Dive In
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND marks the tenth Jonathan Stride novel, going all the way back to IMMORAL in 2005. Which naturally begs the question: Do you need to start at the beginning?
In fact, I deliberately write my series books as standalones, so that you can begin anywhere and get a full, rich experience of the characters. I tell readers: You wouldn’t expect to limit yourself to friends you met in your teens or twenties. You’ll meet people throughout your life, and if you enjoy them as people, you’ll want to find out more about the stories that made them who they are. That’s the way a good series should work, too. Once you meet Jonathan Stride in FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, I hope you’ll want to go back and read some of his earlier stories, too.
Critics agree! Here’s what North Carolina’s Mountain Times says: “Ten books into Brian Freeman’s Jonathan Stride series, “Funeral for a friend” traverses a literary tightrope that few authors can manage: the novel works equally well as a standalone for a first-time reader, or as part of the fuller Stride canon for his longtime fans….Freeman’s characters here are as developed as his plot, and even if this is your first foray into the Stride universe you’ll come to know Serena, Stride, Cat, Maggie and others as family.”
They also praise the book’s “masterful diversions, deceptions and angular plotting.”
So even if you’re new to Stride, dive in.
Stride is Back
It’s here! My new novel FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND is available now in e-book, hardcover, and audio. I hope you’ll get your copy and dig in.
Fans of my books know that I like to write thrillers that deliver an emotional punch. And that’s what you’ll get in FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND. I don’t write about super-heroes or super-villains. I want my characters to be real people with stories you care about – even as you’re gasping for breath and turning the pages to find out what happens next.
This is my tenth novel in the Jonathan Stride series, and many early readers have told me that FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND is their favorite book yet. It’s a book that showcases Stride’s passionate loyalty as a hero, but it also leaves you wondering: How far would a truly decent man go to protect someone he loves?
Are you new to the series? Don’t worry, I write each book so that the characters and plots stand on their own, so you can dive right in. Of course, once you get to know Stride, I hope you’ll want to go back and discover his earlier adventures, too.
Top 10 of 2020
Countdown to Stride
There’s a great article by Chuck Frederick in today’s Duluth News-Tribune about all things Stride and Bourne. Click here to read the article.
We’re in September, so the countdown to the new book has started. The latest Jonathan Stride novel, FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, releases on September 22. You can pre-order your copy at Amazon, BN, or other retailers.
Want a SIGNED copy? I’ve got two ticketed virtual events coming up later in the month, and buying a ticket gets you a signed copy shipped by the bookstore. Just click one of the links below to buy your ticket:
Bookstore at Fitger’s (September 22, 6:00 pm CT)
Mysterious Galaxy (September 29, 9:00 pm CT)
Cross-Over
And so we come to the most recent Jonathan Stride novel, ALTER EGO…at least until September 22, when the new Stride book FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND is finally released.
I’ll tell you a secret. I originally envisioned ALTER EGO as a Cab Bolton novel. Given Cab’s Hollywood mother, it made sense to have him as the hero in a book that focused on the sleazy secrets of a famous actor. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of giving this plot to Stride…so that Stride could deal with an “alter ego” who is filming a movie in Duluth based on one of his cases.
But I couldn’t give up Cab entirely, could I? So ALTER EGO became my first cross-over novel, where Stride and Cab BOTH appear as main characters.
People have asked me whether ALTER EGO was inspired by the exposure of Harvey Weinstein and the eruption of #metoo protests in Hollywood. Actually, I turned in the novel a couple of weeks BEFORE the Weinstein scandal broke in the press. That prompted my editor to ask, “Hey, did you know something??”
So be sure to catch up on all of the Stride books…from IMMORAL through ALTER EGO…because you’ll want to be ready for Stride’s big return in September.
For Your Book Club
One of the most tragic elements of the bombing at the Boston Marathon was the way it violated an event that was so much a part of the heart of the city of Boston. In many ways, Duluth has a similar relationship with its own annual marathon. So when the tragedy happened, I knew that, one way or another, something like this would have to become a part of Stride’s world.
However, I don’t write straight terrorism or political thrillers. My books are more psychological, more rooted in intimate family drama. So I needed to find a way to write about a marathon tragedy — but do it in a way that was true to my storytelling.
MARATHON was the result. It’s rooted in a similar violent act (although I made sure that what happens deliberately occurs offstage). My focus in the book is less on the terrorism itself and more on the aftermath — particularly how suspicion and rumor in the age of social media can tear apart the lives of innocent people. Duluth in MARATHON is at a breaking point (does that sound familiar?), and the novel rips at many of the most difficult social threads before finding ways to bring people together.
This was a tough, emotional book to write. I think it’s that true for readers, too. I had readers who felt overwhelmed and wrote to me unsure of whether they could go on — but once they did, I think they felt a great sense of catharsis at the end of the book. So I hope you take the journey on this one — and that you share it with your friends and book clubs. I believe this is a book worth talking about.