Stories I Admire

While they come from different genres, each of these books and movies contains an element of crime, and an ordinary person who, faced with a threat, steps up and deals with it.

Sometimes the adventure is fun, sometimes very dark. Every time I write a new story, my goal is to try to craft something that could someday appear in this company.

Milkman – Anna Burns
A socially disconnected young Irish woman attracts the unwelcome attention of a notorious NRA leader. Get the audiobook. The narrator’s voice and pronunciation add so much.
Literary Thriller

Date Night – Movie
When an average married couple takes the table of a no-show at a popular restaurant, they wind up running for their lives. In a really funny way.
Action Comedy

Mr. Right – Movie
A quirky young woman rebounds from a bad relationship by falling for an even more quirky hit man. In a really funny way.
Romantic Action Comedy

Northern Spy – Flynn Berry
In a town threatened by a resurgent IRA, a young single mother goes about her life, while trying to convince authorities she is not a spy.
Thriller

Galaxy Quest – Movie
The has-been cast of a TV space series meets a crew of actual aliens who need their help.
Action Comedy

Better Call Saul – TV Series
A correspondence law school graduate takes on the legal establishment, his domineering brother, and the Mexican cartels. In a really funny way.
Legal Drama

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King
A young scholar strikes up a friendship with a beekeeper on the English moors, and winds up investigating crimes beside Sherlock Holmes.
Historical/Mystery

Wanted – Australian TV Series
Two women from wildly different backgrounds witness a crime, and have to run from both the good guys, and the bad guys. In a really funny way.
Thriller

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – Alan Bradley
A precocious young scientist solves crimes in a smart, witty, and literate way, setting up a charming series.
Mystery

Fierce Kingdom – Gin Phillips
A mother caught in the worst possible nightmare must protect her child. There is nothing funny about this, but it is unputdownable.
Thriller

Started Early, Took My Dog – Kate Atkinson
A gruff, but human detective can’t help but help those in trouble. I chose this book to represent the whole Jackson Brodie series, because I love the title.
Mystery

The Martian – Andy Weir
A scientist stuck on Mars finds a way to survive.
Sci-Fi/Thriller