A.M. Potter's Blog
September 3, 2025
WIN an Anniversary Edition Ebook of SILVER MOON RISING
North Noir is celebrating the release anniversary of
SILVER MOON RISING.
To win a signed Anniversary Edition Ebook, send your email address to amp-northnoir@outlook.com, subject line: SMR Ebook.
Contest closes October 6, 2025.
Winners selected at random.
“Impressive series launch” – Publishers Weekly on The Color Red, Book One in the Detective Bourque Series
“Even better than its predecessor. This series continues to impress.” – Publishers Weekly on Silver Moon Rising, Book Two in the Detective Bourque Series
“Beautifully written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Bourque series on your watchlist.” – Mystery Maven Reviews
A.M. Potter
To win a signed Anniversary Edition Ebook, send your email address to amp-northnoir@outlook.com, subject line: SMR Ebook.
Contest closes October 6, 2025.
Winners selected at random.
“Impressive series launch” – Publishers Weekly on The Color Red, Book One in the Detective Bourque Series
“Even better than its predecessor. This series continues to impress.” – Publishers Weekly on Silver Moon Rising, Book Two in the Detective Bourque Series
“Beautifully written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Bourque series on your watchlist.” – Mystery Maven Reviews
A.M. Potter
November 24, 2024
BOOK GIFTS (Gift Ideas for the 2024 Holidays)
To give a book is to give a window into another world. Here are four gift ideas for the 2024 Holidays.
THE LOCK-UP (2023) by John Banville.
Booker Prize-Winner John Banville writes inventive whodunits that also happen to be eloquent and atmospheric. The Lock-Up, a Strafford and Quirke Mystery, evokes the sights, smells, and sounds of mid-1900s Ireland. If your giftee is a fan of character-driven detective tales, giftwrap The Lock-Up for them.
Link to Book on GR: The Lock-Up
+++++++++++++++++++++++
PLAYGROUND (2024) by Richard Powers, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of The Overstory (2018).
Given his wide fictional lens, Powers is one of the most thought-provoking American novelists of the past ten years. Although the opening sags a bit, Powers’ latest novel, Playground, soon lifts off and the story soars, a tale intertwining AI and the future of the world’s oceans. The novel is, by turns, playful and disquieting. It is also inventive, evocative, and forward-looking.
Link to Book on GR: Playground
+++++++++++++++++++++++
IN WINTER I GET UP AT NIGHT (2024) by Jane Urquhart. Longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Urquhart’s latest novel, In Winter I Get Up at Night, cements her reputation as one of Canada’s finest historical fiction authors. The novel is a wide-sweeping tale encompassing artistry, education, and politics in the first half of the twentieth century. Sure to please lovers of Canadiana as well as historical and prairie fiction.
Link to Book on GR: In Winter I Get Up at Night
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Held (2024) by Anne Michaels.
Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize | Winner of the 2024 Giller Prize.
Held is poetic without being precious, revealing solid bones under a lyrical skin. The novel won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Some will find the storyline scattered. Like C.S. Richardson’s All The Colour In the World, Held requires the reader to slow down. If they do, Michaels’ cadence and imagery will pull them in.
Link to Book on GR:
Held: A Novel
THE LOCK-UP (2023) by John Banville.
Booker Prize-Winner John Banville writes inventive whodunits that also happen to be eloquent and atmospheric. The Lock-Up, a Strafford and Quirke Mystery, evokes the sights, smells, and sounds of mid-1900s Ireland. If your giftee is a fan of character-driven detective tales, giftwrap The Lock-Up for them.
Link to Book on GR: The Lock-Up
+++++++++++++++++++++++
PLAYGROUND (2024) by Richard Powers, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of The Overstory (2018).
Given his wide fictional lens, Powers is one of the most thought-provoking American novelists of the past ten years. Although the opening sags a bit, Powers’ latest novel, Playground, soon lifts off and the story soars, a tale intertwining AI and the future of the world’s oceans. The novel is, by turns, playful and disquieting. It is also inventive, evocative, and forward-looking.
Link to Book on GR: Playground
+++++++++++++++++++++++
IN WINTER I GET UP AT NIGHT (2024) by Jane Urquhart. Longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Urquhart’s latest novel, In Winter I Get Up at Night, cements her reputation as one of Canada’s finest historical fiction authors. The novel is a wide-sweeping tale encompassing artistry, education, and politics in the first half of the twentieth century. Sure to please lovers of Canadiana as well as historical and prairie fiction.
Link to Book on GR: In Winter I Get Up at Night
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Held (2024) by Anne Michaels.
Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize | Winner of the 2024 Giller Prize.
Held is poetic without being precious, revealing solid bones under a lyrical skin. The novel won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Some will find the storyline scattered. Like C.S. Richardson’s All The Colour In the World, Held requires the reader to slow down. If they do, Michaels’ cadence and imagery will pull them in.
Link to Book on GR:
Held: A Novel
November 12, 2024
Win a free Ebook of Silver Moon Rising
A.M. Potter and Stark House Press are offering readers the chance to win a free ebook of
SILVER MOON RISING
, the second novel in the Detective Ivy Bourque Series. The book has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Paperback Original) and an International Thriller Writers Award (Best Series Novel).
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist
“Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is even better than its predecessor (The Color Red). At the outset, Bourque is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel’s body, knifed in the heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales …. Potter evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. – Publishers Weekly
To enter the Silver Moon Rising giveaway contest, simply email your name to amp-northnoir@outlook.com; Subject Line: ‘SMR EBOOK.’
Contest closes December 10, 2024. Winners will be selected at random.
Link to the book on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist
“Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is even better than its predecessor (The Color Red). At the outset, Bourque is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel’s body, knifed in the heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales …. Potter evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. – Publishers Weekly
To enter the Silver Moon Rising giveaway contest, simply email your name to amp-northnoir@outlook.com; Subject Line: ‘SMR EBOOK.’
Contest closes December 10, 2024. Winners will be selected at random.
Link to the book on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
September 29, 2024
Kudos from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY for Silver Moon Rising
Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Massachusetts Cape & Islands Detective Unit (after The Color Red) is even better than its predecessor. At the outset, Bourque is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel's body, knifed in the heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales. His protest methods occasionally got him in trouble with the law and courted controversy. When more people—some linked to Daniel—are stabbed to death, Ivy must figure out which of Daniel’s enemies, including Massachusetts politicians and corporate whaling interests, are angry enough to kill. Potter spends worthwhile time illustrating how Ivy’s background in organic chemistry benefits her investigative work, and evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. (Sept. 2024)
Silver Moon Rising on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
Silver Moon Rising on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
September 15, 2024
Silver Moon Rising nominated for Edgar and ITW Awards
SILVER MOON RISING, Book Two in the Det. Ivy Bourque Series, has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Original Paperback) and an International Thriller Writers (ITW) Award (Best Series Novel).
Book sales info: https://ampnorthnoir.com/sales-contact/
"Impressive series launch" - Publishers Weekly
"Classic procedural" - Booklist, published by the American Library Association
"Beautifully written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Bourque series on your watchlist.” - Mystery Maven Reviews
Silver Moon Rising on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
Book sales info: https://ampnorthnoir.com/sales-contact/
"Impressive series launch" - Publishers Weekly
"Classic procedural" - Booklist, published by the American Library Association
"Beautifully written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Bourque series on your watchlist.” - Mystery Maven Reviews
Silver Moon Rising on Goodreads: Silver Moon Rising
August 24, 2024
SILVER MOON RISING: Kudos & Preview
To preview Silver Moon Rising, download a Free Teaser at https://ampnorthnoir.com/?p=11832
KUDOS:
“With his usual acumen, Potter has woven a tapestry of conundrums, intrigue, vignettes, and literary allusions. Ivy Bourque embodies the unflappable composure of the best investigators. Outstanding.” – S.M. Collins, Author of To Be Human Again
“Silver Moon Rising is a smart, action-packed police procedural whodunit that ranks among the best in this genre. The story grabs you at the outset, immersing you in the life and trials of Det. Bourque as she methodically tracks down the killer. This is a great read!” – David Hoath, PhD, X-Cop & Police Psychologist (Ret.)
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the American Library Association
Available for purchase SEPTEMBER 4, 2024. Sales links to follow.
See: Silver Moon Rising
KUDOS:
“With his usual acumen, Potter has woven a tapestry of conundrums, intrigue, vignettes, and literary allusions. Ivy Bourque embodies the unflappable composure of the best investigators. Outstanding.” – S.M. Collins, Author of To Be Human Again
“Silver Moon Rising is a smart, action-packed police procedural whodunit that ranks among the best in this genre. The story grabs you at the outset, immersing you in the life and trials of Det. Bourque as she methodically tracks down the killer. This is a great read!” – David Hoath, PhD, X-Cop & Police Psychologist (Ret.)
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the American Library Association
Available for purchase SEPTEMBER 4, 2024. Sales links to follow.
See: Silver Moon Rising
August 11, 2024
ADVANCE KUDOS for SILVER MOON RISING, Release Date September 6, 2024
"SILVER MOON RISING, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow."
- BOOKLIST, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
"A.M. Potter continues to redefine murder mysteries. Silver Moon Rising pulls readers deeper into Cape Cod with pepper-paced dialogue and richly relatable characters. The new Bourque novel is another engaging read I couldn’t put down."
- BILL ARNOTT, author of the Gone Viking travelogues and A Perfect Day for a Walk
"Silver Moon Rising is beautifully-written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Detective Bourque series on your watchlist."
- MYSTERY MAVEN REVIEWS
“If you haven’t read the first novel in the Detective Bourque series (The Color Red), you’ll want to after reading the second (Silver Moon Rising). Silver Moon Rising is well-plotted, set in inviting East Coast outports and hideaways, and with truly exceptional writing chops that leave a great many other formulaic bestsellers in the dust. Or the salty wake, more appropriately.”
– CAROLINE WOODWARD, Author of Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper
Link to Book: Silver Moon Rising
- BOOKLIST, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
"A.M. Potter continues to redefine murder mysteries. Silver Moon Rising pulls readers deeper into Cape Cod with pepper-paced dialogue and richly relatable characters. The new Bourque novel is another engaging read I couldn’t put down."
- BILL ARNOTT, author of the Gone Viking travelogues and A Perfect Day for a Walk
"Silver Moon Rising is beautifully-written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Detective Bourque series on your watchlist."
- MYSTERY MAVEN REVIEWS
“If you haven’t read the first novel in the Detective Bourque series (The Color Red), you’ll want to after reading the second (Silver Moon Rising). Silver Moon Rising is well-plotted, set in inviting East Coast outports and hideaways, and with truly exceptional writing chops that leave a great many other formulaic bestsellers in the dust. Or the salty wake, more appropriately.”
– CAROLINE WOODWARD, Author of Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper
Link to Book: Silver Moon Rising
June 16, 2024
PUBLISHING NEWS: : Release Date for Bourque Book #2, Silver Moon Rising
SILVER MOON RISING, the second novel in the Detective Bourque series set in contemporary New England, will be released by Stark House Press in SEPTEMBER 2024.
Lieutenant Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry at midnight. The estranged son of Massachusetts’ most famous political family is dead.
Was the victim, Daniel John Fitzgerald, murdered, or was he assassinated? Dan-Dan Fitzgerald was a preeminent eco-activist and whale advocate. His death triggers more deaths. Numerous suspects arise, among them the ferry crew, a megalomaniacal State governor, former Marines, a federal political lobbyist, and anti-whale shipping companies.
The investigation falters until Bourque realizes the key lies below the surface of Vineyard Sound, which leads to a tangled web centered on Cuttyhunk Island off Cape Cod.
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly on The Color Red, Detective Bourque Book One
Lieutenant Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry at midnight. The estranged son of Massachusetts’ most famous political family is dead.
Was the victim, Daniel John Fitzgerald, murdered, or was he assassinated? Dan-Dan Fitzgerald was a preeminent eco-activist and whale advocate. His death triggers more deaths. Numerous suspects arise, among them the ferry crew, a megalomaniacal State governor, former Marines, a federal political lobbyist, and anti-whale shipping companies.
The investigation falters until Bourque realizes the key lies below the surface of Vineyard Sound, which leads to a tangled web centered on Cuttyhunk Island off Cape Cod.
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly on The Color Red, Detective Bourque Book One
April 13, 2024
Orwell, Didion, and The Writing Why
In Joan Didion’s last published work, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, she describes a talk she gave on writing, saying she stole the title of her talk from George Orwell’s essay Why I Write (1946).
In Orwell’s essay, he argued that a writer writes from a desire to seem clever and be talked about. In addition to egoism, Orwell put pen to paper for political purposes. Hence we have, among other classics, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Back to Didion. She relates that one reason she stole the title from Orwell was that she liked its cadence: “Three short unambiguous words that share a sound and the sound they share is this: I, I, I.”
“In many ways,” Didion claims, “writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act.”
Which brings me to today’s novelists. Why do they write? Orwell published his most famous novel (Nineteen Eighty-Four) in 1949; Didion, her final novel (The Last Thing He Wanted) in 1996. In 2024, few fiction authors write to impose anything on anybody, or admit to it. They don’t try to politicize readers. In my case, I aim to entertain them, which is not to say that I avoid topics like politics, ethics, or egoism.
George Orwell
Joan Didion
In Orwell’s essay, he argued that a writer writes from a desire to seem clever and be talked about. In addition to egoism, Orwell put pen to paper for political purposes. Hence we have, among other classics, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Back to Didion. She relates that one reason she stole the title from Orwell was that she liked its cadence: “Three short unambiguous words that share a sound and the sound they share is this: I, I, I.”
“In many ways,” Didion claims, “writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act.”
Which brings me to today’s novelists. Why do they write? Orwell published his most famous novel (Nineteen Eighty-Four) in 1949; Didion, her final novel (The Last Thing He Wanted) in 1996. In 2024, few fiction authors write to impose anything on anybody, or admit to it. They don’t try to politicize readers. In my case, I aim to entertain them, which is not to say that I avoid topics like politics, ethics, or egoism.
George Orwell
Joan Didion
March 21, 2024
Celebrating the Release Anniversary of The Color Red
To CELEBRATE the release anniversary of *THE COLOR RED,* North Noir is giving away 3 first edition eBooks. To enter the giveaway contest, email your name to amp-northnoir@outlook.com with the subject line ‘TCR EBOOK.’
Contest closes April 21, 2024. Winners will be selected at random.
View book on Goodreads: The Color Red
*The Color Red,* the first novel in a detective/mystery series set in contemporary New England, brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod. A Slovenian-born billionaire and his second wife are found dead, hanging side-by-side at their pool. Some say the man was giving away his fortune; others say he was once an oligarch. Who's the killer? Old Soviet operatives? His butler, his son? Balkan relatives? Detective Ivy Bourque and her team encounter many suspects, but none of them have a motive. Why would someone kill a benevolent rich man without an apparent enemy in the world?
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly
Contest closes April 21, 2024. Winners will be selected at random.
View book on Goodreads: The Color Red
*The Color Red,* the first novel in a detective/mystery series set in contemporary New England, brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod. A Slovenian-born billionaire and his second wife are found dead, hanging side-by-side at their pool. Some say the man was giving away his fortune; others say he was once an oligarch. Who's the killer? Old Soviet operatives? His butler, his son? Balkan relatives? Detective Ivy Bourque and her team encounter many suspects, but none of them have a motive. Why would someone kill a benevolent rich man without an apparent enemy in the world?
“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly
