Neil Turner's Blog

Thanks to everyone who helped make the recent Goodreads Giveaway for my new novel, The Usual Suspect, a success. Congratulations to the winners! I'd also like to thank everyone who has picked up a copy of the book—especially those of you who left a review. Much appreciated!

I’m thrilled to tell you that the ninth Tony Valenti Thriller, The Usual Suspect, is on sale! Be sure to add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” TBR list.
We’ve also launched a Goodreads Giveaway that runs until August 18th. Enter here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/en...
I wanted Tony’s courtroom chops to shine in The Usual Suspect, which resulted in it being perhaps the purest legal thriller of the series. Don’t be alarmed if you’re a fan of Tony’s extended family and friends; they pop in and out, but the murder trial is the key focus. When a new book is on the way I’m often asked: Does anyone die? Let’s put it this way … the plot is centered on a double murder. We see, but no one we knows dies, right? Uh, no … but you’ll have to read the book to get the definitive answer to that query. I hope you’ll give the new book a try, and I hope you enjoy it if you do.
Take care, be well, and happy reading!
Neil

The first 2025 issue our Reader’s Club Update drops Wednesday! There’s still time to get your copy if you act quickly! Get big deals on audiobooks in this month’s issue. Learn how you can get a FREE audiobook and a FREE novella through the exclusive Neil Turner Books Reader’s Club: https://www.neilturnerbooks.com/reade...

It’s that time of year! I wish you all a joyous and safe holiday season. Here’s a little story about a pinch of harmless childhood mischief I got up to as a wee little Neil on a Christmas morning way back when. Hope you enjoy this free story!

https://bookhip.com/TLBKKAP

The eBook boxset of Books 1-3 of the Tony Valenti Thrillers is available is FREE this week only. Ends Friday. Check it out here!
https://books2read.com/u/bMxYwk

The sixth Tony Valenti Thriller, The Secrets She Buried, is now available in audio. Award winning audiobook narrator Gary Bennett is once again behind the mic, dong has magic. Check out the great deals here: https://rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/9...

As a writer, there's no better feeling than this reaction from a reader:

5.0 out of 5 stars “Awesome Series! I want More!! I am in tears! I finished all 8 books of the Tony Valenti series and I want more! Every book was an adventure with lovable main characters you are drawn to love and want to succeed. The twist and turns make each book hard to put down. The details with which each book is written will leave you in suspense, laughing at the humor of the characters, questioning how in the world that twist was taken & amazed at the details & depth of each character & the plot. Not one of the books in this series will disappoint. In fact, each will leave you wanting more! Love, love the Tony Valenti crime & legal thrillers by Neil Turner. Highly recommend these books!”

Thank you!
Neil

My exclusive Reader's Club is the place to get the latest news and updates about the Tony Valenti Thrillers, have a peek behind the scenes, receive special offers, enter contests, win free books, and more. Wonder what's on Deano the dog's mind? Want to explore a new author and/or book that I like? Got a question for me? You'll find it all in the Reader's Club. PLUS, members receive a free prequel novella that takes place immediately before the first Tony Valenti thriller, A House on Liberty Street.
Learn more https://www.neilturnerbooks.com/reade...

I still recall cracking open John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany for the first time and discovering that Owen’s dialogue was capitalized. The capitalization came as a bit of a shock, but it certainly set Owen’s speech off from all other dialogue, which was a brilliant device to underscore the fact that Owen had a voice and was a boy like no other. The capitalization never allowed the reader to forget how Irving described Owen’s voice, which in turn kept me aware of how utterly unique the character of Owen Meany was from beginning to end. A Prayer for Owen Meany was my first John Irving novel, and Owen’s dialogue was the first bit of magic Mr. Irving spun for me, but I’ve since been charmed and left in awe countless times by Mr. Irving, whom I consider one of the best writers of the last half century. Talented Mr. Irving surely is, but I get the sense that a good portion of his brilliance comes from a nose to the grindstone work ethic which, when married to prodigious creativity, has allowed him to take his stories to unimaginable places.
He's created larger than life characters and seen them through wildly imaginative novels such as Hotel New Hampshire, the afore-mentioned A Prayer for Owen Meany, and The World According to Garp. Scratch the surface of many of his books, however, and what you find in whole or in part, are coming of age stories. When I think of his work in this light, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Irving plumbs the depths of this formative period in our lives, filled with improbable situations and relationships that yield in turns laughter, tears, and insights about what it is to be human. There are several themes that he has revisited a number of times, yet he takes us somewhere new and unexpected every time. The creativity is remarkable, yet I suspect Mr. Irving reaches those heights by writing and rewriting until he pushes his work somewhere new and fresh.
I’ve been asked to characterize Mr. Irving’s work in terms of genre and the like; I’m not sure I can. While his writing is often referred to as literary, it’s also very accessible—I’ve never felt as if he was writing to impress critics, but simply telling a good story to the best of his considerable ability. There are touches of absurdity in his work, splashes of laugh out loud hilarity, plenty of pathos, and an element of the mystic or supernatural isn’t uncommon. Most importantly, Mr. Irving creates unique characters we care about deeply as they move through epic sagas that address universal themes that underpin the tapestry of his characters’ lives, and frequently mirror our own. I often find myself pondering a John Irving novel long after I turn the final page. That’s about as big a compliment as I can give to a creative work, and it’s true of almost every John Irving novel I have read.

Great New Reads!
After I posted a review a few days ago for my writing buddy Larry Winters’ brand new Jessie Black legal thriller, Blood Oath, (great read, btw!) it occurred to me that the last few weeks have delivered a wealth of great new books from some of my favorite thriller authors: Greg Iles (Southern Man), Stephen Penner (Double Jeopardy), John Grisham (Camino Ghosts), Alex Finley (If Something Happens to Me), and Robert Bailey (Rich Justice). Given the loathsome weather we’ve had here in Ottawa the last few weeks, having enjoyable reads to keep me occupied by the fire has been a welcome distraction. Even if your weather is glorious—and I hope it is!—do yourself a favor and pick up one or more of these books, which are also suitable for reading at the beach, on the patio, or by the lake. Happy reading!