Tag: thriller

2026 is Pending

2025 did not shape up to be the year I thought it would. It’s kind of hard not to focus on the downers: cancer diagnosis. Being released from the contract with my agent. So, because I need something to look forward to, this is my official announcement that I’ll be posting my new novel, Pending, to my blog here, one chapter a day, starting January 1.

I originally had this idea a couple decades ago: what if you picked up a bestselling novel and realized it was actually written about you? Then, because I’m me, and because I’ve had twenty-odd years to think about it, it morphed a bit.

Nell’s just getting her feet back under her after the terror of five years ago. She’s been in hiding since the serial killer the police dubbed “The Fairy Godfather” came into her life and started taking people out of it. She’s adopted a new identity and moved far away from home, working as a barista and flying under the radar. That is, until her boss hands her an advance copy of a highly-anticipated novel and she starts recognizing the plot.

Since You Went Away is advertised as a romantic literary experience, but Nell realizes what it really is: a serial killer’s confession not only to murder, but to his obsession. The hype around the book means everyone’s talking about it and unwittingly trying to find her, the killer’s own choice of final girl. She needs to uncover the real name behind the author’s pseudonym and learn the identity of the man who murdered her friends before he can come for her, too.

Honestly the most fun part for me is how the cover hasn’t changed since I first thought of the idea, even if so many other parts have. I sent my friend Amara the description and they designed the cover, icons, and headers for me. Don’t they look awesome? And yes, there will totally be a knitting pattern inspired by the cover. Stay tuned!

Pending will be posted here, one chapter a day, from January 1 through February 10, 2026. It’ll be free. Options will be coming to purchase the entire thing, definitely as an eBook and hopefully as a hard copy, because I know some of you will ask about that. For now, let it be known that I’ve decided to make 2026 something I can look forward to, in a way that’s entirely under my own control.

I hope you all have a happy holiday season and I look forward to seeing what the new year brings!

ARC review: Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

Oh hello! There’s still time to preorder your next great read before 2024 ends! How about Cross My Heart by Megan Collins, author of such books as The Family Plot and Thicker Than Water?

Let’s start with the official blurb:

She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

And here’s my official, post-it-everywhere review:

Rosie just got a new heart, but she wants more than anything to give it away. If only she could be certain that the man in her sights isn’t a murderer …

This is a deliciously twisty book that will surprise even the most avid thriller fan. Maybe you want to be suspicious of Rosie and her soft new heart, and maybe you should be … but it turns out it’s not for the reasons you think. She’s trying to walk this line and ignore the fact that she’s playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse (and maybe confusing which one of them happens to be the cat) while ignoring the danger signs every step of the way. No man can be worth as much effort as Rosie puts into trying to uncover the reality of Morgan Thorne.

This book surprised me with its similarities to one of my absolute favorites, but I can’t reveal which one or else that gives a lot away. Let’s just say Rosie’s contemplations of mortality and identity play into far more than wondering if her new heart can’t help but love her husband’s donor. The absolutely twists and turns (yes, plural) this book takes kept me riveted right up until the end. Megan Collins crafts complex characters who have their own reasons not to reveal everything all at once, and the way she tells their story just adds to the suspense. Cross My Heart is a must-read.

Cross My Heart is out January 14!