More Forensics and Fiction:  Crime Writers’ Morbidly Curious Questions Expertly Answered is a wonderful book.  Not only does it answer the questions posed by some extremely creative crime writers, it also does some from two perspectives.  If you’re the kind of writer who wants the technical details, Lyle provides them.  But if you want an answer in English, he gives you that too.

For a fellow who’s a practicing cardiologist, teacher of forensic science classes in the criminal justice program at DeSales University, and author of many thrillers and non-fiction novels, he’s extremely generous with his time and expertise.  If you want to know about traumatic injuries or illnesses (i.e., Can nasal trauma cause my character to lose his sense of smell? or Could a doctor save an unborn child if the mother is shot and killed?), this is your book.  It’s also your book if you want to know about poisons, toxins, and how to effectively kill off a character, (i.e., Could my sleuth suspect that someone was planning a poisoning simply by seeing what he purchased at a grocery store? or Can my murderous gardener use autumn crocus to kill his victims?)

Other topics include The Police, The Crime Scene, and the Crime Lab; the Coroner, the Body, and the Autopsy; and Odds and Ends, Mostly Odds (i.e., How long could my character survive if buried alive?).

This is a straight-forward Q & A with a lot of helpful advice, from both a medical professional and a successful author.  Lyle shares questions he’s been asked by numerous authors (most of whom he identifies) in their quest for technical accuracy and then provides answers.  What I found both helpful and fascinating is that after D.P. Lyle, M.D. gave the specific answer the author wanted, Doug the author often suggested a variety of options that might work (or not) and then explained why.

Call me morbidly curious, but I found the book vastly entertaining aside from my perspective as a writer.  Even if you’re not the author of crime, mystery, or thriller novels, you’ll be fascinated by the tremendous amount of information and varying perspectives Lyle offers his readers.

D.P. Lyle, M.D. is the Macavity Award-winning author of Forensics for Dummies and has been nominated for both Edgar and Scribe awards.  He’s also been a consultant for a number of popular television series such as CSI: Miami, House, and Cold Case.  Visit Doug on his author website or at The Writer’s Forensics Blog.  His next Dub Walker thriller, Run to Ground, will be released in August.

More Forensics and Fiction - ISBN 978-1605423-94-4

Published by Medallion Press, Inc.

Released April 2012

Michael J. Malone’s debut crime novel sold out its first printing within a week of being released.  Not bad.  And not the least bit surprising, either.

Blood Tears is a heartrendingly wonderful read and its protagonist, DI Ray McBain, is a flawed character you can’t help liking and identifying with.  McBain’s most recent murder case involves a victim who once worked in Bethlehem House, the Catholic orphanage in which McBain was raised.  The victim was tortured, killed, and left with wounds that clearly shout “Stigmata!”  The deeper McBain digs to uncover the killer and his motivation, the more firmly he entrenches himself in the past … and in recurring nightmares that threaten his sanity.

When McBain learns the murdered man was a pedophile, and that he’d actually worked at Bethlehem House while McBain was a resident, he withholds that information from his colleagues because he has a deep, personal, urgency to solve the case.  Unfortunately, when his colleagues discover his unprofessional behavior, they believe it has a more sinister motivation and McBain is arrested and charged with murder.  As McBain escaped jail and mounted his own investigation, I found myself not only sympathizing but also performing a lot of introspection and philosophizing.  And not just about Catholicism (into which I was born), either.

The cleverness of Malone’s dialogue and prose, along with his wit and ability to keep me turning the pages long after bedtime, make this novel a must read.

Malone’s poetry, over 200 works, has been published in Scotland and broadcast on radio to much acclaim and many awards.  His upcoming publications include a non-fiction book later this year (or is it early next year?) and the second in his McBain series.  Michael can be found  on his blog, May Contain Nuts, and as a reviewer on Crimesquad.

For those of us in the U.S. who aren’t able to hop over to Scotland to purchase the book in hardcover or on Amazon U.K., here’s a link to purchase it–shipping should take about 14 days and is free.  (P.S.  Although I was provided with an electronic Advance Reader Copy, I bought my own paperback and anxiously await its arrival.  Yep, I’m gonna read it again.)

Murder on the Interstate is the third novel in Jean Henry Mead’s mystery/suspense series. The book features continuing characters Dana Logan & Sarah Cafferty, two 60-year-old amateur sleuths traveling Interstate 40 in northern Arizona in their mothorhome when they discover the body of a beautiful young woman recently shot to death in her Mercedes convertible. They soon learn that the killer is stalking them. Their murder investigation leads them into danger and they’re kidnapped by homegrown terrorists plotting to take down the government.

Murder on the Interstate has received the following blurbs and reviews:

“Careen into crime with two intrepid sleuths who outwit terrorists in a fast-paced plot taken from today’s headlines. A page turner. ”

~Carolyn Hart

“Murder on the Interstate burns rubber right out of the gate and exceeds the speed limit on every page. With all the car chases, gun shots, screeching breaks, and crashes, the movie version could be the sequel to one of those car-heist action-films. Except for the fact that the protagonists are two women approaching Medicare, and their vehicle is a motorhome. Dana and Sarah are stalwart, clever and funny characters, and author Jean Henry Mead caroms them from one tight situation to another as they weave along the Interstate and into a high stakes mystery.”

~J. Michael Orenduff, Lefty Award winning author of The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein

“Full of surprising twists and turns, Jean Henry Mead has produced an RV adventure with her two senior sleuths in hot pursuit of a murderer, but the tables turn and the two women learn that not only are they in danger but so is our national security. An exciting mystery that will keep you turning pages.”

–F. M. Meredith, author of Angel Lost

(Murder on the Interstate is the third novel in my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series.)

.Murder on the Interstate is currently available from Oak Tree Press in print and will soon appear on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Interstate-Jean-Henry-Mead/dp/1610090144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305156555&sr=8-1 and at Barnes and Noble: http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/WriteReview.aspx?EAN=9781610090148