Alex's achievements thus far include two plays premiering at major New York theaters in the same season, Lao Wang: A Chinatown King Lear at Primary Stages, and Chinese Republicans at the Roundabout Theater. Alex also wrote for the AMC series The Audacity, which premiered this past Sunday. A graduate of Juilliard, Alex is the winner of a Stavis Award presented by the National Theatre Conference, and two Kennedy Center awards.

Her plays have been developed by countless regional theaters and workshops, and she's worked as an actor. As I understand it, she's now at work on a play about the first Cantonese language translator working at Angel Island in San Francisco, the primary immigration station on the West Coast in the early part of the 20th century.

THE TYPEWRITER AND THE GUILLOTINE is the third non-fiction work by Mark Brodie, whose previous KIKI MAN RAY: ART, LOVE, AND RIVALRY IN 1920s PARIS was named a notable book of 2022 by the New York Times, and a New Yorker Best Book of the Year. In 2018, he published THE INVISIBLE EMPEROR: NAPOLEON ON ELBA FROM EXILE TO ESCAPE, and two years earlier, MAKING MONTE CARLO: A HISTORY OF SPECULATION AND SPECTACLE.

Mark holds a PhD in History from the University of Southern California, and a Master's in French Studies from New York University.

An aside: I just returned from a writer's conference where I think I may have spoken more about THE TYPEWRITER AND THE GUILLOTINE than I did my own novels. I'm eager to find out how this book I admire so came to be.

On his Substack, Ron discussed his situation with characteristic self-deprecation. "I didn't start off as a journalist," he wrote. "Some might say I didn't end up one either. 30 years ago, I gave up a perfectly respectable job teaching English to write book reviews for the Christian Science Monitor." His aunt's huffy reaction? "'Surely, they're not gonna pay you to do that?' They did." Ron said he had some of the best years of his life at the Monitor, even if he toiled in relative obscurity. After a series of interviews, he was hired as a critic by the Washington Post. In time, he became editor of its Book World section.

After two decades and having received a National Book Critics Circle Award and served as a Pulitzer Prize judge, Ron was let go by the Post and Book World was shut down. As the New Yorker's Becca Rothfeld summarized, "No one who has anything to do with books remains employed at the Post."

Among US mainstream media, only the New York Times has a section dedicated to book reviews, though my former employer, the Wall Street Journal, regularly publishes book reviews. We can find publications and blogs dedicated to books, but as Becca points out, "They are produced for an audience that already knows or cares about literature. The books section of a newspaper plays an altogether different role. It does not cater to aficionados. It seeks new recruits."

It's been reported that at Ernst Lubitsch's funeral in 1947, Billy Wilder said, "No more Lubitsch" and William Wyler replied, "Worse than that, no more Lubitsch films." We can find online book reviews Ron Charles wrote for the Post and his reviews for CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube, but are we at the point of no more new Ron Charles book reviews?

Prior to his retirement to focus on his political activism, Don was at the peak of his popularity in a career that began in 1991 with his Neil Carey PI series. Next came several memorable stand-alones, THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE, SAVAGES, and if I may, a personal favorite, CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE.

THE POWER OF THE DOG, which explored America's war on drugs through the experiences of a range of characters, kicked off his Cartel Trilogy. Its third novel, THE BORDER, now considered a classic of its kind, was cited as the best book of 2019 by the Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Guardian, The Irish Times, Book List, and many others.

Beginning in 2022, Don published in succession, CITY ON FIRE, CITY OF DREAMS, and CITY OF RUINS, his Organized Crime Trilogy. Several of his works have been made into feature films, including Crime 101, based on Don's novella of the same name. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Halle Berry. It arrives in theaters on February 13th.

Like many readers, I was disheartened when Don announced his retirement, though I was well aware that he was deeply troubled by the actions of the Trump administration. I want to start our conversation with that decision.

Her thoughts on mass tort lawsuits have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and on National Public Radio. She is the Fuller E. Callaway Chair of Law at the University of Georgia School of Law. For the uninitiated, such as myself, a mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few defendants in a state or federal court.

In THE PAIN BROKERS, Elizabeth writes of a scheme by the medical and legal industrial complex that exploits a view that women's bodies are commodities, and their pain not a major concern. She does so by telling us about Geri Plummer, Barb Shepherd, and Sharon Gore, who are among the thousands of women tempted by deceitful telemarketers, who flew to Florida to undergo surgical procedures, setting off a flood of millions of insurance dollars to white-shoe lawyers, doctors, and unscrupulous con artists.

What became of Geri, Barb, and Sharon? Elizabeth tells us that and more.

Amazing how a well-told story about someone else's family can remind us of our own. With YEAR OF THE WATER HORSE, Janice continues a fruitful career in books and journalism. She's a cultural and arts editor at The Washington Post. She was a deputy managing editor at The Boston Globe, charged with publications of books that bore the Globe's brand, including several bestsellers.

She was on the staff of the L.A. Times, the Providence Journal, and freelanced for The New York Times. Janice tells us much about herself in YEAR OF THE WATER HORSE. Let's see if there's more to discover.

Matthew Pearl is the author of many highly regarded and best-selling novels, including the historical fiction works THE DANTE CLUB and THE POE SHADOW, the latter about the death of Edgar Allan Poe. His THE TECHNOLOGISTS is an alternative history about the early days of MIT. In 2021, he published his first work of non-fiction, THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE: COLONIAL SETTLERS, TRIBAL NATIONS, AND THE KIDNAP THAT SHAPED AMERICA – A TRUE STORY OF RESCUE AND REVENGE IN REVOLUTIONARY 1776. His journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Slate.

Which brings us to THE AWARD. The New Yorker said it "revels in its wickedness," and Tom Perrotta called it "addictive" and "propulsive" in comparing it to a Patricia Highsmith thriller. Without giving too much away, in THE AWARD, struggling novelist David Trent moves into a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On the floor below lived Silas Hale, a very famous author who, despite his acclaim, is disdainful to many, David perhaps most of all.

But then David wins a major award for his novel. Or does he? And chaos ensues. Who knew writing was such a fraught and deadly occupation. I found THE AWARD to be a lot of fun, its characters all too familiar, yet surprising in their actions.

If you visit laurenrothery.net, you'll find links to a number of short films she wrote and directed. As for TELEVISION, it's an intriguing, cleverly told novel about Verity, a famous actor who, after appearing in a hit film he detests, announces he will hold a lottery to give away the $80 million he stands to make from the picture.

Another primary character is Helen, an insightful, often cynical woman on the periphery of the entertainment business, and who Verity wishes were his wife. Then comes Phoebe, an aspiring screenwriter who can't seem to stop fantasizing about writing in order to actually write. The novel has a lived-in feel, in which we, the readers, swim in the characters' thoughts that are often mundane, occasionally astute, and always revealing.

If Writers at Work is about the joys, heartaches, challenges, and satisfaction of the creative writing process, they can discuss those outcomes in great and intimate detail. Peter, Reed, S.J., and Peter have experienced the highs the life of a novelist can bring. Publication by admirable houses, rave reviews, awards, the attention of Hollywood, and most importantly, the loyalty of readers.

They've also experienced the lows of the writer's life. Being dropped by those admirable houses, an absence of review, no nominations for awards, and silence from the film community. Thank goodness for those readers who remain true. To be a novelist is to be a solitary figure beset by uncertainty and doubt. To paraphrase Nietzsche, when you stare into a blank screen, the blank screen stares into you.

Peter, Reed, S.J., and Peter possess what I consider to be the most essential traits of a successful novelist, willfulness, courage, and a belief in their work regardless of whatever obstacles they may face. Let's find out how they do what they do and what they've learned from their experiences.

When A Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge, Land of a Thousand Dances by Wilson Pickett, You Better Move On by Arthur Alexander, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin, I'll Take You There by the Staple Singers, I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James, If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right by Luther Ingram.

And then came the 1970s. In pursuit of the earthy funk sound captured in those studios, the rock and pop world invaded and the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Cliff, Paul Simon, and Bob Seger cut major hits there with members of the fame house band sitting in.

Then country came calling. Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Mac Davis, Jerry Reed, and so on. To say Rob captures it all doesn't quite get it. Clocking in at 762 pages, including essential indices and with its fluid narrative style, LAND OF A THOUSAND SESSIONS at times feels like a minute-by-minute history.

Fortified with a generous supply of photography and printed on beautiful stock, the book is as appealing as it is essential. As a fan of the music made in Muscle Shoals, and as a music journalist, I loved it. In addition to his Grammy nominated liner notes that are worthy of independent publication, Rob is also the author of SOULSVILLE USA: THE STORY OF STAX RECORDS and THE LAST SOUL COMPANY: THE MALACO RECORDS STORY.

Marilyn Fu is a graduate of Columbia University School of the Arts where she became the first recipient of the William Goldman Screenwriting Fellowship. As a reporter, she wrote for many Time Inc. publications. She wrote the screenplays for the 2014 thriller THE SISTERHOOD OF THE NIGHT, based on a Stephen Mullhauser short story, and the 2018 film THE HONOR LIST in which fourteen girls cope with the death of a friend. Moving forward, Marilyn wrote for the TV series THE BAXTERS and is a writer for THE COPENHAGEN TEST, a spy thriller to premiere in late December on Peacock.

As for ROSEMEAD, Marilyn received a 2025 Golden Horse Award nomination for best adapted screenplay, one of Asia's highest honors in cinema. Rosemead is the story of a Chinese American mother and son in Los Angeles whose lives are unraveling, mostly in secret from each other. It is based on a series that appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

She recently joined me at a live Writers at Work event in New Haven, and I wanted you to have an opportunity to hear her views on writing and creativity, and had a few questions for her that I didn't get to ask her on that night. As a writer, Zorana is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and Creativity Post. With more than 25 years as a scientist studying creativity, she brings insight into the nature of the creative process, from the first decision to engage with new ideas, to its culmination in creative performance and product.

Her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Artnet, US News, Education Week, Science Daily, and other publications. Of The Creativity Choice, one reviewer wrote, "I've never read a clearer, more thoroughly researched, or more thoughtful framework for how we can all nurture creativity as a skill set. In the age of AI, when the last thing that will set humanity apart from machines is our creativity, I cannot think of a timelier moment for this book."

As Todd reveals, Harrison forged a unique, a uniquely American form of storytelling through his connection to the land, to spiritual matters, by a voracious appetite for reading that began in early childhood, and by friendships with many of his contemporaries in the arts. Perhaps fittingly, Harrison died at his writing desk, pen in hand, in 2016 at age 78.

Todd Goddard earned his PhD in Literary Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his JD at the University of Connecticut Law School. He is an associate professor of Literary Studies at Utah Valley University. In Devouring Time, the scholarship is obvious and deftly distributed, but what's most wonderful about it is how Todd brings Harrison to such vivid life.

As Carl Hiaasen, who was a friend of Harrison said, "The biography is raw and revealing, yet with a sensitive eye for both the pain and the talent that made Jim one of modern America's most intriguing poets and novelists."

DUSK is Robbie's fourth novel. His previous works have been acknowledged by nominations from many literary awards in Australia and beyond, including the Dylan Thomas Prize for Young Writers. His earlier novels, FLAMES, THE RAIN HERON, and LIMBERLOST are all available in the States. Last week, it was announced that Robbie was the winner of the ARA Historical Novel Prize, one of the richest literary awards in Australia, for DUSK. Of that novel, The Economist said, "This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal enriched by arresting depictions of nature." The Guardian added, "Arnott has an astonishing facility with language, and his prose imbues the Tasmanian wilderness with an extraordinary beauty."

I fully agree with those assessments.

It is Addie E. Citchens’ debut novel. Addie's work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and Oxford America's Best of the South, among other publications. Her writing about the blues and its history appeared in Mississippi Folklife and on the Mississippi Arts Hour. Earlier this year, her short story “That Girl” won the O. Henry Prize. It was originally published in the New Yorker and can be found on that magazine's website.

Calling it, “absolutely outstanding,” of DOMINION Roxane Gay said, “it captures church, community, the South, and the gulf between the haves and have-nots with precision.” As a stranger to Priscilla and Diamond's world, I found DOMINION both captivating and an education, and a wonderful read.

Securing the assignment, I traveled to the University of Southern California in Santa Barbara to examine their Herrmann archives that includes almost all of his film scores, all written in Herrmann's own hand. I assumed an archivist would stay with me and help me see how Herrmann composed and orchestrated his great works.

But the archivist left me alone among pages and pages of scores. I was lost. I come to music by rock and folk. My sight reading is limited to top line melodies and maybe the baseline. Herrmann wrote for a full orchestra or unusual combination of instruments.

In one score, I recall, there were parts for seven organs to be played simultaneously. To help me understand what I had seen, I made two phone calls. One to John Williams, the composer and conductor, who earlier in his career played piano on Herrmann's sessions. The other was to Steven C. Smith, today's guest and author of A HEART AT FIRE’S CENTER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN, an extraordinary biography I had read years earlier. Steven was very patient when he explained to me what Herrmann had achieved with his masterworks. For his first Herrmann book, Steven C. Smith received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.

Variety said that Herrmann book was responsible for, "A huge uptick of interest in that once neglected now practically deified film composer." Steven also produced some 200 documentaries about film and music, and is a four-time Emmy nominee.

After about five years in Milan and Rome, agitated years according to the author, and following the death of his mother and son, he returned to the family home and in his mid-30s was ordained in Hippo, also in present-day Algeria. That remained his base until his death at age 75.

Catherine is the Lesley Clark Professor in the Humanities, and professor of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies at Bryn Mawr. Her research centers on late antiquity, especially the writings of St. Augustine. She's the author of four previous books, including THE IRRATIONAL AUGUSTINE, and more than 80 articles and reviews. As a lay reader, I found AUGUSTINE THE AFRICAN to be a marvel.

One of the reasons is the quality of the prose. Though it is fortified with evidence that supports her conclusions, the story is never overburdened with gratuitous detail and it flows beautifully. What comes across is her delight in having discovered a new way to look at a man she describes as one of the most influential writers and thinkers in the history of humankind.

She directed episodes of TV shows including NEVER HAVE I EVER, MIXED-ISH, LOVE LIFE, A.P. BIO, AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE BIG DOOR PRIZE, and THE AFTERPARTY. She became part of the Marvel cinematic universe as director of SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW, shown on Disney+. Now we have WE STRANGERS. Let me read to you the Rotten Tomatoes review.

"Quick-witted cleaner Rayelle takes a strange new job that spirals into the surreal when she claims she can speak to the dead. We Strangers is a darkly funny, sharp slice-of-life story about identity, power, and the quiet lines that divide us."

Any writer-director would be pleased with such a review. Let's find out what it means to Anu Valia.

From its headquarters in Manhattan, the CIA Book Club secretly sent millions of banned titles, pamphlets and other reading material into the East. By the 1980s, illicit literature was so pervasive in Poland that the state censorship machine was rendered all but useless. Soon the Iron Curtain fell. As Charlie confirms with his amazing tale, books really can set us free. Charlie is a former reporter and editor for the Guardian and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. He's the author of three nonfiction books that demonstrate an open-minded curiosity. He'll be speaking with us from London.

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is author Thomas Perry, whose latest thriller is PRO BONO. Thomas had a long, exemplary career as a mystery and thriller writer. His debut, THE BUTCHER'S BOY, in 1983 won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

It was the first in a series in which three subsequent novels appeared three separate decades apart. His VANISHING ACT, featuring his recurring character Jane Whitefield, was named by Parade magazine as one of the 101 Best Mysteries of All Time. Tom was a PhD in literature, wrote and or produced for such TV shows as Star Trek, The Next Generation and Simon and Simon.

He's enjoying well deserved attention these days, thanks to the FX series The Old Man, based on his 2017 novel of the same name. We of a certain vintage applaud Tom for creating a hearty protagonist who is AARP eligible but hardly in need of assistance.

Since then, he's published eight more novels, including additions to the Butcher's Boy and Jane Whitefield series. Last year's HERO introduced readers to Justin Poole, a private security agent for Hollywood celebrities and the 1%. Booklist, Kirkus and Deadly Pleasures magazine called HERO the best thriller of the year. How lucky we would all be if we maintain such high standards across more than four decades and through 31 novels.

The short stories, two in a collection of 12, and the film were written by the same author, Ben Shattuck, who is our guest today. THE HISTORY OF SOUND is the name of the collection and the film, and they share more than a title. I found Ben's interpretation of his prose to be uncanny, not just on plot points, but on its ambiance, its pacing, its color, and so on. I was deeply engaged in both, not quite hypnotized, but residing deeply within the words and images.

Ben Shattuck is a writer and painter from coastal Massachusetts, a graduate and former teaching-writing fellow of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His writing has appeared in the Harvard Review, The New Republic, the Paris Review Daily, and other publications. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Boston, and Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the New Bedford Art Museum.

His debut short story, “Edwin Chase of Nantucket,” was selected to appear in the anthology PEN AMERICA BEST DEBUT SHORT STORIES 2017. It also appears in THE HISTORY OF SOUND collection. Ben's first book, SIX WALKS, was published by Tin House in 2022. That memoir tracks the author's retracing of six walks taken by Henry David Thoreau. His second book, THE HISTORY OF SOUND: STORIES, was published by Viking in 2024. The film THE HISTORY OF SOUND opens in the US on September 12.

For the uninitiated, Butler, who died suddenly in 2006 at age 58, was an American science fiction and speculative fiction writer who won the Hugo, Locus, and NEC Nebula awards for her work. In 1995, Butler became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

An Associate professor of Literature, Media and Communications at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Susana Morris is a black feminist scholar and a cultural critic whose writing has appeared in Cosmo, Ebony, and Gawker, among other publications. She is the author of several works including CLOSE KIN AND DISTANT RELATIVES: THE PARADOX OF RESPECTABILITY IN BLACK WOMEN'S LITERATURE. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University.

In its review of POSITIVE OBSESSION, the New York Times wrote, “Morris creates a rounded portrait of a working writer whose unrelenting discipline was complicated by her self-doubts, her financial instability, and her obsession with the craft of writing. It's a portrayal that helps illuminate the real person behind the mythical figure of our imagination.”

I say it is all that and more. I found POSITIVE OBSESSION to be a virtual tutorial on the writing life, filled with invaluable counsel from Susana Morris and her formidable subject on what is required to make a career writing the kind of books one wants to write, regardless of perceived obstacles. For that, I'm most grateful to Susana, and I'm glad to have a chance to tell her so.

In short order he wrote episodes of a number of TV series, including THE TUNNEL, the British-French adaptation of the Danish-Swedish crime series THE BRIDGE. Then he began a run of shows he created, leading to UNFORGOTTEN that launched in the UK in 2015.

The series, which blends the reexamination of cold cases and an intimate gaze into the complicated lives of the investigating police officers, proved immediately popular. It has survived the departure of its star, Nicola Walker. Chris, who co-founded the production company TXTV, has had many other successes at home with popular series, some of which are available here to stream. His latest, I, JACK WRIGHT, is a family drama during comparisons to SUCCESSION. You can find it on BritBox.

I hope he and you will forgive me when I suggest you visit Chris Lang's Wiki page. He's won and been nominated for too many awards to list here. The New Statesman says Lang is such a good writer, plot, dialogue, juicy subtext, he can do them all. And quite often I'll add.

Of his poetry, Clair Wills, author of Reading Paul Muldoon, wrote, “Muldoon stands by the entrance or rabbit hole and seems to invite us inside.” Critics, she reported, agree that Muldoon's poetry is playful, tricksy, erudite, given to complex rhyming structures, full of references to seemingly unconnected objects and events, that it mucks around with cliche and is often frustratingly obscure.

Undeniable, in other words. But today we won't be discussing Paul Muldoon's poetry. At least I don't think so. I contacted Paul to talk about Visible from Space, the new album by Paul Muldoon and Rogue Oliphant. Each song on Visible from Space marries Paul's lyrics with music and vocals by different members of Rogue Oliphant, a collective featuring Cait O'Riordan of the Pogues, David Mansfield of Bob Dylan's band, Warren Zanes of the Del Fuegos, among others. Produced by Tony Visconti, Visible from Space arrives on September 12th. Until then, you can find a few videos on YouTube.

It isn't Paul's first venture into rock. He wrote lyrics for The Handsome Family and co-wrote the title track of Warren Zevon's album My Ride’s Here. Paul also edited THE LYRICS: 1956 TO THE PRESENT by Paul McCartney. He's been in bands for years, including Wayside Shrines, whose members Chris Harford and Ray Kubian contribute to Visible from Space.

Her first novel, GARNETHILL, was published in 1998 to spectacular reviews here in the States and. And leading to the Garnethill trilogy. Then came FIELD OF BLOOD, the first of Denise’s novels featuring journalist Patty Meehan. It led to a crime series broadcast on BBC.

Established as a superior crime writer, Denise began to have her plays performed on radio and in theaters. Her short story, “Ida Tamson,” the tale of a grandmother trying to save her late daughter's child from her gangster's father, became her play of the same name. “Peter Manuel: Meet Me” reimagines the true story of a man who spent 11 hours carousing with a serial killer.

She's written comedies and documentary for TV. One of the latter was the investigation of the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Denise adapted Stig Larson's Millennium trilogy for a series of graphic novels. All that while continuing to write more than a dozen novels of her own, set in different countries and different periods. She seems never to have shirked from a challenge. Denise was inducted into the Crime Writers' Association Hall of Fame.

Heather may be best known for RED COMET: THE SHORT LIFE AND BLAZING ART OF SYLVIA PLATH, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Prior to that, she published THE ULSTER RENAISSANCE: POETRY IN BELFAST 1962-1972 and THE GRIEF OF INFLUENCE: SYLVIA PLATH AND TED HUGHES. A recipient of a PhD from Oxford, Heather also published essays and criticisms in major media in the US and UK.

THE SCRAPBOOK can be summarized as the story of an intense first love haunted by history and family memory, as it is on the dust jacket. I found it fascinating on several levels. Set in 1996, we indeed experience a tenuous love affair between two students, an American from Harvard and a visiting German, Anna. Anna, the American, follows Christoph to his home and he shows her his Germany, aware that her grandfather was among the GIs who witnessed the devastation at the Dachau concentration camp while his grandfather fought for the Wehrmacht, the Nazi armed forces. Thus we are treated to a subtly applied history lesson, one that deals with collective guilt and cultural divide even decades after the World War ended.

What motivates Christoph and whether things will end well is a source of suspense as we accompany Anna venturing into worlds not her own.

The woman is an Italian-American from New Jersey. The house is in Carrera, Italy. And if you know anything about me and my work, you can pretty much guess that I love this novel.

Adriana first drew notice as a playwright, then wrote for such TV programs as The Cosby Show. Her first screenplay, Three to Get Married, was produced in 1986. Almost 30 years later, she wrote and directed the major motion picture Big Stone Gap based on her novel of the same name. She adapted her novel Very Valentine for Lifetime and directed the feature film Then Came You. Adriana wrote and directed the award-winning documentary Queen of the Big Time, the story of her father's hometown of Rosetto, Pennsylvania.

She hosts the podcast You Are What You Read and is the co-founder of the Origin Project, an in-school writing program in Appalachia that serves more than 1700 students in her home state of Virginia. As a bestselling novelist, Adriana may be best known for her Big Stone Gap series and also her Valentine trilogy.

As I understand it, Adriana has published a novel in each of the past 20 years. Many of those books celebrate her Italian heritage and working women who are tireless in the pursuit of their ambitions. I should add here that Adriana is tireless in her commitment to her readers. I'm very eager to meet and converse with a writer after my own heart.

Perhaps it says more about me than the form itself, but frankly, I can never figure out how the crime is committed and by whom, and thus how to write a locked-room mystery is beyond me.

THE HOUSE AT DEVIL'S NECK is Tom Mead's fourth novel featuring Joseph Spector, a retired magician and now an amateur investigator. The series is set in the late 1930s in and around London, and Tom fully exploits the atmosphere of the time and place. Nearby, and occasionally in opposition to Spector, is Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard, a deliberate man unlikely to be swayed by anything other than facts.

With a wink now and then, Tom taps into all the tropes and yet produces tales that drip with nostalgia, yet surprises and delights.

Then came the standalone THE SHADOW SOCIETY, a supernatural romance set in Chicago in an alternate universe, then followed by her popular Winners trilogy. Her next two books, THE MIDNIGHT LIE and THE HOLLOW HEART, are romantic fantasies with LGBTQ characters and strikingly handsome and enticing covers, which is neither here nor there, but they suit well tales of identity, class loyalty, and sexual yearning.

In January 2022, Marie published her first book intended for adults: REAL EASY, a thriller set in the seedy strip club populated by women who are more than their bodies on display. Now she returns with ORDINARY LOVE. Set in the tony world of New York's Upper East Side, it is a story of love gone wrong and of love that may have gotten away.

Having earned an MA and PhD at Harvard, Marie is a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, and children's literature. Clearly, Marie follows a muse of her own and has enjoyed success doing so. Let's find out how she does what she does.

He left the world of rock for COOLER THAN COOL, the first in-depth biography of Elmore Leonard, who revealed his mastery of concision, forward motion and memorable dialogue in his 45 screenplay-friendly novels and countless short stories. My friend Charles Ardai, editor at Hard Case Crime, called Leonard the most influential crime writer of the last half-century.

And that seems right. Chad interviewed Elmore Leonard's family and friends and had access to his files and planned memoirs and shares with us previously unpublished excerpts from Leonard's unfinished final novel. His deep dive into Leonard's formative stages, at least to my mind, cast Leonard in a new light. More than once, Chad revealed a bit of information about Leonard's background and motivations that made me think. Of course, that makes perfect sense, which means he encouraged me to see someone whose work I admired as if he were brand new to me. And what more can we ask for in a biography of a contemporary?

His novels and short fiction and the films adapted from them, MYSTIC RIVER, SHUTTER ISLAND, GONE, BABY GONE, and THE DROP among them, are now part of the American cultural and artistic landscape. In addition, he's written for, consulted on, or was involved in the production of episodes of such programs as THE WIRE, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, MR. MERCEDES, and now SMOKE, premiering on June 27 on Apple TV+. That, my friends, is as fine a resume as you'll find for a writer in our time.

Before we proceed, I should tell you that Dennis and I shared an agent, and he invited me to contribute to his short story anthology, BOSTON NOIR. But my admiration for his work is unencumbered by anything other than my admiration for his work.

Craig's first graphic novel, GOOD-BYE CHUNKY RICE, was published in 1999 and won high honors such as the Harvey and Ignatz Awards. That year he began his first masterwork, the 600-page BLANKETS, described as a memoir of first love and faith lost in rural Wisconsin. The Bloomsbury Review said it is a superb example of the art of cartooning, the blending of word and picture to achieve an effect that neither is capable of without the other. I disagree slightly, but okay. It won several awards and praise from the likes of Jules Pfeiffer, Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman.

Now we have GINSENG ROOTS. It employs as its springboard the story of Craig's childhood, in which he and his siblings spent their summers harvesting ginseng. Ranging far in his tale, Craig conveys the history of agriculture In Wisconsin, the 300-year-old saga of the global Ginseng Trail, and the hardships faced and not always overcome by Ginseng farmers such as his parents and neighbors.

Never far from the heart of Jensen ROOTS is his family story, informed by unforgiving labor, evangelical Christianity, and the conflicting need for home and escape as we meet the Thompsons as they are then and now. I found GINSENG ROOTS to be an astonishing work of storytelling, monumental in scope, yet never far from intimate. I don't think there was a page in which Craig didn't teach me about something I didn't know or made me rethink my opinions. I'm very eager to learn how he came to create a work I'll never forget.

This is her first program. I'll ask her to tell us how Ginny and Georgia came to be. I said smash hit a few seconds ago. How smash? In its second season launched in 2023, Ginny and Georgia was the most watched show on Netflix from January into June of that year; one episode achieved 162 million hours viewed and was in the top 10 list in 88 countries. But popularity is one thing and quality is another. For the uninitiated, Ginny and Georgia is the story of a family trying to find its place.

Ginny is a 15-year-old who is whip smart and sensitive. Her younger brother Austin is a sweet magnet for bullies. And Georgia, who had Ginny at 15, is rebuilding a life after suffering abuse by men. Her assets are a quick wit, bottomless resolve and sexy charm. All three leads are abetted by a large cast of complex characters, most of whom are at least as imperfect as we all are and beset with problems worthy of a daytime soap opera.

But Ginny and Georgia is much more than a soapy pastime, especially when we are with Ginny, who is experiencing high school life and what appears to be a social and sexual minefield. Sarah and the writers room keep several always believable, if incredible, plots moving forward. I found myself deeply engaged during several heartbreak scenes. And I should add, there's ample humor and murder in the mix.

Rightfully so, I'll add, as Chris displays a keen gift for ascetic satire but serves it without drawing attention to a flashy style. THE DOORMAN is Chris's sixth novel. Its predecessors include THE EXPATS, which won both the Edgar and Anthony Award, and the bestselling TWO NIGHTS IN LONDON. He's a veteran of the publishing and magazine industries, having worked as a copy editor, executive editor, deputy publisher and ghostwriter.

As a journalist, his articles appeared in The Times and Salon, among other publications. Set in New York City, THE DOORMAN finds Chris on familiar terrain and new terrain. Familiar because he was raised here, new because he's known for his international thrillers with characters careening around Europe. As a longtime New Yorker, I found THE DOORMAN vivid and real, even when Chris placed me in situations I've yet to face, and entirely plausible.

I'm happy to meet Chris and talk about his work and how he goes about it.

She is also the author of the biography of FERBER: EDNA FERBER AND HER CIRCLE published in 1976. That book was nominated for National Book Critics Circle Award and her OPPOSITE ATTRACTION: THE LIVES OF ERICH MARIA REMARQUE AND PAULETTE GODDARD was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times praised GIANT LOVE as a tender and patient homage to a titan of American letters who has fallen most grievously out of fashion.

That's so, but there's more. I found it a delight. Dishy, deeply affectionate, yet instructive, as Julie tells us tales of the film stars and how the picture came to be made. But more so how Ferber came to write a sprawling novel that entertained while it revealed the schisms in Texas society.

Julie quotes Ferber's assessment of Texas as she did her initial research in and out of Texas towns, talking to scores of Texas people, amazed by their viewpoint, their braggadocio, their seeming unawareness of the world outside their own vast commonwealth, beguiled by their easy charm, grateful for their spontaneous hospitality, touched by their lavish giving of time, energy, thought to a tourist stranger. All that majesty of Texas was captured by Ferber in GIANT and by Stevens in his film version. Julie Gilbert tells us how in a beautifully crafted book that's part biography, part memoir and a full pleasure.

Michael is well regarded as a journalist, publishing in the Guardian, the Spectator, New Statesman, among others. His essay Go the Way Your Blood Beats won the 2019 Stonewall Nonfiction Prize. He also won the 2020 Hubert Butler Essay Prize and was shortlisted for the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts.

His short fiction has been similarly acknowledged. As it is for many first-time novelists, Michael's journey to writing and publishing THE BOYHOOD OF CAIN was anything but linear. He joins us from London to discuss that journey, THE BOYHOOD OF CAIN, and whatever else crosses his mind.

In addition to his writing, John is a co-director of the film Moundsville, a documentary about a West Virginia city of the same name. Baseball is a great passion. In addition to his Weaver bio, John served as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles and coached two teams in Brussels, Belgium in the Little League World Series tournament. You can find online many stories about the greatest game written by John for various publications. Invariably, they are a delight.

It was snapped up by Hollywood and is under development, with Elisabeth Moss attached as star and producer. I'll have to ask Virginia about its progress to screen. I'll also have to ask her about how she wrote a novel so keenly praised for its precision in depicting the foibles of New York's upwardly mobile despite her having never lived in New York. She was raised in Madrid and Paris and studied in London. She writes in English.

I admit to a particular fascination with her latest, VICTORIAN PSYCHO. On the surface, it's a gruesome tale of a psychopathic governess, Winifred Notty, immune to fear, dismissive of pain, who carries within her a darkness. Capital D, Darkness. Much explicit violence ensues. If this is not your cup of tea, let me say that VICTORIAN PSYCHO contains some of the most perfectly constructed sentences I've ever read, each word carefully chosen to elicit a squeamish reaction. Yet they flow together with ease, the writing as much as the psychological terror oozed its way under my skin.

I can't remember the last time I came across a novel that compelled me to tap my wife on the shoulder and read a few sentences aloud and then do the same thing a few minutes later. And then again.

VICTORIAN PSYCHO has been optioned as well, and I'm told Margaret Qualley will play Miss Notty.

What do we know about Christine Murphy? She has a PhD in religious studies, spent a year as a resident in a Buddhist nunnery and lived, worked and traveled in more than 100 countries. That's not much to go on and I'm quite eager to learn more about her and how NOTES ON SURVIVING THE FIRE came to be.

That satirical comedy, THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, has been produced more than 300 times. Her revision of PETER PAN is currently on tour throughout the U.S. a member of the Sicangu Nation from South Dakota, she began her public career as a dancer and choreographer. After an injury, she began writing with an interest in Native American drama, both film and theater.

She co-founded Indigenous Direction, a consulting firm that helps people and organizations who want to create accurate work by, for, and with Indigenous peoples. She is currently the vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of Playwrights Horizon, a not-for-profit off-Broadway theater in New York City.

There's much to discuss with Larissa, including the plays she's developing for the Public, Second Stage and Yale Rep, among other theaters, and FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT, a slapstick comedy with a pointed social and political theme.

Her latest is LITTLE MYSTERIES, a short story collection cheerfully subtitled Nine Miniature Puzzles to Confuse Enthrall and Delight. Sara also wrote for the terrific TV series Southland. If quality alone were the determining factor, it would still be on air. She also wrote the Audible original audio drama MARIGOLD.

There's much to talk about with Sarah, who I've admired from afar, but I wanted to at least begin with an article that ran recently in the New York Times in which Sarah recommended eight great noir thrillers. You can find the article via the Times website. It's a wonderful list with a few surprises, the kind that sent me running to the nearest bookstore. So now I'm not only grateful for her books, but also for her recommendations.

For her efforts Catriona is the winner of the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty and Macavity Awards, high honors in the mystery and crime field. Born in South Queensferry, Scotland, Catriona earned her MA and PhD at the University of Edinburgh. She committed to writing full-time in 2000. Five years later, she relocated to Northern California. As I was reminded at the recent Left Coast Crime conference in Denver, I find Catriona to be a wonderful writer and a delightful presence. Though we worked together on the Costello anthology and run into each other at various industry events, I’ve never had a chance to talk with her about the writing life.

His third novel, 2020's GHOST LOVE, received rave reviews. Publishers Weekly called it a grave yet hilarious meditation on insanity, depression, companionship, and leaving everything behind. Which tells us how Dennis finds horror within his characters. Without giving too much away, I'll say that his new one put a knot in the pit of my stomach within the first few pages, not because of the monster, but because of the crisis faced by the main characters. Let me tell you a bit about OUR WINTER MONSTER to expedite my conversation with Dennis.

Holly and Brian are unhappy in their relationship. They've decided to take a brief vacation to a ski village to rekindle, if possible, their passion. What appears to be a blizzard threatens their trip even before they reach their destination. And here comes a monster on a Godzilla-like rampage through the village. Sheriff Kendra Book has to save Holly, Brian, and the village, which is encumbered by problems of its own. It's all there, right in the wrong hands.

The setup might have been cliched, but Dennis is a storyteller of the first degree, regardless of genre. Even if you're not a horror fan, and I confess, I'm not, OUR WINTER MONSTER will reward you for exploring his tale. Dennis is also the founder of the Equinox Society, a multimedia project I'm eager to learn more about.

John's been involved in well written and well-crafted TV for quite a while. He broke into the business in the 1980s as a writer for the detective series REMINGTON STEELE, then wrote for and was an executive producer for NASH BRIDGES. Other writing and producing credits include contributions to THE GHOST WHISPERER, PICKET FENCES, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, and V.

John was on the staff of HELL ON WHEELS, the AMC series pegged to the building of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s and was named its showrunner for the final three seasons. As for DARK WINDS, John became showrunner in its second season. He continues to write for the series, co contributing two scripts in season two and two more this season.

I've watched the new season and found it fascinating. I'm eager to talk to John about his career in general, but also about DARK WINDS.

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10 is Lisa's 23rd book. She's moved back and forth between series and standalones. Her most recent series was HOUSE OF CROWS, a four-part serial released in 2021. Prior to the new one, her most recent novel was THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B, now available in paperback, in which an apartment in a sinister New York building is the setting for a psychological thriller that recalls Rosemary's Baby and The Shining, set 1700 miles to the east.

It was the first in a series in which three subsequent novels appeared three separate decades apart. His VANISHING ACT, featuring his recurring character Jane Whitefield, was named by Parade magazine as one of the 101 Best Mysteries of All Time. Tom was a PhD in literature, wrote and or produced for such TV shows as Star Trek, The Next Generation and Simon and Simon.

He's enjoying well deserved attention these days, thanks to the FX series The Old Man, based on his 2017 novel of the same name. We of a certain vintage applaud Tom for creating a hearty protagonist who is AARP eligible but hardly in need of assistance.

Since then, he's published eight more novels, including additions to the Butcher's Boy and Jane Whitefield series. Last year's HERO introduced readers to Justin Poole, a private security agent for Hollywood celebrities and the 1%. Booklist, Kirkus and Deadly Pleasures magazine called HERO the best thriller of the year. How lucky we would all be if we maintain such high standards across more than four decades and through 31 novels.

Chris is a veteran reporter, having written for national and local magazines including USA Today, The Record, and the Seattle Times. Before joining the New York Times staff, he freelanced for the paper for a decade, covering the Midwest. When you click on the links on his website or in the Times archive, you'll find that Chris has delved into the human side of some of the biggest stories of our lifetime, including the September 11 attacks and the impact of COVID. When he covers breaking news, he occasionally will reveal a sly sense of humor. In a recent piece about a man who filmed himself while breaking into the mayor's residence in New York, Chris disclosed that Mayor Adams believes the house is haunted.

But some stories are absent humor, like his recent piece on the four-month-old who died from a cocaine overdose. As for the tale of the airline crash survivor, you can find his feature in the Times archives or via Google. The headline hints at what's to follow. The plane crash should have killed her. Sometimes she wishes it had, adding, survival has been its own ordeal.

Chris tells us that, traveling by herself, Astrid Lopez was on her way from Bogota, Colombia, to Disney World via New York, the trip a reward for her good grades. Hours after takeoff, Flight 52 crashed into a tree on Long Island. 73 passengers were killed. Chris included this bit of memorable color in his piece: Rescue workers found a toddler dangling from a tree, cold but uninjured. Astrid, now 52, has endured 70 surgeries.

Let me now pause to greet Chris, a writer whose work, to my eyes, has both the propulsion and flow of great storytelling, regardless of medium.

You can find a collection of his early essays, in MUNICIPAL BONDAGE, published in 1994. Often writing about the absurd, including absurdities he's cooked up, he's been called an investigative humorist, which just about says it. I say just about because I DREAM OF JONI emerges as a serious work of biography about Mitchell, who (Dylan fans, cover your ears) is the greatest artist to emerge from the 1960s folk scene.

Henry's 53 snapshots are sections, some a full chapter, others a few lines that, taken together, present Mitchell in a manner that I've not come across previously. I DREAM OF JONI is Henry's sixth book. He's written about dance, manners, the hard-won wisdom of the elderly, and how, at age 34, he tried to become a professional actor.

Delving into his back catalog is a trip worth taking. I've been an Alford fan for a while. I always perked up when I heard him on Fresh Air or Studio360. And it goes without saying that I'm a Joni Mitchell fan. So seeing her through his eyes was an absolute treat and a revelation.

It's quality as well as quantity with Ken. He's won Tony awards for his Lend Me a Tenor and Crazy for You, countless other awards unique to theater communities, and one for his bestselling book, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.

I want to talk with Ken about his approach to writing, but I'm still in the glow of Dear Jack, Dear Louise, which confirms his genius for distinctive storytelling. Jack and Louise are Ken's parents, and the play is their story, how they met by exchanging letters during World War II. Those letters reveal not only the characters, personalities and ambitions, but also a time in our country's history. What began as a long-distance meet-cute story becomes something else as the play unfolds. I'm eager to hear how Ken conceived it and wrote it.

Three seemingly miserable decades. A writer, researcher and academic, Dr. Crowther's previous books include THREE MARTINI AFTERNOONS AT THE RITZ, a dual biography exploring the social rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, THE HAUNTED READER AND SYLVIA PLATH and SYLVIA PLATH IN DEVON: A YEAR'S TURNING co-written with Elizabeth Sigmund.

On the surface, Dorothy Parker seems an entirely different type of subject from Plath and Sexton, authors of highly personal and revealing poetry that's anything but glib. But in DOROTHY PARKER IN HOLLYWOOD, we see a talented, troubled artist whose gift for satire may have developed as a shield to ward off further unhappiness.

There is much to recommend in DOROTHY PARKER IN HOLLYWOOD, not the least of which is witnessing Parker in what to readers is an unfamiliar, often glamorous, yet unsatisfying setting. I enjoyed Crowther’s Parker portrayal, and I'm happy to discuss the book and other matters with her.

Since the publication of his first novel, THE TENTH JUSTICE, in 1997, Brad's work has been a ubiquitous presence in libraries, bookstores and on bestseller lists. In addition to his notable novels and nonfiction work, he is an award-winning, much-admired comic book writer, TV writer and host, and public speaker.

A tireless researcher who earned his J.D. degree at Columbia Law School, Brad enjoyed the insights and assistance of former presidents Clinton and W. Bush and has worked with members of the US Intelligence community. And let's not overlook his utterly charming and informative Ordinary People Change the World Series for Young Readers with illustrator Chris Eliopoulos.

A decade after the initial I AM ABRAHAM LINCOLN, I AM AMELIA EARHART, I AM ROSA PARKS and I AM ALBERT EINSTEIN were published, 2024 saw the arrival of I AM RUTH BADER GINSBURG and I AM STEPHEN HAWKING. This year will bring I AM SALLY RIDE and WE ARE THE BEATLES.

Because he is such a part of the cultural landscape, it can appear that Brad Meltzer arrived fully formed with success and inevitability. But as every writer can attest, it is never the case. And it was not with Brad. As his bio indicates, he has long put in the work necessary to have a forum to say what he wants to say.

In its four previous seasons, the series was known as Miss Scarlet and the Duke. Miss Scarlet fans know that the Duke is gone. Scotland Yard detective inspector William Wellington has left London for a position with the New York City Police Department, placing him far from the private investigator, Eliza Scarlet. What will become of their contentious relationship that has blossomed into a romance? And how will Miss Scarlet, who is a more than competent PI, adjust to a new detective inspector who, unlike his blunt force predecessor, is cool and deliberate and declares absolute disinterest in working with private investigators?

Those are questions for Rachel New, who launched the series back in 2020. Prior to that, she wrote for many TV series in the UK, beginning with Monday Monday, a comedy set in the headquarters of a supermarket chain, and Trollied, also set in a supermarket. She has a long list of credentials now topped by Miss Scarlett, which works beautifully as a crime series and a glimpse into a vividly depicted Victorian society.

Accordingly, mythology can't fool him, and he knows the story lies in the facts. Elijah's bio is fascinating, and I encourage you to seek out what you can find out about him. Though his latest book is JELLY ROLL BLUES: CENSORED SONGS AND HIDDEN HISTORIES, a typically rich Wald foray into a world of music. We're going to spend our time together discussing his 2015 book DYLAN GOES ELECTRIC!: NEWPORT, SEEGER, DYLAN, AND THE NIGHT THAT SPLIT THE SIXTIES.

It's the basis for the new film, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, James Mangold's bio drama about Bob Dylan, his arrival in Greenwich Village, his growth as an artist, and his controversial set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Even if—or especially if—you've seen the film (and I think everyone I know has), you will learn from Elijah that there is much more to the story than can be conveyed in a 141-minute film.

To say Elijah explains it all might be overstating it, but not by much.

But NICKED is not a Christmas story. It is an amazement aptly described as a swashbuckling saga, a meditation on miraculous, and medieval noir. And it features a wonderful character, Brother Nicephorus, a gentle dreamer who, in his innocence, may be the wisest participant in this adventure.

Matthew Tobin Anderson has had three of his novels shortlisted for the National Book Award in the Young Person's Literature category. His THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOL. I: THE POX PARTY, won that award. This year, his ELF DOG & OWL HEAD received a Newbery Honor.

TIME magazine called his 2002 novel FEED one of the 100 Best YA Books of All Time. FEED portrays a dystopian society in which the citizenry is controlled by implants that permit, among other things, an endless barrage of messages from corporations. Through his novels and his picture books, he's also introduced young readers to classical musicians Frederick Handel, Eric Sati and Dmitri Shostakovich.

I count it among my favorite books of 2024. Jessica has a remarkable biography that I'll be asking her about. The Oneida, New York, native earned a BA in English Lit and an MFA in Fiction, was a butcher in Alaska and an English teacher in Prague and remote villages in Poland.

While working on THE MOST, she guarded a bridge that linked Slovakia and Hungary. THE MOST is Jessica's fourth book, following, among others, ENTER THE AARDVARK, a political satire that was the subject of a heated auction among six publishers. It was a finalist for the New England Book Award in fiction this year.

THE MOST was long listed for the National Book Award for Fiction. The National Book Foundation describes it thusly: Set over the course of eight hours. Jessica's Anthony's THE MOST paints an intimate portrait of a marriage in the late 1950s, and the secrets, expectations and lost loves that tells a story of one seemingly unremarkable couple and a larger cultural moment. That says much, but only hints at the wonders of THE MOST.

I'm delighted to talk to Jessica about her quietly amazing book.

Tirzah set out to be an author of books for young adults. She's in possession of an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also knows well the publishing industry, having worked as a bookseller and librarian. Her debut novel, PRIDE AND PREMEDITATION, is a retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in which 17-year-old Lizzie Bennett sets out to solve a murder. In SENSE AND SECOND-DEGREE MURDER, it's 18-year-old Eleanor Dashwood who's out to solve crimes. And in MANSLAUGHTER PARK, Fanny Price believes the killer of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, is right there on the estate.

Of course, this is a delightful way to introduce Jane Austen's setting characters and their social milieu to readers aged 14 to 17. But there's also a danger in tears reimagining of tales that are among the most beloved in the literary canon. Jim discusses this and more with the author.

It would be easier to list the musicians Bob didn't write about during his tenure. He bore witness to many of rock and pop music's most notable events, including Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison performances, Elton John's first tour of Russia, Bob Dylan's first shows in Israel, and a Paul Simon show in Zimbabwe. And of course, if a band played Los Angeles County, Bob was more than likely right there. He wrote about each and all with clarity, humility and an open mind and heart.

After leaving the Times in 2006, Bob turned his attention to books. His first, CORNFLAKES WITH JOHN LENNON, reveals how he came to know the era's most famous rock icons. Next came biographies of Johnny Cash and Paul Simon. Now we have a study of Randy Newman. I can't tell you how excited I was to read this book; it is the perfect blend of subject and author.

Make no mistake, Nelson's book is work of serious scholarship, but it is also a tale of intrigue and suspense as mighty forces struggle to bring or to prevent the export of the Pieta to America. With a deft, confident hand, Nelson introduces us to the major players, like Robert Moses, Pope John XXIII, various members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the US and at the Vatican, and American and Italian business leaders.

But there are countless unsung heroes of the saga. And by showing us their contributions, Nelson reveals what a complex operation it was. And then there is the matter of Michelangelo, who created the Pieta before he turned 25. We learn how he came to receive the assignment and what he thought of his masterpiece.

We know now, some six decades later, that the Pieta arrived and departed safely and intact. So how did Nelson create her tale of suspense?