Author, Compulsively Readable Thrillers
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
A group of respected computer scientists have spotted a serious anomaly in voting results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvanis, and they say it warrants an audit. The story started in May, when the Democratic National Committee discovered suspicious behavior on its computer network. It called in the security firm CrowdStrike, who found two hacker groups … Read more
One of the reasons I started writing crime fiction twenty years ago was my fascination with criminal forensics. Like everyone else in the country, I was glued to the TV during the OJ Simpson trial. Apart from my surprise at his acquittal, I was introduced to a brave new world. Prior to the trial … Read more
I’ve finally managed to do the interview I’ve always wanted to about the issues, research, and thinking that went into my book Jump Cut. It’s all thanks to my Blog Talk Radio colleague Alex Dolan , author of The Euthanist and The Empress of Tempera. He’s also the host of the ‘Thrill Seekers’ Authors on … Read more
It’s not unusual. But this time around the literary circus surrounding the 2016 election is unprecedented. And that includes books about the most controversial political figure of our lifetime. Trump’s personal manifesto alone, ‘Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again‘, sold 235,000 hardcover copies in just eight months. In addition, a raft of old … Read more
Note: If you know about this case, I hope you will keep an open mind and read on. Tuesday, July 12, 2016, is the on-sale day for a true crime book written by Robert Kennedy, Jr. As some of you know, Michael Skakel and Bobby Kennedy, Jr. are first cousins. Michael’s late father “Bucky” and Bobby’s mother, Ethel … Read more
Late Night talk show host Seth Meyers nailed it with his take on the politics behind this week’s photo or gaffe, if you will, of Obama in front of a giant outline of Che Guevara in Havana. Who knew Obama was such a huge fan of Urban Outfitters? It could have been a whole lot worse. … Read more
Remember the first commercial for the Mac? Called “1984,” it was directed by Ridley Scott and starred the English athlete Anya Major. The concept, ‘saving humanity from conformity’, alluded to George Orwell’s novel of the same name. This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook stoked the embers of the company’s erstwhile image by refusing FBI … Read more
In early 2014 Mike Lofgren’s searing expose of the nation’s Deep State revealed a landscape where our officials, elected and otherwise, collude to protect and serve powerful, vested interests from government to commerce. Two years later, he’s expanded it into a book, which just came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s well worth reading. … Read more
When you buy books online, do you read reviews? Of course you do. I look at the general star ranking, read a couple of 5-stars, then 1-stars, then 3- stars, for an overall assessment. Unfortunately, people have tried to game the system over the years, and controversies have flared about authors paying for reviews, deliberately … Read more