Some consider Die Hard to be the best Christmas movie, while also being a thriller. This week we’re asking ITW Members Susan Sleeman, Lyndee Walker, and J. H. Bográn, which thriller novels remind you of Christmas? Tune in below in the “comments” section to follow along!
LynDee Walker is the national bestselling author of two crime fiction series featuring strong heroines and “twisty, absorbing” mysteries. Her first Nichelle Clarke crime thriller, Front Page Fatality, was a finalist for the Agatha Award for best first novel, and in 2018, she introduced readers to Texas Ranger Faith McClellan in Fear No Truth. Reviews have praised her work as “well-crafted, compelling, and fast-paced,” and “an edge-of-your-seat ride” with “a spider web of twists and turns that will keep you reading until the end.” Before she started writing fiction, LynDee was an award-winning journalist who covered everything from ribbon cuttings to high-level police corruption. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the US.
Susan Sleeman is the bestselling author of more than 35 romantic suspense novels with more than 1 million books sold. She has won several awards, including the ACFW Carol Award for Suspense for Fatal Mistake and the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Thread of Suspicion. In addition to writing, Susan also hosts TheSuspenseZone.com. She has lived in nine states but now calls Portland, Oregon, home.
J. H. Bográn is an international author of novels, short stories and scripts for television and film. He’s the son of a journalist, but ironically prefers to write fiction rather than facts. His genre of choice is thrillers, but he likes to throw in a twist of romance into the mix. He currently divides his time as resource development manager for Habitat for Humanity Honduras, teaching classes at a local university, and writing his next project. He lives in San Pedro Sula, Honduras with his wife, three sons and a “Lucky” dog. His motto is “I never tell lies, I only write them!”
The book that came to mind is Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie, because well, who doesn’t like an Agatha Christie book. Other than the story being set at Christmas time, the book isn’t overly Christmassy, but I still had to choose it. As is typical of Agatha Christie, she convinces you early on that you know who committed the crime only to be wrong, and the process starts over again until you reach the end of the book and the culprit is revealed and you didn’t see it coming. Being set at Christmas time is just a bonus.
I love watching Christmas movies this time of the year (and yep, Die Hard is our family’s favorite…darling and I are the parents who used to get our son to pick up toys by telling him to play John McClane and get the detonators), and novels set around the holiday with a mystery bend are also a favorite. My pick for today is Louise Penny’s fabulous HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN. Like Die Hard, the story doesn’t center around Christmas, but the holiday shows up in the story in many ways: the snow coated roads and branches of Three Pines, the cocoa and carol singing…but overshadowing the holiday happiness in Penny’s idyllic village is one heck of a fine mystery.
Die Hard was the very first movie I bought in iTunes. During a trip, a flight attendant offered headphones to better enjoy the in-flight movie, which happened to be one of the Twilight series.
I declined and told him I’d enjoy my movie better. He looked at the frozen image of John McClane entering Nagatomi Plaza and he said, “I would, too.”
Die Hard is a guilty pleasure of mine. Family has been supportive to watch it me on several occasions.
As for books, I like Ken Follett’s White Out. The author is famous for his historical books that span decades, so this thriller that happens over the course of a couple of days is not only brilliant, but it also taught what “Boxing Day” is.