The Literary Lookbook for January-May 2025 is live! This is a comprehensive but not exhaustive collection of 584 upcoming 2025 releases curated by @kellyhook.readsbooks and @thoughtsfromapage. The Lookbook includes titles releasing January-May 2025 from a variety of genres and features cover designs organized by publication date. Click on this link to purchase it.

Mystery/Thriller Episodes

Nov. 19, 2024

Elly Griffiths - THE MAN IN BLACK

In this interview, I chat with Elly Griffiths about The Man in Black , how this group of short stories came into being, her favorite story in the collection, what surprised her the most when writing them, how the stories …

Episode page
March 23, 2024

Cara Hunter - ALL THE RAGE

In this interview, I chat with Cara Hunter about All the Rage, how the DI Fawley series came about, creating a police procedural series, basing All the Rage on a real-life case, the title and its mutliple meanings, when book …

Episode page
Jan. 26, 2024

Benjamin Stevenson - EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT

In this interview, I chat with Benjamin Stevenson about Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, subverting the unreliable narrator trope, setting this book on the Ghan and his trips on the train, creating homages to Golden Age mysteries, weaving …

Episode page
Jan. 9, 2024

Amy Pease - NORTHWOODS

In this interview, I chat with Amy Pease about Northwoods, writing about addiction and how her health care background helped her depict it authentically on the page, why she decided to write a mystery, getting the cover right for the …

Episode page
Jan. 2, 2024

Ashley Elston - FIRST LIE WINS

In this interview, I chat with Ashley Elston about First Lie Wins, how she came up with the idea for this one, switching to adult fiction from YA, focusing on identity, the screen adaptation of the book, incorporating technology into …

Episode page
Oct. 31, 2023

Tess Gerritsen - THE SPY COAST

In this interview, I chat with Tess Gerritsen about The Spy Coast, how she came up with the idea for this one, making it into a series, writing as a pantser, her title and cover, including the foreign locales that …

Episode page
Oct. 3, 2023

Interview with Daniel Sweren-Becker - KILL SHOW

In this interview, Daniel Sweren-Becker and I discuss Kill Show, examining the true crime industry and what goes into making that type of show, how real life tragedies are turned into entertainment, using a transcript format to tell this story, …

Episode page
Sept. 26, 2023

Interview with S.J. Bennett - MURDER MOST ROYAL

In this interview, S.J. Bennett and I discuss Murder Most Royal, setting a book in Norfolk, her fabulous website, writing about the queen even though Sophia is not a royalist, how varied her book covers are in different countries, what …

Episode page
Sept. 19, 2023

Interview with Cara Hunter - MURDER IN THE FAMILY

In this interview, Cara Hunter and I discuss Murder in the Family, writing in a multi-media format, the various issues true crime raises and how her book explores those issues, her writing process, how her book went viral on BookTok, …

Episode page
Sept. 1, 2023

Interview with Peter Heller - THE LAST RANGER

In this interview, Peter and I discuss The Last Ranger, setting the story in Yellowstone National Park, how he became interested in the wolves in the park, his writing process and how his background influences that, the questions he gets …

Episode page
July 21, 2023

Interview with Nicole Baart - THE LONG WAY BACK

In this interview, Nicole and I discuss The Long Way Back, social media and how it is impacting our lives today, using a multimedia format to write the story, how the title and cover came about, crafting a mother-daughter relationship, …

Episode page
July 18, 2023

Interview with Bruce Borgos - THE BITTER PAST

In this interview, Bruce and I discuss The Bitter Past, his research, what surprised him the most when writing this book, creating a strong sense of place, the title and cover, how this is the start to a series, and …

Episode page
June 29, 2023

Interview with Riley Sager - THE ONLY ONE LEFT

In this interview, Riley and I discuss The Only One Left, writing a gothic novel, his writing process, what surprised him the most while writing this one, creating all of the twists and turns, the emotional depth in this story, …

Episode page
June 21, 2023

Interview with Wendy Walker - WHAT REMAINS

In this interview, Wendy and I discuss What Remains, cold cases, her Patreon episode with Megan Miranda, how she writes and edits her books, selecting character names and running Google searches on those names, and much more.

Episode page
June 20, 2023

Interview with Matthew Quirk - INSIDE THREAT

In this interview, Matthew and I discuss Inside Threat, Raven Rock Mountain Complex, what surprised him the most while writing this one, The Night Agent's limited series on Netflix, the challenges of writing a locked room mystery, how he started …

Episode page