A new kind of thriller


I’ve just finished reading GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, which is currently a top bestseller in America. The book has made several end-of-year Top 10 lists for 2012, including the New York Times. It is Flynn’s third published novel, and its enormous popularity has catapulted her two earlier books, SHARP OBJECTS and DARK PLACES, back onto bestseller lists everywhere. It is the “breakout” book for the former journalist, who was a TV critic for Entertainment Weekly. Now, everybody in the world is talking about it.

Gone Girl DJWhy all the fuss over a suspense novel? Continue reading

There ought to be a (new) law!

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This is a very sad day. The appalling news from Connecticut has stunned the nation, and we’re all talking (again!) about guns in America. The only decent question is: Why are we still talking about it?

I write stories about crime and criminals. I’ve invented creeps and losers and lunatics who commit all sorts of mayhem in my mysteries. But that’s where they belong–in mystery stories. How do we keep them there, and out of the real world? I don’t have an answer for that, but I know one solution that would slow them down considerably. Continue reading