for magazines and newspapers in Britain, Australia and the United States, and currently compiles crosswords for various publications, including The New York Post. In 2006 he moved from London to New York City, where he currently lives. He is the author of  BLACK CHALK and GRIST MILL ROAD, both published by Picador.