Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, former FBI agent, scholar, and author Michael German discusses his explosive book Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within. German, who infiltrated white supremacist and right-wing militia groups during his FBI tenure, offers a chilling insider perspective on how racist ideology persists and thrives inside U.S. law enforcement.

“What January 6 revealed is how deeply embedded far-right sympathies are in federal policing institutions.” — Mike German

He explains how decades of systemic bias, failed policy, and outright sympathies with white nationalist agendas have shaped the institutions meant to protect democracy. From January 6 to Charlottesville, from FBI surveillance priorities to underreported hate crimes, German shows how government agencies have enabled far-right violence—and what must happen at the state and local levels to fight back.

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack.

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Michael German, Policing White Supremacy, FBI white supremacist infiltration, domestic terrorism, Charlottesville riot, Proud Boys, January 6, right-wing extremism, Brennan Center, far-right violence in America

You Might Also Like: Talking the Trumpocene with Jeff Sharlet, Our Eroding Democracy: Steven Levitsky, Ted Rall, Harmon Leon

In Policing White Supremacy, Michael German shares insights from his undercover work in white supremacist and militia groups in the 1990s—and explains how little has changed. He details how federal agencies, especially the FBI, have long deprioritized white supremacist violence in favor of targeting environmentalists, anti-racist activists, and Black-led protests.

He also unpacks the structural failures that allow violent extremism to persist within police departments, including ineffective hate crime data collection, weak accountability mechanisms, and institutional resistance to reform. German argues that combating white supremacy inside law enforcement means more than increasing police budgets or surveillance powers—it requires bold structural overhaul, community accountability, and a commitment to the rule of law.

We talk with Will Potter about his new book Little Red Barns. The WAPO called it “an impassioned and thoroughly researched examination of factory farming and how it harms animals, the planet and us.”

We also talk with the folks over at Project Censored about their annual report State of the Free Press. It covers the most important stories the mainstream press underplayed or ignored. Don’t miss it!

And check out the new podcast I’m hosting! Changehampton Presents: Changing The World, One Yard At A Time.

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform

On this episode of Writer’s Voice, we speak with science journalist Lizzie Wade about her groundbreaking book Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures. Through stories of ancient climate collapse, pandemic upheavals, colonial conquests, and societal reorganization, Wade shows that the end of a world is often the beginning of something new.

“Bringing to an end a type of society that isn’t working for the new world that’s emerging is not necessarily a bad thing. That’s called adaptation.” — Lizzie Wade

From the Neanderthal “extinction” to the fall of ancient Egypt, from the Great Drowning of Indigenous Australian coastlines to the climate-driven rise of El Niño societies in Peru, Wade explores how disasters reshaped political systems and economies. Crucially, she argues that today’s climate, social, and technological apocalypses offer not just threats, but transformative possibilities.

Then we re-connect with former Writer’s Voice guest Betsy McCulley who I interviewed recently on the new podcast I host, Changehampton Presents. That episode is about native grasslands and why we should protect and restore them and we air a short excerpt on WV.

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Lizzie Wade, Apocalypse book, ancient disasters, rethinking apocalypse, end of the world, post-apocalyptic optimism, Changehampton, native grasslands

You Might Also Like: Betsy McCully, AT THE GLACIER’S EDGE

Human societies have experienced numerous apocalypses. And each time, the survivors have emerged to build new societies, ones that work better for them.

We talk with science journalist Lizzie Wade about her groundbreaking book Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures. Through stories of ancient climate collapse, pandemic upheavals, colonial conquests, and societal reorganization, Wade shows that the end of a world is often the beginning of something new.Wade redefines the word “apocalypse”—not as doom, but as rapid, collective loss that sparks social transformation.

Drawing on archaeological case studies, she explains how past societies adapted to major upheavals, from sea level rise and plagues to the collapse of empires. Some became more equitable and resilient—others failed to recover.

We explore how inequality makes complex societies brittle, why colonialism was a permanent apocalypse for Indigenous cultures, and what lessons ancient disasters offer us today. Most of all, Wade challenges us to imagine better futures—rooted in community, care, and adaptability.

Read or Listen to a Sample from Apocalypse

Last year, I interviewed environmental writer Betsy McCully about her book, At The Glacier’s Edge. In June I spoke with her again, this time about native grasslands, for the new podcast I’m hosting: Changehampton Presents.

Changehampton promotes private yards and public spaces that are good for wildlife and pollinators. McCulley and I were joined by Bruce Horwith, conservation biologist and ecologist, to unpack the rich ecological history, biodiversity, and climate resilience offered by grasslands. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation. We air a short clip from the podcast episode.

You can get the podcast Changehampton Presents anywhere you get your podcasts. It’s not just for the Hamptons!

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform

On this episode of Writer’s Voice, two authors share stories of retreat and re-engagement in a world unraveling.

First, novelist Jess Walter talks about So Far Gone, a gripping, darkly funny, and deeply moving novel about Rhys Kinnick—a retired journalist who escapes to a cabin in the woods, only to find himself drawn back into the chaos of American life when his estranged daughter disappears and his grandkids show up at his doorstep.

“The first thought you have is: can I turn away? And I call this a thought experiment… what draws us back into the world?” — Jess Walter

Then, science journalist and memoirist Marguerite Holloway shares her journey in Take to the Trees, a personal exploration of forest ecology, climate grief, and finding courage through tree climbing. Her story blends memoir, science, and deep-rooted hope in the face of environmental loss.

“There was something about shifting my focus to the skills… and the community of women watching out for me—that overcame the fear.” — Marguerite Holloway

Together, these interviews ask: What do we do when the world feels too far gone? And what brings us back?Connect with WV:

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Jess Walter, So Far Gone, Christian nationalism, literary thriller, retreat from society, conspiracy culture, Marguerite Holloway, Take to the Trees, forest ecology, tree climbing, women arborists, climate anxiety, dendrochronology, forest health, climate change and trees, Bear and Melissa Lavangie,

You Might Also Like: Jess Walter, THE COLD MILLIONS, Manjula Martin, THE LAST FIRE SEASON

And check out Francesca’s new podcast about creating a new land ethic, Changehampton Presents: Changing the World One Yard At A Time

Jess Walter discusses his novel So Far Gone, which blends suspense, family drama, and social commentary. The book follows Rhys Kinnick, a man who checks out of society—only to be pulled back in by a family crisis and rising Christian nationalism. Walter reflects on fatherhood, political polarization, toxic masculinity, and the enduring power of love in dark times.

Read or listen to a sample from SO FAR GONE

Marguerite Holloway joins Writer’s Voice to talk about her memoir Take to the Trees, a deeply moving blend of personal narrative, environmental science, and immersive adventure. The book chronicles Holloway’s journey as a tree-climbing novice who enrolls in the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop—run by pioneering twin sister arborists Bear LeVangie and Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll.

As Holloway grapples with ropes, rigging, and the emotional terrain of loss, she ascends not only into the forest canopy but into deeper understanding—of trees, grief, and resilience. Alongside her own personal story, she shares the stories of charismatic tree species and the scientists racing to document and protect forests amid unprecedented environmental threats.

The interview touches on women’s leadership in a male-dominated field, the healing potential of climbing, and the intertwined fates of humans and trees. It culminates in a message of grounded hope: even in the face of arboreal decline, new communities and new ways of seeing the world are taking root.

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

This week: Grandmaster of crime fiction Laura Lippman joins us to talk about her delightful new mystery, Murder Takes a Vacation. The novel brings back Muriel “Mrs.” Blossom—now a wealthy, single woman in her sixties—on a river cruise where art theft, murder, and self-reinvention intersect. It’s a twisty, character-rich whodunit that also explores the power of friendship, pleasure, and starting over in the third act of life.

“Crime is interesting. It cracks the world open, and then things change.” — Laura Lippman

Then, as New Yorkers begin voting in the Democratic primary for Mayor, we revisit Francesca’s 2021 conversation with Ross Barkan about his book, The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, The Coronavirus & The Fall of New York.

“I don’t think Cuomo is Donald Trump by any means. I don’t think anyone is Donald Trump, but I do think there’s more similarities between the two than a lot of liberal left-leaning people would admit.” –Ross Barkan

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Laura Lippman, Murder Takes a Vacation, cozy mystery, feminist crime fiction, ageism, fatphobia, Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster, Ross Barkan, Andrew Cuomo, Covid19 in New York.

You Might Also Like: Ross Barkan, THE PRINCE, Claire Coughlan, WHERE THEY LIE

And check out Francesca’s new podcast about creating a new land ethic, Changehampton Presents: Changing the World One Yard At A Time

Crime fiction legend Laura Lippman talks about her latest novel, Murder Takes a Vacation, a witty and warm cozy mystery featuring Muriel “Mrs.” Blossom—a retired PI assistant turned millionaire lottery winner—who embarks on a cruise down the Seine and finds herself caught up in art theft, murder, and rediscovering who she really is.

Lippman shares why she wanted to write about an older female protagonist unapologetically enjoying her life, how friendship, fatphobia, ageism, and female pleasure inform the book, and why cozy mysteries are harder to write than noir. Along the way, we explore art world ethics, the joy of self-designing one’s space (especially with paintings by abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell), and why writing decent people can be more challenging—and rewarding—than writing unlikable ones.

Read or listen to a sample from MURDER TAKES A VACATION

New York City has already begun early voting in the Democratic primary for mayor. Andrew Cuomo is still leading in the polls, although second placer Zohran Mamdani is narrowing the former governor’s lead—and Brad Lander, in third place, may get a boost after he was detained by ICE while trying to escort an immigrant out of the Federal building after the man was stripped of his status by a judge who dismissed his case.

Back in 2021, during the last election for New York governor, Writer’s Voice interviewed reporter Ross Barkan about his book, The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, The Coronavirus & The Fall of New York. It’s a deep dive into Cuomo’s record during the coronavirus epidemic in New York and his governing style. Cuomo was widely criticized for causing thousands of deaths in nursing homes after he ordered covid patients to be released to them from hospitals. We play an excerpt from that conversation.

Listen to the full interview

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

This week on Writer’s Voice, two authors of speculative fiction explore what it means to be human in a world shaped by crisis, autocracy, and extinction.

First, Ray Nayler discusses Where the Axe is Buried, a gripping novel that imagines a future governed by AI prime ministers and mass surveillance. It’s a chilling look at authoritarianism, technocratic “solutions,” and the erosion of personal freedom. Yet it holds out hope for the eternal human drive for freedom.

“Dissatisfaction with things as they are is the engine that will always eventually undermine autocracy.” — Ray Nayler

Then, Tim Weed talks about The Afterlife Project, a haunting story set in the aftermath of a climate-engineered catastrophe. A lone scientist awakens 10,000 years in the future to discover whether humanity—and the planet—has survived.

“Maybe we will come to take what I consider to be our destiny as a species… to become the stewards of life on Earth.” — Tim Weed

Both novels ask big questions: Can systems change? What will artificial intelligence do to our democracies? And what kind of afterlife awaits a species on the brink?

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Tim Weed, The Afterlife Project, speculative fiction, climate collapse, human extinction, ecological fiction, Ray Nayler, Where the Axe Is Buried, AI autocracy, surveillance state, artificial intelligence, authoritarianism,

You Might Also Like: Ray Nayler, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA, Cary Groner, THE WAY

Ray Nayler explores themes of power, control, and resistance in his speculative novel Where the Axe Is Buried. The story spans several autocratic states governed by algorithmic AI prime ministers, exploring how surveillance, “rationalized” decision-making, and stripped-down choice threaten human agency. Yet, amid bleak systems, the novel clings to the enduring power of human dissatisfaction to challenge oppression.

Tim Weed’s The Afterlife Project envisions a post-human future sparked by a climate crisis and geoengineering gone wrong. After a hyperpandemic leads to human infertility, one man awakens from suspended animation 10,000 years in the future. Through rich descriptions of ecological recovery, philosophical reflections, and a “new religion,” the novel explores what remains—and evolves—after catastrophe.

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we explore how language shapes history—and how stories shape culture.

We first speak with Laura Spinney, author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. She takes us into the world of Proto-Indo-European, a language spoken thousands of years ago and never written down, yet one whose descendants—including English, Sanskrit, and Latin—are spoken by nearly half the world’s population today.

“There is no such thing as a pure language.” — Laura Spinney

Then, Tonya Todd joins us to discuss Comics Lit, Volume 1, a groundbreaking anthology of essays that treat comic books as serious literature. We talk about mythology, feminism, censorship, and how comic narratives challenge societal norms while giving voice to underrepresented communities.

“Comics themselves can be a form of high art.” — Tonya Todd

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Laura Spinney, Proto-Indo-European, Proto book, Yamnaya, ancient DNA, language origins, Maria Gimbutas, Tonya Todd, Comics Lit, Catwoman, Irene Adler, comics and mythology, feminist comics, Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi Coates, comic book literature,

You Might Also Like: Marilyn Johnson, LIVES IN RUINS

READ THE TRANSCRIPT ON SUBSTACK

Where did English come from? What was our proto-tongue, the one that came before? In her book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, Laura Spinney reveals the extraordinary story of Proto-Indo-European, a language spoken thousands of years ago and never written down, yet one whose descendants—including English, Sanskrit, Celtic and Latin—are spoken by nearly half the world’s population today. Drawing on linguistics, archaeology, and genetics, she explains how the study of ancient DNA has revolutionized our understanding of language origins, migration, and cultural exchange.

Writer and activist Tonya Todd discusses Comics Lit, Volume 1, a collection of essays exploring comics as literature. We dive into the mythic roots of superhero stories, the feminist reclamation of the femme fatale, and how representation in comics matters more than ever in today’s culture wars.

Watch Tonya Todd video on Comics Lit

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

This week: journalist Brian Goldstone joins us to talk about his powerful new book, There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America. It’s an eye-opening, deeply reported portrait of families who work full-time yet are unhoused, navigating a system that often punishes them for being poor.

It’s a conversation that will challenge how you see housing, inequality, and what it means to live on the edge in one of the richest countries in the world.

“We have allowed housing in America to basically become a luxury, to become a commodity that can just be hoarded by the few at the expense of the many.” — Brian Goldstone

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Brian Goldstone, There Is No Place For Us, working homeless, housing crisis, homelessness in America, racial housing inequality, housing policy reform, affordable housing crisis, tenant rights,

READ THE TRANSCRIPT ON SUBSTACK

You Might Also Like: Bernadette Atuahene, PLUNDERED

Journalist Brian Goldstone tells us about his searing nonfiction book There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America.

Goldstone follows five families in Atlanta who work full-time jobs yet face chronic housing instability—often living in extended-stay motels, losing Section 8 housing, or being denied shelter entirely.

He explains how homelessness has become a widespread, invisible crisis in the U.S.—with nearly 4 million people unhoused, the majority of them working families. He also explores the failures of programs like Section 8, the profiteering of private equity in extended-stay motels, and how booming urban development displaces the very people who power those economies. By focusing on Black working families in Atlanta, Goldstone unpacks the racialized legacy of housing injustice and the growing commodification of shelter in America.

Through powerful storytelling and rigorous reporting, he shows how homelessness in the U.S. is no longer just a crisis of poverty—but a crisis of prosperity. In this conversation, he confronts systemic housing injustice and calls for a fundamental paradigm shift in how we understand the human right to a home.

“The housing hunger games has become the status quo.”

Read an excerpt from the book

Read more from Brian Goldstone about the working homeless crisis

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Novelist Jennifer Haigh joins us to talk about Rabbit Moon, her atmospheric and emotionally complex novel set in Shanghai. It follows an estranged American family reuniting after a tragedy—and a daughter living a secret life abroad.

“Writing is having a conversation with the best friend you’ve never met.” — Jennifer Haigh

Then, L. Annette Binder returns to discuss Child of Earth and Starry Heaven, her deeply moving memoir of caring for her mother through Alzheimer’s. It’s a story of love, loss, and learning to live fully in the present.

“The two things I carry with me is the love that my mom was capable of feeling and that I felt for her survived her cognitive decline.” — L. Annette Binder

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Rabbit Moon, Jennifer Haigh, literary fiction China, Child of Earth and Starry Heaven, L. Annette Binder, Alzheimer’s memoir, dementia caregiving, elder care,

You Might Also Like: Jennifer Haigh, MERCY STREET, Jennifer Haigh, NEWS FROM HEAVEN, Jennifer Haigh, FAITH, Jennifer Haigh, THE CONDITION, Jennifer Haigh, HEAT AND LIGHT, L. Annette Binder, THE VANISHING SKY

Jennifer Haigh discusses how a three-month fellowship in Shanghai transformed her writing process—and led to Rabbit Moon, her first novel set outside the U.S. Through the story of a fractured American family brought together by a daughter’s accident abroad, Haigh probes themes of estrangement, sexual trauma, commodification, and freedom.

L. Annette Binder recounts her mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s and her own emotional and spiritual awakening during that time. Drawing on classical texts, cultural history, and personal caregiving, her memoir explores grief, presence, and the enduring mystery of consciousness.

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we speak with two authors who excavate buried truths and challenge dominant cultural narratives.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her historical novel Happy Land, inspired by a real African American community founded after the Civil War in North and South Carolina—an intentional kingdom that embodied Black sovereignty, only to be undermined by systemic land theft.

“Even though we have them in the history books as a monarchy, there must have also been a kind of shared power, a kind of egalitarianism that they participated in.” — Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Then, Nancy Reddy talks about The Good Mother Myth, her nonfiction book/memoir dismantling the unrealistic expectations placed on mothers, tracing them to flawed psychological theories and cultural constructions that ignore caregiving as a collective act.

“The good mother isn’t really a person—she is a subject of capitalism.” — Nancy Reddy

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Nancy Reddy, The Good Mother Myth, motherhood, parenting, attachment theory, communal parenting, book about motherhood, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Happy Land, African American history, Black land loss,

You Might Also Like: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, TAKE MY HAND, Aaron Robertson, THE BLACK UTOPIANS

Novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez tells the remarkable true story behind Happy Land—a kingdom founded by formerly enslaved people in the Carolinas, where a Black queen ruled and the community thrived on self-sufficiency, education, and shared governance. She explores themes of legacy, land, and what it costs when history is erased.

Read an excerpt from Happy Land

Writer, poet and scholar Nancy Reddy discusses the myths surrounding ideal motherhood—how they evolved, why they persist, and whom they leave out. She critiques attachment theory, the capitalist agenda behind parenting advice, and the absence of real community in caregiving. Reddy also shares insights from her personal journey and calls for a redefinition of love and care.

Listen to an Excerpt from The Good Mother Myth

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Mich​èle Gerber Klein discusses Surreal, her revelatory biography of Gala Dalí, the forceful and fascinating woman behind surrealist master Salvador Dalí. Gala emerges not just as a muse, but as a powerful shaper of modern art and identity.

“She wasn’t just a muse, she was an artist in her own right… she created a persona and curated a life.” — Michèle Gerber Klein

Then, Anthony Horowitz returns to the show with The Marble Hall Murders, the latest installment in his popular Atticus Pünd series. Blending classic mystery style with postmodern flair, Horowitz discusses the literary sleuthing of character Susan Ryland and the Agatha Christie-inspired brilliance of fictional detective Atticus Pünd.

All the tropes of the murder mystery are in there, but because of the nature of these books, which are both modern and old fashioned, I always have a certain self-questioning aspect going on. — Anthony Horowitz

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Gala Dalí, Michèle Gerber Klein, Surreal biography, Salvador Dalí, women in surrealism, surrealist movement, Anthony Horowitz, The Marble Hall Murders, Atticus Pünd mystery series, Susan Ryland, metafictional crime novel, British mystery fiction,

You Might Also Like: Anthony Horowitz, MAGPIE MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz, MOONFLOWER MURDERS

In her acclaimed biography Surreal, Michele Gerber Klein offers an eye-opening portrait of Gala Dalí, a woman who reinvented herself repeatedly—from sickly Russian girl to Parisian intellectual to the co-architect of the Dalí myth. Her biography reveals how Gala’s charisma, vision, and marketing genius shaped not only Salvador Dalí’s work but also important cultural currents of the 20th century.

Listen to or Read a Sample from SURREAL

Anthony Horowitz discusses The Marble Hall Murders, the latest twist-filled entry in his Atticus Pünd and Susan Ryland series.

A murder mystery within a novel-within-a-novel, this postmodern homage to classic detective fiction follows editor-turned-sleuth Susan Ryland as she opens an investigation tied to a continuation manuscript to the series written by the late mystery writer Alan Conway. Horowitz talks about channeling Agatha Christie, the appeal of nested narratives, and why mystery fiction is unique among literary genres.