Derek B. Miller

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Derek B. Miller

Goodreads Author


Born
in Boston, The United States
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Influences
Richard Ford, James Salter, Mark Helprin, William Maxwell, Kurt Vonneg ...more

Member Since
December 2013

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Derek B. Miller is an American novelist, who worked in international affairs before turning to writing full-time. He is the author of six novels, all highly acclaimed: Norwegian by Night, The Girl in Green, American by Day, Radio Life, Quiet Time (an Audible Original) and How to Find Your Way in the Dark. His work has been shortlisted for many awards, with Norwegian by Night winning the CWA John Creasey Dagger award for best first crime novel, an eDunnit Award and the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award. How to Find Your Way in the Dark was a Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a New York Times Best Mystery of 2021.

Miller is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (BA), Georgetown (MA) and he earned his Ph.D., summa cum laude, in internatio
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Popular Answered Questions

Derek B. Miller It has seriously crossed my mind. I'm wondering about his life between 1926 when he was born, passing through WWII without serving, and then signing u…moreIt has seriously crossed my mind. I'm wondering about his life between 1926 when he was born, passing through WWII without serving, and then signing up for Korea. I'm even wondering if there's another book from the time he gets back and the time that Saul signs up for his first tour. Those three books become a trilogy called THIS LIFE. I'm not ready yet, though. I need more time. You'll have to meet Arwood Hobbes in The Girl in Green if you need more big personalities, or check in with Sigrid again (and her new partner, Sheriff Irv Wylie) as she visits America to look for her missing brother in American by Day. All the best.(less)
Derek B. Miller I posted this on FB too, but I'll gladly repost it here:

There's an old Jewish proverb: Questions unite us and answers divide us. I rather like that on…more
I posted this on FB too, but I'll gladly repost it here:

There's an old Jewish proverb: Questions unite us and answers divide us. I rather like that one. In this case, I wouldn't want to rush to an answer before we've all had the benefit of some unity around the question.

I will say this, though: A world of universal tolerance strikes me as both inherently better and also safer than a world of universal intolerance. Certain socio-cultural systems favor and promote one and not the other.

Consequently, the pragmatic move is to work towards tolerance (a hard job) while remaining vigilant against those who would promote a way of seeing the world that does not allow for pluralism and liberty.

Naziism and Communism (i.e. not to be confused with social democracy) are Western versions of that intolerant culture. We had a civil war (WWII) to conquer the first and a Cold War to conquer the second (sort of).

Jihadist Islam is in a civil war with tolerant Islam (they stole the other-wise banal word "Jihad" which once meant a personal striving for goodness and was not evil like the new version is). We need to support one and fight the other. To do that WELL we need a more developed moral vocabulary in our societies (U.S., Germany, UK, France, etc.) and we need smarter politicians (don't get me started).

Thanks for reading!

dbm(less)
Average rating: 4.04 · 31,376 ratings · 4,646 reviews · 11 distinct worksSimilar authors
Norwegian by Night (Sheldon...

3.94 avg rating — 16,822 ratings — published 2012 — 62 editions
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American by Day (Sheldon Ho...

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The Curse of Pietro Houdini

4.15 avg rating — 3,567 ratings — published 2024 — 9 editions
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The Girl in Green

4.08 avg rating — 3,374 ratings — published 2017 — 32 editions
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How to Find Your Way in the...

4.17 avg rating — 2,685 ratings — published 2021 — 14 editions
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Radio Life

4.05 avg rating — 442 ratings — published 2021 — 8 editions
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Quiet Time

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3.85 avg rating — 33 ratings2 editions
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Norwegian by Night by Mille...

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More books by Derek B. Miller…

AI and Hallucinations

[I'm on Substack: https://drderekbmiller.substack.com]

I love scandalous women. To be properly scandalous these women need to understand the mores, cultures, expectations, and social codes of their day and then — willfully — break them in some glorious and public and memorable manner. Achieving this requires intellect and force of character, not to mention a certain amount of bravery and courage an Read more of this blog post »
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Published on November 02, 2025 09:42 Tags: hallucinations, historical-fiction, history, novelists, spain, substack-ai-and-literature
Norwegian by Night American by Day
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How to Find Your Way in the... Norwegian by Night
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3.98 avg rating — 19,507 ratings

Norwegian by Night
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Derek’s Recent Updates

Derek Miller is now friends with Lydia Cummins
Derek Miller answered Linda Leyva's question: Derek B. Miller
Thanks for asking. RADIO LIFE — which I love — is sort of trapped in contracting issues. It's for sale in the UK/Commonwealth but I haven't settled on an American publisher. Once that's solved it will be. Say hi to Pietro and Massimo for me …
" Wellesley? Avid Reader? Natick? How do we not know other?

About 1% are published from the slush pile. Well under 10% earn out their advances. One perc
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Quotes by Derek B. Miller  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Only the educated stop to look for words - having enough to occasionally misplace them.”
Derek B. Miller, Norwegian by Night

“Everyone gets killed in the shower. Don't you go to the movies? Psycho. Dead in shower. The MExican in No country for Old Men. Dead in shower. Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath. Almost dead in shower, or in the bath, anyway. But she did that thing with her toe and got out OD. Still the shower, though...Glen Close in Fatal Attraction. Dead in shower. John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. Very dead in shower. But never closets. I can't think of anyone shot in a closet. This is why I hide in closets.”
Derek B. Miller, Norwegian by Night

“This country is what you make it. You understand that? It isn’t good and it isn’t bad. It’s just what you make it. That means you don’t make excuses for America’s bullshit. That’s what the Nazis and commies do. The Fatherland. The Motherland. America isn’t your parent. It’s your kid. And today I made America a place where you get your nose broken for telling a Jew he can’t play a round of golf. The only one allowed to tell me I can’t play golf is the ball.”
Derek B. Miller, Norwegian by Night

Polls

What would you like to read in November to discuss in December? Read anytime before December 1st, when the book discussion will open. Please don't be a vote and run - vote only if you will return to discuss. Happy voting!

Having trouble deciding? Please use the comments to mention other books on this list you are interested in. That will be considered for tie-breakers or options for later months etc.


Into the Forest by Jean Hegland
May be at larger library, $10.99 Kindle, used print starting at $3.00
1996, 243 pages, 3.81 stars


"Over 30 miles from the nearest town, and several miles away from their nearest neighbor, Nell and Eva struggle to survive as society begins to decay and collapse around them. No single event precedes society's fall. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. The sisters consume the resources left in the house, waiting for the power to return. Their arrival into adulthood, however, forces them to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship to the land and each other.

Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, Into the Forest is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking novel of hope and despair set in a frighteningly plausible near-future America."
 
  8 votes, 44.4%


Utopia Project: Everyone Must Die by Billy Dering
Not at library, $6.99 Kindle, inexpensive used print
2021, 242 pages, 3.90 stars


"An apocalyptic event. A simple gift box from a military father. A stunning connection between and possibly the last hope for humanity.

After America’s controversial presidential election in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, several decades of escalating civil crises have ensued. The governments of many countries have conspired to develop the ultimate solution for controlling the lives of their citizens. The new society, forged in the secret Utopia Project, provides for all of your needs without cost, promotes recreational group sex, raises offspring without parents and offers a life without stress.

When the project’s true purpose is revealed, a nightmare weapon turns the rest of the world into a mass grave of melted corpses. Inexplicably, not everyone died as planned. On the east coast of America, Sara Hyland and boyfriend Kid Carlson somehow survive. Hunted by the merciless forces of the Utopia Project, a single thread of hope is discovered in a gift box, given to Sara by her military father the night of the destruction. But is it too late to save humanity from extinction?"
 
  4 votes, 22.2%


Aurora by David Koepp
At library, $14.99 Kindle, used print starting at $1.59
2022, 289 pages, 3.81 stars


"In Aurora, Illinois, Aubrey Wheeler is just trying to get by after her semi-criminal ex-husband split, leaving behind his unruly teenage son.

Then the lights go out--not just in Aurora but across the globe. A solar storm has knocked out power almost everywhere. Suddenly, all problems are local, very local, and Aubrey must assume the mantle of fierce protector of her suburban neighborhood.

Across the country lives Aubrey's estranged brother, Thom. A fantastically wealthy, neurotically over-prepared Silicon Valley CEO, he plans to ride out the crisis in a gilded desert bunker he built for maximum comfort and security.

But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of several long-overdue reckonings--which not everyone will survive..."
 
  3 votes, 16.7%


The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
May be at larger library, $5.99 Kindle, used print starting at $2.59
2022, 512 pages, 3.86 stars


"A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.

Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home.

But Chelsea's husband has turned their house into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter's actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is--then a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.

Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity--and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser."
 
  2 votes, 11.1%


Radio Life by Derek B. Miller
Not at library, $3.99 Kindle, used print starting at $9.20
2021, 400 pages, 4.08 stars


"In this riveting political thriller, The Commonwealth, a post-apocalyptic civilisation on the rise, is locked in a clash of ideas with the Keepers, a fight which threatens to destroy the world... again.

When Lilly was first Chief Engineer at The Commonwealth, nearly fifty years ago, the Central Archive wasn't yet the greatest repository of knowledge in the known world, protected by scribes copying every piece of found material - books, maps, even scraps of paper - and disseminating them by Archive Runners to hidden off-site locations for safe keeping. Back then, there was no Order of Silence to create and maintain secret routes deep into the sand-covered towers of the Old World or into the northern forests beyond Sea Glass Lake. Back then, the world was still quiet, because Lilly hadn't yet found the Harrington Box.

But times change. Recently, the Keepers have started gathering to the east of Yellow Ridge - thousands upon thousands of them - and every one of them determined to burn the Central Archives to the ground, no matter the cost, possessed by an irrational fear that bringing back the ancient knowledge will destroy the world all over again. To prevent that, they will do anything.

Fourteen days ago the Keepers chased sixteen-year-old Archive Runner Elimisha into a forbidden Old World Tower and brought the entire thing down on her. Instead of being killed, though, she slipped into an ancient unmapped bomb shelter where she has discovered a cache of food and fresh water, a two-way radio like the one Lilly's been working on for years... and something else. Something that calls itself 'the internet'..."

 
  1 vote, 5.6%

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