Holiday Gift Guide: Books to Die For edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke

As much as readers may enjoy selecting their own literary diversions, they’re also curious to know what novels authors themselves have enjoyed. Which makes Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the
World’s Greatest Mystery Novels (Atria/Emily Bestler), a 560-page compilation of tributes to more
than 120 memorable works of crime, mystery and thriller fiction, so delightful.

The Titanic 100 Years on: An Interview with Author Hugh Brewster

If you’re wondering why, for the last few days, you’ve been hearing about the Titanic everywhere you turn, it’s because April 15th marks 100 years since that “unsinkable” luxury liner hit an iceberg and slipped below the waves during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

So much about the Titanic has kept our attention since. The fact that she was the largest ship afloat

Drama, Skullduggery and Disaster at Sea

Since I claim a longstanding interest in the story of the luxurious Royal Mail Steamer Titanic, which -- 100 years ago this coming weekend -- sank in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg, it was with great pleasure that I recently put together a collection of non-fiction books, for Kirkus Reviews, about that vessel and her heartbreaking, chilly fate. You’ll find that piece here.

Killer Covers Turns Three

Amazing to see that J. Kingston Pierce’s Killer Covers blog turned three yesterday. As Pierce says, it’s gone pretty fast. But how to celebrate such a momentous occasion? Pierce writes:
I went ’round and ’round on the most appropriate way to celebrate Killer Covers’ third birthday, and finally settled on the idea of showcasing three covers by three different illustrators I discovered during the

Pierce’s Pick: Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith:Former Moscow secret policeman Leo Demidov’s wife and two daughters travel to New York City in 1950 as part of a “peace tour,” only to be implicated in the killing of an African-American singer. Afterwards, Demidov -- denied the chance to investigate officially -- launches a years-long, international quest for truth ... and

Pierce’s Pick: Dark Men by Derek Haas

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Dark Men by Derek Haas:Contract killer Columbus (The Silver Bear) has retired with his lover to an Italian village. But he keeps up his tracking skills, just in case -- which is how he discovers that someone’s following him. To free himself once and for all, Columbus must return to Chicago and face whoever has kidnapped his former fence.Looking for previous

Pierce’s Pick: The Boy Who Shoots Crows by Randall Silvis

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses The Boy Who Shoots Crows by Randall Silvis. Pierce writes:Silvis (Disquiet Heart, 2002) introduces us into the search for a Pennsylvania boy who went missing while hunting crows. Charlotte Dunleavy, a recent escapee from Manhattan, may have heard something useful to the investigation -- but her memory isn’t working properly. Could she be hiding her

Pierce’s Pick: Utu by Caryl Férey

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Utu by Caryl Férey.
Set in New Zealand, Utu follows Paul Osborne, who’s called back to the Auckland police force from a bender in Sydney to take over an investigation by Jack Fitzgerald, an ex-colleague who committed suicide. But probing Fitzgerald’s death will introduce Osborne into a mystery involving Maori discontents, revenge and political

Pierce’s Pick: The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis.“After helping an estranged friend retrieve luggage from the Copenhagen train station, only to discover a naked child in the suitcase, Nina Borg is drawn into a dangerous world as she tries to identify the boy and keep him safe from the people who trapped him, and who will now kill to get him back.”

Pierce’s Pick: Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr.
No sooner has German homicide cop Bernie Gunther returned to a beleaguered Berlin in 1941, than he’s called away again -- this time to Prague, where a gathering of Nazi officials is taking place. Following a locked-room murder, it falls to Bernie to solve it, or maybe lose more than simply his good reputation in failing.Looking

Pierce’s Pick: Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson.“Disgraced knight-turned-sleuth Crispin Guest takes on a job for the Archbishop of Canterbury: figure out who’s behind threats to the displayed bones of martyr Thomas à Becket. But he’s distracted from that task by the arrival of an old acquaintance, poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who’s been accused of murdering a visiting pilgrim.”