Hi there! Been awhile. Here’s a seasonally appropriate photo of the church at the center of BLOOD & INK, New Brunswick’s St. John the Evangelist, pilfered from my Hall-Mills comrades at Thinkery & Verse. I had a whirlwind of a fall, between lots of events/media appearances and a magazine deadline from which I’ve only just come up for air. Now the Christmastime rush is about to sweep me back out to sea, but first…
I’m utterly overjoyed to see my work making the rounds on some of the year-end/best-of lists that are circulating, most notably The New York Times Book Review (top pick for Best True Crime of 2022!) and The Washington Post ("Pompeo retells the whole sordid business with care and authority, deftly pacing its astonishing developments,” Michael Dirda generously writes), but also the Washington Independent Review of Books and Oxygen (which named BLOOD & INK the year’s no. 1 true crime book). Also, shout out to the holiday gift guides in New Jersey Monthly, (201) Magazine, and The Record newspaper. Roundups like these give authors a much-needed push during the crucial holiday shopping season, so I encourage you to check them out, including Vanity Fair’s, where I plugged three of my top 2022 picks: THE RUIN OF ALL WITCHES by Malcolm Gaskill; AGENT JOSEPHINE by Damien Lewis; and LAST CALL AT THE HOTEL IMPERIAL by Deborah Cohen. (I’ve corresponded with each of these fantastic authors by the way and am happy to report they’re all lovely.)
—Other 2022 historical true crime/narrative history that I devoured:
THE BETRAYAL OF ANNE FRANK by Rosemary Sullivan; MURDER AT TEAL’S POND by David Bushman and Mark T. Givens; THE MONSTER’S BONES by David K. Randall; DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES by Betsy Prioleau; AMERICAN DEMON by Daniel Stashower; ALL THAT IS WICKED by Kate Winkler Dawson; THE POISONOUS SOLICITOR by Stephen Bates; NOT EXACTLY LYING by Andie Tucher (which, I might add, includes a passage about the Hall-Mills case, which Andie first introduced me to); and THE YEAR THAT BROKE AMERICA by Andrew Rice (who proved to be a reliable lunch-break companion when we were simultaneously researching/writing our books out here in the suburbs). Am I forgetting anything? (Hope not.)
—Still sitting on my shelf:
THE IMPOSTER’S WAR by Mark Arsenault; THE SCANDALOUS HAMILTONS by Bill Shaffer; and THE MOSQUITO BOWL by Buzz Bissinger. I’ll get to these soon I swear.
—On my shopping list:
THE MAN WHO INVENTED MOTION PICTURES by Paul Fischer; WHO KILLED JANE STANFORD? by Richard White; and THE NEW YORKERS by Sam Roberts.
—What I’m salivating for (so far) in 2023:
THE WAGER by David Grann. David emailed me the other day about sending a galley and I’ve been watching my mailbox like a hawk ever since, because just listen to this juicy description: “a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on The Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.” Yes please!
That’s all for now. But do me a favor and drop a comment with any recent books from the dark-old-history genre that you’d recommend, yeah? Also, please pardon the Amazon links, but for anyone doing a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping, that’s probably your best bet. Happy holidays and see you in the New Year.