In Episode 104, hotly anticipated guest, Catherine Ryan Howard (author of The Nothing Man and 56 Days), joins me to discuss her journey to becoming an author, behind-the-scenes of making of her books, her process for writing successful crime thrillers, and how much real-life crimes and circumstances influence her stories. Be ready for some non-graphic dead body talk.  Plus, Catherine shares some breaking news about her upcoming novel!

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Highlights

• Catherine’s early influences in crime fiction.
• Catherine’s journey from travel agent to author.
• Her first book about her time working at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
• The influences behind her best-selling books, The Nothing Man and 56 Days.
• The potentially mysterious “Book Five.”
• Behind-the-scenes of her decision to write one of the first published pandemic-related crime novel.
• Accuracy in fiction and the responsibility of a novelist with crime details and plot mechanics.
• How Catherine researches the psychology of serial killers.
• Her new 50-page DNF rule.

Catherine’s Book Recommendations [35:30]

Two OLD Books She Loves

• Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:56]
• The Vanishing by Tim Krabbé | Amazon  [38:36]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• Bath Haus by P. J. Vernon | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:07]
• Northern Spy by Flynn Berry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:48]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (August 30, 2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:58]

Last 5-Star Book Catherine Read

• The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:36]

Other Books Mentioned

• 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard  [2:07]
• The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard [2:08]
• Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard [5:50]
• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware [8:22]
• Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard (August 16, 2022) [9:31]
• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara [21:14]
• The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule [29:44]
• The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall [29:59]
• Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard [32:53]
• Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson [37:25]
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn [41:22]
• Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry [43:11]
• A Double Life by Flynn Berry [43:30]
• You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz [51:59]

About Catherine

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Catherine Ryan Howard is an internationally bestselling crime writer from Cork, Ireland. Her most recent novel, 56 Days, was an Irish number 1 bestseller, won Crime Fiction Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, and was named a best thriller of 2021 by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Irish Times. Her previous work has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the CWA’s John Creasey New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Daggers, and Irish Crime Novel of the Year multiple times. She lives in Dublin.