Ep. 94: Mysteries & Thrillers 101 with Kimberly McCreight (Author of Friends Like These) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah Dickinson

Bookrecommendations, Bookpodcasts, Sarahsbookshelvespodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslivepodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslive, Bookpodcast, Literarypodcast, Whatshouldiread, Arts, Bookreviewpodcast, Reading, Readingpodcast, Books, Sarahsbookshelves

4.9 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 94, Kimberly McCreight (author of Friends Like These) joins me to deep dive into the mysteries & thrillers genre (including the difference between a mystery and a thriller, how involved authors are in deciding their books’ titles, and what makes a great twist…and to talk about the inspiration behind her new novel.

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

A bit about Friends Like These including Kimberly’s inspiration for this story.
The difference between a mystery and a thriller.
How involved Kimberly and other authors are in determining which sub-genre their books will live in.
How involved Kimberly and other authors are in determining their books’ titles.
How Kimberly comes up with her titles and what makes a good title.
If manuscripts are ever submitted without a working tile.
How involved Kimberly and other authors are in determining their books’ jacket copy.
What makes a good twist / ending.
How Kimberly threads in her red herrings to lay the groundwork for a good twist.
How Kimberly keeps her twists fresh amid the sea of thrillers out there.
Whether Kimberly reads a lot within the thriller genre.
Where Kimberly gets her inspiration from (or, more accurately, doesn’t get her inspiration from).

Kimberly’s Book Recommendations [38:52]

Two OLD Books She Loves

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [39:24]
Three Womenby Lisa Taddeo | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [41:25]

Two NEW Books She Loves

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [42:48]
Fierce Little Thing by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [44:49]

One Book She DIDN’T LOVE

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [46:37]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (September 7, 2021) | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [42:13]

Last 5 Star Book(s) Kimberly Read [49:03]

The Pushby Ashley Audrain | Buy from Amazon [48:49]

Other Books Mentioned

Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight [2:50]
Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews [12:32]
Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight [17:50]
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight [27:59]
Animal by Lisa Taddeo [41:55]
Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore [45:41]

About Kimberly

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Kimberly McCreight is the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia, which was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Alex Awards and was called Entertainment Weekly’s Favorite Book of the Year. Reconstructing Amelia has been optioned for film by HBO and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films. Ms. McCreight’s second adult novel, Where They Found Her, was a USA Today bestseller and a Kirkus Best Mystery of the Year.

She is also the author of The New York Times bestselling young adult trilogy The Outliers (The Outliers, The Scattering and The Collide), optioned for film by Lionsgate and Reese Witherspoon’s Pacific Standard. Her next novel, an adult mystery set in Park Slope, is forthcoming in 2020.

Ms. McCreight attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two daughters.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of the blog Sarah's Bookshelves. Each week I'm
0:15.5	talking with one bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they don't love, and one new
0:22.7	release they're excited about. We're going to get real, and sometimes a bit snarky, about all
0:27.9	things books. If you like the show, I'd really love your support. Spread the word to your
0:32.9	reader friends, subscribe to the show, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts. Let's get rolling.
0:39.8	Hey everyone. Today we are trying out a new type of episode, which is the genre 101 deep dive.
0:46.8	I heard in survey feedback that y'all were interested in this type of episode, and I thought it was a great idea.
0:52.8	We're going to start out with mysteries and thrillers
0:55.0	because I feel like that is a genre that everyone has a million questions about and people
0:59.7	talk about a lot in our Facebook discussion group on Instagram, et cetera. And for those of you
1:05.8	that have been listening for a while, you may remember Kimberly back from episode 61 back in May of 2020.
1:13.1	She came on to talk about her previous book, A Good Marriage, which I also loved.
1:17.7	Her thrillers are smart and twisty without jumping the shark, and she's one of my auto by
1:23.7	thriller authors. Her debut novel, New York Times bestseller Reconstructing Amelia, was nominated for the Edgar Award.
1:31.6	It was also called Entertainment Weekly's favorite book of the year.
1:34.8	She is also the author of Where They Found Her and the Young Adult Trilogy, The Outliers.
1:40.3	She attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School,
1:46.1	another lawyer who writes fiction, y'all.
1:48.1	You know I love lawyers who write fiction, and they come on the podcast quite often.
1:52.3	And she lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two daughters.
1:55.9	And friends like these came out on September 7th just last week, so you can pick it up now. Welcome back, Kimberly.
2:02.7	Thank you so much for having me back. I'm really, you know, what a great time I had talking to
	...

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