Samantha Downing Books In Order

Publication Order of SamanthaDowning Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Samantha Downing is a well known upcoming American writer of suspense and thriller novels. She hails from San Rafael, California, and is famous for her debut novel called My Lovely Wife. Downing was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently resides in New Orleans. She considers both the places to be her home. Author Downing says that while she was growing up, she developed a keen interest in writing. However, becoming a writer was not the first thing she ended up doing after her graduation. After her schooling, Downing was involved in doing a few odd jobs. She even learned a few things during the course of her early life. But, writing always remained the thing that brought her excitement.

Throughout all her earlier involvements, Downing kept writing stories that came to her mind. Downing never undertook a course in writing. Initially, it developed as a hobby and then turned into a passion for her. Downing wrote over a dozen books before she was able to publish her first book in 2019. When Downing was writing the 12th book, she was confident that it was worthy of being published. This confidence enabled her to submit the book to her publisher and helped her to achieve the much-required success at the start of her career. When Downing was a small kid, her mother used to take her to the library once every 2 weeks. She used to make use of this opportunity to check out a bundle of new books and explore new worlds.

For Downing, the best thing about visiting the library was becoming absorbed in reading a book so much that not wanting to put it aside. Downing would walk around with a book in front of her face all the time. She used to take them to the kitchen, the bathroom, and almost everywhere she went. And by doing so, she would often trip, run into walls, and stub her toes because she would be so much immersed in reading the stories that she would not watch where she was going. As a writer, she also wants to write stories that make readers walk into walls like her. Downing is currently working on the development of the second book of her career. She says that she is trying to cope up with southern heat and stay cool to focus on her writing and come up with exciting stories.

Downing is represented by a literary agent named Barbara Poelle, with whom she developed a good rapport in their first meeting. Just like many other writers, Downing also feels that her characters share some common things with her. For example, she considers herself a control freak like her female lead named Millicent. Also, Downing possesses the ability of drawing a line like Millicent’s husband. She has described Millicent’s daughter Jenna as a strong and clever girl, who knows how to protect herself if she lands in a difficult situation. Downing hopes that she is half as clever as Jenna. Millicent’s son Rory is shown as a smart aleck and Downing thinks she is too. Author Downing is of the opinion that people are born with different looks, brain chemistries, and personalities. They do horrible things and wonderful things for reasons that seem right for them. That is why she has created such characters in her book.

Downing wanted readers to draw similarities from the world around them and tell a story that they find believable and possible to happen in real life. In her book, the couple commits murders with progression. The first murder they committed was unplanned, but the others that follow are the outcome of the first one. Millicent joins her husband to re-create the feeling that happened in the first two murders. A time comes when they begin to feel excited about it. The feeling of not getting caught excites them even more. Downing has said that there is no specific reason behind depicting female victims in her first novel. In fact, she has thought about depicting male victims in her next novel. One of her dream projects is to develop a story in which a woman captures and locks up young men in basements and tortures them, unlike the male psychos and female victims as usually seen in movies. The authors who have influenced Downing’s writing include Bret Easton Ellis, Lawrence Sanders, Donna Tartt, Gillian Flynn, Barbara Kingsolver, Tom Wolfe, Tana French, Margaret Atwood, etc. Downing has declared that her second novel is also going to be a thriller and hopes to get the same amount of love and appreciation, if not more, that she received for her first book.

Samantha Downing made her debut in the field of writing with the book entitled ‘My Lovely Wife’. It was released in 2019 by the Berkley Books publication. This book revolves around the life of a couple, who commit murders to keep their married life interesting. The main characters of this book include Millicent, her husband, Rory, Jenna, and a few others. When Millicent and her future husband meet for the first time, they instantly fall in love with each other. They get married, become parents of two lovely children, and relocate to the suburbs. The couple shares everything with each other, including their biggest dreams, darkest secrets, etc. But, after a few years, they begin to get bored. They start looking for things or activities to keep their marriage alive.

It is at this point of time in their lives that they accidentally kill a woman. And to keep their crime hidden, they kill another woman. Later, they realize that they had fun in killing the two victims and decide to go on a murder spree. The couple looks like otherwise normal people. They have good relations with their neighbors and their children are friends with other kids in the locality. This novel provided a thrilling story filled with many twists and turns. The readers felt blown away by the suspenseful plot and intriguing characters. The critics reviewed the book with great comments and said that it possesses everything that a thrilling novel should have. In addition to the exciting character development and an excellent storyline, the readers also loved the unexpected climax.

2 Responses to “Samantha Downing”

1. Theresa Gray: 12 months ago

   I have just finished my 3rd book by you. You are twisted. ( In a good way) I can not wait to read more.

   Reply
2. Linda Frazier: 2 years ago

   I’m coming to the end of “ He started it”.. I’m going to miss this story.. it’s so much fun, head shaking , non expected twist,
   I’m a fan! Can’t wait to find more of your books.
   Thank you! Bravo!

   Reply