When I try to narrow the field to my favorite currently-writing authors, the list changes every couple of months. But one name that stands out year after year is Lisa Scottoline. Among other interests, like the newspaper column that she writes with her daughter, she has published dozens of crime/thrillers from contemporary to historical.  Her 2017 New York Times bestseller, One Perfect Lie (369 pages in paperback format), is set in Central Valley, a small town in Pennsylvania

To say that Lisa Jackson is a prolific writer is an understatement. She has 15 million books in print in nine languages. She has published 75 novels and is a “New York Times Bestselling Author.” So, I picked up a copy of “Left to Die” (2008, 496 pages in paperback format). This book, the first in Regan Pescoli/Selena Alvarez series, is set in Grizzly Falls, Montana, during a blizzard the likes of which can only be known in Montana. In blindingly cold wind and heavy falling sn

Amy Brenner is a second-year medical student whose ultimate goals in terms of specialization are not clear, except that she knows that she does not want to be a psychiatrist.Eight years ago, when she was 16, her best friend Jade Carpenter had been confined to a mental hospital, and Amy visited her.It was an experience that left a lasting scar on her memory. However, Pauline Walter, Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Psychiatry has assigned Amy to an overnight rotation

“Twisted” (2019, 337 pages in paperback format) is a bit of a departure from Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series, except… Everything about Twisted is “except,” beginning with the title pages. Pages? Yes, the first title page reads, “Twisted” by Steve Cavanagh.The second title page reads, “Twisted” by J.T. LeBeau. The story begins with Paul Cooper waiting outside a theater where a memorial service is being held for the late J.T. LeBeau, the reclusive author who has sold 75 mil

Judith Ann Jance uses her initials for her pseudonym because a publisher told her that readers might not accept a female author, writing about a male detective.That was about 50 years ago.Since then, she has published 29 best sellers about male cop, J.P. Beaumont, 20 about Ali Reynolds, 22 about Joanna Brady, and 5 in her Walker Family Mysteries series.That’s one heck of a record for an author of any gender, and I’m surprised that I hadn’t discovered her work earlier. I read

Fifteen million viewers held their breaths while Avery Mason, the 24-year-old anchor of American Events, the most popular newsmagazine on television, sat in the driver’s seat of a Honda minivan, perched on a hydraulic lift above a high-school swimming pool. When the restraint was released, the car rolled at the angle that a car veering off a highway and into a river or lake would fall.  Avery had completed a week of instruction from experts on how to escape a sinking automobi

Harlan Coben currently has 80 million books in print, circulating in at least 40 countries.His novels are perennial best sellers, topping the New York Times lists.He has won numerous awards for his fiction, some of his books have been the basis for television series in France, and he is the creator of the British crime/drama television show, “The Five.” Many Americans, both readers and non-readers, are familiar with his work through Netflix series.In 2018, Coben signed a mul

This is the fourth book in the Robin Lockwood series, but — like the other three — it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. Usually, I recommend reading series in order, but Margolin is different from many other “series” authors. You can pick up any one of his books and enjoy it without references to previous works. In “A Matter of Life and Death” (2021, 312 pages in hardback) Philip Margolin bridges the gap between the MMA (mixed-martial arts) scene and courtroom drama.