A Flawed Detective’s Descent: A Gritty Noir of Betrayal and Redemption with Author Daniel Kowalski
Online For Authors PodcastShow Notes
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Dan Kowalski, author of the book Death by Misadventure. Daniel Kowalski is a novelist, screenwriter, and filmmaker whose work dives deep into crime, history, and the darker edges of human nature.
He writes modern noir stories—lean, character-driven thrillers grounded in real human stakes. His debut mystery-thriller, Suicide Bridge, has been praised for its gritty atmosphere, cinematic pacing, and relentless sense of tension. His follow up novel Family Feud has been critically praised and his third novel Death by Misadventure is set to be published in 2026.
As a screenwriter, Daniel develops grounded crime dramas and neo-noir thrillers that explore flawed people pushed into impossible situations. His scripts often draw from true events, historical conflicts, and the unspoken moral compromises people make under pressure.
Daniel is also the creator of Dan’s Docs, a YouTube channel dedicated to true crime documentaries. Blending investigative storytelling with a filmmaker’s eye, the channel explores real cases, hidden histories, and the forces that shape criminal behavior.
Across novels, screenplays, and documentary filmmaking, Daniel’s work asks the same central question: What happens when ordinary people are pulled into extraordinary darkness — and who do they become on the other side?
In my book review, I stated Death by Misadventure is a noir thriller by Daniel Kowalski. This book kept me riveted to my seat, and I couldn't wait to discover the "who" and "what" behind all that was going on! The main detective is Jennifer, and like with all noir works, although the good guy, she is certainly not a pristine character. She has a past case that haunts her, a family she has abandoned, and drinks - a lot. Even so, she manages to hang on to her career and gets the case of an attorney gunned down in his garage. Is it a robbery gone wrong or something more?
Jennifer follows leads that end up going nowhere, causing her to drink at an even greater rate. At the same time, she meets up with an old flame from high school. As this relationship heats up, she thinks she may be on the road to some personal happiness. A second murder, a jealous wife, a PI with too much information, and someone she learns is more of a predator than a friend, nearly does her in.
Will she solve the case before finding herself in prison? This touch and go thriller is well-written and keeps you guessing right to the end.
Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1
You can follow Author Dan Kowalski Website: https://dankowalski.com/ FB: @Dan Kowalski: Author and Screenwriter YouTube: @DansDocs
Purchase Death by Misadventure on Amazon: Paperback: https://amzn.to/41zzvXf Ebook: https://amzn.to/4uSou0F
Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor IG: @terimbrown_author X: @terimbrown1
Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors
#dankowalski #deathbymisadventure #thriller #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
More from Online For Authors Podcast
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Lana McAra, author of the book Tara's Dilemma. Lana McAra builds career authors. She is an award-winning, bestselling author and ghostwriter of more than 50 books with over one million copies sold. Founder of Vendela Publishing, she works with writers who want to build long-term careers and reach readers beyond the algorithm. Lana has spent more than two decades teaching fiction writing and speaking to writers about the business of publishing. She is a professional editor, book coach, and ghostwriter.
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Lizette S Tupas, author of the book Always on a Tuesday. Lizzete S. Tupas is an author and healthcare strategist whose work explores identity, resilience, and the hidden cost of competence. With more than two decades of experience in healthcare, she brings a unique perspective to the ways high-performing people navigate expectation, control, and the often-invisible work of holding everything together.
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is RA Consell, author of the book Stealing from Wizards: Arson. Ryan Consell is the author of the middlegrade fantasy series, Stealing from Wizards. Aside from writing, Ryan Consell is a teacher of science and mathematics, stage actor, armorer, and nerd culture activist. His work has been featured on io9, Kotaku, Boingboing, MTV Geek, ,adartlab.com and in Game Developer Magazine. He is an internationally acclaimed theorist on the science of fiction. He has consulted on such titles as The Science of Game ofThrones; spoken at events including DragonCon and Convergence, and partnered with the American Chemical Society. He employs his background in materials science and engineering to overthink fictional physics and to make science more accessible to the public. Ryan was born and raised near Toronto. He has lived and worked in Tokyo and Vancouver, but currently calls Ontario home.
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Del Howison, author of the book The Survival of Margaret Thomas. Del Howison is an author, journalist, and SAG actor. He is a Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology series Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s Greatest Horror Writers. He has written articles for Fear.net, Gauntlet Magazine, and Writers Digest among others. Del’s short story Cul-de-Sac appeared in Weird Tales Magazine #369. His western short story The Lost Herd was turned into the premiere (and highest rated) episode, The Sacrifice, for the series Fear Itself. His dark western novel The Survival of Margaret Thomas was shortlisted for the Peacemaker Award given out by The Western Fictioneers. He has been shortlisted for over half a dozen awards including the Shirley Jackson Award and the Black Quill. Del’s retrospective short story compilation of dark tales, What Fresh Hell Is This?, was released in March of 2025 and listed by Australia’s Aurelias Magazine as one of the best books of the year. He was the cofounder and owner (with his wife, Sue) of Dark Delicacies, a book and gift store known as “The Home of Horror,” located in Burbank, California. For that 31-year effort they were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Horror Writer’s Association. The store won the “Il Posto Nero” award from Italy and has been inducted into the Rondo Hatton Hall of Fame.
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Theresa E Evans, author of the book Choosing to Die. Theresa Evans nursing career spanned fifteen years with a focus in Critical Care. She opened Stone Path Studio in 2007 where she taught therapeutic yoga and somatic movement. In 2014 she joined forces with Essential Somatics, LLC and began a 5 year journey of domestic and international travel teaching and developing program content for Clinical Somatic Trainings. In 2020 her mother died with MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying.) Choosing to Die is her first novel and was born out of the experience of supporting her mother through that process. Currently she lives in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin with her husband Pete. Her focus now is on advocating for choice through Assisted Death.