Former intelligence officer Alma Katsu worked at several federal agencies, advising policymakers and military commanders on issues of national security. The last third of her government career was spent in emerging technologies and technology forecasting. But she left the DC area with her musician husband for the mountains of West Virginia, and some of her books delve into very low-tech events; for example, The Hunger is a horror novel reimagining the fate of the Donner party. Her newest book, however, harkens back to her roots in the intelligence community.

Red London, March 14, 2023

CIA agent Lyndsey Duncan is sent to London to keep tabs on the Russian president by monitoring one of his BFF oligarchs, and with doing that by befriending the oligarch’s lonely British wife, Emily. But Lyndsey and her team learn that the oligarch’s money could usher in a new and disastrous geopolitical reality. Lyndsey must walk a tightrope where any slip could prove the end of her new friend Emily, everyone in the rest of the world—and Lyndsey.

Favorites: Lyndsey Duncan’s favorite drink would be a good red wine, nothing too fancy, and for a snack, probably something healthy—like a banana.

NYT and USA Today bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson has written 8 works of Southern fiction, dealing with themes of family, class, justice and the lives of women. A former actor, she narrates her own audiobooks and those of other authors as well. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, and enjoys diving and teaching creative writing at local women’s prisons.

With My Little Eye, April 25, 2023

Actress Meribel Mills has gotten used to creepy fan letters over the course of her career, but when one fan goes way too far, invading her home and threatening her life, she retires from public life and moves across the country to keep herself and her daughter safe. Is the fan a stranger? Or is he much closer than she thinks?

Favorite drink: Joshilyn tells us, “My narrator is a television actress, and one theme explored in between the murders is the pressure on women to not age, and to be thin as whippets. She drinks gin, soda, and lime, which I think is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. I do know how to mix a perfect one though!”