Crime and Wine: Novelist Chats with Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Pamela Fagan Hutchins in conversation on Crime & Wine with Tonya Kappes Books about book 1 in her new Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series, SLEIGHT OF HAND.

Join Pamela with Carolyn Ridder Aspenson as they talk about Carolyn's bestselling Rachel Ryder series, starting with the thrilling DAMAGING SECRETS. Warning: many laughs were had in the making of this podcast!

About Damaging Secrets:

Bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is back—this time with a scrappy heroine whose bold detective work and well-timed one-liners will leave you riveted—and entertained—at every turn.

"Detective Rachel Ryder is smart, tough, and fearless—readers will gladly follow her through every twist of Aspenson’s knockout first installment in this riveting new series.” —LynDee Walker, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Fear No Truth

New to town and a little rough around the edges, Detective Rachel Ryder finds herself on the receiving end of a suspicious person’s call in Hamby, Georgia. When the call turns out to be a dead body, the medical examiner is quick to rule the death a suicide. But was it something more sinister?

Everyone in the small department believes the case is closed—except for Rachel. The sudden passing of a local politician during the mayor’s run for Congress strikes her as a little too coincidental, and Rachel is eager to follow her instincts. Her partner, Rob, a 30-year veteran, isn’t the type to disobey his boss or ruffle any feathers, but he can’t convince strong-willed Rachel to let it go.

Obsessed with finding out the truth, Rachel begins to examine the evidence and drags her reluctant partner along for the ride. But the clues are confusing. Nothing is adding up.

Puzzled and running out of time, Rachel and Rob rush to work every angle and bring the elusive killer to justice before someone else ends up dead.

About Carolyn Ridder Aspenson:

USA Today Bestselling Author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson writes cozy mysteries, thrillers, and paranormal women's fiction featuring strong female leads. Her stories shine through her dialogue, which readers have praised for being realistic and compelling.

A multiple number one bestseller on Amazon, her first novel, Unfinished Business, was a five-star Reader's Favorite, a Rone Award finalist, as well as a number one bestseller on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. In 2021, she introduced readers to detective Rachel Ryder in Damaging Secrets, also a number one bestseller on Amazon. Overkill, the third book in the Rachel Ryder series, was one of Thrillerfix’s best thrillers of 2021.Reviews have praised her work as ‘compelling, and intense,’ and ‘read through the night, edge of your seat thrillers. Carolyn’s most recent Rachel Ryder novel, Deadly Means, has been submitted for an Edgar Award by her publisher, Severn River Publishing.

Prior to publishing, she worked as a journalist in the suburbs of Atlanta where her work appeared in multiple newspapers and magazines. She wrote a monthly featured column in Northside Woman magazine.

Writing is only one of Carolyn's passions. She is an avid dog lover and currently spoils an American Staffordshire terrier boxer mix. She lives in the mountains of North Georgia as an empty nester (who misses her kids terribly but loves having a lower grocery bill) with her husband, a cantankerous cat, and her very spoiled pup.

Crime and Wine is a solely owned and copyrighted production of the Authors on the Air Global Network, an international digital media corporation with over four million listeners in 143 countries and over one million social media friends.

Join Pamela Fagan Hutchins in conversation with Danielle Stewart, the author of THE GIRL AT THE PARTY, on Crime & Wine.

About Danielle Stewart:

Danielle Stewart is a USA Today Best Selling Author of over thirty books. Her series include The Piper Anderson Series, The Edenville Series, The Clover Series, The Piper Anderson Legacy Mystery Series, The Rough Waters Series & The Barrington Billionaire's Series. She has had more the 3 million books downloaded and held the number one book rank on Apple Books, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Danielle currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and son. She works hard to perfect the ability to write in a noisy house and create story lines while folding laundry. She loves hearing from readers so please find her on social media!

About THE GIRL AT THE PARTY:

Slamming the door shut behind her, Stephanie takes one last look at the party where her best friends are busy celebrating. As the drinks are poured and music blasts, she disappears into the darkness alone. Some say she was crying. Others think they heard an argument that night. But we never saw her alive again…

Ever since our best friend Stephanie was found murdered four years ago, I’ve been haunted by the feeling that I should have done more. The eight of us at the party were inseparable—and we always thought she was the perfect one. The one who stayed out of trouble. The one who always looked out for us…

But when we discover more about the events leading up to that fateful night, I realise that our friend was far from perfect. The golden girl was keeping secrets. Secrets that someone would kill to keep quiet. The more I learn about that night, I realise I never really knew her at all.

And as we get closer to the truth of what happened, the threats start. A warning message is keyed onto my car. Then the house is broken into, and my belongings are destroyed. The killer is watching us, and they are coming out of the shadows…

But when I find out that Stephanie knew her killer, my blood runs cold. Are they closer to me than I could have ever imagined? And just how far will they go to make sure the truth stays buried forever?

This addictive and gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Megan Miranda, Lisa Jewell and Laura Marshall.

Crime and Wine: Novelist Chats with Pamela Fagan Hutchins was selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 30 Crime Fiction Podcasts on the web.

Join this multi-continent chat between L.A. Larkin, author of NEXT GIRL MISSING, with Pamela Fagan Hutchins on Crime & Wine.

About L.A. Larkin:

L.A. Larkin’s crime and psychological thrillers have won her fans all over the world. Described as a superb “chiller thriller” writer by Marie Claire magazine, and praised by the king of crime, Lee Child, for her “fast and immersive” thrillers, Louisa’s novels will keep you reading all night.

Her new Sally Fairburn series kicks off with Next Girl Missing (book 1) and Her Deadly Truth (book 2), available from all online bookstores from June 16, 2023.

About NEXT GIRL MISSING:

The little girl fidgets in her seat, wringing the ends of her scarf in a rush of panic. She tugs at the car door handle but it doesn’t open. Tears well in her eyes. “I want my mommy.”Four years ago, six young girls were snatched from the streets of quiet, suburban Pioneer Heights—chilling, fake “missing” posters of each victim hung around town just before they were taken.

Ex-police officer Sally Fairburn has always been haunted by the case and their inability to bring the girls home. Having lost her own daughter, she knows only too well the pain it brings…Four years on, the wide brown eyes and neat braids of twelve-year-old Anna Moorhouse—the last girl to disappear—still plague Sally’s dreams. She has never stopped fighting to bring the devastated families back together, but all leads have gone cold. Until Sally receives a chilling call out of the blue: their former main suspect, in prison for another crime, wants to talk to her… alone.Desperate for answers, Sally races to interview him.

But a horrifying discovery stops her in her tracks: a missing poster—on her daily running route, in the same style used four years ago—with Sally’s own face on it…Not only is Sally in grave danger, but the more threats she receives, the more convinced she becomes that the killer is a lot closer to home than she ever could have imagined… But can Sally finally catch him before any more innocents disappear—and before Sally herself becomes his next victim…?

Fans of Lisa Regan, Greg Olsen and Melinda Leigh will love this gripping new crime thriller series. Prepare to stay up all night!

Join Pamela Fagan Hutchins with NYT-bestseller Allison Brennan talking about her new Amazon Editors' May mystery/thriller suspense pick, her new release SEVEN GIRLS GONE, and much more, on Crime & Wine.

About SEVEN GIRLS GONE:“Set among Louisiana’s swamps and brooding atmosphere, 'Seven Girls Gone' is a complex mystery whose characters are as intriguing as the storyline.” —The Denver Post

When nobody will talk and corruption runs deep, turning to outsiders is the only way to make sure women stop disappearing…For three years, women have been going missing—and eventually turning up dead in the small bayou town of St. Augustine, Louisiana. Police detective Beau Hebert is the only one who seems to care, but with every witness quickly silenced and a corrupt police department set on keeping the cases unsolved, Beau’s investigation stalls at every turn.With nobody else to trust, Beau calls in a favor from his friend on the FBI’s Mobile Response Team.

While LAPD detective Kara Quinn works undercover to dig into the women’s murders and team leader Matt Costa officially investigates the in-custody death of a witness, Beau might finally have a chance at solving the case.

But in a town where everyone knows everyone, talking gets you killed and secrets stay buried, it’s going to take the entire team working around the clock to unravel the truth. Especially when they discover that the deep-seated corruption and the deadly drug-trafficking ring at the center of it all extends far beyond the small-town borders.

About ALLISON BRENNAN:

Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and spends all her non-writing time as a sports spectator, chauffeur, and short-order cook for her munchkins. She has a dog and two cats. Allison and her family live in Arizona.

What a treat — enjoy a delightful conversation between aspiring writer and high school student Ian, award-winning thriller and former teacher Ken Oder, and me, on Crime & Wine.

Last summer, I had the pleasure of brunching with Matty Dalrymple, where we bonded over the fact that she put up with three wild and wooly Hutchins dogs, regaled me with stories of her own, and shared some about her writing with me. I went home and started reading the Ann Kinnear and the Lizzy Ballard series immediately, and I've been hooked ever since. I cannot wait to have her on the show and share her latest, BE WITH THE DEAD, with you. I think you're going to love her and her writing. Join us!

About BE WITH THE DEAD:

An invitation to speak at the Gotham Crime Fiction Conference draws Ann Kinnear into a mystery within a mystery, where the stakes are not just reputation and riches--they're life and death.

★★★★★ "A riveting, fast-paced, intriguing read with a colorful cast of characters who pull you in and don't let go!" —Lisa Regan, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Crime Fiction Author

Ann Kinnear has been invited to the Gotham Crime Fiction Conference to give a talk on "Making the Supernatural Super in Your Novel," but she isn't enthusiastic about adding public speaking to the offerings of Ann Kinnear Sensing.Ann's conference liaison, editor Darren Van Osten, has problems of his own. His client, bestselling thriller author Jock Quine, was killed during a burglary at his Princeton mansion, and Darren is despairing of being able to coach Jock's bookish son Alec to pick up the authorial torch from his larger-than-life father. Darren's best hope of staying solvent is to capitalize on his most mysterious client, Lara Seaford, whose debut novel is sweeping the thriller awards.Meanwhile, cozy mystery author Marilee Forsythe is demanding that her son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy and Jeanette, provide the money she needs to buy out her cozy contract and switch to her true calling: thriller novels. When Marilee is attacked at an author event and refuses to leave her Ocean City, Maryland, condo, the couple entertains guilty visions of a life without her disparaging comments and unreasonable demands.As Ann's involvement in Darren and Jeanette's dilemmas deepens, she finds the cases have more in common than mere authorial posturing ... and that the stakes are life and death.

About MATTY DALRYMPLE:

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, SNAKES AND LADDERS, and THE IRON RING; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels THE SENSE OF DEATH, THE SENSE OF RECKONING, THE FALCON AND THE OWL, A FURNACE FOR YOUR FOE, A SERPENT'S TOOTH, and BE WITH THE DEAD; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including CLOSE THESE EYES and WRITE IN WATER. Matty lives with her husband, Wade Walton, and their dogs in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and enjoys vacationing on Mount Desert Island, Maine, and Sedona, Arizona, and these locations provide the settings for her work. Matty is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

Join these two Wyoming authors as they talk about C.J. Box's #1 NYT-bestselling novel, STORM WATCH, and his feelings about being named National Guest of Honor for Bouchercon San Diego 2023.

About C.J.:

About STORM WATCH:

When a prominent University of Wyoming professor goes missing, authorities are stumped. That is, until Joe Pickett makes two surprising discoveries while hunting down a wounded elk on his district as an epic spring storm descends upon him. First, he finds the professor’s vehicle parked on a remote mountainside. Then Joe finds the professor’s frozen and mutilated body. When he attempts to learn more, his investigation is obstructed by federal agents, extremists, and Governor Colter Allen.

Nate Romanowski is rebuilding his falconry company—and financing this through crypto mining with the assistance of Geronimo Jones. He’s then approached by a shadowy group of local militant activists that is gaining in power and influence, and demanding that Wyoming join other western states and secede from the union—by force, if necessary. They ask Nate to throw in with them, but he’s wary. Should he trust them, or is he being set up?

As a storm of peril gathers around them, Joe and Nate confront it in different ways—and maybe, for the first time, on opposite sides.

About Bouchercon:

The World Mystery Convention is a nonprofit, organization which holds an annual convention in honor of Anthony Boucher, the distinguished mystery fiction critic, editor and author.

The first Bouchercon took place in 1970 in Santa Monica, California. Subsequent Bouchercons have been held in many cities across the United States, as well as in Toronto and the UK, and in 2023 San Diego.

Roger Stelljes discusses his 5th Tori Hunter thriller, THE SNOW GRAVES, and much more with Pamela Fagan Hutchins, on Crime & Wine.

About Roger Stelljes:

A proud native of Minnesota and a voracious reader of novels, Roger is also an avid sports fan, particularly of the Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team as well as the Minnesota Twins, Vikings and the Wild. If you can't find him at a game, you might find him on one of Minnesota's lakes, golf courses, or at a local hockey rink. He became a fan of Michael Crichton, David Baldacci, W.E.B. Griffin, Robert Ludlum, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Tami Hoag, John Sandford and Vince Flynn. All of them in one way, shape or form have influenced his writing.

About THE SNOW GRAVES:

The young couple lies still on the snow-covered sidewalk, their gloved hands tightly linked as though they could save each other. But flashing blue lights illuminate the quiet street, and drops of blood scatter the pure white ground…

Agent Tori Hunter is heartbroken at the murders of Cam and Gracie, two college students dating for just a few months, shot dead outside his aunt’s home. With witnesses in this once-peaceful neighborhood saying they saw a black car speed away, Tori is desperately tracking it down when a nine-year-old girl is found sitting alone on a park bench, refusing to speak. No-one in this small community knows who she is… is she somehow linked to the murders?

Visiting little Alisha as she huddles in her pink coat, Tori quickly realises she is deaf. As her hands move in sign language Tori makes out her message: We had to run from the lady in the black car. I want to go home.

Did Alisha witness Cam and Gracie’s killer? Tori is racing to follow her directions to a lonely cabin deep in the pine forest when she gets an anonymous call from a female voice that makes her blood run cold. “Hello, Tori. To keep Alisha safe you need to do exactly as I say…”

Is Tori speaking to the killer, or is putting her trust in this mysterious woman her one hope of catching the true perpetrator? As more phone calls come, it’s clear the voice knows all about a cold case from Tori’s past—and that Tori must confront this twisted mind, and her own darkest demons before more innocent lives are lost.

An absolutely unputdownable read that will have you gasping at the twists and turns. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, Gregg Olsen and Melinda Leigh.

Join Pamela for a very funny chat with the woman who took two books to the top of both the Amazon and Wall Street Journal charts with the release of THE HOUSEMAID'S SECRET, Freida McFadden.  

About Freida:  

#1 Amazon, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year and she has been a Goodreads Choice Award nominee. Her novels have been translated into over 30 languages.  

Freida lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.  

About THE HOUSEMAID'S SECRET:  

“Don’t go in the guest bedroom.” A shadow falls on Douglas Garrick’s face as he touches the door with his fingertips. “My wife… she’s very ill.”

 As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can’t risk losing this job—not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe…  It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. 

So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want.  It’s almost perfect. 

But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…  That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe.  

Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It’s simply a question of how far I’m willing to go…  

This absolutely explosive and shockingly twisty sequel to international bestseller The Housemaid will keep you racing through the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl will be totally hooked! This book can also be enjoyed as a standalone.