Thanks to everyone who took a look at my latest Travelers crime thriller, The Stolen Art Two-Step. I really appreciate it. Now I’m busy thinking about a new book to write.

Last month, I read The Searcher by Tana French (2020). This crime novel is the first of the Cal Hooper trilogy.

Cal Hooper, Chicago ex-cop, divorced, moves to the west of Ireland to start over and enjoy the simple life. But as he falls in with the locals and rumors spread about what he did as a cop, a feral youngster whose brother is missing convinces his to investigate, which opens a can of worms with dangerous repercussions for them both.

Tana French is much acclaimed for her writing, and with this novel it is easy to see why. Lots of local color, deep character development, and a complex story make for a great read.

Happy reading!

PS: If you’re new to the reader group, I want to thank you for signing up. In this newsletter, I share mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading and keep you updated on my books—what I’m working on and when a new Travelers or KD Thorne book will be released. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all my books, here’s the link. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI

I’m still putting the last bit of polish on my new Travelers crime thriller, The Stolen Art Two-Step. Here’s the description:

When a con blows up, it doesn’t matter how simple it was supposed to be…

The Travelers, posing as art recovery agents, are hired by an insurance company to retrieve a stolen Picasso. A simple, straightforward job. Find it. Steal it. Return it.

But as they con the owner of the stolen painting to discover its whereabouts, they come under the scrutiny of gangsters and bad cops intent on spoiling their score and blackmailing them.

Can they deliver the painting, outmaneuver their enemies, and escape with their aliases intact?

The Stolen Art Two-Step is a high-stakes game of criminals working at cross-purposes to line their pockets. If you like complicated plot twists, criminal shenanigans, and high-speed action, you’ll love the twelfth novel in the Travelers series.

When The Stolen Art Two-Step comes out, there will be discounts on earlier books in the series and on the new book. I’ll fill you in after the release date is set.

On the reading front, last month I read The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam (2007) by Chris Ewan. 

The premise here is that a mystery writer, Charlie Howard, supplements his income as a burglar (I know). In this first book of the series, he’s in Amsterdam, where he gets caught up in the hunt for three plaster monkeys of Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil. Murder and mayhem ensue as he tries to find the statues, escape from the other players, and figure out why the statues are valuable.

This is a well-crafted, fast read that will keep you guessing. Lots of fun.

Happy reading!

The new Travelers crime thriller, tentatively titled The Stolen Art Two-Step, is off with the editor. I’ll find out what he has to say in a few weeks, always something insightful and on point.

In the meantime, I just read Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner (2024). Sadie Smith (an alias) is a private industry spy sent to France to stir up trouble among small farmers who fear corporate farming and the loss of water rights. Why? That’s beyond her paygrade and thus unknown to us. To accomplish her goals, she worms her way into a countryside anarchist commune to manipulate them into organizing a protest that she hopes will blow up. Everything is going to plan until her orders change at the last minute, which leads to surprising results.

This book is told in the first person, so we’re inside Sadie’s head as she manipulates and reacts to the other characters. We see them through her, so her judgments and misjudgments inform how we understand the action.

Creation Lake is on the literary side of what I review here and has a philosophical angle that’s important to making sense of the ending, but it’s still an enjoyable read.

Happy reading!

PS: If you’re new to the reader group, I want to thank you for signing up. In this newsletter, I share mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading and keep you updated on my books—what I’m working on and when a new Travelers or KD Thorne book will be released. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all my books, here’s the link. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI

The KD Thorne Thrillers

Between moving to Los Angeles and celebrating the holidays, I’ve fallen behind on writing the latest Travelers crime thriller. But now the holidays are over, we’re all moved into our new place, and I’m getting back in gear. Hoping to make this new book the best Travelers book ever.

If you’re looking for a mystery to read in the meantime, last month I read Fortune Favors the Dead (Pentecost and Parker Mysteries Book 1) by Stephen Spotswood, a 2021 Nero Award winner.

This is a detective and sidekick novel in the Sherlock Holmes style that takes place in 1942. The eccentric detective who’s always one step ahead is Lillian Pentecost, but here the narrator sidekick, Willowjean Parker, is anything but a Dr. Watson. She’s a working-class ex-circus performer with a protective streak and an eye for trouble.

The case involves a rich woman murdered in her home after a séance at a Halloween party. It’s a classic locked room mystery, with lots of well-placed red herrings that keep you guessing as to who did it: a family member, a disgruntled employee, the spiritualist from the séance. Every character has an important role to play. Lots of fun!

Happy reading!

PS: If you’re new to the reader group, I want to thank you for signing up. In this newsletter, I share mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading and keep you updated on my books—what I’m working on and when a new Travelers or KD Thorne book will be released. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all my books, here’s the link. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI

Last month I read Quarry, the first of the Quarry series by Max Allan Collins (2015). Quarry is the alias of a contract killer who works for a man he knows only as “the Broker.” He’s an ask-no-questions, get-the-job-done kind of guy, similar in a way to Parker, the Richard Stark thief.

On this outing, he’s sent to a small Iowa town on the Mississippi River to murder a man who seems to be an innocuous nobody, but when the job blows up, he’s on the trail to discover who double-crossed him.

Tight plotting, carefully drawn characters, and suspense-filled action make for a fun read.

Happy reading!

PS: If you’re new to the reader group, I want to thank you for signing up. In this newsletter, I share mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading and keep you updated on my books—what I’m working on and when a new Travelers or KD Thorne book will be released. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all my books, here’s the link. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI

The KD Thorne Thrillers

Howdy,

Still unpacking from my move to Los Angeles, but I am getting back to work on my new Travelers thriller. In the meantime, last month I read The Black Swan Mystery (1960) by Tetsuya Ayukawa. This is a Japanese railway murder mystery where the police detectives have to discover the murderer and break down their alibi.

During a union strike, the owner of the mill being struck is murdered. The owner has a reputation for ruthlessness and tough bargaining. Was the murderer a union member or a business associate or someone from his personal life? Chief Inspector Onitsura and his team have to sift through the evidence and interview all the suspects to uncover the murderer while the murderer is killing more victims to cover their tracks. (Don’t want to give away if it’s a him or a her.)

This is a classic, old school mystery revolving around railway timetables, mistaken identity, and confused timelines, where the evidence finally leads to a surprising (I think) ending. Lots of fun.

Happy reading!

PS: If you’re new to the reader group, I want to thank you for signing up. In this newsletter, I share mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading and keep you updated on my books—what I’m working on and when a new Travelers or KD Thorne book will be released. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all my books, here’s the link. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michael-P.-King/author/B00W81SHBI