Linda Barnes (born December 6, 1949[1]) is an American mystery writer.

Linda Barnes
Born (1949-12-06) December 6, 1949 (age 74)
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBoston University
GenreMystery fiction
Notable worksCarlotta Carlyle series
Website
www.lindabarnes.com

Biography

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Linda Barnes was born and raised in Detroit, and graduated cum laude from the School of Fine and Applied Arts at Boston University. After college, Barnes became a drama teacher and director at Chelmsford and Lexington, Massachusetts schools. While teaching drama, Barnes wrote two plays, the award-winning "Wings" and "Prometheus", and went on to write highly successful mystery novels.

Linda Barnes lives near Boston with her husband and has one son.

Book reviews

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  • The Perfect Ghost Carolyn Haley's book review in the New York Journal of Books noted “Don’t be surprised if Linda Barnes gets an award for The Perfect Ghost, . . .”[2]
  • Kirkus wrote "Barnes puts aside her Carlotta Carlyle series (Lie Down With the Devil, 2008, etc.) for an eerie, suspenseful stand-alone that focuses more on the characters and their dark pasts than on a clever mystery."[3]
  • Publishers Weekly wrote "Although the mystery is slow to build, Barnes delivers a captivating story of love, rivalry, and revenge."[4]

Awards

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Wins

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Nominations

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  • 1986 Shamus award for Best private eye short story, "Lucky Penny"[7]
  • 1988 Anthony award for Best novel, A Trouble of Fools[5]
  • 1988 Edgar award for Best mystery novel, A Trouble of Fools[8]
  • 1988 Shamus award for Best private eye novel, A Trouble of Fools[7]

Publications

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Barnes is best known for her series featuring Carlotta Carlyle, a 6'1" redheaded detective from Boston. Carlotta Carlyle is in the tradition of the hard-boiled female detectives created by Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky.

Michael Spraggue series

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  • Blood Will Have Blood (1981)
  • Bitter Finish (1982)
  • Dead Heat (1984)
  • Cities Of The Dead (1985)

Carlotta Carlyle series

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  • A Trouble Of Fools (1987)
  • The Snake Tattoo (1989)
  • Coyote (1990)
  • Steel Guitar (1991)
  • Snapshot (1993)
  • Hardware (1995)
  • Cold Case (1997)
  • Flashpoint (1999)
  • The Big Dig (2002)
  • Deep Pockets (2004)
  • Heart Of The World (2006)
  • Lie Down With The Devil (2008)

Em Moore

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  • The Perfect Ghost (2013)

References

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  1. ^ page 15, Great Women Mystery Writers, 2nd Ed. by Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay, 2007, publ. Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33428-5
  2. ^ New York Journal of Books Archived May 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Kirkus Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Publishers Weekly Archived July 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b "Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees". Bouchercon.info. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. ^ "Edgar Award Winners and Nominees in the Private Eye Genre". Thrillingdetective.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards". Thrillingdetective.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "Best Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees - Complete Lists". Mysterynet.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
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