Three Things We Loved This Week: 5/29/25
Patrick Hoffman in GQ, Alma Katsu in Jeopardy, and a long conversation with the great Michael Connelly
Whenever a call for submissions goes up, there’s always that little admonishment: “Be sure to read some back issues to get a sense of what we publish.” But what do you do when there are no back issues to read?
To help give a sense of our sensibilities (and just to share stuff we love), we’re publishing quick weekly roundups. If you like what we post, we’ll probably like what you write. So send us your stuff, okay?
GQ Interviews Patrick Hoffman
Yesterday I got to sit in for an episode of Radio Free Book Club, where we chatted about Patrick Hoffman’s excellent new novel, Friends Helping Friends. It’s a slow burn of a crime story, punctuated by brutal violence and chaos. But it’s also an expectedly tender portrayal of family and friendship.
While I was reading some background on Hoffman and his new book, I stumbled across a very fun GQ interview from 2016, talking about Hoffman’s real-life experience as a private investigator:
I think shows like Law & Order and The Good Wife have created this mythical world where every witness is at home and ready to talk. The truth is nobody is ever home, the addresses aren’t accurate, and a lot of places don’t even have door buzzers that work. They also don’t realize how much of the job is like a sales job—you’re just constantly trying to get people to talk to you.
The Unexpected Delights of Being a Jeopardy Clue, by Alma Katsu
Man, this is the dream, right? Alma Katsu has a delightful guest post on CrimeReads this week:
My husband and I were watching Andor the evening of May 6th when my phone rang.
It was my mother-in-law calling to tell us that one of my books, The Hunger, had been an answer on Jeopardy.
In the following hour, I got texts, emails, and many, many notifications on Bluesky, Facebook, and elsewhere from friends and friends-of-friends all informing me of this lightning-strike, this blessing from the gods. A neighbor sent me a video clip. It was, as you can imagine, a surreal moment.
Coincidentally, earlier in the day, I had been interviewed by a pair of students for their podcast and one asked when I’d known that I’d “made it” as a writer. I laughed (politely) because I don’t know that any writer, except for perhaps James Patterson, ever truly believes they’ve permanently crossed that threshold. Most writers are lucky if they’re allowed to visit that sunny shore for a season or two, to feel that rare, rare sun on your face for even the briefest of time.
But this is surely one of those moments, so I thank the unknown Jeopardy writer who decided to make my book the answer to “21st century fiction for $1200.” Sadly, none of the contestants knew the correct response, which you’d think they’d have been able to figure out from the clue even if they hadn’t read the novel. Maybe a more pointed category would’ve helped: “Forgotten American history for $400?” “Great moments in cannibalism for $800?” (I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that the answer is the Donner Party. Context is everything.)
Michael Connelly on CBS Saturday Morning
TV is not typically a great format for author interviews. It’s hard to go into any great depth over the course of a seven-minute segment sandwiched between anti-depressant commercials.
That’s why I was so happy to see that CBS Saturday Morning published their full, nearly hour-long interview with Michael Connelly online. A great conversation with a giant of the genre.