Dear readers, Can you imagine having Agatha Christie address you in a dream? Let alone one in which she prophesies (or threatens?): “You will take my place”? It’s a fitting origin story for the thriller writer Patricia Cornwell. Known for her Kay Scarpetta series, which follows a forensic pathologist, it draws on Cornwell’s own professional experience working at a medical examiner’s office in Virginia. In a new memoir, “True Crime,” she delves into her Southern Gothic childhood (including parental psychotic episodes and lessons in poisonous botany), which puts her eventual success into brash relief. She’s a guest on the latest Book Review podcast, and explores all this formative history. Also on today’s podcast, Gilbert Cruz interviews the writer Daniel Kraus, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “Angel Down” on Monday. “Angel Down” is a World War I story unlike anything else — it was also one of the Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2025 — and on the episode Kraus reflects on what it was like for a book with such a distinctive style to be recognized by the highest echelons of the literary establishment. As always, I’d love to hear about what you’re reading. Please feel free to drop me a note by emailing books@nytimes.com, and I’ll see you next time. Like this email? We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
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