Fall is Creeping In! Time to Read!
News First!
SALMON MOON: River of No Return (Encircle Publications, 2024) won a Finalist Award from the WILLA Award for Mystery/Thrillers in this year’s contest! https://bookshop.org/p/books/salmon-moon-river-of-no-return-julie-weston/5d226d44bd181c06?ean=9781645995814&next=t 
My story “Blue Shades,” about a madam in northern Idaho in the 1920s won a place in the anthology She Rode West (Saddlebag Dispatches, 2025). https://bookshop.org/p/boShe Rode West Front Coveroks/she-rode-west-tales-of-courage-dust-and-destiny/5676d3d9c20446eb?ean=9798892990608&next=t
You can find both at Bookshop.org .
Now on to fall reading suggestions:
Fiction:
C.J. Box – Joe Pickett series. I spent a couple of months this summer reading most of these books. They took me into the wilds of Wyoming with game warden Joe Pickett and falconer Nate Romanowski. I really ripped through them, enjoying the thrills and chills they offered, until the brutality of some of the situations stopped me cold. Still, I recommend them for anyone who likes James Lee Burke’s books set in Louisiana.
I have previously mentioned William Kent Krueger’s series featuring former sheriff Cork Corcoran and James Benn’s series about Billy Boyle. New books are coming out from these two excellent writers in September and October. I can hardly wait and am placing holds in my library for both of them.
Another series both my husband, Gerry Morrison, and I have been following is one written by Sulari Gentill, whose main character is Rowland Sinclair, a rich Australian hero. Rowland shares his wealthy situation with three impecunious artists. The four of them find adventure in Australia, Germany, China, and the USA in the 1930s. Gentill’s writing warrants the pleasure we found in these books, and we recommend them to you. (I first found Sulari Gentill when I wrote a review for the New York Journal of Books a couple years ago. I only recently re-found her stories. She, or her publisher, have been busy re-naming them, so they aren’t all that easy to find, but the search is worth it.)
Tana French’s mysteries have absorbed my attention this summer. Writers Jane Haddam and Rennie Airth are worth following as well.
Outside the mystery genre:
Although I do devote a lot of my reading to mysteries, I also read other books. I recommend these: A God in the Woods by Liz Moore, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, So Far Gone by Jess Walter, Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (that’s an older book).
Non-Fiction:
Much of my reading concentrates on nonfiction, often with nature writing themes. C. Marie Fuhman wrote Salmon Weather, a series of essays by this McCall, Idaho, author about wild animals and wild surroundings. It is a wonderful book! Craig Childs, one of my favorite authors and often mentioned in my blogs, issued a new book through Torrey Press: The Wild Dark about light pollution as he and a companion left Las Vegas, Nevada, on bicycles to reach truly dark skies. Both of these books inspired my interest in the diverse world around me in central Idaho. I realized how lucky I am to have read them and to live here. 
The Writers’ Conference here in the Wood River Valley occurs every July and brings well-known and inspiring writers. It really should be called a Readers’ Conference. This year, two standouts were Doris Kearns Goodwin talking about her special memoir An Unfinished Love Story, largely about her husband who wrote speeches for John Kennedy and Lynden Johnson during the 1960s and beyond. Her presentations were worth the whole price of admission, which is considerable. The other standout for me was Sonya Purnell who wrote The Kingmaker about Pamela Harriman. It is a delicious read.
You should be occupied all fall and winter with these books! I am already looking for another mystery series to engage my reading time, too. Suggestions, please! And, of course, I am working on Nellie Burns and Moonshine #7. More news about the next Moon mystery in the future.
Love your suggestions. thanks much
Thanks, Dana. Would love to see you again when you are in town!
Julie
If you liked CJ Box, I strongly recommend Back of Beyond, which is a Cody Hoyt novel (the series becomes Cassie Dewell novels). Such a page-turner! As for me, I’m off to Arizona Indian country next week, Jim Chee et. al books by both Hillermans in tow. Back in WY I’ll be back to Box.
Thanks, Andrea, for the Back of Beyond recommendation. I love being in Wyoming in my reading. Have a good trip to Arizona Indian country. I’ve read all the books from Tony Hillerman and his daughter Anne. I always look forword to more from Anne Hillerman. The Dark Winds series on TV have been excellent, too!
Julie
I enjoy CJ Box books too! My husband and I have listened to each of them as the audios are excellently performed by David Chandler. Have enjoyed meeting and talking with him twice, once when we were both speaking at Tucson Festival of Books, once when he was invited to speak at our local library where he offered a hilarious story. As for recommending autumn mysteries, I offer my paranormal, “What the Soul Suspects,” which has won several awards. It opens on Halloween and is a match for the upcoming spooky season. Enjoy!
Mara, thanks for writing. Your series have won so many awards! I haven’t listened to the CJ Box books, partly because we don’t seem to be technically able to run them in the car. How fun to meet CJ in Tucson. Your book, What the Soul Suspects, sounds perfect for the season!
Julie
Congratulations on your WILLA finalist award for Salmon Moon, and having a story included in She Rode West, Julie! Both are testaments to your beautifully evoked stories and characters, with a strong sense of place. And thanks for all of the reading suggestions. I’ve been re-reading Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone series, set largely in San Francisco, looking especially at the way she evokes place and handles tension without so much gore, and the way her main characters evolve. Also, if you’re looking for a new mystery/thriller author with a distinctive voice and diverse characters, read Not the Killing Kind by Maria Kelson. She’s an award-winning poet (as Maria Melendez) who decided to write mysteries with heroines who look like her. Not the Killing Kind is an amazing read! Happy fall!
Thank you, Susan! And thank you for the book suggestions. They sound perfect for fall! The Sharon McCone series always sounds like one that will assist me in my next Nellie Burns and Moonshine mystery. Happy Fall to you as well!
Julie
Julie! Like my favorite wool sox and sweater, you appear just in time, and your arrival reminds me of the indelible mark you made in my heart on the Zumwalt Prairie.
I ditto congratulations on your WILLA finalist award for Salmon Moon, and having a story included in She Rode West. How inspiring.
Always love,
Tonia
Julie, Love that you received the Willa Finalist Award! Good for you! Bill read every C J Box story he could get his hands on. My favorite was Blue Heaven. We both enjoyed William Kent Krueger. I will check out Gentill.
You are an inspiration to all of us who love you!