A.J. Landau

I’m excited to share the launch of a new Substack: Authors for Public Lands. I’m teaming up with and other fellow National Park and Outdoor Writers.

Together we advocate for the preservation and protection of our public lands, now and forever.

New posts every Wednesday! Subscribe on Substack of link on my profile.

public lands authors thriller novels outdoor books

Pele returned!

It’s time for another round of Tales & Trails with Jeff!

This week I am in Hawaii checking out volcanoes while researching for the next National Parks Thriller. This is Kīlauea not erupting yesterday.

Where will today take me? (Hint: slide right)

Today’s the day! I’m thrilled to share that my latest book with my buddy is now available!

Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered and given early reviews. Can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks of Walker & Delgado’s latest world-saving adventure.

Happy Pub Day!

Just in time for the release of COLD BURN this Tuesday - is having their 25% off Pre-order Sale!

Check it out and pre-order COLD BURN, then use your savings to grab a drink and relax with a good book.

Recently and I had the opportunity to sit down with Crime Spree Magazine to talk about the National Parks thriller series.

Check out a snippet below and the full interview on crimespreemag.com

EC: How did you get the idea for Cold Burn, the second in the series?
JA: We wanted to have as the setting national parks in a hot place, the Everglades, and then in a cold place, Alaska. After I went to Alaska to learn about Glacier Bay National Park, I learned there were thefts of native artifacts. I knew this is what we will be writing about. I wanted to write in the style of Michael Crichton.
JL: The criminals of the thefts originally had nothing more to do with the plot after they were caught. I thought about it and told Jeff nothing was connected, and we need cause/effect. I asked what if they were not smuggling the artifacts but smuggling something hidden inside them. This became our first major plot twist.

EC: How has the hero, National Park Service ISB special agent Michael Walker changed in the books?
JA: He is analytical, determined, and must overcome his prosthetic foot. I wrote him with the prosthetic leg to remind him that he must wear his grief every single day. In Cold Burn he sees the hostility with the Park Service and the Native American tribe but does the right thing anyway.
JL: I think in the second book he is a little more jaded. He enjoys being more of a special investigator. In the first book, he uncovered how dirty government officials are. His faith in humanity becomes restored in Cold Burn by his exposure to the Native American tribe, Tlingit. He sees in them how they overcame the hardships handed to them by the US government and the Russians.

Read more at https://crimespreemag.com/interview-with-a-j-landau-jeff-ayers-and-jon-land/

I had the pleasure to read IF TWO ARE DEAD by for - out April 29th!

Check it out my full review below and get your hands on this book ASAP!

Luke Conway and his wife, Carrie, are moving from LA back to Clear River, Texas, where they grew up, so they can help Carrie’s father, who is gravely ill. For police officer Luke, it is a chance to escape a shooting that has traumatized him, and he’s now a county deputy. Carrie has baggage as well, but she is heading towards it. When she was a high-school junior, she was the sole survivor of an incident that left two girls dead and her with a chip in her skull. She barely survived and can’t remember any details of that day. One evening, while off-duty, Luke appears to hit someone while driving home in the pouring rain. Inspecting the area provides no evidence of a body, so he leaves and doesn’t report it. Luke tells himself that he hit a tree branch, but deep down, he knows he hit someone and decides to keep it a secret. Carrie arrives in town to find a not-so-warm welcome and soon learns that some there believe she killed the two girls years ago and is faking amnesia. Luke and Carrie need each other’s support, but running from the truth only makes matters worse for their marriage and their lives. Mofina generates suspense in unexpected ways and crafts a compelling, genius story that ends in a manner not even savvy readers will see coming. His background as a newspaper reporter allows him to craft realistic characters who face overwhelming odds. Harlan Coben and Alex Finlay fans should already have Mofina on their to-read pile, and this one is another guaranteed bestseller.

What are you reading this weekend?

 

Summer is coming. Beat the heat by joining me and my friend on Thursday, 5/29 at 7pm Lake Forest Park.

Both books are out April 29th!

A COLD, COLD World by Elena Taylor follows a female sheriff arriving to fill her late father’s boots as a deadly snowstorm engulfs her small Washington town.

COLD BURN explores mysterious deaths at several national parks signal a looming global catastrophe.

RSVP at thirdplacebooks.com



📸 Third Place Books

Delighted to moderate this panel of fantastic authors at ThrillerFest this June.

Saturday, 6/21 at 4:10

I’ll be talking about Writing a Blockbuster with heroes

Will we see you there?

I’m so proud of my cozy mystery series, written with my buddy as JB Abbott. It’s out August 12!

If you like puzzles and mysteries, this one might be for you.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

After her mother’s passing, Katie Chambers returns to Cedar Bay, a serene enclave nestled in the southwest corner of Washington State’s Whidbey Island to support her newly widowed father, Jim Chambers. Stepping into her mother’s footsteps, Katie takes on the role of graphic designer at Cedar Bay Puzzles. With the help of her father, she resurrects her mom’s cherished initiative, the South Island Jigsaw crew, a group of puzzle enthusiasts who gather weekly at the library to test and tackle the latest Cedar Bay Puzzles creations. But when a member of their club is murdered and Jim is the last person to see her alive, resulting in his arrest, Katie and the rest of the gang must use all of their resources to obtain justice for both.

To prove her father’s innocence, Katie reaches out to Connor Crozier, a firefighter and her former flame who shattered her heart seven years ago. With problems piling up at work and a competitor outright accusing CBP of stealing his designs, it is up to Katie to puzzle out the mystery before it’s too late.

 

Next Tuesday, the legendary latest book releases to the world and you’re going to love it. Full review on First Clue Reviews below. Check out our website for more reviews!

STRANGERS IN TIME

The horrors of war are reflected in the lives of three people in Baldacci’s (A Calamity of Souls) latest. Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters lives with his grandmother in cramped conditions. She thinks Charlie is spending his weekdays in school, but he has quit and spends the day roaming the streets, stealing food and money to survive. His goal is to eventually enlist and fight the Germans for taking away his parents and his sense of safety. When he steals from Ignatius Oliver’s bookshop, rather than demanding punishment for Charlie, Ignatius treats him well, almost like a father would. Like Charlie, Ignatius is dealing with loss, but it’s his wife instead of his parents. When 15-year-old Molly Wakefield returns to London after spending time away from the big city and conflict, she is horrified to learn her parents did not survive the bombing. The three bond, throughout the war trusting and protecting one another from a relentless enemy and secrets they can’t see coming. Baldacci chronicles the story of this makeshift family brought together by circumstances out of their control and how they can survive and confront whatever awaits. The author does a terrific job of transporting the reader back in time to a tumultuous period of living in London, and readers will practically smell the smoke and feel surrounded by rubble from the shattered buildings. Another great tale from a grandmaster storyteller.