Category: Kudos/Reviews

A.M. Potter Interview: Literary Noir and Modern Publishing

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Author Interview from WriteStats, March 22, 2026.

INTERVIEW OPENING:

“In a publishing industry often driven by speed, trends, and algorithms, A.M. Potter represents something increasingly rare: a writer grounded in discipline, literary tradition, and narrative restraint.

A Canadian author with three published novels — Bay of Blood, The Color Red, and Silver Moon Rising — Potter writes within the literary detective and noir fiction space, where atmosphere matters, but clarity matters more.

Published by Stark House Press and Black Opal Books, A.M. Potter’s work reflects a core philosophy that becomes clear throughout this interview:

“You control your literary touches… and put the narrative arc first.”

This single insight encapsulates not just Potter’s writing style but a broader truth about what keeps readers engaged in modern fiction ….”

See full interview at: https://writestats.com/a-m-potter-interview/

CBC Radio One ‘Ontario Morning’ Interview with A.M. Potter

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Ontario Morning Book Column, Wednesday, January 15, 2025. CBC Radio’s Nav Nanwa invited me to talk about Silver Moon Rising and Detective Ivy Bourque.

Click here to listen to the interview (Duration: 7 minutes).

Synopsis: Author A.M. Potter delves into North Noir. Potter’s latest novel, Silver Moon Rising, the second in the Detective Ivy Bourque series, has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Original Paperback) and ITW Award (Best Series Novel).

Kudos from Publishers Weekly for Silver Moon Rising

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Silver Moon Rising (Detective Bourque #2) by A.M. Potter. Stark House. ISBN 979-8-88601-100-5

Publishers Weekly Review: Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is even better than its predecessor (The Color Red). At the outset, Bourque is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel’s body, knifed in the heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales. His protest methods occasionally got him in trouble with the law and courted controversy. When more people — some linked to Daniel — are stabbed to death, Ivy must figure out which of Daniel’s enemies, including Massachusetts politicians and corporate whaling interests, are angry enough to kill. Potter spends worthwhile time illustrating how Ivy’s background in organic chemistry benefits her investigative work, and evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. – Publishers Weekly, Sept 2024

To purchase Silver Moon Rising, click here for information.

Silver Moon Rising nominated for Edgar and ITW Awards

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SILVER MOON RISING, Book Two in the Det. Ivy Bourque Series, has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Original Paperback) and an International Thriller Writers (ITW) Award (Best Series Novel). I’m over the moon – the silver moon. 😉

Click here for sales information.

Review of Silver Moon Rising by Ken Haigh, Author of Under The Holy Lake and On Foot to Canterbury

“Book Two in the Lieutenant Ivy Bourque series gets off to a quick start: a sudden violent death on a moonlit ferry crossing on Cape Cod. The victim, Daniel Fitzgerald, is the son of a prominent New England political family turned eco-activist. His abusive social media posts have earned him many enemies, but as Bourque investigates, the potential culprits multiply, and she begins to wonder if the motive for Fitzgerald’s murder is personal rather than political. Bourque is a likeable sleuth, a clever, fair-minded detective operating in a man’s world.

The author, who grew up in Nova Scotia, is particularly good on descriptive detail, capturing the weather and mood of the east coast setting. Potter is also very good on the details of the police investigation. Readers who like police procedurals will enjoy following Bourque as the bodies and the forensic clues multiply. The book is well-plotted, and the story will keep the reader turning pages until the solution is revealed. This is Potter’s third book (the first, also a mystery, was set in Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula region), and each book is better than the one before.  I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.”

Full Review of Silver Moon Rising

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Silver Moon Rising, Book Two in the Detective Bourque series, will be released by Stark House Press on September 4, 2024

Review by James White, Author of Cisco and Giants:

A.M. Potter’s new crime suspense novel, Silver Moon Rising, the second episode in the Detective Lieutenant Bourque series, features the picturesque towns of Cape Cod. But it’s not all picturesque for Bourque. Potter does a masterful job drawing the reader into his fast-paced story with engaging interludes describing the region’s climate and colorful inhabitants.

Bourque and her team soon get bogged down with leads and hunches that go nowhere. It seems every Person-Of-Interest (POI) has an air-tight alibi. Forensics helps identify the murder weapon, but that’s all Bourque has to go on. The perp remains on the loose.

Finally, painstaking detective work provides a glimmer of evidence that sets Bourque and a SWAT team off on a rapid-fire chase to catch the killer before another body washes up in Vineyard Sound. Silver Moon Rising will keep you turning pages. Potter weaves a tangled web of characters and plot twists, culminating in an ending you’ll never expect.

Kudos for Silver Moon Rising from the American Library Association (ALA):

“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the ALA