Welcome to Unreliable Sources—a quick hit of mystery, murder, and mayhem.

In this episode, thriller author Mike Donohue celebrates the world's strangest bookstore, weighs in on the eternal book-to-film adaptation debate, warns aspiring authors about a growing wave of publishing scams, and pays tribute to the late Dan Simmons.

He then dives deep into the amateur sleuth exploring why ordinary people solving crimes has never felt more culturally urgent, from Poe and Miss Marple to Gone Girl and Richard Osman's 15-million-copy empire.

Books & topics mentioned:– Alabama Booksmith — The New Yorker's profile of America's strangest bookstore– The book-to-film adaptation debate — NPR & Cultured magazine– Publishing scams — New York Times investigation– 2026 Left Coast Crime Lefty Award winners– RIP Dan Simmons — Hyperion, The Terror, and the Joe Kurtz noir trilogy– The Tree of Light and Flowers by Thomas Perry– The Crossroads by C.J. Box– I Did Not Kill My Husband by Linda Keir– The Best Little Motel in Texas by Lyla Lane– Amateur sleuth deep dive — Poe, Christie, Flynn, Osman, and the psychology of institutional distrust– What I'm reading/watching: Wolf Hour (Jo Nesbø), Home Is Where the Bodies Are (Jeneva Rose — audio), Steal (Amazon Prime Video)

📚 Like twisty books and tense shows? Subscribe for bi-weekly episodes packed with killer reads, news, and sharp takes.

🌐 Learn more: https://mikedonohuebooks.com

Until next time—stay sharp, follow the clues, and don't trust anyone who skips to the end.

Welcome to Unreliable Sources—a quick hit of mystery, murder, and mayhem.

In this episode, thriller author Mike Donohue digs into the controversy around Michael Connelly's true crime podcast Killer in the Code and why even the best crime fiction minds can fall into confirmation bias, covers Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King adaptation announcement, and spotlights strong new releases from Don Winslow, Johnny Compton, and Nalini Singh.

He then tackles a topic every reader knows too well—the reading slump—with ten specific thriller prescriptions matched to exactly where your brain is at.

Books & topics mentioned:– Killer in the Code podcast controversy (Michael Connelly)– Mike Flanagan adapting Stephen King's The Mist– The Final Score by Don Winslow– Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh– Dead First by Johnny Compton– The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera– Reading slump deep dive: The Crash (Freida McFadden), None of This Is True (Lisa Jewell), The Man Who Died Seven Times (Yasuhiko Nishizawa), The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides)

What I'm reading/watching: The Final Score (Don Winslow), Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Jesse Q. Sutanto — audio, narrated by Eunice Wong), Steal (Prime Video)

📚 Like twisty books and tense shows? Subscribe for bi-weekly episodes packed with killer reads, news, and sharp takes.

🌐 Learn more: https://mikedonohuebooks.com

Until next time—stay sharp, follow the clues, and don't trust anyone who skips to the end.

Welcome to Unreliable Sources—a quick hit of mystery, murder, and mayhem.

In this episode, thriller author Mike Donohue explores the rise of absurdly long book titles dominating mystery shelves, shares a heartwarming story about a decade-old book club at Rikers Island, covers the boom in book retreat travel, and gets excited about Damon Lindelof adapting Adrian McKinty's The Chain for HBO.

He spotlights new releases then dives deep into cold case thrillers, delivering five essential reads that prove justice delayed doesn't mean justice denied.

Books & topics mentioned:– Genre trends: ⁠the mouthful mystery phenomenon⁠– ⁠Rikers Island women's book club⁠ (NYT feature)– ⁠Book retreats as travel trend⁠– ⁠The Chain adaptation⁠ (HBO series with Damon Lindelof)– ⁠The Exes by Leodora Darlington⁠– ⁠Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman⁠ (#49 Alex Delaware)– ⁠Dirty Metal by Allison LaMothe⁠– ⁠Double Trouble by Joyce Carol Oates⁠– ⁠Cold case thrillers deep dive⁠: ⁠The God of the Woods (Liz Moore)⁠, ⁠The Waiting (Michael Connelly)⁠, ⁠Listen for the Lie (Amy Tintera)⁠, ⁠The Book of Cold Cases (Simone St. James)⁠, ⁠Murder in the Family (Cara Hunter)⁠– What I'm reading/watching: ⁠Tell Me What You Did (Carter Wilson)⁠, ⁠Hide (Lisa Gardner — audio)⁠, ⁠The Rip (Netflix)⁠

📚 Like twisty books and tense shows? Subscribe for bi-weekly episodes packed with killer reads, news, and sharp takes.

🌐 Learn more: ⁠https://mikedonohuebooks.com⁠

Until next time—stay sharp, follow the clues, and don't trust anyone who skips to the end.