John Valeri

Portland

Writer and Reviewer at Freelance

Reader, Writer, Reviewer. Host of online interview show Central Booking (YouTube). Lover of books, SCREAM & Gloria Estefan!

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Articles

Wendy Corsi Staub on Old Friends and Small-Town Secrets

1 month ago | crimereads.com | John Valeri

So many stories to be told, so little time to tell them. Article continues after advertisementIt’s a torment unique to writers—and one that has continued to motivate New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub for more than three decades in a prodigious career that has seen the publication of nearly 100 books across a variety of genres and under multiple names.
Bodies of Evidence: Anne Soon Choi on the Life and Crimes of Controversial “Coroner to the Stars” Thomas Noguchi

2 months ago | crimereads.com | John Valeri

In death, there is silence—and yet the body remains as testament to the story of its demise. Article continues after advertisementIn cases where the reason is unknown, unexpected, or thought to be unnatural, a Medical Examiner-Coroner is brought in to determine the cause and manner of death.
A Duty of Care: Barbara Early on Doing Justice to Jessica Fletcher

2 months ago | crimereads.com | John Valeri

Few characters are as beloved in the hearts and minds of audiences as Murder, She Wrote’s Jessica (J.B.) Fletcher. Article continues after advertisementAs portrayed by the iconic Angela Lansbury, Jessica Fletcher—a widowed English teacher turned unwitting mystery novelist and amateur sleuth—was first introduced to television viewers in 1984.
Point of Origin: David Handler on Flashing Back to the Beginnings of Hoagy, Lulu & Friends

2 months ago | crimereads.com | John Valeri

Just because you think you know your characters doesn’t mean they can’t still surprise you. Article continues after advertisementDavid Handler will tell you as much. A former journalist and television scribe, he’s been writing about dapper if somewhat downtrodden celebrity ghostwriter and occasional PI Stewart Hoag—better known as “Hoagy”—for nearly forty years.
The Age of Discontentment: Tess Gerritsen on Senior Crime Solvers and Subverting Expectations

Mar 26, 2025 | crimereads.com | John Valeri

Tess Gerritsen may not have been trained in the art of spy craft, but she knows a thing or two about flying under the radar. Article continues after advertisementAs a woman of a certain age, no matter how accomplished (30+ books published in forty countries with sales in excess of forty million copies), Gerritsen has felt firsthand how the “the arrogance of youth” overshadows “the wisdom of experience,” often rendering elders unseen, as if shrouded by an invisibility cloak.
Book Review: Battle Mountain by C. J. Box

Mar 24, 2025 | criminalelement.com | Janet Webb |Doreen Sheridan |John Valeri

The tension never lets up in Battle Mountain, the 25th Joe Pickett novel. Legendary game warden Pickett has been in the job for a good long time: his longevity in his post is noted often, as is his legendary reputation. For following the letter of the law. An evil man, Axel Soledad, has inflicted immeasurable pain on the people in Joe’s life. Axel killed falconer Nate Romanowski’s wife and burned down falconer Geronimo’s house, causing his wife and daughter to flee to the East Coast.
Book Review: The Last Room On The Left by Leah Konen

Mar 20, 2025 | criminalelement.com | Doreen Sheridan |Janet Webb |John Valeri

If you only went by her Instagram and other social media, Kerry Walsh would be very much living the writer’s dream. After a short story she’d written was published in The New Yorker and went viral, she landed a six-figure publishing deal for a novel based on the story, with potentially more to come given the interest a famous director has in adapting her finished book for the screen.
Book Review: She Doesn’t Have A Clue by Jenny Elder Moke

Mar 19, 2025 | criminalelement.com | Doreen Sheridan |Janet Webb |John Valeri

With a colorful cast of characters and a cellar full of wine, anything can happen—from murder to a second chance at love—in Jenny Elder Moke's half mystery, half romance adult debut set at a lavish destination wedding. Read on for Doreen's review. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I read a spicy rom-com murder mystery, and especially one that works so well on all its genre levels! Sexy, sweet and suspenseful, She Doesn’t Have A Clue is a delight from start to finish.
Book Review: A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough

Mar 18, 2025 | criminalelement.com | Janet Webb |John Valeri |Doreen Sheridan

London, 1867Patrice McDonough skillfully weaves historical events into her mysteries, a case in point being the Regent’s Park skating disaster. On 15 January 1867, “40 people died after the ice broke on the lake in London’s Regent’s Park pitching about 200 people into icy water up to 12 ft (3.7 m) deep,” h/t Wikipedia.
Book Review: The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

Mar 17, 2025 | criminalelement.com | John Valeri |Janet Webb |Doreen Sheridan

From Marie Benedict comes The Queens of Crime ―a thrilling story of the five greatest women writers of the Golden Age of Mystery and their bid to solve a real-life murder. Keep reading for John's review. Lawyer-turned-novelist Marie Benedict has been illuminating the real-life stories of women throughout history for nearly a decade now, melding fact with fiction—and ensuring that they’re not lost to time.