Dear Thriller Fans,
If you follow me on Twitter, then you know I’ve been teasing an upcoming announcement for a few weeks. Well, here it is. . . I’ve recently agreed to write a new monthly column for CrimeReads (from the makers of Literary Hub), with a few other projects sprinkled in from time to time.
I’ve had plenty of offers, and nearly accepted a few, over the last four years to write for other media outlets on top of running The Real Book Spy. In the end, I just never felt like any of those opportunities were a good fit. That all changed about a month ago when one of the editors at CrimeReads reached out me because they were looking to beef up their thriller coverage. After swapping emails, we set up a phone call and, after a solid hour of talking about books and some ideas we had, both agreed this was a relationship worth pursuing.
For me, this was honestly a pretty easy decision. CrimeReads does a wonderful job covering the crime genre, and it offered me (as The Real Book Spy) a chance to tap another base and hopefully win over some crime fans in the process. The thriller genre, including the characters and the authors, is something I’m very passionate about. When I launched my site back in 2015, I had two goals: to introduce as many readers as possible to Mitch Rapp (my favorite fictional hero, created by Vince Flynn), along with a bunch of other great characters too.
So far, that mission has gone well, and I’m delighted to have this new opportunity to help further expand my audience and meet new readers. The best part of all is that my new CrimeReads column will simply be a list of my favorite thrillers coming out each month. We’ll still have the reading guides and challenges over at The Real Book Spy, but I’ve always tried to remain objective as a critic — which means doing my best to leave personal feelings at the door when I step in my office each morning. Now I won’t have to, because CrimeReads is letting me write as much as I want about the books I love!
I hope you’ll all check out my new column over there, but please know we’re also expanding coverage on The Real Book Spy, working to push out more new content in the coming weeks and months than ever before.
Here is the link to my first ever CrimeReads column, which includes my five favorite books coming out this month. I can’t wait to hear which titles you’re all most excited to pick up!
Lastly, I’ll leave you all with this: I just read Red War, the new Mitch Rapp book from Kyle Mills (in stores September 25th) and it’s easily my favorite book so far this year. Speaking not as a Mitch Rapp fan, but as a critic, this book is special. . . As a fan, I’m utterly blown away by the job Mills has done stepping into Vince Flynn’s enormous shoes and absolutely crushing each and every book. Look for a full, spoiler-free in August, but if you haven’t already, get your pre-order on and purchase Red War right away!
Happy reading,
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.