Suspenseful Summer Storytimes

Remember gathering around the campfire on a warm summer night to listen to gripping stories? Recapture the magic during your lunch hour, twice each month this summer at Thrilling Tales, our Library’s much lauded story time for grown ups. Listen to inspired readings of a variety of strange, devious and wonderful tales at our Central Branch, Mondays at 1
2:05 – 12:50 p.m. Admission is free, and while we won’t be roasting s’mores, a lot of folks bring their lunch. Here is what’s in store this Summer.

• Monday, June 20:
  The Purple Shroud, by Joyce Harrington. Some say leave murder to the professionals, but for the creative Mrs. Moon it is a matter of inspiration and artisanal skill.
• Monday, July 11: The Howling Man, by Charles Beaumont. Deep within the remote German Abbey of St. Wulfran’s is an evil secret, soon to be revealed to an unsuspecting world. Beaumont’s ingenious tale is a Twilight Zone classic.

Thrillers for every taste, part 2.

In last week’s post featuring ninety diverse suspense writers, I made the point that there are many different kinds of thrillers out there. Here are eighty more of today’s best and most thrilling writers grouped for various tastes, and still we’ve only scratched the surface:

• Sophie Hannah writes contemporary British crime stories suffused with taut psychological suspense and a haunting mood. Also try: Ruth Rendell, Minette Walters, Frances Fyfield, Elizabeth George, and Martha Grimes.
• Erin Kelly writes moody, slightly gothic suspense in which the present is haunted by the sins of the past. Also try: Tana French, Ann Cleeves, Thomas H. Cook, S. J. Bolton, Rosamund Lupton, Sarah Rayne, Kate Morton, and John Harwood.

Thrillers for every taste, part 1

A thriller’s a thriller, right? Wrong! Very different things set each reader’s pulse racing. Here are some of our favorite writers in a wide array of suspenseful fiction, with suggestions for further reading; tune in next week for part 2.

• Jeff Abbott writes relentless, high octane intrigue with action on every page. Also try: Robert Ludlum, James Patterson, Thomas Perry, Ridley Pearson, Andrew Grant, and Rick Mofina.
• Louis Bayard writes atmospheric historical suspense that vividly evokes distant places and ideas. Also try: Arturo Perez-Reverte, S. J. Parris, Rebecca Stott, David Pirie, David Liss, Francis Cottam, Iain Pears and Michael Cox.
• Ted Bell writes swashbuckling adventures in which superspy Alex Hawke saves the world. Also try: Clive Cussler, Ian Fleming, James Rollins, Matthew Reilly, Jeff Long, Lincoln Child, Richard Doetsch, William Dietrich and Forrest DeVoe.

Thrilling Chilling Winter Stories, Live!

This Winter, Thrilling Tales (the Library’s storytime for grownups) has got some great tales of crime and suspense lined up by masterful storytellers of today and yesteryear. We’ll have arctic adventure, unspeakable terror, hitmen, con-men, stick-up artists and librarians! Yes, that’s right – on Monday January 28 we will be having a special storytime dedicated to libraries and librarians, and coinciding with the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference, meeting in Seattle that weekend. 

SPL Discoveries: Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

I’m a big fan of the Hardcase Crime imprint, which has been publishing a succession of luridly jacketed vintage pulp fiction alternated with contemporary noir ever since their premiere title – Grifter’s Game by Lawrence Block – in the sultry summer of 2004. I also love Stark House, a small press publishing a steady stream of vintage crime fiction by such forgotten pulpsters as Day Keene, Harry Whittington, Stephen Marlowe, Wade Miller, and the prolific Peter Rabe.