The Back Room - Summer’s Best Books

Written By Natalie

I had another entertaining evening at the August session of The Back Room: Cocktails and Conversations with Your Favorite Authors, hosted by the delightful Hank Phillippi Ryan and Karen Dionne. This month I had the pleasure of “meeting” Jennifer Hillier, LJ Ross, and Robert Thorogood. Hank was also a panelist this time, promoting her new book. I was especially excited to see Jennifer Hillier—her books have been on my radar, and I think her genre will be a great fit for me. I also love British authors, so it was a pleasure to be introduced to two new ones. I always love being drawn to a session for one particular author and leaving with a whole new set of writers who intrigue me—and this evening delivered exactly that.

As always, the evening opened with a fun "get to know you" game before we got to the good stuff: each author answered two lighthearted questions and shared a recent book recommendation. It's one of my favorite parts of The Back Room—such a delightful way to expand your reading list!

Book Recommendations

Jennifer Hillier:Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper

LJ Ross:The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson

Hank Phillippi Ryan:You’ll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner

Robert Thorogood:The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

Next came the breakout rooms, where Karen moderated intimate Q&A sessions with each author about their latest work. These smaller conversations are always a highlight.

First Breakout Room – Hank Phillippi Ryan & Robert Thorogood

Hank Phillippi Ryan introduced her latest crime fiction novel, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Stranger. She talked about the influence her career as an investigative reporter has had on her writing. Both careers go hand in hand and share many similarities. She specifically explored how, as an investigative reporter, the story unfolds as she conducts her research and interviews. Her writing process mirrors that experience: when she starts a novel, she does not use an outline and allows the story to unfold step by step.

Robert Thorogood shared his latest book, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts, which was inspired by his love of Agatha Christie novels. My favorite detail: he created the protagonist, Judith, in honor of his grandmother and great-aunts, who were influential in his upbringing, and he spoke with real warmth about his respect for female-driven characters. He also touched on his book series The Marlow Murder Club—since adapted into a television series—and life in Marlow, where he lives with his family.

Second Breakout Room – Jennifer Hillier & LJ Ross

I was excited to finally hear from Jennifer Hillier about her new book, Heart of Glass. She explained that the novel is set in the same location as her previous book Wonderland, but it is not a sequel. Each novel is a standalone, even though some minor characters and businesses may make dual appearances. Jenny also talked about her writing process: she initially overwrites, then cuts out a lot of minutiae when she rewrites. She repeatedly described herself as a slow writer and said she holds onto motivational reminders passed among writers to keep herself patient.

The evening continued with LJ Ross (Louise) and her catalog of mystery novels. While she was on The Back Room to promote Hysteria, her books have not been widely known in the United States until recently. That's changing fast: Poisoned Pen Press has republished her novels—something like 38 of them—so they're now all available here. Louise described each of her three series: the DCI Ryan Mysteries, the Summer Suspense Mysteries, and the Alexander Gregory Thrillers. While all of them sound fascinating, I’m most intrigued by the Gregory novels, as the protagonist is a psychologist specializing in criminal profiling.

This evening was especially rewarding—a fascinating glimpse into British mystery traditions alongside honest talk about the writing life and the patience it requires.

The Back Room now has a Substack, The Back Room After Hours, where you can find additional details and nuggets about the events. I recommend following their free account (or subscribing for extras).

You can read my blog posts about my previous experiences with The Back Room below.

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Natalie
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The Back Room - Superb Summer Reads