Karen Dionne's Book Shelf

What books are currently on your nightstand?

I'm currently reading MUDBOUND by Hilary Jordan. Recent reads include THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr, STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng, GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, THE 19TH WIFE by David Ebershoff, A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick, and THE TIGER'S WIFE by Tea Obreht. If you're sensing a theme, it's because the novel I'm currently writing is literary suspense rather than a straight-up thriller like my previous books, and I'm trying to up my game. Not that there's anything wrong with thrillers!

Who is your all-time favorite novelist?

It's a tie between Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I love many, many authors, but these authors' books are the ones that inspired me to become a writer, so they'll always hold a special place in my heart.

What book might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

Two volumes of the collected fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and The Brothers Grimm that I've had since I was a child. These are my all-time favorite books. It's no wonder my agent says I have a dark soul . . . .

Who is your favorite fictional character?

Strong, independent characters like Scout Finch and Huck Finn are the ones that stick with me.

What book do you return to?

I never read a book a second time. So many books, so little time . . .


Karen Dionne is the internationally published author of Freezing Point, a science thriller nominated by RT Book Reviews as Best First Mystery of 2008. A second environmental thriller, Boiling Point, about an erupting volcano, a missing researcher, and a radical scheme to end global warming published from Berkley in January 2011. Her newest novel, an original story based on the popular Fox television series “The Killing” starring Joel Kinnaman and Mirelle Enos published from Titan Books June 24, 2014.

Karen is co-founder of the online writers community Backspace, and organizes the Salt Cay Writers Retreat held every year on a private island in the Bahamas. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the International Thriller Writers, where she served on the board of directors as Vice President, Technology.

Karen has been honored by the Michigan Humanities Council as a Humanities Scholar for her body of work as an author, writer, and as co-founder of Backspace.

--