Bøger af Barbara D'Amato

A powerful short story collection from Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning Barbara D'Amato.Playwright, novelist, and crime researcher Barbara D'Amato currently writes two mystery series. One features Chicago patrol officers Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis, whose adventures on the streets of Chicago supply six of the twelve stories in this collection. And in "See No Evil," the partners encounter the heroine of D'Amato's other popular series, freelance investigative reporter Cat Marsala. Cat appears again doing a Washington exposé in "Freedom of the Press."In "Dolley Madison and the Staff of Life," the First Lady uses her considerable deductive powers to solve a murder among the staff. A reporter reminisces about his big break, an interview alone with Greta Garbo, in "I Vant to Be Alone." The title story, in which a writer takes revenge on a reviewer, won the 1999 Agatha, Macavity, and Anthony Awards.

A bomb explodes, taking the life of Louise Sugarman and injuring reporter Cat Marsala. As a controversial advocate for the decriminalization of drugs and for treating addiction as a medical problem, Sugarman has many enemies. Outraged by the attack, Cat resolves to find the killer. The investigation forces Cat to confront the issues and the people on both sides of the debate.

Journalist-turned-sleuth Cat Marsala knows there's no such thing as easy money. But a feature story on Christmas tree farming does sound relaxing. And once she arrives at the DeGraaf farm, Cat finds a friendly, colorful family whose hard work spans generations. Then Cat learns about the mysterious death of Henry DeGraaf, Sr., the previous spring, and a palpable tension replaces the cheery air. Could the DeGraaf family closet be rife with skeletons? When a fresh corpse turns up, she's sure of it.

"The Most Peaceful Town in the World" boasts the sign leading to the quiet adult community of Young Lake. And it was-until they started shooting across the generation gap.First there were the "incidents" a broken arm, a scorpion sting, rocks hurled at the school bus.Next little Timmy Barkus was missing-until they found his body. And then the little girl...Gerritt DeGraaf had never seen such an unlikely assembly of suspects. And yet it had to be-one of these mild old people was frightened enough or insane enough to murder.

WINNER OF THE ANTHONY AND AGATHA AWARDS FOR BEST TRUE CRIMEIn 1968, Dr. John Branion was found guilty of murdering his wife in their posh Chicago home. After exhausting his appeals, he evaded authorities by fleeing to Africa. He was finally captured in 1983-but his case was far from over. It would take another seven years for Dr. Branion to finally win his freedom-and for those who prosecuted him to admit that he could not have committed the murder, and that they knew it all along.Acclaimed mystery writer Barbara D'Amato was drawn to this story two decades after the murder, as Dr. Branion languished in prison, ill and without hope. Her meticulous research repeatedly led her to one startling conclusion: that it was impossible for Donna Branion's murder to have unfolded the way the police alleged. In this award-winning account, D'Amato deftly explores the intriguing facts of this shocking case-from the tragic blunders made by authorities to Branion's arrest, conviction, and years practicing medicine in Africa as a fugitive from justice. The result is a damning indictment of our criminal system-and the vindication of an innocent man.The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery by Barbara D'Amato won the Anthony and Agatha Awards for Best True Crime. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Cat Marsala mysteries, including Hard Case and Hard Christmas. She lives in Chicago.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR BARBARA D'AMATO TAKES CAT MARSALA ON A DANGEROUS ADVENTURE IN THE WORLD OF OZ... From Hard Road "Jeremy, do you remember in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Dorothy had gone to California, and there was a big earthquake and Dorothy, and Jim the cab-horse, and the boy Jeb, all fell down a hole in the earth? And they had lots of adventures? And then finally they came to Oz." "Of course I remember!" "Well, this is a lot like that." "Some of their adventures were scary, Aunt Cat. The Mangaboos, the vegetable people, were going to plant them. And they were chased by invisible bears."

It begins with a romantic dinner for three: Chicago journalist Cat Marsala, her semi-significant other, Dr. Sam Davidian, and a temporary houseguest named Dapper, a Dalmatian with a bone to pick. Unfortunately, Dapper's doggie treat happens to be from a human cadaver. It's just one piece in a grisly puzzle that leads Cat to a panic-stricken butcher-and an elite catering service that's feeding the appetite of an ingenious killer. And piecing the mystery together has left Cat to wonder...What other evidence in this grisly murder remains to be seen?

Originally published: New York: Scribner's, 1991.

She's an ace reporter. An amateur sleuth. And she's always clued in. But now Cat Marsala is faced with her toughest case, one that could put a friend's job-and life-on the line. A domestic-violence call turns into a case of murder-of one cop by another. The alleged killer is an officer in the unit of Cat's friend, Chief McCoo, and now his reputation is on the line. Department leaks begin to destroy his career-and dangerous incidents around the station soon follow. Now Cat must sift through the conspiracy to clear McCoo's name-before the unknown traitor resorts to murder...

A DAY IN THE LIFE Does anybody care about a dead hooker? That's the question Chicago journalist Cat Marsala is wrestling with. The hooker, Sandra Love, is sleeping on Cat's couch in exchange for the inside scoop on life as a prostitute. Now she's dead in a gutter outside Cat's building and nobody seems to be in a hurry to solve the crime. Except Cat. Digging into the netherworld of prostitution, from the streetwalkers who trade sex for food, to the enormously high-priced independents, Cat's search for a killer takes her deep into the motives and motivations of hard women-and men-on both sides of a dirty game.

Originally published: New York: Scribner's, 1992.

An hour and a half after three-year-old Danielle Gaston is kidnapped from the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, a new Web site pops up on the World Wide Web--featuring Danielle Gaston. She's isolated in a room with no food and only water to drink. This live-action Web page is available to all net users around the world and is soon rebroadcast on CNN and other television networks.Since Danielle is the only child of a popular country-and-western singer and a senator, her case is a high profile one--and likely to end in heartbreak. Unless Deputy Chief of Detectives Polly Kelly can crack the case before the child is harmed.

When archaeologist Blue Eriksen's book Goddess shot to bestsellerdom, no one was more surprised than Blue herself. Now she's studying ancient sites across the world, looking for evidence of the use of hallucinogens in long-dead religions. She believes that one of these substances may prevent or cure drug addiction. Surely that's a good thing-so why is someone trying to kill her? Leeuwarden Associates is the cover name for a deeply secret international organization that facilitates the production, delivery, and sale of illegal drugs worldwide. Leeuwarden considers Blue a threat to their drug empire and sends one of their enforcers to kill her. As she prepares for an isolated dig high in the Peruvian mountains, Blue has no idea that she is being hunted.

For Chicago cop Suze Figueroa, home is a sanctuary, a quiet refuge from the crime, corruption, and tragedy she encounters everyday on the job. The creaky old Victorian house she shares with her little boy, her invalid sister, and her sister's family seems far removed from the threats and dangers of the mean city streets.. . . or so she believes.The truth is far more terrifying, for, unknown to Suze, a stranger has moved into the house: an intruder who waits in the attic by day and prowls her home at night, spying on both the unsuspecting adults and the defenseless children. While Suze spends her work day tracking down an elusive serial killer, she has no idea that a much more personal danger lives under her own roof, eating her food, handling her gun, and watching her loved ones....Strips of yellow tape may keep curious bystanders away from crimes scenes, but nothing so simple can protect Suze and her family from the menace that has invaded the privacy--and the safety--of their own home.