Jon McGoran
Other Books
Jon McGoran is the author of the acclaimed ecological thrillers Drift, Deadout, and Dust Up, as well as The Dead Ring, based on the hit TV show, The Blacklist. Writing as D. H. Dublin, he is also the author of the forensic thrillers Body Trace, Blood Poison and Freezer Burn. When not writing novels and short fiction or cohosting The Liars Club Oddcast, McGoran works as a freelance writer and developmental editor.
In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed biotech thrillers Drift and Deadout, Jon McGoran brings his explorations of biotechnology and corporate conspiracies to an explosive new level and an international scale. Detective Doyle Carrick and his girlfriend Nola Watkins are awakened in the middle of the night to find a Ron Hartwell, a complete stranger, shot dead on their front steps, and his wife Miriam speeding away. A halfhearted homicide investigation labels the murder a domestic dispute, with Miriam, Ron’s widow, the sole suspect. Doyle finds out Ron and Miriam both worked for a giant biotech company that is now accusing them of corporate espionage, and suspects something else is going on, but it’s not his case. Then Miriam tracks him down and tells him her story.
Miriam and Ron had been working in Haiti and visiting her friend Regi Baudet, the deputy health minister, when they stumbled upon what looked like a corporate cover-up of tainted food aid that sickened an entire village—and proved to be one hundred percent fatal. Doyle was their last hope to blow the whistle. Before Miriam can tell him the rest, they are attacked by gunmen and she disappears again.
Doyle follows her to Haiti, a country on the brink of political chaos. Working with Miriam and Regi, he must untangle a web of deceit and unconscionable corporate greed in order to stop an epidemic of even greater evil before it is released onto an unsuspecting world.
Dust Up
Dust Up, the explosive follow-up to Jon McGoran's acclaimed thrillers Drift and Deadout, is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, or Indiebound.
In a STARRED review, Booklist calls Jon McGoran, “One fine thriller writer. ...It’s a delight to watch McGoran propel the narrative forward, with minimal backstory and artful use of detail.... The action is unending, and McGoran displays enviable skill... It’s a first-tier thriller by an ecologist who can show the hard-boiled folks a thing or two."
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Dead End Follies says, “Jon McGoran...is as natural of a storyteller as it gets. ...Doyle Carrick has become one of the most interesting series character out there...Jon McGoran has a gift to write larger-than-life characters. ...It's as good as anything I've read this year....the best damn international thriller I've read in a couple years. That Jon McGoran guy is for real.”
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A Thrill A Week says it's, “A very engaging and entertaining series that addresses realistic, as well as theoretically scientific concerns over GMOs....Carrick is a likable character, with a sarcastic sense of humor and a great desire to see justice prevail....This is a fun as well as informative series.”
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Out of the Gutter says, " Jon McGoran’s Dust Up...couldn’t be more relevant to the world today...a fast engaging thriller from start to finish. ...Doyle Carrick is a sharp-tongued wise-ass it’s hard not to like. ...You relate to him, you enjoy his jokes. Along with the quips and sarcasm, though, is an underlying sense of sobriety. You never lose sight of the real world issues in play. I had fun reading Dust Up, and it gave me a chill. ...Entertainment and serious thoughts. You can’t take much more away from a thriller than that."
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My Bookish Ways says, “I read Drift and Deadout in one gulp and couldn’t wait to get to Dust Up. ...I love this series, and wasn’t sure how McGoran would top the first two, but he did... If you like Nelson DeMille’s John Corey books, or Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, you’ll love this. Carrick is smart, snarky, and steps in trouble whenever he can, and it’s a testament to the author that he keeps up a breakneck pace throughout (seriously, dare you not to read this in one sitting) without sacrificing the human element.”
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Criminal Element says “I was rapt by the suspenseful plot... Mr. McGoran’s writing is more timely than ever, and it seems like I’ve picked a revelatory time to read my first biotech thriller.”
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Buy Dust Up at your local bookstore, or at
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, or Indiebound.
Deadout
Deadout, the sequel to Jon McGoran's acclaimed debut, Drift, is available in hardcover, mass market paperback, ebook, and audio!
Buy Deadoutat your local bookstore, or from:Amazon - Barnes & Noble - IndieBound - Powells, or in audio from Audible.com.
A trip to an island off the New England coast—and away from the demands of police work—might be just what Detective Doyle Carrick needs to jumpstart his stalled relationship with Nola Watkins. But then a mysterious plague starts killing the island's bees and Nola takes a job at an organic farm hit hard by the disease, working for the rich, handsome, and annoying Teddy, with whom she quickly becomes a little too friendly for Doyle's liking. When Teddy's estranged father offers Doyle a big payday to keep his son out of trouble until he can close a big government contract—and when Doyle meets Annalisa, a beautiful researcher studying the bees—Doyle decides to stick around. But when Stoma Corporation, a giant biotech company, moves in with genetically modified super bees it claims are the answer to the world's bee crisis, tension grows between protestors and a private army of thugs. Doyle soon realizes that bees aren't the only thing being modified. As Annalisa's coworkers start to go missing, she and Doyle uncover a dark, deadly, and terrifying secret. Things spin violently out of control on the tiny island, and when Doyle closes in on what Stoma Corporation is really up to, he must race to stop them before their plot succeeds, and spreads to the mainland and the world.
“McGoran fluidly blends science and suspense in his outstanding second eco-thriller starring Philly cop Doyle Carrick… Top-notch plotting enhances McGoran’s sympathetic, flawed lead.”
- Publishers Weekly
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“Another intriguing ecothriller that takes the GMO food angle first explored in Drift to a whole new level.
-Booklist
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"McGoran's style is at once hard-boiled and enjoyably breezy ...He keeps the plot and the action humming along."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
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“Pure entertainment is what this book is.”
- flyingmonkeyreads.wordpress.com
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“Deadout is a great thriller with fantastic pacing and strong characters… a stand out novel.”
- Crimespree Magazine
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“Jon McGoran has been compared to Michael Crichton. McGoran’s newest thriller, Deadout, doesn’t just live up to that auspicious comparison: It improves on it.”
- Philadelphia Weekly
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"Deadout. It’s a must purchase. Topical, thrilling, dark… full of mystery and intrigue... I love it."
- ericsmithrocks.com
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“[Deadout] weaves environmental concern over GMO food sources into a suspenseful plotline… The scientific developments are timely, and by incorporating a main character who’s not a hardcore activist, McGoran keeps the preachiness away…the novel delivers on suspense and a complex storyline.”
- Philadelphia Citypaper
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Buy Deadout at your local bookstore, or at Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, or Indiebound.
Drift
After the death of his parents, Philadelphia narcotics Detective Doyle Carrick plans to spend a thirty-day suspension drinking alone in the country. But then a highpowered drug gang shows up in town, and he uncovers a deadly plot involving genetic engineering and the blurring line between food and pharmaceuticals. Soon Doyle realizes they are up to something far more sinister, and what’s growing in the farmland around Philadelphia is much deadlier than anything he could have imagined.
“McGoran impressively integrates concerns about genetically modified foods with an action-filled storyline and fleshed-out characters…The disturbing, but scientifically plausible, secret at the heart of the bad guys’ schemes is an original one, and McGoran makes the most of it.”
~ Publishers Weekly, starred review
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“This is a rare rip-roaring read that’s also about something very serious—in this case, genetically modified foods. It’s somehow both escapist fun and a scary real-life wake-up call.”
~ Real Simple.com
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This biotech thriller delivers a complex Frankenfood story, with lots of twists and turns leading to a startling ending. Readers who enjoy Michael Crichton or liked Paul McEuen’s Spiral, or even the nonfiction biothrillers by Richard Preston, will find much to enjoy here.
~ Booklist
“You’ll think twice about the food you put into your mouth after you read Drift. This thriller isn’t only compelling—it’s about something hugely important.”
~ David Morrell, NY Times bestselling author of Murder as a Fine Art
“Jon McGoran is a writer to watch. His effortless prose keeps his quirky characters ripping through a tricky plot that’s as unusual as it is original. Drift is a winner.”
~ F. Paul Wilson, NY Times bestselling author of Dark at the End
“Drift is a compelling and devious novel from a powerful new voice in thriller fiction. Jon McGoran has the chops to become one of the greats!”
~ Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin
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“Drift is written with style and verve. Do yourself a favor and read this tough thriller.”
~ John Lutz, NY Timesbestselling author of Serial
“Gripping, chilling and written with aplomb. Packed with plot twists and palpable tension; it’s Lee Child’s Killing Floor with a smart-aleck Reacher. Genuinely unputdownable.”
~ Owen Laukkanen, author of The Professionals
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Buy Drift at your local bookstore, or at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, or Indiebound.
The Dead Ring /The Blacklist No. 166
A tragic warehouse fire in Turkey, a mine collapse in South Africa, a capsized ferry disaster in Indonesia: devastating mishaps, or something more sinister? The Blacklist's Raymond Reddington knows these were collateral damage in a highly lucrative and deadly game known as The Dead Ring- and anything but accidental. The only way to stop the ring is to destroy it from within. Keen must go undercover and play the game, knowing that in the Dead Ring there can only be one survivor.
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The Dead Ring is available in bookstores and at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booksamillion, or Indiebound!
Short Fiction
Jon McGoran's Short Fiction appears in the following anthologies.
Novellas
Jon has also written two novellas: After Effects, a standalone science fiction/horror story, and Down to Zero, which is part of the Doyle Carrick series, and takes places after Deadout and before Dust Up.
Writing as D. H. Dublin
Jon McGoran is author of the CSU forensic series featuring rookie forensic technician Madison Cross.
The first book in the D. H. Dublin CSU series from Penguin Book, Body Tracebegins with rookie forensic tech Madison Cross's first day on the job. She is fresh out of med school and newly returned to Philadelphia, but she gets a chance to make her mark when everyone - including the police - is quick to write off the deaths of two college girls as drug overdoses. For Madison, the evidence at the crime scene just doesn't add up. Relying on her instincts, Madison embarks on an investigation that takes her from a pristine Ivy League campus to the seediest parts of town. And she must listen to what the bodies tell her-because unlike the living, the dead never lie.
In this brisk, tight novel about the crime scene unit of the Philadelphia Police Department, debut author Dublin[’s] ...detailed approach and lively characters make an immersive read.
~ Publishers Weekly
If there’s an upside to living in a city with a triple-digit murder rate, it’s that our violent town has captured the imaginations of some very fine novelists... Enter D.H. Dublin, the newest of the blood bards.
~ Philadelphia Weekly
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D. H. Dublin writes a fascinating novel, well worth your time and more suited to a hardback cover than the paper one in which it appears.
McGoran has a clean, brisk writing style with lively characters and wonderful details.
~ Chestnut Hill Local
I love this book! It's a fast and engaging read, and I can't wait for the next one to come out.
~ Bookreporter.com
The second book in D. H. Dublin's Philadelphia-based forensic crime series from Penguin Books, Blood Poison follows rookie forensics technician Madison Cross as she continues to learn the ropes while investigating the death of Derek Grant, an environmentalist and health nut whose sudden death by natural causes surprises everyone — until it turns out there was nothing natural about it. As Madison is drawn into the web of Grant’s perverse family, she realizes to her horror, that the killer is honing in on her.
D.H. Dublin’s C.S.U. Investigation series is fresh, fast-paced and sure to grab readers and hold them tight until the end... Blood Poison is gripping, and offers up unique twists and characters that make you want to read more.
~ Pop Syndicate
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A fascinating look at how CSU works ...This book takes off at mach speed and accelerates into light speed, giving the audience a fantastic thrill ride.
~ Midwest Book Review
In the grand tradition of forensic story telling... The plot is enormous. Yet as tightly knit as a sweater. It weaves one thread at a time. D.H. Dublin brings to his new book an expert’s grasp of a good crime novel and a gift for understanding human character. Blood Poison is riveting.
~ I Love a Mystery Newsletter
The science is fascinating... Madison and her city, Philadelphia, are portrayed with a deft touch... [An] interesting story well told with fascinating things to learn about science
~ Armchair Reviews
Jon McGoran—a.k.a. D. H. Dublin—is back with Freezer Burn, the third book in his Philadelphia-based series of forensic crime thrillers from Penguin Books. With almost a year on the job, rookie forensic technician Madison Cross is starting to feel like she knows her job, but nothing she has encountered so far could prepare her for her next case. A trash bag full of severed body parts, an escalating gang war, a victim of brutal torture, and a shriveled corpse oozing a mysterious substance other than blood; unrelated at first, together they point to a plot more elaborate—and more sinister—than anything Madison Cross has ever faced.
Crime Scene Unit investigation stories have never been more exciting than in this third installment of D.H. Dublin’s series featuring Madison Cross as a crime scene investigator. …While this is a series, the characters are so well written and the storyline so well detailed it’s easy to read Freezer Burn without having read the first two: Body Traceand Blood Poison. However after reading Freezer Burnyou’ll most likely want to read more about Madison Cross and her team.
~ Myshelf.com
If you are looking for an author that delivers realistic crime scene and investigative procedures, the D.H. Dublin is the author you are seeking… The book is better forensically than any book I’ve read by Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell. There are two previous books in this series and I hope there are many more to come.
~ Bookhuntersblog.com
This is an exhilarating police procedural that focuses… a fine rounded crime tale. Fans of the CSI shows will appreciate Freezer Burn.
~ The Mystery Gazette
The action doesn’t stop as Freezer Burn racks up the bodies… Jonathan McGoran, aka D. H. Dublin, has crafted a fast-paced, action-packed story. The characters are well defined, and the plot is wild, full of unexpected twist and turns that will keep the reader immersed in the story. Freezer Burnis the third in this series, but can stand on its own merit. As much as I was mesmerized with Freezer Burn, I find myself looking forward to reading the two prior books in this series, Body Trace and Blood Poison. D.H. Dublin delivers the goods.
~ Romance Reviews Today
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Gruesome murders, a dash of romance, and intricate forensic details make this third installment in the C.S.U. series a must read for police procedural fans… D.H. Dublin is a cut above many other authors in this mystery subgenre. His Crime Scene Unit Investigation series offers up incredibly authentic details on evidence gathering and processing, and his protagonist, Madison Cross, is a rookie who is at a crossroads in her life. Dublin proves that he can keep the series real and interesting with his latest thrill ride, Freezer Burn… Dublin has hit his stride in this tightly-crafted novel. You won’t be able to put it down – and you won’t see where it’s going until the very last few pages. Dublin expertly pulls together all the threads carefully placed throughout to bring the reader to the explosive end.
~ Pop Syndicate
Dublin's writing style and ability to write a twisty, complicated, surprise-ending mystery is right up there with the other bestsellers of our time… What I really liked about this book is that there was more to the story than just a graphic murder mystery. There are elements of family relationships and what they mean, the idea of how we come to terms with our past and perhaps our future, even in death, and definitely the theme of good police work versus bad police work and how easy it is for the wrong suspect to become the focus of an investigation.
~ Book Club Queen
The science is exact and cutting edge. I recommend this to anyone who loves thrilling forensic mysteries. Completely unnerving, but oh so enjoyable.
~ I Love a Mystery