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I dive into the world of psychological thrillers with twists. These books grab you from the first page. They pull you deep into the mind’s darkest corners. You never know what’s real. Or who to trust. The best stories keep you guessing until the very end. The thrill comes from the unexpected. A sudden reveal. A character’s hidden motive. A secret that changes everything. These twists make the story unforgettable. They haunt you long after you close the book. If you crave suspense and surprises, you’re in the right place. Let me guide you through some of the most gripping psychological thrillers with twists. Why Psychological Thrillers with Twists Captivate Us Psychological thrillers with twists tap into our deepest fears. They explore the fragile line between sanity and madness. The tension builds slowly. Then explodes with a shocking turn. These books don’t rely on gore or violence. Instead, they focus on the mind. The characters’ thoughts, fears, and secrets. The twists force us to rethink everything we believed. Here’s why they work so well: Unpredictability: You never see the twist coming. Emotional intensity: The stakes feel personal. Complex characters: Flawed, layered, and real. Atmosphere: Dark, tense, and claustrophobic. They keep you hooked. You read late into the night. You can’t stop until you know the truth. Exploring Psychological Thrillers with Twists Let’s look at what makes these books stand out. The twist is not just a gimmick. It’s woven into the story’s fabric. It changes how you see the characters and plot. Some twists reveal a character’s true identity. Others expose a hidden crime or betrayal. Sometimes the twist is a shift in perspective. You realize the narrator is unreliable. Or the events didn’t happen as you thought. Here are some common types of twists: The unreliable narrator - The person telling the story hides the truth or lies. The hidden villain - Someone close to the protagonist is the real threat. The past secret - A buried event resurfaces and changes everything. The mistaken identity - Characters are not who they seem. The psychological break - A character’s mind fractures, altering reality. Each twist adds layers to the story. It forces you to question what you know. And it makes the ending unforgettable. What is the best psychological thriller book ever? This question sparks endless debate. But one title often rises to the top: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It’s a masterclass in twists and turns. The story of a missing wife and a suspicious husband keeps readers guessing. Flynn’s writing is sharp and precise. She crafts characters who are both fascinating and flawed. The twist flips the story on its head halfway through. Suddenly, everything changes. Other contenders include: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson Each of these books delivers a unique twist that shocks and thrills. They set the standard for psychological thrillers with twists. How to Choose Your Next Psychological Thriller Picking the right book can be overwhelming. There are so many options. Here’s how I choose: Look for strong character development. The best thrillers have complex, believable characters. Check for a unique twist. Avoid predictable plots. Read reviews. See what other readers say about the suspense and surprises. Consider the setting. Some stories thrive in small towns, others in big cities. Sample the first chapter. Does it grab you immediately? If you want a recommendation, try psychological thriller books with a twist. This list features some of the most talked-about titles. Why I Keep Coming Back to Psychological Thrillers I love the rush of a good psychological thriller. The way it messes with my mind. The way it makes me question everything. The twists keep me on edge. They make reading an adventure. These books reveal the dark side of human nature. They show how fragile our minds can be. And how secrets can destroy lives. If you want stories that grip you tight and never let go, dive into psychological thrillers with twists. You won’t regret it. They are more than just books. They are experiences. They challenge you. They haunt you. They stay with you. Happy reading.

Book reviews. Ugh. Some authors will tell you not to read them. Most, if not all, will warn you not to obsess over them. But book reviews can be valuable, to a reader and to an author, even the not-so-good ones, because in fiction, and even more so in a thriller, there's no accounting for taste. Do we all like the same outfits? The same romantic partners? The same artwork? The same political leaders? Um. No. Why would we all like the same books? It got me thinking. Why do bad reviews sting so much? And I realized, it's not bad reviews that sting, it’s the mean ones. I am fortunate to have gotten so many supportive, wonderful reviews. People reaching out to me telling me what my books meant to them. But I've also gotten some nasty ones. Ones that make me feel like giving up. Haters gonna hate, and it’s easy to find reviews who trash book after book. But a less than glowing review, not a mean one, can be valuable, if the reader explains a little about what they liked or didn’t like, so that the right reader can either skip it or try it. The very reason one reader didn’t like it might be the reason another reader does. Comp books or authors are really great to help the right readers find a book they will enjoy, such as “If you like Shari Lapena domestic suspense,” or “If you liked The Housemaid, you might like this book.” TV shows or movies work well, too. I recently gave a review of my friend’s book and described it as X-Files meets Amityville Horror. As a reader trying to pick a book, reviews about the pacing or tone or setting—it’s a slow-burn, or a popcorn page-turner, or creepy and atmospheric—also help. I love when readers give details about a book I'm considering, like “not too graphic,” or “has drops of dark humor,” or “super dark and grisly," or even "too dark or too much romance or too slow for my taste," etc. Some people might not buy the book due to comments like those, and that’s exactly the point. A book can’t be all things to all people, it just needs to find its audience, and that only comes from the author and reviewers being honest about what the book delivers. Personally, the ones that are too hyped up and full of superlatives I tend to gloss over when I'm choosing my next read. So, review honestly, and with aloha. Authors are people, too. Well, at least most of them. For more on that, see my previous post on AI…

A few weeks ago, I attended an annual luncheon for former faculty and staff at a school where I used to teach. It’s a nice way to honor us, they claim, for the time we gave to the institution, and get us up to speed on what’s happening at the school these days. As I was making my way around the room, shooting the breeze, a current employee asked how my books were going and how many I’ve written. Usually, when I tell someone I’ve written 12 books in four years, people say things like “Oh wow, that’s great,” or “I’m so impressed.” Don’t be, I tell them, because lots of authors are churning out more than I am. A lot more. Imagine my surprise when this person said, “Wow. So, does AI write your books?” He was joking. Maybe?  But after what happened at Hachette with its cancellation of Mia Ballard’s horror novel due to AI allegations, I can assure you, that was no joke to me, and I certainly did not feel honored. I’m here to tell you it’s never funny to accuse someone of plagiarism or cheating or being dishonest, and if I had to do it over again, my response to this person would be different. Most of all, I was disappointed in myself. Instead of telling him how insulting his comment was, I started to trip over my words, justifying myself for being so prolific: I wrote four books before generative AI even existed. I’m a fast writer. My books are not that long. Speech-to-text has made people faster. Why did I do this? Was it because I still suffer from imposter syndrome? Was it because any time a school administrator accuses you of cheating, you feel twelve years old again? Was it because we all fear we’ll be unfairly accused at some point, that someone will run our work through an AI filter and ruin our lives with a false positive result and a false allegation? But here’s where it really sticks in the gullet. I didn’t use AI, but AI used me. A number of my books were in the database that was used to train AI, but I didn’t file for copyright protection so I wasn’t included in the Anthropic settlement. Whatever. I don’t care too much about the money. I make more off my books than I would’ve made off the settlement, so thanks to any of you who buy them.  I care about the principle, though, but I feel that maybe it’s too late for that. The settlement did not establish case law. Our works can be used to train AI whether we like it or not. Even Hachette admits to using generative AI for “operational” tasks. Maybe it’s inevitable that we will accept generative AI as a part of the creative process. If readers like the book, should it even matter? Amazon requires that authors disclose if they used AI, but as far as I know, it doesn't block you from publishing a book. What do you think about generative AI and the creative process?  For more info on the Hachette story: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/100037-while-ai-discourse-rages-publishing-has-more-questions-than-answers.html

On Writing by Stephen King is a must-read for any aspiring author. The first part reads like a memoir, and would be interesting to pretty much anyone. The second part is peppered with pearls of writing wisdom that have stayed with me. One of his suggestions is to ask yourself, who is your ideal reader? King’s ideal reader is his wife, and On Writing also reads like one of the greatest love stories of all time. I’ve been mulling it over and trying to think, who is my ideal reader? Who am I trying to please? Is it my husband, who is not that into domestic thrillers but lovingly reads my crappy first drafts anyway? My librarian friend who is very well read in all genres and always offers great suggestions on her beta reads? Is it one of those readers on Goodreads who has trashed a previous book, and I’m hoping this new book I'm writing will be the one that wins them over? Then it dawned on me. My ideal reader, is me. I aim to write the kind of books that I like to read. So what kind of books do I like to read? For my genre, I like to read books that move effortlessly through my fingers, as one editor put it “a book where you don’t notice the words.” I like books that are clever, but not misleading in their plot and structure. I enjoy books that keep me up at night, but ones don’t give me nightmares. I like books that move fast, but also have great insight into what a character is thinking, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. I don’t mind the occasional dose of romance in my mysteries and thrillers, and I love drops of humor, especially dark humor. I value books that teach me something about human nature, but ones where I don’t realize it is doing so while I’m reading it. Books that don’t pull me out of the story to make a point, but have one in hindsight. I read outside my genre. Women’s fiction, book club fiction, romcoms, romance, family fiction, historical fiction. I have to admit since I’ve left academia, I’ve needed a break from non-fiction, but perhaps it might be time to dip my toe back in that water. And the books I’ve enjoyed the most tend to straddle genres. But they all have something in common, which is that they take me out of my own head. They make me forget the world I’m in and enter a new one, and they make me think, but they don’t make me work too hard. So that’s what I’m hoping I write for you, the kind of book I love to read. My thrillers are not the darkest out there, but they do deal with difficult subjects. They have occasional drops of dark humor or romance. Some could cross into women’s fiction, some into general fiction. All of them, hopefully, are relatively painless to read. I’m not sure they all meet the bar on having some lasting significance or meaning, because that’s tough to pull off without sounding like you’re trying too hard, but I think a few of them do. Most of all, I hope they transport you, entertain you, and make you think a little… but not too much. If that sounds good, maybe you are my long-lost ideal reader. But if it doesn’t, don’t worry. There are a lot of books out there, so go  find your ideal read. And thanks to everyone who read The Rich Guy's Wife , now officially my best selling book ever. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Well, I'll start by confessing that one thing I don't miss is the actual work. Or traffic jams. Or pointless meetings that drone on forever and could have been handled with a succinct email. But when I decided to step down from my full-time job in education to focus on writing novels, I did not realize how much I'd miss certain aspects of working outside the home. What I'm finding surprises me, and I thought I knew myself pretty well. I still do some consulting for a school I worked for a while back, and I went over there this week for a meeting. I felt like a cultural anthropologist, observing the busy people, rushing around campus. Busy little bees, buzzing as they went about, foraging for food, trying to squeeze a phone call, a bathroom break, or a brief conversation into an already jam-packed day.  Not too long ago, I was one of them: tired, stressed, dreaming of the moment when the days would be mine and mine alone. So it shocked me that I felt a touch of envy. They looked so alive. So animated. So vibrant. So filled with...what was it?  Purpose.  Don't get me wrong. I'm not going back to working full time anytime soon. I appreciate what I have, and the fact that I have a supportive spouse who encourages me to follow my dreams. But here's what I miss: I miss my coworkers. I miss social interaction. I even miss the complaining, and the occasional disagreement. And I miss my guilty pleasure: a good piece of office gossip.  I also miss the validation work gave me. I was good at my job. Some might say I was top in my field. I was good at work like I was good at school, which is probably why I was a student into my early forties (it was a doctorate, but still, I was a little too old to get excited over an A paper, and I still got excited).  Being an author is tough on the ego, and although I have a ton of great reviews and loyal readers, and for that I’m grateful, the occasional scathing review really stings. Even if you get a reprimand at work, which I swear I don't remember ever getting in my entire career, most of the time, you're not told that you are the absolute worst person in the world at what you do, which is what a heartless review says to an author, even the rich and famous ones.  There's also not much validation working inside the home. It's not like I have a mean family. They are perfectly fine. But if I'm expecting my husband to say, "Hey the floors look great today, honey. And I noticed that you washed the sheets AND the comforter. Way to go!" Or if I'm expecting my daughter to give me an A+ in babysitting and tell me I'm the best newly minted grandma on the island, it's not going to happen.  Not that they did any of that before I stopped working, but back then, I didn't care. Someone was paying me, year after year. Even if nobody praised me for my work day in and day out, you could assume you weren't doing the worst job on the planet, since they kept you around and continued to put money in your bank account. So that's what I miss about the workplace, my friends. The community. The connection. The shared sense of collective misery. The validation. The free coffee. And now I think I'll go binge watch a season of The Office. What the hell? There's nothing I really have to do. See what I mean?

To say it’s not a great time to try and write fiction for a living would be a major understatement. I’ve heard a statistic batted around, from more than a few reliable sources, that 90 percent of all books published, traditionally or indie, only sell 1000 copies.   Well, by that standard, I’m doing pretty well, so first off, thanks to all of you who have bought one of my books, and to those who took the time to rate or comment on my work or recommend me to a friend, because it does make a difference. Hawaii Book and Music Festival, Sept. 2024, peddling my wares...   But how do we interpret this? I hear people blame Amazon or self-publishing in general and long for the glory days, when a handful of well-connected literary agents curated manuscripts and kept a tight lid on what got out to the reading public.   I have author friends who’ve broken out as indies, in no small part, due to Amazon and its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), which helped these authors reach audiences they never would have found twenty years ago. They love it. It works for people. Just ask Freida McFadden.   As for me, I’m grateful that the publishing industry has become more democratic. In a recent interview, I commented that it’s at once the best time and the worst time in history to publish a book. The best time, because literally, anyone can get a book out to the reading public, even an AI bot. Just ask the authors who’ve been scammed by AI-generated books pretending to be them. And the worst time, because it’s the hardest time ever to get your book noticed.   Where does this leave us as a culture or a society? Before AI, I was guardedly optimistic that it would all work itself out. Now, I’m not so sure. I’m still a bit under the radar, and although my popularity is steadily increasing, I’m not famous enough to clone. Maybe I should be happy about that.   Am I going to stop writing?   No. Because I can’t. When a story pops into my head, it needs to get out. It nags at me until the words appear on the page and the characters complete their adventures. Until the stories stop coming, I’ll keep writing.   Am I going to stop publishing?   I’m not sure. People seem to really like my books. If that stops, perhaps. But not yet. Plus, what else would I do when I wake up at three o’clock in the morning?   And know that with each book, I try harder to surprise, engage, and delight all of you. It’s my raison d’etre . So, thank you!

I've been virtually attending the International Thriller Writers (ITW) conference in New York City, from my living room: see photo of my view and the reason I don't leave much. Plus we have a wedding to pay for in September, so no travel for me this summer! Although there were no sessions specifically on AI at the conference, more than a few speakers touched on the topic. A few months prior, ITW along with a host of other organizations did a survey about AI and book publishing. The majority of authors and publishers reported never having used it, and the vast majority of readers stated they would want to know if a publisher or author used AI in their work. I'm wondering if that will change. One well known publicist suggested using Chat GPT to write book blurbs. Apparently, if you dump your book in and ask the right questions, it will spit out a pretty good first draft. But then it has your work in its repository, so I won't be doing that any time soon. Personally, I don't mind writing book blurbs. I've got a marketing background, and it's not that hard. I'd rather have Chat GPT clean my bathroom for me, so let me know when that becomes an option. And just today, Google counseled its employees to refrain from putting confidential information in AI programs because that information can and probably will be spit back out, and they also noted that some of the info can be wrong--and this is from the folks who are developing it. For more on that: https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-one-ais-biggest-backers-warns-own-staff-about-chatbots-2023-06-15/ I played around with it a few weeks ago just for kicks, on an upcoming novel I'm launching some time in the next few months, when I was having trouble landing on a title. I'm happy to say it gave me really terrible title ideas. Sorry... bot it's the truth. And today, I asked it to give me a sample of thriller books written about real estate agents, because I'm thinking about doing something with a realtor and don't want to reinvent the wheel or inadvertently mimic a plot that already exists. It gave me a bunch of entries, very quickly, that looked quite accurate. But when I looked up the first title which they said was a psychological thriller--and included a full and quite convincing description of the book--the information turned out to be totally wrong. I looked it up on Amazon and the book wasn't a thriller, although it had the same title and author as the Chat GPT entry; it was a heartwarming women's fiction novel and nothing to do with the Chat GPT description. However, I'm still using the free Chat GPT version, and I know the paid one is supposedly much better. So, I wonder, how do people feel about the use of AI in novels? Would you want to know if you were buying a book made from bot bits? Would it make you less likely to purchase it if you did know? Should legislation be passed that regulates the use of AI for authors and publishers, or requires some sort of declaration on the cover? The discussion continues...

In this episode of Think Tech Hawaii, we "talk story" about how to include the history of a region to enhance setting and character development in a mystery/thriller novel. Thanks to Carl Ackerman and Jay Fidell for this opportunity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLV5CpkftIk

As an educator, historian, and teacher of writing, ChatGPT has been on my radar for a while now. I have a colleague who writes Sci-Fi, and he has been on top of Open AI’s work through all of its developmental phases (his article is listed below). Consequently, I was not as surprised as other people when it unleashed itself on the world this past December. In fact, the issue of AI and its writing ability is even embedded, albeit in a minor way, in my upcoming Silicon Valley thriller. But immediately upon our return to school, we gathered to talk about its implications. Will students take the easy way out and have bots write their essays? Is it the end of take-home writing? But then, is using AI to help write an essay really much different from hiring a tutor or getting help from a parent or from plain old plagiarism, which we’ve been fighting for decades? My Facebook college counselor group was a buzz as well. Does this mean end of the college essay? Maybe, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. I’ve been saying for years that wealthy students or students with highly educated parents are at an advantage on all kinds of take-home writing, including the college essay. If we want to level the playing field, there’s nothing like an old-fashioned pen and paper in-class writing assignment. There’s a reason AP courses are still done this way. AI-detector programs seem to be poised to save the day, at least for the moment, and Open AI itself claims they are all for this. But what does it mean for writers? Will we be able to tell if a novel is written by a person or an AI bot? Will people care? Will we start to crave scrappy, hand-written manuscripts with all of their imperfections, the way that scratchy vinyl records have made a comeback? Will it take over everyone’s jobs, or will it become the written equivalent of the front-line automated voice responses we have to click through to talk to a human being on a help line—a good start but not a substitute for the real deal? It all remains to be seen! https://medium.com/@gammarino/is-chatgpt-good-for-the-world-7d0c087e7d86 https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2023/01/19/how-can-we-teach-writing-in-a-chatgpt-world/?utm_source=ForbesMainLinkedIn&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainLI&sh=7a104ae3703c https://www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1143330582/has-ai-reached-the-point-where-a-software-program-can-do-better-work-than-you https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/opinion/chatgpt-education-ai-technology.html

I've just finished the first draft of my latest manuscript, a psychological thriller set in exciting and faced-paced Silicon Valley, California. When a series of freaky mishaps can no longer be chalked up to bad luck, Laura Foster realizes that someone is out to get her. But who? And why? She has no enemies that she knows of, although her promotion at work has ruffled some feathers. Is it someone from work, jealous of her success, or perhaps someone closer to home? Stay tuned for more information about the launch, scheduled for Spring 2023. In the meantime, enjoy some photos of downtown Los Altos and Windy Hill Preserve, both of which are featured in various scenes in the novel.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks Westchester county is an awesome place to set a mystery. Although the house in the popular Netflix series is supposedly in Westfield, New Jersey, the home featured in the series is actually in Rye, New York. Many of the scenes were also shot in Westchester. On Netflix now! (Lyndhurst Mansion, pictured here) Check out the house here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQwCfn8xX6k Also, if you are into Tarrytown settings, check out the Oct. 4 FBI episode that features a scene on Main Street in Tarrytown, and inside Transom Books--and stop in for a signed copy of Killer Motives and pretty much anything else you want to read. https://www.instagram.com/p/CjTK864OQas/

The last few days have been a whirlwind. Highlights included touring the Rockefeller estate, a must-see if you're in the area. Not only do you get a crash course in 20th century American history, there's also the impressive modern art collection, porcelain from the Ming, Tang, and other Chinese dynasties, and in the former barn, a collection of buggies on one side and classic cars on the other. Enjoy photos of the grounds--no photos allowed inside. My events were so much fun! At Shaylula on Main St. in Tarrytown, see Colleen selling the very real necklace that fictional Victoria bought. But don't worry, there's lots left for the rest of you real people, so pop in and do some Christmas shopping. At Bella's Boutique, the signing went well, and then I had to buy an adorable Christmas gnome and some other ornaments, another must-see in Tarrytown. Signed copies of my books are available at Bella's Boutique on Broadway and Transom Books on Main. See you later, Tarrytown, my home away from home!