$25 Amazon Gift Card Raffle!

And Grab Some Free Books Too!

May 11, 2025

If you happen to leave a 3-, 4-, or 5-star written and/or video review for any of my books between May 11th and May 30th on Goodreads, BookBub, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Instagram, Facebook, and/or TikTok, send me an email at dawnbarclayauthor@gmail.com (subject line: Amazon Gift Card Raffle) and let me know where and when you posted the review(s), and under what name. I will enter you into a random drawing for a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

You can review any of my books (written as D.M. Barr or Dawn M. Barclay), but only one review per book per outlet, please. So, if you reviewed two of my books and placed those reviews on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble, for example, you’d get four entries.

(Amazon reviews are excluded here because, even though I’m not paying for reviews, it could possibly be interpreted as such and would therefore violate their Terms of Service. If your review happens to also end up on Amazon , it won’t get you an additional raffle entry, but it will earn you a special place in my heart!)

Here are my titles (under these pen names, anyway):

Fiction:

Expired Listings by D.M. Barr

Murder Worth the Weight by D.M. Barr

Saving Grace: A Psychological Thriller by D.M. Barr

The Queen of Second Chances by D.M. Barr

Simple Tryst of Fate by D.M. Barr

Deadly When Disturbed by D.M. Barr

Crime Anthologies:

Justice for All: Murder New York Style 5, edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. DeMarco

New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style, edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. DeMarco

Nonfiction

Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible, and the Neurodiverse by Dawn M. Barclay

Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay

I’ll choose the winner in early June and notify you by email.

If you have any questions, email me at dawnbarclayauthor@gmail.com. Good luck!

Winner of the “Deadly When Disturbed” Tee-Shirt Contest!

Congratulations to Kayla Elfgen !

Kayla won the Deadly When Disturbed tee-shirt contest, held to celebrate the release of the audiobook version of Deadly When Disturbed. While it was a random draw, here are her answers to the questions:

What is your favorite psychological or domestic suspense book? And why?

“I think it has to be Along Came a Spider by James Patterson for me. I just started the series, and that one really showed me how Patterson writes and can build a story. My grandmother has read this series since it started and loves it, and I finally decided to give it a try.

“The writing is clear and concise, without most of that nonsense filler that I see in a lot of books that turns me off from reading it. I don't care for the romance in suspense/mystery/thriller books, but in Along Came a Spider, Patterson managed to make it actually relevant to the story and I didn't mind that at all. It also wasn't too graphic or detailed.

“There's a lot of character building going on throughout the book. The suspense is constantly building and is truly suspenseful. The main character, Alex Cross, is also a really loveable character along with his partner, John Sampson. Both of them seem like they could be very real people in real life scenarios. I had a really hard time putting this book down and made me want to read more of Patterson's books, so I will be busy with his books for a good while!”

***

Some of the other choices for favorite psychological thriller included:

Kelli LaQue: “My favorite psychological/domestic thriller is Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris. This one is my favorite because the topic that comes up and the story surrounds is domestic violence. As someone who had dealt with DV, I loved that the author gave the main character a voice. I know it’s just a book, but it is a very scary thing and very real.”

Alison Osborn: “I have so many favorite thrillers that I absolutely love, but one that really stands out is The Only One Left by Riley Sager. I love books that surprise me, make my jaw drop and keep me totally entertained!! I’m less of a slow burn reader, because I need to be grabbed pretty quickly!!”

Peggy Hopkins: “My favorite/ most memorable is When Pigs Fly. The reason it's memorable is because it delves into the psychological damage everyone experiences. It also shows how we're all on a path, just be you and you'll be where you're supposed to be.”

Thanks to everyone who entered! And if you’re interested, you can buy the audiobook version of Deadly When Disturbed here.

True Crime Update

True crime lovers, paranormal hunters, tombstone travelers, and the curious are eating this book up! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Reviews have been wonderful, and the support is so appreciated. I’ll be speaking at the Bridgeport Library on May 31st i(2pm) f you’re interested in hearing more about the book and the history behind it!

The Mid-Atlantic States edition (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) is due out in August and I’m currently hard at work on the Capital Region edition. Stay tuned!

FREE BOOKS!

My gift to you: some links to free books offered by some other mystery, suspense, and romance/romantic suspense authors for you to download.

Here are the links:

The Game is Afoot: https://books.bookfunnel.com/thegameisafootmay/r0j640u9lu

Twisted Tales of Love-Dark Romance Freebees: https://books.bookfunnel.com/KillersLovers/uzqhfdnobv

Suspense Thrillers: https://books.bookfunnel.com/suspense-thrillers/3v2h2qgwuc

Thanks for reading Barr Sinister: The Suspenseful World of D.M. Barr! This post is public so feel free to share it.

What have I been up to?

Podcasts: I’ve been on a number of podcasts and radio shows for Vacations Can Be Murder, including Frommer’s Travel Show with Pauline Frommer. Catch it here:

Audiobooks: I’m currently reviewing the audiobooks for The Queen of Second Chances, Simple Tryst of Fate, and Saving Grace: A Psychological Thriller. I hope to have them all out on Audible by July.

Anthologies: I’m working on second-round edits for Ya Got Trouble: Crime Fiction Inspired by Broadway Show Tunes, to be published in May 2026 by Down & Out Books, and I’m waiting on final galleys for Better Off Dead: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin (two volumes due out August and December, 2025). I’ve also put out a call for a new anthology that will be published at the end of 2026.

Upcoming Appearances:

Here I am, posing with playwright Ed Friedman at Indie Author Day,

Big Red Books, Nyack NY.

May 15th-18th: Sleuthfest, in St. Petersburg, FL. I’ll be on a panel on Dialogue. Info here.

May 31st: Bridgeport Public Library, 2pm. Panel with David Bushman and Jode Millman, moderated by Kathleen Marple Karp, discussing True Crime Uncovered: Digging Up the Details. Info here

June 17-21: Thrillerfest in New York City. I’m finally going to (hopefully) meet James Patterson, John Grisham, and Janet Evanovich! And I’ll be on a panel about various forms of publishing. More info here.

September 3-7: Bouchercon in New Orleans. Hope to be on a panel. More info here.

My latest post from Miss Demeanors (www.missdemeanors.com), titled Maximum Exposure: Overcoming Promo Paralysis, will run on May 15th. If you’re a writer and want to learn more about getting free or affordable publicity, you won’t want to miss it! Miss Demeanors is a great blog that was voted #25 in the Top 400 Mystery/Suspense Blogs list for 2025, so be sure to subscribe!