Coming up: BAD Sydney, Book People with Jeff Abbott

I have a couple of virtual events coming up:

BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival
INTO THE MIND OF A PSYCHOPATHIC KILLER
Meg Gardiner in conversation with LA Larkin
FRIDAY JULY 17 5PM Pacific / 7PM Central / 8PM Eastern / SATURDAY JULY 18 10 AM Sydney, Australia
The event is free, but click the link to register for the video via Zoom.

Book People virtual event — Jeff Abbott, Never Ask Me
Jeff Abbott discusses Never Ask Me in conversation with Meg Gardiner
Monday, July 27 at 7PM CDT

I hope you’ll join me!

Thanks, readers!

I’ve been meaning to post this… with thanks and nothing but love to y’all.

Have a video! I talk about the Amazon TV deal

When I was at my publisher’s Oregon offices after The Dark Corners of the Night was published, I made some short videos. Have a look!

Q and A with the Walmart blog

A little while ago I talked to the Walmart blog, Favorite Reads, about the inspiration for my UNSUB series, the research that goes into the novels, and why mystery writers don’t necessarily make good real-life detectives.

Q&A with Meg Gardiner, author of The Dark Corners of the Night

We sat down for an exclusive interview with Edgar Award-winning author Meg Gardiner to discuss her latest release, The Dark Corners of the Night, one of the most highly anticipated thrillers of 2020, that is already garnering rave reviews as her best thriller yet. In The Dark Corners of the Night, FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix returns to hunt down a terrifying new UNSUB—unknown subject—The Midnight Man, who Gardiner based on the real-life serial killer, The Night Stalker.

Check out the whole thing at the link.

Upcoming Events: Edgars, Bay Area Book Fest, Noir at the Bar

Welcome to spring 2020, when events have scrambled to move online. It has of course been hugely disappointing to cancel celebrations — like the Edgar Awards banquet, which I was supposed to emcee in New York City — but so many organizations are making the best of this situation. And that means that you can all attend.

Here’s what’s coming up in the next few weeks.

The Edgar Awards
Thursday, April 30, 2020
11 AM Eastern
The awards will be announced by Mystery Writers of America via Twitter: @EdgarAwards

Bay Area Book Festival Unbound
Queens of Mystery: Writer to Writer with Meg Gardiner and Rachel Howzell Hall
Moderated by Laurie R. King
Program will air Tuesday May 5th, 7:00 PM Pacific

Noir at the Bar Queens
Friday, May 8, 2020 7 PM Eastern
Watch via Crowdcast
Books sold by Kew & Willow

Book tour highlights: Don Winslow reads from DARK CORNERS

I just spent two weeks on the road for the launch of The Dark Corners of the Night. One of the highlights of the book tour was being interviewed by Don Winslow — superstar author of The Force, The Border trilogy, and Savages — at Warwick’s Books in La Jolla, California. Near the start of the event, Don read a couple of paragraphs from my novel. Have a listen.

If you hurry, you might still be able to order a signed copy of the novel from Warwick’s.

And you can always order from these outlets:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

DARK CORNERS: AP Review

Wow, the Associated Press review of The Dark Corners of the Night has just come out, and I am insanely happy.

Gardiner weaves a suspenseful and horrifying tale that focuses on solving the crime rather than diving into gruesome and gratuitous details. Caitlin’s expertise and background bring a strong emotional hook to the story line. As the pursuit escalates, so do the surprises, right up to the shocking last page. Gardiner’s writing is lyrical and cinematic, and the final result is her best novel to date.

Review: Gardiner weaves horrifying tale in `Dark Corners’

Thank you!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

DARK CORNERS: She Reads; Seattle Review of Books; Billboard!

I’m powering across the country on my book tour for The Dark Corners of the Night. It’s busy — which is fantastic. I’ll have to wait to post more photos until I have more than an hour to hold still. But for now: Here’s the billboard for the book in Times Square. New York City, baby. And, in NYC fashion, to grab this photo I jumped out of a cab that was stuck in traffic, snapped, squeeed, and ran back to the taxi, jumping back in as the light turned green.

Now I’m at La Guardia, about to board a flight to Virginia Beach. Until I can post more photos and tell some tales, here are some new reviews of the novel that have me grinning like a fool, which always makes the TSA agents suspicious.

She Reads: 15 Necessary thrillers to read in 2020

Now is the perfect time for you to get into the UNSUB series by Meg Gardiner. For all you crime fiction junkies, this is the book version of garlic bread – too good to put down. Her titles are loosely based on real serial killers that you’ve read about while putting a unique spin on them with a great cast of characters. In the newest addition to this series, the third book, we follow Caitlin Hendrix in the most terrifying case yet – a serial killer who attacks parents and leaves the children alive and unharmed. This one was so addictive. There are some great creepy moments that make it hard to sleep, a police procedural aspect and another part of the plot that will surely make you eager for book four. Soon to be a TV series, you’ll definitely want to binge-read these books before it airs.

From Daneet Steffens at the Seattle Review of Books:

FBI behavioral analyst Caitlin Hendrix returns for her third case in Meg Gardiner’s The Dark Corners of the Night (Blackstone Publishing). While her boyfriend Sean Rawlins, an explosives expert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, chases an elusive bomber known as the Ghost, Caitlin and her colleagues grapple with an L.A.-based serial killer known as the Midnight Man. Under cover of night, the Midnight Man creeps into family homes, murdering the parents, terrifying the kids, and leaving ghoulish drawings of eyes painted in blood. As the local police and the FBI work together to isolate the killer’s hunting ground and analyze the knottier differences between malignant paranoia, fanaticism, sociopaths and psychopaths, their pursuit of this shadow-man develops into a chill-inducing power struggle. Gardiner’s latest is yet another terrific – and terrifying – chapter in her UNSUB (unknown subject) series.

Gareindeedreads:
MEG GARDINER | THE DARK CORNERS OF THE NIGHT

The UNSUB series by Meg Gardiner is one of my favorite series and the newest release in this series, The Dark Corners of the Night just may be the creepiest one yet… With this one, I was (and still am) reliving and  relishing in all of the scare-tastic moments that solidify Meg Gardiner as one of the most talented and sensational crime fiction authors that we have.

… Gardiner has a grip on me that is so tight that I am praying there are so many more additions to this series to come.

Thanks, all!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

Out Today: THE DARK CORNERS OF THE NIGHT

The Dark Corners of the Night is is published today. I just want to thank you for your support. Readers are everything to a writer. With every novel, I’m eternally grateful that you take the leap of imagination and step across the threshold into the world of the story. 

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing, Shane Salerno and The Story Factory, and everyone who has helped make this the best novel it can be.

I hope you’ll love the latest entry in the UNSUB series, and that you’ll be gripped by the story of Caitlin Hendrix and her FBI team pursuing an insidious killer through the dark streets of Los Angeles. Hold on tight — it’s a rollercoaster ride.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

DARK CORNERS: Q&A with Go Into the Story

This is the week, folks. The Dark Corners of the Night is published February 18. That’s twelve hours from the time I’m writing this.

I’m hitting the road for the book tour to launch the novel. I hope I’ll see some of you along the way… in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Virginia Beach, Austin, or Houston…

In the meantime, have a look at this Q&A I did with Scott Myers for Go Into the Story. It’s the official blog of the Black List, the hugely influential screenwriting organization that “connects writers, filmmakers, and cinephiles around the world.”

Let me lead with this because given your background in writing award-winning crime thrillers, I can think of no better person to ask than you. Books, both fiction and nonfiction, TV, movies, documentaries, podcasts, our culture seems to be absolutely steeped in crime stories. What do you think drives this seemingly insatiable thirst for these type of stories?

We thrill at stories of light versus darkness. We like a vicarious trip to the dark side. And we appreciate tales where right prevails and order is restored.

We like stories of transgression. Especially stories where the transgression is big and obvious — and breaking the law isn’t subtle. Crime stories are vivid, high-stakes, often told in a way that’s powerfully emotional. They also embrace the idea that morality exists. They assert that justice is worth pursuing. That wrongs should be righted, or at least reckoned with. People hunger for that.

There’s plenty more at the link — about writing, winning Jeopardy! three times, my escape from the practice of law, and The Dark Corners of the Night.

And don’t forget: Buy the book!

The Poisoned Pen | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

Poisoned Pen blog, Writer Types podcast

The Poisoned Pen bookstore put me In the Hot Seat ahead of my event in Phoenix on Monday, February 17 (with Tess Gerritsen!) where I’ll be launching my new novel, The Dark Corners of the Night. Take a look.

I’ve read this, but many readers may not have. Your UNSUB books are based on actual crimes. Would you tell us about that?

Every novel in the series takes a real crime as its starting point. The books are fiction, but grow from a kernel of fact. Partly that’s because UNSUB cases are some of the most difficult and fascinating investigations in law enforcement history. Partly it’s because I want to understand what motivates serial predators. And I want to explore what drives the people who take on the burden of stopping them. UNSUBwas sparked by the Zodiac—probably the most notorious unsolved serial murder case in America. The second novel was inspired by Ted Bundy. The Dark Corners of the Night was kindled by a killer who cast a pall of fear over Southern California: the Night Stalker.

I talk about The Dark Corners of the Night, Caitlin Hendrix, living in London, winning Jeopardy! and more.

And at the Writer Types podcast, I guest co-host with pod host Eric Beetner to interview Dana Hayes and Brad Taylor. Give it a listen.

And here’s your reminder that The Dark Corners of the Night drops February 18th, and you can preorder!

The Poisoned Pen | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

DARK CORNERS tour schedule, now with a fancy graphic. Plus SWAG!

I know, I know… I’m blogging up a storm. Almost like the days before Instatwitterface. But I’m getting ready for the publication of The Dark Corners of the Night, and that means putting the spurs to it and getting the word out.

I hope I’ll see some of you at these bookstore events. And I hope you’ll consider preordering. Even if you can’t make it to an event, you can preorder a signed copy that I can personalize and the store can ship to you.

If you preorder from The Poisoned Pen, you’ll also get swag!

So have at it!

The Poisoned Pen | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

Amazon Studios buys THE DARK CORNERS OF THE NIGHT for television

Here’s some news I’m genuinely thrilled to announce: Amazon Studios has bought my upcoming novel The Dark Corners of the Night for development as a television series.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has acquired to develop for a one-hour drama The Dark Corners of the Night, based on the third novel in Edgar-winning author Meg Gardiner’s UNSUB series. The book will be released February 18 by Blackstone Publishing. The series features a young FBI agent pursuing other UNSUBs. That’s short for Unknown Subjects, the FBI’s name for an unknown serial killer.

Larry Trilling, executive producer and showrunner of Amazon’s Billy Bob Thorton TV series Goliath will serve as executive producer and showrunner of UNSUB. Shane Salerno (Avatar sequels, James Comey mini-series) will executive produce through The Story Factory.

Long story short: UNSUB is moving to Amazon TV. I’m delighted and excited.

The novel drops February 18. You can make a big difference — seriously! To me, my publisher, and the novel’s success — by preordering it today!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple

DARK CORNERS: Billboard, Booklist, MysteryPeople pick

What can I tell you? It’s a sign. A sign that you should preorder my upcoming novel. An actual sign. That is, a billboard, on the west end of Times Square. New York City, y’all.

And if the GIANT SIGN isn’t enough to convince you, here are reviews from Booklist and MysteryPeople.

The Dark Corners of the Night

In the third Caitlin Hendrix thriller, following the terrific UNSUB (2017) and Into the Black Nowhere (2018), a killer targets families. The Midnight Man (a sobriquet he gives himself) murders the parents but spares the children. Why? How does he select his victims? Hendrix, still learning the ropes as a rookie member of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, continues to battle demons from her past, left over from tragedies that both haunt her and give her the strength and determination to be a killer-hunter. As the Midnight Man proves to be her most elusive prey yet, Caitlin becomes ever more determined to catch him, no matter the cost to herself. Readers of the first two Hendrix novels won’t be surprised to hear that the story in this suspenseful thriller is exquisitely constructed. No by-the-numbers thriller here; this one definitely lives up to its predecessors. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Gardiner is on a roll with this series, gathering fans with each installment like a snowball gathering mass as it rumbles down a hill.

— David Pitt, Booklist

February’s Pick of the Month: The Dark Corners of the Night

Meg Gardiner has proven to be a writer who delivers. She gives thriller fans everything they want, in character, pace, and world building, presenting it all in a fresh way. This is especially true of her latest, The Dark Corners Of Night.

It is the third book in her UNSUB series, featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. Her latest case takes her to L.A., putting her up against a chilling adversary dubbed The Midnight Man. The killer attacks families in their homes, murdering the parents and leaving the children to tell the tale. With the help of a girl who thwarted the Midnight Man from breaking in, Caitlin and team begin their hunt.

Gardiner builds the suspense and chills, chapter by chapter. She delves into criminal profiling, portraying it as much art as science when Caitlin goes against the grain of the standard theory, believing it is not the usual suspect. The book gives a great reveal in the identity of The Midnight Man, then cranks up the tension for an intense showdown.

The Dark Corners Of The Night is Meg Gardiner at her finest. She gives us a flawed heroine you can’t help but root for, a villain both complex and undeniably evil, and a plot that constantly puts you on the edge. If she ups her game any more, we might not be able to survive.

Preorder!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Apple