Summer's killer thriller novel by a Naples couple takes its cue from true-crime podcasts
If you're looking for a new page-turning summer read, one of the most compelling is from Naples' own L. R. Dorn, the pseudonym for husband-and-wife writing team Matt Dorff and Suzanne Dunn.
Their new and second novel, "With a Kiss We Die," hit bookstores and Amazon on July 11. If the title sounds familiar, you probably read Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in high school.
Victoria and Jordan are the young couple this go-round; college-aged theatre majors suspected of parricide (the crime of killing your parents) who try to curry favor with Ryanna Raines, the voice of "The Raines Report," an influential serial podcast, by offering her exclusive access to their lives.
I stayed up until 2 a.m. for a week, totally engrossed in the story.
Meet the authors
I initially met Dunn and Dorff during Cinco de Mayo research (lunch) at Uncle Julio's. She is the pescatarian, he is the GF vegetarian mentioned in that restaurant round-up.
Dunn is a two-time Emmy Award winner for interactive programming and has written two movies for Lifetime and Ion networks. She grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, earning degrees from Penn State and the University of Chicago. Growing up, her family vacationed in Naples.
Dorff is a Southern California native and USC School of Cinema graduate who has written, produced, and/or directed more than 60 hours of long-form television for CBS, NBC, ABC, Showtime, HBO and Lifetime.
Dunn and Dorff's collaboration initially developed working as screenwriters in film and television. The book is in a scripted format, as if you're reading a podcast transcript, and easy to follow.
Their critically acclaimed debut, “The Anatomy of Desire”(HarperCollins/William Morrow), was a Publisher Weekly's top 10 mystery-thriller in 2021 and a 2022 Audie Award finalist for Best Multi-Voice Performance audiobook.
Around town, Suzanne is involved with the Naples International Film Festival and volunteers at the Naples Botanical Garden.
Matt has yet to see his first alligator on a golf course.
"An immersive experience for the reader-listener"
After I read a galley from HarperCollins, their publisher, a second conversation ensued over email.
Naples Daily News: When did you move to Naples?
Dorn: We moved full-time from Southern California to Naples in the summer of 2022. We balance our busy writing schedules with the best of Naples living, especially the lively arts scene, beautiful beaches and wilderness areas.
NDN: Are there any movies readers might recognize you've worked on?
Matt has written TV movies across several genres, including true-crime ("Lies My Mother Told Me"); musical biopics ("Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story"); disaster films ("Category 6: Day of Destruction"); behind-the-scenes TV show dramas ("Growing Up Brady"); and Christmas movies ("A Christmas Wedding").
Suzanne wrote Lifetime's "Seduced by a Stranger,"a romantic thriller, and the Christmas movie, "A Royal Christmas Ball."
Podcast inspiration for the book
NDN: Was there a specific podcast that sparked the idea?
Dorn: Five of the many journalistic investigation podcasts that inspired us in creating Ryanna Raines and "The Raines Report" serial podcast include "The Lady Vanishes" from 7NEWS in Australia; "The Trojan Horse Affair" from Serial Productionsand The New York Times; "CounterClock" (audiochuck); "Bone Valley" (Lava for Good); and The Washington Post's "Canary."
They are all multi-episode deep dives, years in the making, and hosted by committed reporters digging into cases involving murders, disappearances, scandals and malevolent con men.
NDN: Have you listened to the recent Southwest Florida podcast "The Last Ride"? Thoughts? (NOTE: "The Last Ride" is an eight-episode podcast narrated by award-winning journalist Janine Zeitlin and other investigative reporters with the Naples Daily News and The Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, distributed by the NPR Network and produced in partnership with WGCU Public Media.)
Dorn: We are excited about this new way of telling crime stories, of which "The Last Ride" is a prime example. It's a gripping must-listen for true crime fans.
Commercial crime writing has gone from Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler to Truman Capote and Joe McGinnis to "Dateline NBC" and now to an emergent narrative style by a new generation of podcasting crime journalists.
We're both observing and participating in this evolution by writing true-crimefiction.
More on podcast: 'The Last Ride,' Episode 1: One deputy, two missing men
Format offers 'sense of immediacy'
NDN: Why did you write it as a script?
Dorn: Spoken-word storytelling creates an immersive experience for the reader-listener by putting them into the middle of conversations, interviews, and events in the story.
The multiple characters offer contrasting perspectives that make a reader-listener lean forward and decide who to believe.
Even with its limitations (no access to the feelings or thoughts of a character other than through what they verbalize), the multi-voice format produces a sense of immediacy that heightens engagement.
NDN: This would make a great TV series. Who do you envision as Ryanna?
Dorn: Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone are two actresses at the top of our wish list.
We gave the character a strong, personalized voice. We made her transparent about her podcasting process, building a bond of trust with her listeners.
Though she is also a wife and a mom to two young children, Ryanna follows the path of a classic series detective in many ways. She is a no-nonsense investigator who has a growing familiarity with the worst that humanity has to offer.
Hello Hollywood, we have a great new crime show for you ― after the Writers' Strike is settled!
Is a sequel in the works?
NDN: Will Ryanna have a second act?
Dorn: The setup of The Raines Report was to introduce Ryanna and her podcasting team, including the producer/co-host, the engineer, editor and fact-checker. This group works together making each episode, and in the second act (and beyond), we will get to know these behind-the-sounds characters.
They all share Ryanna's sense of purpose to turn out excellent podcasts and bring attention to unsolved cases, help victims' families find closure, hold law enforcement accountable and see that justice is served.
More books: Tiger, Phil, war and more: Nonfiction Author Series returns to Naples with 4 sessions in 2023
NDN: At the center of the Jordan-Victoria relationship is sexual passion. Yet one central question in the story is, "Who seduced who?" Can you speak about that?
Dorn: Sexual passion is a central element in many crime stories and can lead to a mental condition called "folie à deux."
This shared delusional disorder is a real psychiatric syndrome. One way it manifests is when the "primary" partner convinces the "secondary" partner there is a serious threat to them and the only way to remove that threat is to commit murder.
We had a board-certified psychologist read the manuscript during the editorial phase. This spurred us to multiple rewrites of a scene where Ryanna interviews a forensic psychologist who has examined Jordan and Victoria and lays out her theories of who seduced who.
To find out, you'll have to read the book. "With A Kiss We Die" is also available on Audible.
What readers are saying
"With A Kiss We Die" so far has four out of five stars from Amazon reviewers. The lowest review, 3 stars, was from Maddie who said the "was just OK" but that it "is still a very solid thriller." The majority of her reviews are 3 stars or less.
Most Amazon reviewers rated the book 5 stars, with praise similar to what FlowerChildReads wrote: "The unique format that features podcast episodes in real-time works so incredibly well here, giving information without the fright factor of feeling you’re inside the action. Excellent plotting gives significant clues and twists throughout with our podcast host/investigator, making this a propulsive read."
FlowerChildReads recommended the book to "lovers of true crime, suspense fiction, and unique storytelling formats."
Diana Biederman is NDN's food & restaurant reporter, an avid reader and a former CCPL employee. Connect via dbiederman@gannett.com for other summer reading ideas.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Local authors' new killer thriller inspired by true-crime podcasts
