THRILLERFEST 2026 🔍 | Book Haul. Meeting More Heroes. Conference Rundown.

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]Let's get into the books I bought, the books I brought, and some of the people I met.

[00:00:08]Hi everybody, it's Audrey and welcome or welcome back to Chapter and Converse, and welcome to my annual ThrillerFest postmortem book haul. Let's talk about all of the things. My favorite time of the year. You guys, I had the best time.

[00:00:21]I had the absolute best time this year.

[00:00:22]So, let's get into it. So, for anybody who is new here or is like, "What the heck is ThrillerFest?" This is a conference for readers, writers, thriller enthusiasts. It's held every year in New York City. For the longest time it was held like around July 4th weekend, but like each year it seems to kind of be creeping a little bit earlier. Not going to lie, I loved that it was not the dead of summer. It is put on by International Thriller Writers, and you can get everybody from the biggest New York Times best-selling author to thriller enthusiasts, aspiring writers, starting over my words already, influencers, just just writers of all all ages, all levels, and you just everyone's just like hanging out in the hotel. You're passing each other in the hallway. You're all at the bar.

[00:01:13]You're riding in the elevator together.

[00:01:14]It is, again, like my favorite place to be. The first year I went, I want to say this is the fifth time I've gone. The first year I went, I was so starstruck.

[00:01:25]I continue to be starstruck, but now I more like anticipate that I literally could be just standing next to Harlan Coben, and it's kind of wild. It's kind of wild, you guys, in all the best ways.

[00:01:36]So, this year I did CraftFest again, which I always go to, which is like exactly what it sounds like, learning the craft of writing from the most amazing group of people.

[00:01:46]And then I did ThrillerFest, I did PitchFest, and then for the first time ever I went to the banquet, which I was super nervous about, but it wound up being really, really fun. I have a lot of like introvert social anxiety, but motored through. It was fantastic. I saw a whole bunch of my writer friends.

[00:02:03]I got to see some of my favorite authors that I've met before. It was wonderful to like literally get there, see somebody I knew, and just just rock and roll the entire time versus the first year I went where I feel like I only ever talked to like maybe someone who sat next to me at a session because I was just entirely too shy. So, make no mistake, still still a little bit awkward and weird on the inside and on the outside, but anyway, let's just talk about it. So, CraftFest classes. Do you guys want to know everything I went to? I'm not sure that you do. I had the sheer delight of meeting a subscriber from here, Leah, who told me that she went to ThrillerFest this year because she had heard me talk about it on a previous video, which I love and is part of why I'm here to just tell you guys that it is the the best thing to do if you're interested in it. Yes.

[00:02:54]So, yes, it's expensive. Yes, I have the benefit of living in New York, so I don't have to fly. I do choose to stay at the hotel now. I didn't used to, but I am here for like the full experience and again, a lot of my friends now cuz I actually have friends there now, come in from out of town. So, we went to dinner.

[00:03:14]We hung out at the bar. Like I said, we did the banquet. It is a lot of long exhausting days, but I am someone who like I will be at that 8:00 a.m. session because I want to squeeze out every possible moment. Went to the cocktail parties, just all of it. I just want to absorb every single minute of it and like like I'll sleep eventually at some point. I'll figure it out. So, I feel like maybe maybe we should talk books. You guys probably just want to start with the haul, right? Let me tell you the highlights. Let me tell you the who's who, who the who the spotlight people were. So, every year there are like Thriller Masters, different spotlight guests. This year the Thriller Fan was Jordan Moblo, who a lot of you guys might know as Jordy's Book Club. He was there last year on a panel. It was great to see him speak. It was great to hear him on a panel. He also, as many of you maybe maybe don't know, he is the Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management for Universal Studio Group.

[00:04:18]He picks books to make them into films and TV shows. So, super cool to hear him talk about his job. Also, again, like seeing people you see online in real life still just kind of blows my mind.

[00:04:30]The Thriller Legend was Barbara Peters.

[00:04:33]She is the owner and founder of The Poison Pen. So, that is a huge indie bookstore out in Arizona. So, I was actually in the elevator with her. So, speaking of being in the elevator with like super famous people and had a lovely conversation with her. Pure delight. Thriller Volunteer of the Year was James LaTour. LaTour. I feel like I always say his name wrong. Like I try to It's like people try to make my last name fancy and it's not. So, I always feel like I don't know, maybe I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, he has been a part of ThrillerFest forever. He's written a ton of books.

[00:05:06]Also, very super cool. Then the Trailblazer Award went to Andy Bart, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson. So, they led the efforts on behalf of Bart vs. Anthropic. So, you guys might have heard a lot about that case. Andy made an amazing speech. I mean, just I really felt like I could have cried a lot during the banquet. I was just like so moved by just like being in that room with all those people and all the gratitude and just It was amazing, but it was a major copy copyright copyright lawsuit against AI companies who are basically stealing authors' books and using them to train AI. So, I mean, just amazing amazing amazing. And then we're getting into our thriller masters. Why do I feel like something's missing thriller book? Oh, please. So, there absolutely was something missing and that's that two of the spotlight guests were not in the program cuz they weren't at the banquet. The first is Luis Alberto Urrea. He gave like a one-on-one interview and then I believe was on one of the panels but was not at the banquet. And then the second is Rachel Howzel Hall. So, she also did a one-on-one interview that I went to. I have read a few of Rachel's books. Her interview was really funny. There were some moments that I would do zero justice to trying to recap them here, but just imagine like an entire room of people completely cracking up in part because S.A. Cosby just like threw out a one-liner and it was absolutely hysterical. But, her interview was super interesting. Again, I've read a few of her books and it kind of bums me out she wasn't at the banquet, but she was a spotlight guest this year so did not want to leave them out.

[00:06:50]And now let's get back to the original video.

[00:06:53]Where is the Harlan Coben Lisa Scottoline of it all? Okay, the Silver Bullet Award recipient was Douglas Preston and then the co-thriller masters were Lisa Scottoline and Harlan Coben.

[00:07:07]>> [sighs] >> There's just so much amazingness going on. So, it was fabulous. So, those were the highlight guests and then like buckle up friends because basically every author you can possibly think of in the thriller genre was there and I lived for every single moment of it. So, let's get into the books I bought, the books I brought, and some of the people I met.

[00:07:30]If you guys have followed me or maybe caught like a random video here or there, there's a really good chance you've heard me talk about dude named Riley Sager. So, I have been a Riley Sager fan for a really really long time. So, my first ThrillerFest, he was on a panel talking about Final Girls. I had never heard of him, I had never heard of the book. I was super intrigued, went home, bought the book, fell in love, like the rest is history as they say. And I have never met him, which like on one hand like not surprising, cuz why would I meet him? But on the other hand feels like it's kind of surprising. But the opportunity to go to book events, authors do so many amazing book events at indie bookstores. Unfortunately, the indie bookstore near where I used to live wasn't one that garnered a lot of attention, small town, small store. And I just didn't have a lot of opportunities to meet authors the way I did when I lived in the city. So, anyway, fast forward to ThrillerFest this year and I met him. So, was I entirely too shy to get a picture? Yes.

[00:08:32]Because the way So, like authors will be on panels and then there's a break and then there's a signing room, which for like 20 minutes, authors are seated like seated behind tables, you walk up, you line you know, just like you would do at a at a book signing. And every once in a while an author might be at the end of the table, they might stand up.

[00:08:49]Sometimes you can scoop behind the table depending on like what the crowds are like and get a picture. But in the case of Riley, who will probably surprise nobody, during his session had one of the longest lines. He was like in the middle of a table sitting and you'd have to kind of like lean over and take a picture, which a ton of people did. And I just so awkward. I was like, I can't.

[00:09:11]So, a friend of mine was working the line and he was like, "Do you want me to take a picture?" And I was like, "I can't. I feel like a monster. I feel like I'm leaning over. I'm just too embarrassed. I can't do it." So, I don't have a picture with him, but we had a very nice conversation. He signed Final Girls, we had a nice little handshake, and it was a great moment and I'm super satisfied by it. Would I love to be his friend? Absolutely. Do I think that's ever going to happen? Absolutely not.

[00:09:32]But we had our moment and I'm super happy and I was just like jazzed to have him sign Final Girls, cuz this was the book that started it all for me and Riley. And then, another author who I absolutely adore, who I had not met until last week, is Stacy Willingham. I also brought a book from home, Flicker in the Dark. This is her first book. This was the book that like, I swear, and I just absolutely told her this, like, [laughter] 30 pages in, I was like, this is an auto bio author. I am totally obsessed. So, I did take a picture with her. It's hyper awkward, because I was like crouching down, but you know, it was done. I did it. She was very kind, and she had a fantastic panel. I absolutely loved her panel, and I like recorded a part of it where she was just talking about writing. Super inspirational. I thought it was amazing, and it's just really, really cool to get to meet some of your favorite authors, and you know, have them sign something that really means something to you, in my opinion. So, this year I brought these two books. Last year I bought some books as well, but these are the two authors that I had my eye on, who I had not yet met, that I wanted to make it a point of meeting.

[00:10:45]So, I'm very happy I did. And then, I bought a whole bunch of books.

[00:10:51]Kind of in no particular order, but let's talk about authors I've talked about before.

[00:10:58]All right. So, if you saw my May new releases video, both of these authors were in it. And I told you guys the next time you saw me, I would be holding this book. So, this is The Library After Dark by A.J. Pliego. She wrote You Are Fatally Invited. This came out the week of ThrillerFest, and she gave, hands down, one of the best CraftFest classes.

[00:11:22]She was the first class. So, the way that it's set up is, like I said, it starts at 8:00 a.m., and there's four different sessions. So, it's very Sophie's Choice.

[00:11:33]Her class was one of my favorite classes.

[00:11:39]I would say almost ever. Like a lot of super practical advice about craft, about writing, and I definitely took some of her lessons home with me.

[00:11:49]Definitely going to implement some of them. And I just loved it. I absolutely loved it. Like what a fantastic way to kick off the session. And then I got to meet her and she signed my book and we had a nice little conversation and it was fantastic. And I was really happy about it. And I'm really excited for this book. I'm just like double checking in case in case there's all some something on the naked cover, but there's not. But it was just wonderful to meet her. It was wonderful to just like glean all that fantastic knowledge from her. And again, it just like makes me so excited to be a writer.

[00:12:27]Published or not, I am a writer.

[00:12:29]Trying to take some of these lessons that people tell you about. And it was just really fantastic to be there. Like I said, a great way to start off all of ThrillerFest was with that session. What I didn't say is The Mysterious Bookshop who who is, which is, that is, an independent bookstore in New York City is the bookstore that hosted the bookstore at ThrillerFest this year. So cheers to Mysterious Bookshop. Um I definitely made I feel like I made like four trips because if you don't buy all the books at once it's a little bit less aggressive. Whereas my friend Sabrina I think bought like 15 books in one shot, which I also find extremely impressive.

[00:13:08]So everybody has a strategy. I just I love to go to the bookstore, you know.

[00:13:13]And also my like favorite thing to do because again, this is how I found out who Riley Sager was, is there would be people on panels that I had not been familiar with before. Or maybe someone I was like low-key familiar with before, but then I go and find their books and I get very happy about it. So, there's a a There's some of that in the pile as well. Anyway, so met Andy, she is pure delight.

[00:13:36]And stay tuned for when I read this one.

[00:13:40]And then my other one, which is an author that I have met in passing before, but this year we had to so many conversations that I had the best time about it, and that is Alex Finlay, and this is the Anniversary. So, I have already read this. I had an arc of this.

[00:13:53]I obviously needed to get it for the trophy shelf. This is one of the best covers ever. And I absolutely loved this book.

[00:14:03]So, I I feel like I talked about this. I mean, I talked about it in the May new releases video. So, this actually came out this week that I'm filming, but they had it early there, which I was really excited about cuz I really wanted this book. So, I would not read the jacket copy of this. I would just go in. All I knew was it was like May 1st, serial killer comes to town every year, the May Day killer comes, wreaks havoc. The book is told on May 1st over 10 years, and that was like all I knew. So, there are things in the jacket copy that are not like spoilers, but are giveaways.

[00:14:41]So, I definitely had like a couple extra like, "Oh my god." moments because I had no idea what was going on in this book cuz I didn't read the inside, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic, and I love it, and I highly recommend it.

[00:14:54]He's so funny. He's so self-deprecating.

[00:14:56]We had a lot of good laughs. Um I did make him awkwardly take a picture with me, which I'll pop it up over here. You can see like the pure glee on my face, and I just thought it was great. I just thought it was great. So, I also went to a class that he did with David Ellis, which was like top 10 writing tips, top 10 writing advice, and they surveyed like a whole bunch of their friends to get like their best tips. It was really good. I am like so embarrassingly delinquent on David Ellis. I have had Look Closer on my shelf since it came out, which is definitely 3 4 years ago I want to say. So, I need to read that. He was super funny, and I've seen him in sessions before as well, but just kind of like reminded me to read it read it read it read it. So, anyway, I've read every Alex Finlay book. I think he's fantastic. So, I picked up this one as well. Okay.

[00:15:48]Now, let's get into not necessarily random, but some are new to me authors, some are people I wanted to meet and see.

[00:15:56]Let's just do it.

[00:15:58]All right, the first one So, this was an author I had never heard of before, loved her on her panel, immediately went to the bookstore afterwards and got it, and then got to go meet her and have her sign it. This is Serial Killer Support Group by Saratoga Shafer. So, she has another book coming out in June. I'll pop it up over here cuz I can't think of the name of it off the top of my head, but she was talking about it, and I'm super intrigued. She also has a book called Tradwife, which just be warned, it's body horror. I am very glad she warned us about that cuz I can't do body horror. So, I told her I was like, "Thank god you warned us because I really would have been like in trouble, but this one is like way more my speed." So, this one it says, "After her sister is murdered, a woman infiltrates a support group for serial killers." In this biting queer feminist debut thriller, perfect for fans of The Final Girl Support Group and My Sister the Serial Killer. A little bit of Grady Hendrix, bit of Oyinkan Braithwaite, and do you guys know I love final girls?

[00:16:54]So, this feels like slashy up my alley.

[00:16:57]So, she infiltrates this group and poses as a survivor to try and find out what happened to her sister, and I think it sounds absolutely amazing. I'm very excited about this one, and I just think it's going to be just like a really really really fun time. We have a twisty and vicious thriller that will have you hungry for revenge.

[00:17:19]I love a revenge book. And one of the best and most shocking narratives of revenge, dark and twisted, unique, and totally engrossing. So, sign me up for dark and twisted and totally engrossing. Love a new-to-me author.

[00:17:34]Again, if you've also just showed up here or maybe just not been around for all the lore, Jennifer Hillier is also an author who I like {quote} {unquote} discovered at ThrillerFest. Didn't know who she was until I went to ThrillerFest. She was promoting Jar of Hearts. It was the same year that I saw Riley Sager and like immediately like went home and picked up Jar of Hearts as well and long story short, they're two of my favorite people. I got to see her very briefly.

[00:18:02]Be like, "Hi, how are you?"

[00:18:03]>> [laughter] >> Nice and awkward, but anyway, loved it.

[00:18:06]Okay.

[00:18:07]Next book I picked up is So Happy Together by Olivia Worley. I had the arc of this as well, which I read and I loved this book. This to me falls in the camp of you think you know, but you have no idea. So, is it about Is about It's about a woman set in New York City.

[00:18:24]She's been on a handful of dates with a guy that she met online and she's convinced he's the one, but he's like, "We're good." And she's like, "Mhm, we're perfect for each other. He just doesn't know it yet." So, he's dating someone new. She infiltrates their relationship.

[00:18:40]You think you know, but you have no idea. So, Olivia was an absolute delight as well. We had a really nice conversation. She gave me this fun little bookmark for her new book Man of My Dreams, which is coming out June 2nd.

[00:18:53]I'm like reading it on here. And I told her I was like, "I was secretly hoping there'd be arcs of your book here, but [laughter] I'm really excited for this one." So, that is on my June list. I will have a June new releases video coming, but I again loved this book. So, I read a few of Olivia's books. So, I read The Debutantes. I haven't read Final Cut yet.

[00:19:15]But, I think she's great. So, she does YA and adult thrillers, and she's fantastic. She's absolutely fantastic.

[00:19:21]She was on a panel last year talking about this book, and I was just really excited to finally read it when it came out. So, highly recommend Olivia. And then, another book. I was like, let me break this up once I haven't read yet, because some of these were trophy shelf purchases. Okay, I haven't read this one yet. This is Doll Parts by Penny Zhang.

[00:19:42]We have a blurb from the one, the only Ashley Winstead on the back of this. And it says, "Sad girl cult, but make it crime fiction. The genre-blending Doll Parts is as dark and evocative as a tear-smudged eyeliner, as rebellious and moody as a song by Hole."

[00:19:59]So, >> [sighs and gasps] >> I'm really excited for this. It says, "Some stories refuse to stay buried."

[00:20:05]And we've got dual timelines, we've got a 20-year time jump. This is also a debut. And it says, "At once an exploration of the dark chasms that break apart friendships, an ode to the achingly beau- to the aching beauty of girlhood, and a sharp portrayal of grief that can physically haunt you." So, this was a book that I have had my eye on for a really long time and have had no excuse as to why I haven't picked it up yet. But, we've got a little bit of mixed media.

[00:20:34]The first line is, "How to write about a dead woman? First, confirm she is dead.

[00:20:39]Dead enough not to mind."

[00:20:41]I mean, I'm already just like, "Put me into this book." Maybe it's not mixed media.

[00:20:47]Hmm. Looks like maybe a blog post, but maybe that's not following all the way throughout. I'm also like, I don't want to see anything I don't want to see. That happened to me once, sidebar. I was flipping through a book, and somebody was dead.

[00:21:05]Like, we know somebody's dead at the beginning.

[00:21:08]And then I was flipping through and then I started to see POVs from that character later in the book and I was like, "Oh man, like are we going back in time? Is she not actually dead? What is happening here?" So the entire book was like clouded over by me having questions. So sometimes I try not to flip through cuz I don't want to see something I don't want to see. But anyway, this is Doll Parts.

[00:21:27]Stay tuned for that one. And then I went a little overboard. I don't know. It's fine.

[00:21:33]Because I bought not one but two books.

[00:21:37]Fai Ann Ann Sophie Jouanen? Jouano? I'm not French. I I I'm an awful human being. I got to meet her.

[00:21:47]She was also pure delight. We had a fantastic conversation about craft, about writing.

[00:21:53]I talked about querying, just the entire process. And she couldn't have been more generous with advice. She couldn't have been kinder. Just loved, loved, loved.

[00:22:06]So she was on one of the panels that I saw. This book has been on my radar.

[00:22:13]And then I was like, "Well, I've got to buy both of them." So French Honeymoon.

[00:22:16]Didn't say the names of them. This says, "Sometimes Paris is a terrible idea."

[00:22:21]Is it though?

[00:22:23]So the Paris Apartment meets a Simple Favor in this unputdownable thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong.

[00:22:28]Oh.

[00:22:29]And my good friend Ashley Winstead is also quoted on the back of this one.

[00:22:34]City of love takes on a sinister new light.

[00:22:38]Uh we have Taylor Quinn shows up at her honeymoon suite in the City of Lights alone, sans suitcase, but with wads of stolen cash.

[00:22:49]Then we've got newlyweds Cassie and Olivier.

[00:22:52]And they are enjoying their happily ever after and Taylor can't keep her eyes off of them.

[00:22:58]And Cassie makes their antics easy to follow as she reveals every detail of their picture perfect trip on social media.

[00:23:04]Taylor becomes obsessed. She's tracking their every move.

[00:23:09]This was the kind of life she was supposed to be living. This was the honeymoon she dreamed of. So, watch out.

[00:23:15]And then, We Were Never Told is book number two. This one just came out. And it says, "It's all champagne problems until you're drowning in them."

[00:23:23]So, again, if you guys have been here for a minute, you would have heard me talk about this. I want to say this came out in April. This one is a chunky book, which I'm excited about. They are at the Cannes Film Festival.

[00:23:34]And we have gowns, champagne, murder, Hollywood make it French for 12 days straight as the red carpet rolls out to the Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival.

[00:23:44]The most famous people are here to celebrate themselves while the world watches in awe.

[00:23:48]So, we have three ambitious and talented young women who can't seem to climb up from the bottom of the Hollywood ladder. They swirl in the glitz of Cannes, the VIP invitations seem so hard to come by, and the A-list is so far away. It's enough to drive them a little crazy. Enough to make them snap and do things they might or definitely will regret. So, I want to say there's a heist in this one.

[00:24:12]My phone was vibrating.

[00:24:14]>> [laughter] >> But, very excited.

[00:24:16]All the thrillers in all the land. All right, I have some ARCs. I'll do the ARCs last.

[00:24:24]Okay, we're almost down to just the ARCs. Okay, Trophy Shelf, The Astrology House by Corrine Jade. I read this I had an ARC of this when it came out. And I got to meet Corrine two years ago No, last year? Two years ago at ThrillerFest.

[00:24:42]It's all very blurry.

[00:24:44]Last year, two years ago, doesn't matter. Anyway, she is also pure delight.

[00:24:49]She has a new book, The Dahlia Suite, coming out, which I have an ARC of, which I'm really excited about. And The Astrology House is getting made into a TV show for Peacock. So, if you guys haven't already read this one, definitely want to check it out. This is rich married Manhattanites doing dark and messed up things. They go out to a retreat out on Long Island. So, like long week away with the friends, get away from all the madness. There's going to be astrology readings at this gorgeous house. Setting is a character.

[00:25:19]And we know on page one like somebody doesn't make it out of the weekend alive. And then we rewind through the weekend and it's secrets and lies and just again dark and messed up people doing dark and messed up things, aka my sweet spot. There are multiple POVs in this one and we have our astrologer who is there to do all the readings and has some, you know, tricks up her sleeve.

[00:25:44]But each chapter or she kind of does like astro cheat sheets. So, we find out about each character, their signs, and like relationships to other people in the group. It's really fun. It's really, really fun. She was on a panel, I guess it was 3 years ago. It was before this came out. And then last year she was up for a Thriller Fest award for best debut. So, just amazing, amazing, amazing. Fantastic lady. Love, love, love. Check out the Astrology House.

[00:26:14]Big fan. And then Okay, I've got three arcs and then I've got a bonus book.

[00:26:20]Keep you guys on the edge of your seat.

[00:26:23]So, first arc I got. Woo, things are falling. This is the secret dinner by Raphael Montes. So, he wrote a book that has been compared to you.

[00:26:37]And I have it. It's called Perfect Days.

[00:26:41]I haven't read it yet. I feel like it's downstairs.

[00:26:47]If you're new here, I have not yet gotten it together with these bookshelves. They're all just kind of messy. So, anyway, fast forward.

[00:26:55]So, this is four childhood friends eager for a taste of city life swap rural Brazil for an apartment in Copacabana, Rio. But, they have no idea of the fate that awaits them there.

[00:27:06]So, Dante, Piglet, Miguel, and Hugo are your average students trying to make ends meet with their part-time jobs, excited about the bright futures at their fingertips.

[00:27:15]So, when their rent skyrockets, they struggle to keep their new lives and big dreams afloat.

[00:27:21]They need to make money however they can. In order to keep their apartment, the friends adopt an unorthodox plan and are soon sucked into a dark world of secret dinner parties catering to the twisted fantasies of Rio's elite.

[00:27:34]What starts as a joke quickly spirals out of their control as the four friends fall deeper into this dark underworld and earn more money, the stakes get higher and the consequences deadlier, revealing the twisted depths that lurk within each of them and threatening not only their friendship, but also their lives.

[00:27:53]I am intrigued. So, the blurb on the front from The Guardian says it's a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense with Quentin Tarantino's black comedy.

[00:28:02]I'm in. I am in.

[00:28:06]In in in in in. So, this is from Celadon and I don't know when it's coming out.

[00:28:15]August 2026.

[00:28:18]The eyes are The eyes are failing me.

[00:28:21]August 2026. So, stay tuned for more on this one, too, but I was super excited to score this from the book swap table.

[00:28:31]All right. And then I have two arcs that I got that uh >> [sighs] >> They both feel like giant golden tickets to me, you guys. I'm not going to lie.

[00:28:42]So, let's start with They both come out in September. All right. We're just going to do this one. So, Harlan Coben, who I said was one of the thriller masters this year, he has a craft book coming out and it is Harlan Coben, a memoir on writing, life, craft, and the messy first draft. So, it's called plot twist is the name of it and he was talking about it while he was, you know, giving one of his many speeches and I don't know if you guys have ever heard him talk before. He was I don't know if he was like a silver bullet guest or a spotlight guest, but I saw him speak at ThrillerFest. I want to say in 2019 and he was hysterical. I got to meet him that year and I just was excited to see him speak again this year. So, he did the class at BBC Maestro and he said that kind of inspired this and just talking about craft and what really inspires him and he had talked about how like he really didn't think his life inspired his books, but then when he was doing that maestro class, he realized how much his book his life has influenced his books and I have no doubt there's going to be some great nuggets in here. He grave He grave He gave some great advice.

[00:29:54]Some really just I mean again, aspiring writer, here for all of it. The inspiration I pulled from this just again, I mean I could have cried at a lot of these sessions.

[00:30:05]>> [laughter] >> So emotional, but I'm really really excited for this and I think it's so cool. And it says with 100 million books in print worldwide and over 2020 20 blockbuster television and film adaptations of his work, he has much to teach us about the creative process.

[00:30:25]So, part memoir, part storytelling seminar, it's a refreshingly honest look at the life of a writer whose stories have thrilled us for decades. Honest, funny, and insightful and at times deeply moving, it's an essential guide for anyone looking to master the art of storytelling from one of our most beloved authors. And I think it's going to be great. So, it's going to remind me of On Writing by Stephen King and perhaps more humorous? I don't even know. We'll find out. We will find out.

[00:30:51]Very excited about that. And then my finale of what I got at Thriller Fest, I about fell over when I saw this. It's the new Lucy Foley book. This is a Miss Marple mystery. It is Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel.

[00:31:06]It's so beautiful. There's so much reflection coming from the light right now.

[00:31:11]Just trust me, it's beautiful. Trust me, it's beautiful. I am a huge Lucy Foley fan.

[00:31:17]There she is. And I was really excited for this. So, she did a a short story I want to say in like a new Miss Marple book from 4 or 5 years ago. I want to say Ruth Ware was one of the authors as well. So, again, writing as Miss Marple and we have High in the Swiss Alps, accessible only by a single winding railway. Stands the luxurious Grand Alpine Hotel.

[00:31:44]With glorious mountain views and exclusive access to powdery slopes, it draws guests far and wide. So, then sort of like in typical Lucy Foley fashion, we have multiple POVs defined by not by name but like kind of like who they are.

[00:31:59]So, we have the notorious actress, the high-flying politician, the society wife, the reckless friend, the shrewd doctor. But not everybody is here for a winter holiday. Beneath the champagne and furs, dark histories simmer. Old grudges emerge like cracks in the ice.

[00:32:14]And someone is watching from the shadows. A polite, unassuming woman with an extraordinary mind, Miss Marple.

[00:32:21]When a body is found and a blizzard cuts off all escape, only Miss Marple can connect the clues before the killer strikes again. Because it isn't a question of who has motive, but who's next.

[00:32:32]Bum bum bum.

[00:32:34]So, sounds like a great twisted Lucy Foley book with, you know, Agatha Christie on top. Very excited for it.

[00:32:41]The characters do have names on the inside. Diana Glass I see is one of the names.

[00:32:47]And yeah, I'll let you guys know what happens here. This is set in 1950.

[00:32:55]So, every once in a while I will break my I don't do historical fiction rule.

[00:33:00]And then the last book I bought after I got home cuz I just didn't have enough. But at the banquet, so unless you're like somebody, it's funny one of my friends checked in to find out like what table we were at and they were just sort of like, oh no, no. Like you don't check in. So, it's like people with assigned tables, like the Harlan Cobens of the world, and then there's the rest of us. So, there are awards at the banquet, so like if you're nominated all this other kind of stuff. Anyway, we found ourselves at an extremely delightful table with some lovely lovely authors. So, me, my friend, and another guy who were at the table were aspiring writers, and then everybody else there was a writer, and just, you know, broke into conversation as one does, and I got to meet the completely delightful Daniel G. Miller.

[00:33:53]And we had some fantastic conversations about writing, books, my book, ideas, and then we just like broke into all sorts of other stuff. But when I got home, since that was the last night and he wasn't actually on a panel, so I don't think this was in the bookstore anyway, but I was like, I need to go get one of his books because I was super intrigued by the premise of his stories and I want to support other authors, and it just sounds really really good, so I ran out and bought this. So, it says, "A missing girl in orphanage filled with secrets. Hazel wants a new life.

[00:34:27]She's 30 years old, single, and her private investigator business is months away from folding.

[00:34:33]Her luck takes a turn when Madeline Helmsley, a mysterious socialite, pays Hazel a visit with an offer too enticing to resist.

[00:34:41]An orphan girl has disappeared from a children's home, the orphanage by the lake, as the locals call it, and Madeline wants Hazel to find her.

[00:34:49]At first glance, it appears to be a standard runaway case. But as Hazel plunges into the investigation, she finds signs of something more.

[00:34:57]Unexplained blood unexplained blood stains, cryptic symbols, sinister figures shadowing her every move. The more she digs, the more she realizes that the orphanage by the lake holds terrifying secrets, and even worse, so does Madeline.

[00:35:13]Bum bum bum.

[00:35:16]I just love a dark and sinister book. I love a new to me author, and I'm just very excited about this one. So, it's got some plugs from James Patterson on the front, and again, it also just sounds like a really, really good time.

[00:35:34]So, >> [sighs] >> yeah, I had to come home and get one more.

[00:35:40]I'm very George Clooney in Ocean's 11. You think we need one more?

[00:35:45]You think we need one more? I think we need one more. I needed one more. So, that is the book haul.

[00:35:51]I know, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? Where am I going to start?

[00:35:54]I have been in the worst reading slump, you guys. So, I've been in like the like the all the things. This conference was so reinvigorating to be around other authors. We talk about the shorthand. We talk about just being immersed in it all, the inspiration, the my words, proximity to greatness. Uh there's a little let me like let this rub off on me.

[00:36:24]Being able to hug people I love, being able to laugh with people I love, like literally laughing until I cried. We had some great dinners, just having conversation, just being in that universe. I just felt like, man, did I need that week. And like I knew I needed it. And I don't think I knew how much I needed it until I was in it and was like, oh my god, this just feels good. I don't know how else to describe it. And it just it just was amazing. I met some fantastic people. Whether you were like waiting online for things, whether you were standing in the bookstore, whether you were randomly at the bar, I met more people this year than I have ever met before. I talked to so many more people than I've ever talked to before. And again, like I got to see people that you see online, like not online for the bar, but like online. Jordy, Sonica, Megan from Bone Chilling Books. I'm like, what's the name of her channel? Dennis from Scared Straight Reads, Brian from Brian Reads. There was a social media panel led by Abby from Crime by the Book. And just again, like I mean, getting to meet Geneva Rose and her husband and just like literally telling A. C. Mosby how his voice is the most amazing thing in the world will never not be weird. I don't know how to not be weird. Being able to catch up with authors that I met last year, Hannah Morrissey and Ashley Winstead. You guys know, these are just people that I absolutely love love love love love. Who else did I meet? So many people, talking to Jamie Lynn Hendricks, getting to see Vanessa Lilly and just hug her and catch up super super quickly. But even just these brief little moments of connection and just being able to tell people how much you love their work. So, it was funny. We were asking, so had dinner with Alison Bucola. She wrote The Ascent, she wrote Catch Me When She Falls. And we were all you know, the non-authors in the group, we're like, "Like, I just feel so weird like just turning around online and being like, 'I love your book.'" And she's like, "It never It never gets old telling people that you love their books." So, just trying to continue to show the love to this community that I love and these authors that I love. And just having fun. Just having a really, really, really, really, really fun time. So, it was just fantastic. I of course want to read all of the books. I of course want to do all of the things. I came home like both completely excited to write, but not even kidding, I crashed hard when I came home. Again, a lot of late nights, not a lot of sleep because I was trying to do all the things. I did go down a day early, which wound up being this ins- like randomly like 80-something-degree day, so could have done without the 80-something.

[00:39:17]But, just walked around the city. I had not been to the city since last year at ThrillerFest. And as someone who lived there for a long time and then continued to work in the city after I left, it was fun to just in a lot of ways walk around. So, I kind of went to like my old stomping ground. I went down by Bryant Park. I used to work at the Grace Building. I took a big picture of it for old time's sake. I worked there for a while, and just to kind of be around my own stomping ground, see what's changed, see what hasn't changed. I really wanted to go to the Winnie the Pooh room in the library, and it was closed. Special exhibits were closed cuz I guess they're just refreshing and doing what they need to do. But like, what are the odds that it was closed when I was there? But I did go to the library briefly, more outside when I found out the room was closed. But, it was just nice to walk around and have no obligations. So, I'm sure we can all understand. If you guys again have been watching me for a while, you know, it has been a time.

[00:40:20]So, to literally have a day for the first time in easily 6 months, where I'm not even exaggerating, where I didn't have to be somewhere, do something, be responsible for somebody else, just working, whatever, still trying to move in here, still trying to get stuff organized here. Just to literally be able to be like, I can There's nothing else I can do. I didn't bring my work phone.

[00:40:45]I sure as heck did not bring my work computer with me. I was off the grid, and it felt really, really nice >> [laughter] >> to just not be obligated to do anything.

[00:40:55]So, that was really good. And again, exactly what I needed. As exhausting as it was, it was worth it 10 times over. We're making some intermediate plans. We're talking about next year. So, next year's ThrillerFest, where is it? I know it's somewhere. It's a little bit earlier next year. So, it's April 27th through May 1st next May April 1st. Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

[00:41:20]April 27th through May 1st.

[00:41:22]thrillerfest.com.

[00:41:24]Go to ITW. If anybody is interested, check it out. They did announce next year's Thriller Masters, and ha one of them is Karin Slaughter. I can't remember who the other one was. They flashed it on the screen at the end of the banquet. One of them is Karin Slaughter. She was there this year, too.

[00:41:44]Really, really funny. I feel like she's there pretty much every year, and it was really just fantastic. How many different ways can I say it? How many different times can I say it? Everything I needed and then some. I don't know what else to say. It was fantastic, you guys. Can't you tell? I took so many notes.

[00:42:02]Just so many things. So much conversation. The extroverting was rough. I'm not going to lie. For a hardcore introvert such as me, the extroverting was very difficult. I'm just looking at some of the things that I picked up. I'm like, is there anything else I picked up that I want to talk to you guys about this?

[00:42:28]That I want to talk to you guys about this. That didn't make any sense.

[00:42:30]Bouchercon 2027 is in DC. I would still love to go to Bouchercon this year. It's in Calgary. It's in October. I don't know if that's going to happen. I tend to get um like conference fever after this.

[00:42:43]Every year I'm like, I'm going to do all the things. And then I don't wind up doing any of them, but we'll see. Um I did pick up this little postcard for The Butler by Clare Mackintosh. I think this is a novella.

[00:42:53]And this comes out Oh, it says June 16th. It says for inquiries.

[00:42:58]I don't know if the book is coming out June 16th. Her book that comes out in the UK Did I already do a book haul here and show it to you guys? I got her new book that came out in the UK. Anyway, she's pure delight as well.

[00:43:11]Everyone is pure delight. That is my new word for this year. Okay, if you are still here, I'm just going to quickly run through the classes I went to just to give you guys a little bit of a smidge of what you can expect. And if you're not interested in it, well, thank you so much for being here. And it was great seeing you guys. I really appreciate the support and watching. And hopefully you enjoyed the book haul. And then just very quickly for anyone who is interested in some Craft Fest classes.

[00:43:38]So, I told you about Andie. So, that was tricking the reader how to plant how to plot and plant red herrings. She also talked a lot about like characters and suspects. So, they all kind of get these titles, but then the conversations just go.

[00:43:53]Then we had Tessa Wegert, who I also got to see. How did I forget about Tessa?

[00:43:56]Adore her. Great advice from her. One of my favorite humans. And she did a class on crossing subgenre lines in thrillers and mysteries, which was also fantastic.

[00:44:08]I listened to Jamie Levine do Dig Deep Top Tips for Revising. So, she's an editor. Her session was amazing. As I am You guys are probably sick of hearing me talk about it like knee-deep in the edits.

[00:44:21]So much good editing advice. Building suspense, Alisa Hart Kipness. She had a great class. Elena Hartwell Taylor.

[00:44:29]Voice of the author, voice of the book, voice of the character. Her class was fantastic as well. Gosh, I need to read her books. She was a great great great instructor. I went to Boyd Morrison. He did the art of pacing.

[00:44:42]Again, it's like about like revising, how to make your book sharper, snappier, all the fun things. It is really a Sophie's Choice moment trying to pick between these. I'm not even kidding. Liv Constantine did the art of the unreliable narrator. So, she is one half of Liv Constantine. She actually spoiled all of their books, not all of their books, a lot of their books to explain like how they do the unreliable narrator, which was very fascinating. I had read all but one.

[00:45:11]So, it wasn't like a lot of stuff got spoiled for me. She also talked about Gone Girl, which, you know, if you haven't If you don't know [clears throat] by now, then I don't know how you've managed to avoid that spoiler. But then people were talking about whether they liked unreliable narrators, who did it well, who didn't. And one person started to spoil the new Alice Feeney book. You guys, I almost lost my mind. I was like, "What are you doing?

[00:45:32]Oh my god." Literally covered my ears because I was like, "What is this person doing? The book just came out. No. No.

[00:45:40]Spoil Gone Girl. That's fine. Don't spoil the Alice Feeney book that came out in January." So, didn't love that, but class was absolutely fantastic. And then went to R.L. Stine, who just kind of like talks off the cuff and is absolutely hysterical.

[00:45:53]And then one of my favorite classes every year is Robert Dugoni. He just always does something different. Could not write fast enough. This man is legend. He has amazing craft advice, amazing writing advice. Highly, highly, highly, highly, highly recommend. I told you I talked to talked to went to David Ellis and Alex Finlay. And then again, one of the best classes I have ever gone to at ThrillerFest. Hannah Morrissey and her husband who is a DOJ special agent put on a class for how to get away with murder {dot} {dot} {dot} in fiction.

[00:46:28]And talked all about all the things and one of the best most fascinating parts obviously since he is someone who has been police officer, detective, start like all the things up up up. Is you know all of their processes as they're investigating as they're looking at suspects as they you know are solving cases, solving crimes. And it was kind of like if you want to catch your killer in your book, here are some things you can do. If you want your killer to get away with it in your book, here are some things that you can do. And then talked about like, you know, what things what you know like what they get right in books and TV and what they get wrong and where you know you can kind of bend the truth a little bit like DNA results can take 6 months in real life, but you know, you need it in the in a week in your book and you know, you can kind of turn a blind eye to some of that stuff. But Hannah was the police transcriber in her town which her book Hello Transcriber is inspired by and he was a detective and that's how they met. So I just like love the entire story, but one of the best classes 100% and because he was kind of giving away some stuff it was one class that was not recorded. So typically you can get the ThrillerFest audio, but not that class. So they had a couple FBI classes as well that were not recorded. So that is the one thing that uh what happens at ThrillerFest stays at ThrillerFest and it was amazing. So anyway, that is my bonus rundown of the classes that I went to and then the ThrillerFest panels were just giant blurs of amazingness. And yeah, if you can't tell, I had a great time. I am rejuvenated meets exhausted. I am I've already gotten back to work, but like I'm ready to get like more back to work.

[00:48:15]And you know, we'll see what happens next. So, if anybody was at ThrillerFest, let me know. It is I was talking to Ashley Winston about it where we were like this year is like a little bit weird because you know people are here, but like you're not crossing paths with people, but like you're at all the same parties, you're at the same bar, you're at the same restaurant sometimes and like you don't even know you're at the same place until like maybe the next day when you see people's pictures on Instagram. It was really kind of wild.

[00:48:43]If you were there, let me know. Let me know what you thought about it. And that that's the what. That is the what of ThrillerFest 2026.

[00:48:53]Put it in the books.

[00:48:55]Which is a Harry Potter quote, not a reading quote, but it's totally fine cuz it works. There you go. All right. I'm going to go you guys. Thank you again so much for watching and I will see you in the next video talking about who knows what. I'll see you when we get there.

[00:49:08]Bye everybody.