Suspense Radio

John Lansing: "Dead is Dead":

Life imitates art in Dead is Dead, the newest thriller by best-selling author John Lansing. Retired Inspector Jack Bertolino gets his first taste of the capricious nature of Hollywood when George Litton, an A list producer, options one of Jack's recent cases that achieved international notoriety. The studio agrees to green light the film if Litton can sign New York actress Susan Blake, the new "It Girl," to play the lead.

Jack is engaged as the technical advisor on Litton's noir police thriller currently filming on location in Venice, California and starring Susan Blake. But more importantly, to keep a protective eye on Susan, who's being harassed by a cyber stalker and is reticent to commit to a second Litton production and spend another year in LA.

When a six-year-old girl is shot dead in the living room of her parents' home, just blocks from where Litton's cop movie is filming, Jack Bertolino gets pulled into a case with threads connecting the movie, the murder, a brutal gang of brothers, and a terrifying body count.

Beyond The Cover really goes that far with this very emotionally charged interview. Author Sandra Brannan will talk about the tragedy that just hit her family. This is much more than just books, this is Beyond The Cover. 

Sandra Brannan: After living in Wyoming, Washington, D.C., Washington state, and Colorado, Sandra Brannan returned to her hometown in South Dakota, where she is surrounded by family. She enjoys working with relatives in the mining business; living in the Black Hills with her husband, Joel; smiling with pride over the journeys taken by her four sons; doting over her three grandchildren; and appreciating all of life’s blessings, too many to count. www.sandrabrannan.com

Beyond The Cover really goes that far with this very emotionally charged interview. Author Sandra Brannan will talk about the tragedy that just hit her family. This is much more than just books, this is Beyond The Cover.

Sandra Brannan: After living in Wyoming, Washington, D.C., Washington state, and Colorado, Sandra Brannan returned to her hometown in South Dakota, where she is surrounded by family. She enjoys working with relatives in the mining business; living in the Black Hills with her husband, Joel; smiling with pride over the journeys taken by her four sons; doting over her three grandchildren; and appreciating all of life's blessings, too many to count. www.sandrabrannan.com

Jerry Jenkins has been steeped in the craft of writing for more than 40 years. With 21 New York Times bestsellers (seven debuting at #1), 186 books, and over 70 million copies sold, he has become one of the most commercially successful writers of our time.

Lucky guy? An overnight success? Hardly.

Jerry's from-the-trenches perspective on how to achieve success is quite the opposite of a conventional approach. He espouses working fiercely and with discipline and leaving the results to the marketplace.

"Left Behind was my 125th book — but not a lot of people realize that."

Jerry wrote that 16-title culture-shifting series for Dr. Tim LaHaye, and the publishing world now refers to it as "the Left Behind phenomenon." Several books in the series hit the New York Timesbestseller list, selling over 62 million copies.

Even with such milestones defining his career, Jerry remains a generous and enthusiastic mentor to writers around the world serious about improving their skills and realizing their dreams to be published.

His biggest tip for those hoping to be the next bestselling author?

"Never make it your goal to write a bestseller," he says. "Relentlessly pursue being the best writer you can be every day, telling that one meaningful story that lights you up. If you do that, you're a success; your part is done. Every other factor — the market, the sales, the reviews — is truly out of your control."

Jerry Jenkins has been steeped in the craft of writing for more than 40 years. With 21 New York Times bestsellers (seven debuting at #1), 186 books, and over 70 million copies sold, he has become one of the most commercially successful writers of our time.

Lucky guy? An overnight success? Hardly.

Jerry's from-the-trenches perspective on how to achieve success is quite the opposite of a conventional approach. He espouses working fiercely and with discipline and leaving the results to the marketplace.

"Left Behind was my 125th book — but not a lot of people realize that."

Jerry wrote that 16-title culture-shifting series for Dr. Tim LaHaye, and the publishing world now refers to it as "the Left Behind phenomenon." Several books in the series hit the New York Timesbestseller list, selling over 62 million copies.

Even with such milestones defining his career, Jerry remains a generous and enthusiastic mentor to writers around the world serious about improving their skills and realizing their dreams to be published.

His biggest tip for those hoping to be the next bestselling author?

"Never make it your goal to write a bestseller," he says. "Relentlessly pursue being the best writer you can be every day, telling that one meaningful story that lights you up. If you do that, you're a success; your part is done. Every other factor — the market, the sales, the reviews — is truly out of your control."

Ryan Quinn: "The Good Traitor":

The US ambassador to China is killed in a suspicious plane crash just days after a news article links Chinese spies to US business interests. The American intelligence community is left scrambling to investigate possible connections between the crash and a series of other high-profile deaths.

On the other side of the world, ex-CIA operative Kera Mersal returns to the United States determined to clear her name after being branded a traitor for exposing illegal government surveillance. There, former colleague and fellow fugitive J. D. Jones contacts her with a new assignment: find out who is staging accidents to murder news sources. As the news site continues to publish stories about top-secret CIA programs and Chinese government corruption, Mersal reunites with old allies to uncover the truth and prove her loyalty to her country once and for all. But Mersal's investigations put her on the trail of a sinister hacker whose own motives may influence a vaster—and more deadly—geopolitical conspiracy than either of the world's two largest superpowers is prepared to handle.

Nancy Allen: "The Wages of Sin":

"The Elsie Arnold series deserves to run and run."— Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls and The Killer Next Door

In rural McCown County, Missouri, a young pregnant woman is found beaten to death in a trailer park. The only witness to the murder is Ivy, her six-year-old daughter, who points to her mom's boyfriend—father of the unborn child. County prosecutor Madeleine Thompson promises the community justice, and in the Ozarks, that can only mean one thing: a death sentence.

Steve Hamilton: "The Second Life of Nick Mason": Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release twenty years early.  He accepts -- but the deal comes with a terrible price.

Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate.  He’s returned to society, but he's still a prisoner.  Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given.  It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who runs an empire from his prison cell.

Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes, hunted by the relentless detective who put him behind bars, and desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything—his family, his sanity, and even his life—to finally break free.

“Steve Hamilton amazes me. Every time I think he's going to zig he zags.”—Michael Connelly

“A gamechanger. Nick Mason is one of the best main characters I've read in years.”—Harlan Coben

From New York Times-bestselling, two-time Edgar-award-winning author Steve Hamilton comes an unforgettable new hero, a man who will walk out of prison and into a harrowing double life that is anything but free.

Steve Hamilton: "The Second Life of Nick Mason": Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release twenty years early. He accepts -- but the deal comes with a terrible price.

Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate. He's returned to society, but he's still a prisoner. Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given. It's the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who runs an empire from his prison cell.

Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes, hunted by the relentless detective who put him behind bars, and desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything—his family, his sanity, and even his life—to finally break free.

"Steve Hamilton amazes me. Every time I think he's going to zig he zags."—Michael Connelly

"A gamechanger. Nick Mason is one of the best main characters I've read in years."—Harlan Coben

From New York Times-bestselling, two-time Edgar-award-winning author Steve Hamilton comes an unforgettable new hero, a man who will walk out of prison and into a harrowing double life that is anything but free.

Connie Di Marco: "The Madness of Mercury":

San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti's life is turned upside down when she becomes the target of the city's newest cult leader, Reverend Roy of the Prophet's Tabernacle. Driven out of her apartment in the midst of a disastrous Mercury retrograde period, she takes shelter with a client who's caring for two elderly aunts. One aunt appears stricken with dementia and the other has fallen under the spell of the Reverend Roy. To add to the confusion, a young man claiming to be a long lost nephew arrives. The longer he stays, the more dangerous things become. Is the young man truly a member of the family? Can astrology confirm that? Julia's not sure, but one thing she does know is that Mercury wasn't merely the messenger of the gods—he was a trickster and a liar as well.

We have two authors on the show today. One on One is partnered with Partners in Crime tours.net.

Katherine Hall Page "The Body In The Wardrobe":

Minster's wife, caterer, and part-time sleuth Faith Fairchild pairs up with Sophie Maxwell, last seen in Body in the Birches and now a newlywed living in historic Savannah, Georgia, where Sophie crosses paths with murder.

Attorney Sophie Maxwell has come to Savannah to be with her new husband, Will. But nothing throws cold water on a hot relationship faster than a dead body. Worse for Sophie, no one believes the body she knows she saw is real, Will is spending an awful lot of time in Atlanta on a case he claims is urgent, and she's been tasked with house hunting for them with his former sweetheart, who Sophie can't help but suspect wishes Sophie would return to her Yankee roots!