152 Holiday cover

Hi Everyone,

Very few writers become true household names but James Patterson has certainly met that bar and then some. As prodigious as his writing output is, his philanthropical activities are just as impressive. Over the past few years, Patterson has given millions of dollars to libraries, classrooms, and independent bookstores across the country. We were delighted that he could take time from his busy schedule to chat with Oline Cogdill in this issue.

One hundred years ago, Mary Roberts Rinehart was almost as famous as Patterson. For some years she was the highest-earning author in the country. Rinehart was also a character, and as our writer Michael Mallory notes: “She made fortunes, lost fortunes, made new fortunes, and lived large with a sense of adventure.”

Brian and I traveled to Toronto for this year’s Bouchercon, and it was wonderful to see friends, new and old, including a number of subscribers. Brian and I ran into Peggy Perdue, curator of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Reference Library. Peggy gave Brian a tour of this fascinating collection, which you can read about in this issue.

John Valeri has two interesting interviews in this issue, one with the Maine cozy author Barbara Ross, and the other with Long Island writer Chris Knopf, who has also recently taken on a role at the well-respected Permanent Press.

Oline Cogdill talks to Joe Ide, whose first Isaiah Quintabe novel, IQ, hit several best-of- the-year lists last year and just won both Bouchercon’s Anthony Award and the Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award for best first novel. His new novel, Righteous, is out and I can attest it’s just as much fun as its predecessor. Don’t miss this “hip-hop Sherlock,” he’s a hoot!

Kevin Burton Smith has been searching high and low for exactly the right holiday gifts for the mystery lovers in your life. This year’s bumper crop is sure to help you cope with the season’s shopping—or fill your own stocking with loot.

Brèni James is an almost-forgotten midcentury police procedural writer. Jon L. Breen thinks that’s a shame and makes a solid argument for reappraising her work in this issue. It persuaded me to buy both of her books, which are now at the top of my “to be read” stack.

Enjoy!

Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief

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