Conviction

"In this Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, the protagonist Anna McDonald has a connection to a true-crime podcast and sets out on a road trip to uncover the truth, drudging up secrets and a tragedy from her past. The book explores celebrity and the modern penchant for using private trauma for public entertainment in a hugely entertaining story told at a lightning pace. Mina has been called the “modern crime queen” and this book warrants a bend of the knee. In a typical year, which this obviously is not, the winners are announced at an awards gala filled with literary royalty at ITW’s ThrillerFest conference in New York. The conference is cancelled this year, but ITW is presenting the awards during ‘Virtual’ ThrillerFest , on Saturday, July 11, 2020 at 2pm (EST), which will be streamed on Facebook live. We have a few surprises in store, so I hope everyone checks it out to honor the nominees and winners."

"Scottish mystery master Denise Mina departs from the gritty crime novels that have made her reputation with an eerie story that mashes up a Gothic ghost tale with a classic woman-in-trouble plot. The opening pages of Conviction set its deliciously hectic pace: Our heroine, a mother of two named Anna, pours herself morning coffee as she listens to one of the true crime podcasts she loves. Before Anna finishes that coffee, her marriage has crumbled and she learns – via that podcast – that an old friend has died aboard a cursed yacht. Conviction is the ultimate un-put-downable mystery."