The key to writing a great psychological thriller is to build slowly toward a big surprise, leaving clues along the way but without revealing what’s really going on. Gillian Flynn famously achieved this with Gone Girl, just as Alfred Hitchcock had done so many times on film decades before...
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OK, so this is a nutty story. I mean, really nutty. It’s as fantastic as the most over-the-top fantasy about mythical kingdoms, zombies, or vampires. Because the characters in this misbegotten novel appear at first to be human, or at least half of them do. Spoiler alert: eventually, none of...
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In university and corporate laboratories both in China and the US, as well as many other countries, computer scientists are struggling to advance artificial intelligence. Again and again, we learn about big improvements in the field. However, many informed observers seem to think that what is...
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Americans have long believed it was homegrown efforts that succeeded in deciphering the World War II Japanese military and diplomatic codes — and that belief is significant, because otherwise the Battle of Midway and other pivotal events in the Pacific War might have gone differently. But...
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Misdirection is one of the tools employed by mystery writers since time . . . well, not quite immemorial, but for a long time. Alfred Hitchcock spoke of MacGuffins, a term originated by a Scottish screenwriter. Others, more commonly, call them red herrings. Whatever term you use, they’re...
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.