This week, I’m revisiting two American authors who I read for the first time earlier this year and was deeply impressed by. Is high profile enough that anyone with an interest in the crime fiction genre will know that his latest novel was released this month. The other is someone who I first read under the name he uses to publish his horror novels and who I then discovered had a substantial back catalogue in crime novels.

It’s nice to start my reading week knowing that I’ll be spending time with two authors who I know write well and know how to tell compelling stories. Now I just want to find some quiet time to let their fiction colonise my imagination.

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‘All The Sinners Bleed’ by S. A. Cosby (2023)

I’d had S. A. Cosby’s books on my shelves for a while but had delayed reading them because they sounded dark and depressing. Then, last month, I finally read ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ and discovered why everyone had been telling me I needed to read Cosby. He’s a gifted storyteller. His stories are populated with people I believe in even though they’re from worlds that I’m unfamiliar with. He knows how to keep me turning the pages to know what will happen next while building my empathy with the people I’m reading about.

After ‘Blacktop Wasteland’, I wanted to dive into Cosby’s back catalogue but then I was told by a friend (Thanks Char!) that his new book, ‘All The Sinners Bleed’ was about to come out and I decided to make that my next read.

I’m hoping for something engaging, exciting and thought-provoking.

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‘Never Far Away’ by Michael Koryta (2021)

Scott Carson’s ‘The Chill’ was one of my Best Reads for January through April this year. It was a very satisfying horror/thriller novel with a storytelling style that reminded me of early Stephen King, but with a distinctive tone of its own and it was powered by an original idea worthy of a Michael Chrichton thriller. When I realised that Scott Carson was another name used by Michael Koryta, I decided to hit his back catalogue.

I picked ‘Never Far Away’ because it’s a standalone novel and it was published a year after ‘The Chill’. The premise is a bit of a stretch but is just about plausible and hey, I had no trouble with a novel about a haunted reservoir so why should I baulk about a lone-mom-against-evil-assassins pitch?

I’m hoping for something entertaining, suspenseful and with a few surprises.