Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "mystery"

I read a great deal, so I have many favorite series, but I’ve always been a Sherlock Holmes fan. Even when I was a kid. So, when I stumbled across Laurie R. King’s Mary Russel series I was thrilled. And I was hooked.
If you have never heard of this series it’s about a young woman who meets a retired Sherlock Holmes and they strike up a relationship. Mary Russell, our heroine, is young, but brilliant and she and Holmes work together to solve crimes.






As she gets older she begins to have romantic feelings for Holmes and when a case abroad requires they travel together their relationship takes a drastic change.
Mary is really the main protagonist and I love her mind. She is certainly Sherlock Holmes’ contemporary and a master sleuth all on her own.




The series starts with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and I highly recommend the series to anyone who loves a thoughtful mystery with deeply layered characters.






Tell me about your favorite mystery/thriller series!

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Though the week is nearly over I didn’t want to miss a chance to celebrate one of my favorite genres.



As you know, I write romance, but my books are cross-genre, many of which are considered mystery or thriller.



As far as one of my own books as a mystery, I think Shadow Keeper was one of my favorites. You just don’t know who is after them or why and I think there’s a good twist to the story.



And I love Jonas and Hannah’s story in Safe Harbor. That had both mystery and suspense.




As far as mysteries go I love so many. I can easily recommend Laurie R King’s Mary Russel and Sherlock Holmes series. I love these books so much and each one is very unique. It’s historical with a brilliant woman, easily Sherlock Holmes’ equal, and his wife. I wish I could get everyone to read at least the first book in the series - The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, I’m sure you’d be hooked!




Another series I love is JD Robb’s In Death series. Eve and Roarke never disappoint! It’s in the near-future and Eve is a homicide detective with her husband Roarke who is a billionaire with a dark past.




Some thriller writers I read and recommend highly are –
Lisa Gardner is an amazing writer. She has a new D.D. Warren book out When You See Me. It came out a couple of months ago I think.



Karen Rose has several series that I love. Her villains are multilayered and scary as hell. She just started a new series based in Sacramento and it promises to be a fantastic read!Say No More Say No More will be out in August and the first book in the series is Say You’re Sorry, which I’ve already read.





As far as authors I would like to read more of it has to be Jon Land with his Caitlin Strong series. She’s a Texas Ranger and totally the kind of heroine I love! I’ve read some of Jon’s books, but they’re so good. I’d really like to read all of them.



An author I’d really like to try is Steve Berry. So may people love his Cotton Malone thrillers and I’d like to check those out.

Your turn! What mysteries or thrillers do you love to read? Who have you not read, but you’d really like to?

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I’ve read mysteries since I was a child. Nancy Drew comes to mind immediately. And I read those books to my children and to my grandchildren. There’s something about trying to figure out who did it, and about looking for clues, that’s fun and inspires imagination.






As I got older I found a love of Sherlock Holmes, Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series, Laurie R King’s Mary Russell series and so many other wonderful mystery and thrillers. I write with Karen Rose who is an amazing thriller writer and love how evil her villains are.




I consider my books to be thrillers even though they are paranormal romance. To me, a “thriller” is a story that causes your heart to race and adrenaline to flow. You may know who the bad guy is, but you don’t know what he’s going to do next. I love stories like that.

This year I have a thriller coming out May 25th - Shadow Storm. With assassins that can travel using shadows you can see where the thriller aspect would come in, but more than that, I have some surprises in this novel that skirt the dark side of the genre and hope to keep readers on edge while the hero and heroine fight the mob, a family secret and deal with their Romeo/Juliette style relationship.


On the “Mystery” side I’ve written Murder at Sunrise Lake which challenges readers to put the clues together and guess who the villain is. I had such a great time with this. I just hope no one sees my search history because I had to find clever ways to kill people! Lol




I’d love to know what mystery or thriller novels or writers you love! Let’s see what we have in common!

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Murder at Sunrise Lake is the first standalone in years, and I wanted to write a murder mystery for so long I was so happy when everything came together.













The book is a thriller, a mystery and in my opinion it’s downright eerie. Add in a slow-burn romance and this book is exactly everything I wanted! Lol






I’ve always known the Eastern Sierra is a place of nature, peace and revitalization. I have a daughter who is very active and loves to hike, boulder and camp. She would go out on these adventures and then talk about the serenity of where she’d been. I felt it was wonderful that people could go somewhere like that to feel reinvigorated and grounded in nature. But then my mind started to wander, as it often does, to the “what if” and the dark question – What if a serial killer wanted to feel reinvigorated? What if he found his way to the beautiful place? What if he ensconced himself into the community? What if he made friends and became trusted there? What if he just couldn’t stop killing?

Yeah…I went there.

It’s this juxtaposition of serenity and terror that intrigued me.



If you can imagine going somewhere away from the modern world. A place where you can have adventure and find peace, so you make friends there and start a new life. You can see these beautiful vistas, all different kinds of terrains, beauty that takes your breath away and it calms your soul. Then, imagine evil weaving itself into that tapestry. You wake up and just know something or someone evil has come into that sacred place. Worse yet, it’s someone close to you…you just don’t know who.

I imagined that. And now it’s a novel. Lol I hope you enjoy Murder on Sunrise Lake! It will be released June 29, 2021!

What do you do to find peace in your life?

I'm so excited that my first mystery novel is out today! Murder at Sunrise Lake is a romantic suspense and mystery novel standalone.
I wanted to share some of the articles, interviews and videos I've done recently or that have featured Murder at Sunrise Lake!









As usual, I'm doing a contest this week so if you like winning things check out the two ways you can enter this giveaway!
Contest Info HERE It's over at midnight on Thursday.


I did a release party celebration with Murder by the Book and Ashland Library!
I want to give a quick shout out to librarian Meena Jain who interviewed me and was so enthusiastic that I she had me chatting away and saying...well...you'll see the video. LOL
And a shout out to our marvelous moderator McKenna Jordan, the owner of the amazing Murder by the Book bookstore in Houston!
Murder by the Book Video Interview



The Inside Flap Podcast was fun and host Laura Medicus had me spilling my guts about wearing a Power Rangers onesie and other crazy things I probable shouldn't have said! LOL




Book + Main did an article interview with me and have an exclusive excerpt for those of you who still haven't decided whether to try my mystery novel or not. I hope you check it out!



Words & Whimsy Book Club on Facebook did a video interview! This was super fun. You do have to be able to access Facebook and join their online book club, but it's free and it's fun there!



Reader’s Entertainment Magazine featured the book trailer and will feature something about Murder at Sunrise Lake all week! https://readersentertainment.com/2021...



Behind the Mic with Recorded Books- Check out this fun video of narrator Alyssa Bresnahan reading from Murder at Sunrise Lake HERE





COMING SOON





FANE presents Christine Feehan and JR Ward in conversation to celebrate their new releases! You need to book tickets for this. You can find that information here- https://tickets.artist-tix.com/ticket...
There is a cost since it’s being put on by a third party, but it’s going to be so fun! You can purchase the ticket to watch the interview but you can also purchase the video ticket plus a book.



Framingham Library event – Romance Writing & Animal Magnetism I'll talk about writing animals or people with animal traits. So if you like animals this will be a fun one!

Do you enjoy the interviews? What do you like most about them?

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One of my favorite things to do as an author is to create these fictional small communities, which is something I did when writing Murder at Sunrise Lake. I’ve always lived in a small community. I love the feel of it. I love that people know one another. They help one another. You walk into a business, and they know your name and what you want immediately. Something bad happens and people show up for you because you’re part of them…part of that community. It’s like a family beyond your family. That’s something I’ve always loved about small towns.


I love developing that sense of community where you feel you know each other and have a certain level of trust in those around you. Those tight friendships are bonds I’ve felt myself and love to have in my books.
So when Stella wakes up realizing there’s a murder in her midst it shakes the foundation of what she believes about her life, her community and even her friends. That little bubble you’ve created and placed your life in, that community, those friends, it all feels under attack. You want to keep everyone safe, but then you know someone close to you, perhaps one of those very friends that you trust, is likely the killer.


Yes, I love creating those tight-knit bonds of community and friendship and then messing with it. Lol

Tell me about a place you love!

I want Murder at Sunrise Lake to be a book people remember and think about long after the last page has been turned. I’ve always wanted to write a murder mystery and I love writing strong characters. I’ve always written romance and this book does have that though many of my readers may feel this is more of a “slow burn”.




I’m proud to write romance. I read many genres but prefer that the stories have some kind of romance in them. Romance is a natural part of life. People have friendships, they go places, they do things, they make love. There is nothing wrong or embarrassing in that. Murder at Sunrise Lake is a murder mystery, thriller but it does have a love story in it.




This love story is extremely romantic. This standalone book has a quite romance. It’s not graphic. It’s more sweet and steady.





Sam has been around for quite a while. He’s been Stella’s friend. Right hand. Her rock. He’s in it for the long haul starting with paying attention to what her needs are. He’s there, but in an unobtrusive way. There are little touches. Small things he does to invite her to trust him. And believe me, trust is sexy. If you don’t believe it Sam may just change your mind. He’s patient. Observant. Sweet. Kind. Courageous. Sometimes women want the good guy. Being a good guy doesn’t mean you’re not an alpha. Sam is exactly what Stella needs. Now he just needs to make her want him, too.



I have faith in Sam! Lol

Tell me about a slow burn romance that you loved!

Writing Murder on Sunset Lake was so fun for me for many reasons. I love creating communities. I love creating close bonds of friendship with a group of women. I love writing about strong women.


This group of women are based somewhat on real people.





My daughter is an adventurer who loves nature. She loves bouldering, hiking, camping. She’s summitted Mt. Whitney twice and hiked the John Muir trail alone which is well over 200 miles long! Her friends are a group of amazingly strong women who have jobs like running a large resort or working Search & Rescue. They are powerhouse women in what they do for a living and how they play. They make their friendships a priority and are always there for each other. Meeting these ladies was so fun for me and I really enjoyed each and every one of them.


At one time, when several were together and I was with them, we talked about what they love to do. They told me all about their adventures out in nature and then began talking about the perils of some of those activities. All I heard was… “peril” and my imagination started running wild. I asked them questions and soon we were all talking about how someone might murder a person and get away with it out there. Accidents that could be murders? Yes, I’m sure my daughter was quite proud when her friends told her, “I understand you better now that I’ve spoken to your mother.” ROFL!



I am very fortunate to know so many strong and adventurous women who are willing to talk murder with me. We just have to make sure we don’t do this in public. At the restaurant. Where people can hear us. That never ends well. LOL

I do hope you’ll enjoy the powerful women of Knightly in the Eastern Sierras. And I hope you enjoy Murder on Sunrise Lake.

Now tell me about a woman in your life that you admire and why you feel she’s so strong!

I’ve always loved reading mystery novels. The Sherlock Holmes series was a favorite of mine. Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and I loved Agatha Christie. Then I found romantic suspense and Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell mysteries series, Karen Rose’s amazing thrillers, Tess Gerritsen, Sandra Brown, the list is endless! So, to say that I’ve always wanted to write a romantic suspense mystery is an understatement.

I’ve written since I was very young. So, there are some initial mystery/thriller books that I’ve written that will never see the light of day. Let’s call those my practice run. Lol

Last year I decided to sit down and plan out a mystery novel. I normally am a linear writer and pantser. But, to write a mystery you do have to have some planning. I wanted people to really have to guess at who the killer was. It was every bit as fun as I had hoped and that is how Murder at Sunrise Lake came to be published.



I loved the women and the feeling of sisterhood in Murder at Sunrise Lake and though the next book, Red on the River, utilizes those characters it is a standalone book. It is also a romantic suspense mystery. Set in Las Vegas with a poker tournament and a killer following Vienna and her friends as they hike and boulder, this still has a touch of paranormal to it. And it has a hot hero with a secret government job and skills that can save, or end, someone.



The romance between Vienna and Zale is one of my favorite things about Red on the River . It’s an emotional relationship full of passion and hope. This is definitely an action book and I’ll be really interested in how long it will take readers to figure out who the killer is.

Murder at Sunrise Lake will be released in paperback May 24th and Red on the River releases in hardcover June 28th.

Who is your favorite mystery or romantic suspense author? Or what is your favorite mystery novel?

I’ve been asked before why I started writing romantic suspense. I think I’ve always written romantic suspense. It just also happened to have a lot of paranormal elements. Suspense is, at least in my opinion, as much of a hallmark of my stories as romance and a happy-ever-after. What I do feel is different when it comes to Murder at Sunrise Lake and Red on the River is the mystery – the whodunit. And the fact that I don’t have graphic sex in this new series.



When I look back at the Drake Sisters series and the Sea Haven series, I feel that this new series is quite similar to these. It’s a tight-knit group of strong women who empower each other and are like family to one another. There’s not as much paranormal in the new series. I’d call it paranormal-light.



Like the Drakes or Sea Haven series there’s a touch of humor, a bit of the paranormal, sisterhood, romance, suspense and a happy-ever-after. Oh! And that small town feeling. With the Drakes and Sea Haven series there is the town of Sea Haven. With this new series the town is Knightly, but it’s still a small town with interesting characters we meet along the way.

I hope to write more stories about the amazingly strong women of Knightly and hope readers will enjoy their stories.