The Book House Podcast Episode 4: MK Pagano

In our latest episode, YA thriller author MK Pagano shares with Liz Alterman how she blends romance, friendship, suspense, and grief in her compelling debut, Girls Who Burn.

Eighteen-year-old protagonist Addie Blackwood regrets nothing more than one horrible, mistake-filled night last summer. Hours after she hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie’s never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn’t slip and fall; someone pushed her. And Addie’s number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich kid down the street who always had a thing for Fiona. But when Thatcher is found dead in the same ravine, Addie must admit she was wrong.

Pagano, a mom of two, also talks about her writing process and how she tracks characters and themes to ensure she pulls on each of the threads that make up her intricately woven tale to leave readers with a satisfying conclusion.

A longtime fan of Tana French, MK recommends novels that have kept her turning pages this year.

Pick up Girls Who Burn and MK's reading selections at The Book House in Millburn or Long Branch.