Author, Compulsively Readable Thrillers
Libby Fischer Hellmann 
Remember Vlad the Impaler, the medieval prince who gave us our first version of the blood-sucking Dracula? The past seventeen years have seen the rise of a true-to-life Vlad, now the leader of Russia. He and his oligarch buddies helped support—in fact, resuscitate—Donald Trump. They saved him from his third bankruptcy, provided opportunities for him … Read more
You know that your local library has thousands of ebooks and audiobooks, but did you know that you can borrow them, instantly, for free, using your favorite device? How? There’s a new app in town, created by Overdrive, and it’s called— wait for it— Libby. Wasn’t it kind of Overdrive to name their new application after … Read more
I am SO excited to tell you about a new collection of crime novels (It debuts Wednesday, June 14, 2017) in which I’m a contributor. No… actually, I’ll let Kris Rusch tell you about it. She’s the “curator” (AKA Editor in Chief) who invited the authors into the bundle. The Dark … Read more
This is a GREAT DEAL… but act fast!! The price goes up to $9.99 Sunday night. Enjoy!! **SALE*** 14 THRILLERS by 14 AUTHORS at the TOP OF THEIR GAME for ONLY — 99 ¢ ! GIANT BOX SET — RIP INTO KILLER FICTION . . . DEATH, LIES, & … Read more
You crack open a new book or click on the first page of an ebook. You’re greeted by that all-important first line. Does it make your heart sink or soar? As every author knows, that first sentence gives you the opportunity to hook your readers. Provided you’ve crafted the sentence the reader knows something is … Read more
They call it the Ghost Village. World War Two caused tremendous disruption in Britain—a kind we didn’t see in the States. Several ancient villages were used by the army as training zones for target practice. They included Balsdean in East Sussex, which had a Norman church dating back to the 11th century and was bombed … Read more
It started with GONE GIRL by Gilliam Flynn. The book took a while to take off, but when it did, it flew to the top of the bestseller charts and stayed there over a year. It also launched a new subgenre of crime fiction, which began to be called “Domestic Noir.” Btw, I hate that … Read more
It may have ended more than seventy years ago. But WW2 still fascinates authors from every corner of the world. While we haven’t seen such a widespread and horrific conflict since, and I hope we never do, it’s a unique period in history that fascinates me too. Following the launch of my WW2 trilogy, I … Read more
The Manhattan Project, featured in War, Spies, and Bobby Sox, was a key WW2 research and development project tasked with creating the world’s first nuclear weapon. Led by the US and supported by the United Kingdom and Canada, it ran between 1942 and 1946, directed by Major General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corps … Read more
Europe, the main theater of World War Two, was thousands of miles across the Atlantic. But Nazi intelligence inserted German operatives into American cities and tried to convert German-Americans to Nazism well before the war broke out. During the war itself America saw plenty of espionage incidents and there was probably much more spy activity … Read more