In Jason Pinter's second novel in the Rachel Marin thriller series, A STRANGER AT THE DOOR, Pinter has given Rachel a unique skill set: she has an uncanny ability to see clues that crime scene investigators may miss, making her a much-needed asset by her town’s understaffed homicide detectives, including her love interest, John Serrano.

She’s also a lethal killer.

This gives her leeway to do things that may be considered skirting the law.

It also makes her one kick-ass helicopter mom.

When danger lands on Rachel’s doorstep with the threat of harming her young family, she has a vested interest in solving the heinous murder of a local high school teacher, Matthew Linklater—he was brutally murdered before his home was set afire.

Solving the beloved teacher’s death becomes imperative, especially when it turns out that some of her son Eric’s classmates may be involved.

Jason and I discuss how he came up with the plot, and how being a parent helped him create the empathy needed to let loose the Tiger Mom in his intrepid protagonist.

A STRANGER AT THE DOOR is in Amazon. You can also purchase it at your local bookstore.

For more about Josie, go to https://www.josiebrown.com

In New York Times best-selling Author Eileen Goudge’s latest novel, All THEY NEED TO KNOW, Kyra, an abused wife of a rich, powerful man goes on the run, ending up across the country in a small California town where she hopes to hide out. Instead, she is embraced by the locals, who offer friendship, support, and acceptance—no questions asked. Inevitably, though, terror comes knocking. Is Kyra strong enough to confront it?

This novel is especially compelling because it’s based on incidents that happened to Eileen. In our very candid conversation, she shows that a fully-lived life isn’t just fodder for fiction, but the greatest catalyst for exorcizing the demons of one’s past.

Check out Eileen Goudge's ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW on Amazon and in other bookstores.

Check out Josie's website at https://josiebrown.com

This has been a copyrighted episode of Author Provocateur with Josie Brown.

AI was not used in the creation of this podcast.

(c) 2024 Josie Brown.

In THE WHISPER SISTER, Jennifer S. Brown delivers an atmospheric coming-of-age story set in Prohibition-era New York, tracing one immigrant family’s fortunes and a young girl’s journey from the schoolyard to the speakeasy.

The streets of New York in 1920 are most certainly not paved with gold, as Minnie Soffer learns when she arrives at Ellis Island. Her father, who left Ukraine when Minnie was a toddler, feels like a stranger. She sleeps on a mattress on the kitchen floor, and she understands nothing at school. They came to America for this?

When her father, Ike, opens his own soda shop, stability and citizenship seem within reach. But the soda shop is not what it seems; it’s a front for Ike’s real moneymaker: a speakeasy.

When tragedy strikes the Soffers, Minnie has no choice but to take over the bar. She’s determined to make the speakeasy a success despite the risks it brings to herself, her family, and her freedom.

At what price does the American dream come true?

Minnie won’t stop until she finds out.

Check out Jennifer S. Brown’s THE WHISPER SISTER on Amazon and in other bookstores.

Check out Josie's website at https://josiebrown.com

This has been a copyrighted episode of Author Provocateur with Josie Brown.

AI was not used in the creation of this podcast.

(c) 2024 Josie Brown.

In prolific screenwriter Daniel Pyne’s latest thriller, WATER MEMORY—Black Ops specialist Aubrey Sentro may be one concussion away from death. But when pirates seize the cargo ship she’s on, she must decide whether to risk her life to save her fellow passengers.

As she plays their deadly game of cat and mouse, she pushes herself to survive by focusing on thoughts of her children. She’s never told them what she really does for a living, and now she might not get the chance.

While her memories make her vulnerable, motherhood makes her dangerous.

Daniel and I also discuss his process for writing the novel his first series, and the similarities and differences between writing for film and television as opposed to novels.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest thriller, HER PERFECT LIFE, Lily Atwood, is an award-winning on-air television reporter with a seemingly perfect life. A job she loves that earns her incredible celebrity status, a seven-year-old loving daughter, Rowen, who goes to a posh private school; and the perfect beautiful home in a safe neighborhood. But not everything is as perfect as it seems. Lily has several dark secrets—including the fact that her older sister disappeared when Lily was Rowen’s age.

This chilling psychological standalone has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, which called it "A superlative thriller." It has also garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and is now nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Novel, and the iconic Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Like protagonist Lily, Hank is also a television news reporter. She and I discuss how the idea of this plot came to her; what about Lily’s on-air career mirrors her own; and how she overcomes the doubt every author faces: writing that next novel.

Novelist Josie Brown interviews best-selling author James Rollins on his thriller, CRUCIBLE.

Something old—in this case, an ancient witch hunter's tome—and something new: artificial intelligence, which goes by the less frightening initials AI.

When combined, they are a hair-raising combination in James Rollins' thriller, CRUCIBLE.

Rollins success as a thriller author comes from his research. His deep dives into subjects from our past always comes from not just asking, "What if?..." But "What if it's catastrophic to the world—or worse yet, world order?"

Since writing CRUCIBLE, AI's conquests is everywhere: not just the sciences but the arts too. Rollins saw it coming, making this 2018 interview prescient on too many levels.

For more information on Josie, her books, and her interviews, visit her website: JosieBrown.com

In New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s latest thriller, A COLD TRAIL, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite returns home to Cedar Grove, where a brutal murder and her haunted past come to a crossroads.

There her husband, lawyer Dan O’Leary, is drawn into representing a local merchant whose business is jeopardized by the town’s revitalization. At the same time, Tracy is urged by the local Police Department to put her own skills to work on a new case: the brutal murder of the new police chief’s wife who was also local reporter investigating a cold-case slaying of a young woman.

As Tracy’s and Dan’s cases crisscross, Tracy may have put everyone she loves at risk.

Josie and Robert talk about the genesis for the book's plot, a family recipe for great spaghetti sauce (hint: a family recipe) and the REAL Tracy Crosswhite.

In the first novel of Stella Bixby’s RILEY COOPER series, CATFISHED, Bixby’s protagonist is at her lowest point: living in her parent’s basement with no prospects for employment — until she becomes a park ranger. And that’s when the fun — and the murders — begin

Stella and I discuss how her former careers as a park ranger and firefighter molded her plots, Riley’s her love-hate relationship with the cop on the beat, Luke Hannah, and the changes in Riley’s future, now that the 16th novel of the series will soon be released. There’s still a lot ahead for this former prom queen, and you’ll want to hear all about it.

Stella Bixby's CATFISHED is free now at your favorite digital bookstore. Josie is running a contest this week for a $50 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. No purchase necessary. To enter, just correctly answer the question posted here about this podcast.

This is a copyrighted episode of Author Provocateur.

No AI was used in the creation of this episode.