From Fact To Fiction: Thrilling Book Reviews

Guns show up in almost every thriller, but how accurately are they depicted?In this episode of From Fact to Fiction, I sit down with Special Forces veteran and firearms expert Chris Grall to break down the biggest mistakes writers and filmmakers make—and how to avoid them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

A mysterious sleepwalking epidemic spreads across America. A deadly fungal infection jumps from bat to human with near total lethality.In this episode of From Fact to Fiction, microbiologist Dr. Michael San Francisco and I unpack the facts behind Chuck Wendig’s apocalyptic saga, Wanderers.If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.comIf you have an idea for a book we should review, or you want to be an author/expert on the show, contact me at substack.com/@lmwhitaker or lmwhitaker.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

A tech billionaire is murdered. His will freezes billions in stock until someone is charged with the crime.Could it Happen? Fact or Fiction?In this episode of From Fact to Fiction, host LM Whitaker and tech executive Vicki Raport unpack the facts behind Jacob Kerr’s best-selling Dead Money.If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.comIf you have an idea for a book we should review, or you want to be an author/expert on the show, contact me at substack.com/@lmwhitaker or lmwhitaker.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

In this episode of From Fact to Fiction, host L M Whitaker is joined by former CIA intelligence officer and author Carmen Amato to explore The Hidden Light of Mexico City.Drawing on Carmen’s years living and working in Mexico, they unpack the real-world forces behind her political thriller — from the powerful drug cartels and government corruption to Mexico’s entrenched class system and the human cost of inequality. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Meet Mrs. Ivanona and her Charm School.On this bonus episode, I introduce a fantastic spy thriller I wanted to share with you.It’s an oldie but a goodie … Nelson DeMille’s The Charm School. Read Full Review HEREIf you have an idea for a book we should review, or you want to be an author/expert, contact me at substack.com/@lmwhitaker or lmwhitaker.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

I started From Fact to Fiction earlier in 2025 to share my love of specialty thrillers. Together, we explored an amazing range of great novels: techno-thrillers, science and medical, espionage and national-security, and historical.In this special end-of-year episode (Part 3 of 3), we revisit the historical and espionage/national security thrillers that captivated us in 2025. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

I started From Fact to Fiction earlier in 2025 to share my love of specialty thrillers — and what a fun year it’s been! Together, we explored an amazing range of great novels: techno-thrillers, science and medical, espionage and national-security, and historical.In this special end-of-year episode (Part 2 of 3), we revisit the medical and science thrillers that scarried us through 2025 on From Fact to Fiction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

I started From Fact to Fiction earlier in 2025 to share my love of specialty thrillers — and what a fun year it’s been! Together, we explored an amazing range of great novels: techno-thrillers, science and medical, espionage and national-security, and historical.In this special end-of-year episode (Part 1 of 3), we revisit the techno-thrillers that shaped our journey through 2025 on From Fact to Fiction. Together, we explored stories where science and imagination collide—epic tales of evolution, cyberwarfare, and strange phenomena that sit just close enough to reality to make us a little uneasy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

This week, I sit down with author and registered nurse M.E. (Peg) Roach to talk about Robin Cook’s Bellevue. We explore what’s real, what’s imagined, and why sometimes the history of medicine is scarier than any paranormal twist. From first-year residency chaos to lobotomies and haunted hospitals, we dig into the facts behind the fiction — and the eerie echoes of medical history.If you want to talk to Peg directly about Bellevue, join her on Nov 12 on the Mystery Book Club. Visit sallyhandley.com/bookclubs to learn how. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

What makes a medical thriller feel real? Meet Darryl Bollinger, a former healthcare executive who’s written eight edge-of-your-seat novels that shine a light on the darker aspects of profit-driven medical care.In our short interview, Darryl shares how his decades in healthcare fuel his passion for incorporating real-world scenarios into thrilling fiction.Darryl’s wish: “That his readers will be transported and entertained in the same way that he still is today.”Find Darryl at darrylbollinger.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

What happens when three female thieves board the RMS Titanic to steal a priceless painting—and one of them falls for a Pinkerton man? On From Fact To Fiction, we review fantastic specialty thrillers, and unravel fact from fiction.In this episode, Bradley Harper, award-winning author of Knife in the Fog, joins us to discuss Maiden Voyage, his new historical thriller set aboard the doomed luxury liner.Learn about the real historical characters that inspired Harper: Forty Elephants: an all-female gang of thieves, a Pinkerton Agent whose father was the criminal mastermind behind Dolye’s Moriarty, and the White Star Employees who lived to tell about the sinking of the world’s most infamous ship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

A Tenuous Line of Succession: Bruns and Olson pull back the curtain on Russia’s true power structure in this vivid national security thriller.On From Fact To Fiction, we review fantastic specialty thrillers, and unravel fact from fiction.In this episode, I am joined by authors and experts David Bruns and J.R. Olson to discuss their new novel Line of Succession, a thriller about an attempted assassination on the Russian president. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Grid Zero: What Andrew Diamond's Fiction Teaches Us About Grid Collapse, Cyber Threats, and National SecurityOn From Fact To Fiction, we review fantastic specialty thrillers, and unravel fact from fiction.In this episode, award-winnning author and software expert Andrew Diamond joined me to discuss Andrew’s book Grid Zero, a new 2025 novel. Grid Zero is a suspenseful thriller that addresses the fragility in our electric utility grid, and the potential devastating consequences of natural or criminal attacks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Rinse and Repeat: The Rehab RacketOn From Fact To Fiction, we review fantastic specialty thrillers, and unravel fact from fiction.In this episode, medical thriller author and health care systems expert Darryl Bollinger joined me to discuss Darryl’s book Treatment Plan, a 2023 novel. Treatment Plan is a suspenseful thriller that immerses the reader in the complex and corrupt world of drug addiction treatment. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Meet Carmen Amato, Author of the Emilia Cruz police procedural series set in Acapulco, the political thriller The Hidden Light of Mexico City, and the Galliano Club historical fiction thrillers.Find Carmen at carmenamato.net or mysteryahead.subtack.com.Carmen and I discuss the facts behind the fiction of Karla's Choice in our full book review, which you can find on Substack, YouTube or our Podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

On From Fact To Fiction, we review fantastic specialty thrillers, and unravel fact from fiction.In this episode, mystery/thriller author and retired CIA intelligence officer Carmen Amato joined me to review Karla’s Choice, a 2024 novel by Nick Harkaway that continues the George Smiley spy thriller series.This fabulous novel is penned by le Carré's son, who writes under the name Nick Harkaway. But did Harkaway accurately portray 1963 spy craft and continue John le Carre's legacy? Listen to find out. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Meet Kevin Bohacz, Author of Immortality and Ghost of the Gods, epic techno-thrilling sagas.Immortality finds humanity threatened by an ancient and invisible threat, in the form of deadly bacteria that kills precisely and suddenly.Kevin and I discuss the facts behind the fiction of Immortality in our full book review, which you can find on Substack, YouTube or our Podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Will the smallest forms of life be the greatest risk to humanity?In this episode, Host L M (Linda) Whitaker and Guest Expert Kevin Bohacz review his novel, Immortality.Immortality is an epic techno-thrilling saga where the most dangerous threat to humanity is an ancient bacteria that can coordinate, communicate and kill.Join us as we discuss how much of Bohacz’s Fiction is Fact? Are the claims made in Immortality possible? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com

Can Scientists Really Bring Back The Wooly Mammoth?In This Episode, Host L M (Linda) Whitaker and Guest Expert Michael San Francisco review Douglas Preston's 2024 novel, Extinction.Extinction is a gripping and fast-paced police-procedural meets science-thriller with unexpected twists and a thought-provoking premise: the de-extinction of lost species, one of which is the Woolly Mammoth.Join us as we discuss how much of Preston's Fiction is Fact? Are the claims made in Extinction possible? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facttofiction.substack.com