Frequently Asked Questions
A Few Common Questions
Are you really a real person?
Do you reach out to readers or authors by private message?
Almost never. If someone claiming to be me shows up in your inbox with a pile of links, it’s a scam. My verified social accounts are the only place I actually speak for myself.
Which book should I read next?
Whichever one sounds right to you. Most of my books stand alone, even when they share a town or a few familiar faces. If you want a starting point, Secrets From a Serial Killer drops you into Shadow Bay and lets you decide if you want to stick around.
Which is your favorite of your own books?
The one I’m working on. That answer never changes.
Can you appear at my book club?
I try to get out as much as I can to meet readers, sign books, and say hello to the people who somehow found my work in the first place. My events page is the best place to see where I’ll be next. I wish I could say yes to every invitation, but I am not able to do live appearances regularly. If I did, I would never get any writing done and my family would probably start leaving notes to remind me what I look like.
When I do virtual events, I announce them on social media. Those are easier to pull off, involve less travel, and usually require less coffee. They are also a good way to hang out, talk books, and answer questions without anyone having to stack chairs afterward.
What are some of you favorite books?
This is always a tricky question because the answer changes over time, and because books tend to matter differently depending on when you find them.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Misery by Stephen King
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
The Shining by Stephen King
Intensity by Dean Koontz
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
In the Woods by Tana French
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
The Sacrifice by Joyce Carol Oates
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Stranger by Harlan Coben
No Exit by Taylor Adams
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle
Friends Like These by Sarah Alderson
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Falling by T.J. Newman
Ealy Autumn by Robert B. Parker
If You Tell by Gregg Olsen
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
The Reversal by Michael Connelly
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy