Meet Angela Richman

 

By Elaine Viets

Angela Richman, the star of my new Death Investigator series, makes her debut in the new Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. "Gotta Go," a short story, opens in mythical Chouteau County, a "ten square mile pocket of white privilege" thirty miles west of St. Louis, Missouri.

Angela says her job is to "investigate all unexpected and unexplained deaths in the county that don’t happen under a doctor’s care: accidents, murders, suicides. I work for the Chouteau County medical examiner. I’m responsible for the dead person. The police handle the scene – everything but the body."

Angela is called to the estate of society beauty Cookie Cabanne, who "died in style inside her black Bentley, wrapped in a thousand-dollar cashmere sweater with an empty bottle of Grey Goose at her feet." The police detective who’s "gotta go" says Cookie’s death is a suicide, and wants Angela to hurry because he doesn’t get overtime. But the death investigator is not sure about this death.

Angela Richman marks my return to the dark side: I started writing hardboiled mysteries for Dell with the Francesca Vierling newspaper series, set in St. Louis.

 

I’ve written 14 traditional mysteries in my Dead-End Job series.

("The Art of Murder," my 15th, will be out in May 2015). There are ten cozies in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series.

I’ve loved writing all three series, but I began to hanker for darker novels, and the idea for the Angela Richman Death Investigator series was born. I wanted Angela to have cutting edge forensics, so in January 2015, I took the MedicoLegal Death Investigator Course for forensic professionals at St. Louis University and started writing the first novel in the new series, "Brain Storm."

This Death Investigator series is unique: Janet Rudolph of Mystery Lovers International believes it’s the only series of its kind.

My agent, Jill Marr at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, has been shopping the series to publishers. And I wrote this short story for AHMM.

Enjoy Angela’s first adventure. You can even win an autographed copy of the new Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, before it hits the stores. If this new series takes off, that signed copy could be your retirement plan.

Did the Death Investigator series sell to a publisher? That mystery will soon be solved. Stay turned.

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To win the November Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine with Angela Richman’s debut, click Contests at www.elaineviets.com

Comments

[Marcia Talley]

Oh, my gosh, Elaine! I'm so excited about your new series. And, ya'll, I've read the novel in first draft ... so all can say is "wow." A unique protagonist, and I predict great things for Angela.

[Storyteller Mary]

Good luck! I can't even imagine a publisher not wanting this series. Looking forward to seeing what you do, darker or just as dark as the Francesca Vierling series? (because I enjoyed those, not too much, even for my squeamish self). Does this course qualify you to do the work, or was it more of an introduction?

[Elaine Viets]

Angela really is unique, Marcia. If you like forensics, this is your kind of series. Not Patricia Cornwall gory -- more like Kathy Reichs.

[Elaine Viets]

Dark as Francesca, Mary, but Angela won't scare you, I promise. Read the AHMM story and decide for yourself.

[Sally Schmidt]

Congrats. This sounds great. Definitely a hole to be filled with a series like this. And jumping over to the contest page now - I'm already retired but that signed copy might change that to retired in style.

[Elaine Viets]

LOL, Sally. We both live in hope! Enjoy Angela's debut.

[Lynn Demsky]

Sounds like a wonderful change of pace --- I read the three you wrote years ago and adored them all! Congratulations!

[Elaine Viets]

Thanks, Lynn. I'm really looking forward to this new venture. I think you'll like it.

[Charlaine Harris]

I am so looking forward to seeing Angela's book in print.

[Elaine Viets]

Me, too, Charlaine. My hardworking agent has been working on this project for almost two years now. I know you did the same, but now the end is in sight and I can't wait.

[Mary S.]

This sounds great, Elaine. I've loved all your series and know I'll love Angela too.

[Elaine Viets]

I hope you do, Mary. You have high standards when it comes to books.

[catriona]

Serious preparatory research! I doff my heat to you. And I look forward to meeting Angela.

[sujata massey]

Elaine, it's such a smart idea to introduce a heroine in a short story going into a magazine with great distribution to all kinds of mystery readers. What is the pub date for the first novel?

[Dean James]

Best wishes on the new venture, Elaine. One thing, though. Eileen Dreyer, also from St. Louis, published a couple of books about a nurse who is also a death investigator: Bad Medicine (1995) and Head Games (2004). I believe she was a part-time death investigator, though, and not full-time.

[Elaine Viets]

Thank you, Catriona. I promise not to sit next to you at dinner and tell you my favorite blowfly stories.

[Elaine Viets]

No official pub date yet, Sujata.

[Elaine Viets]

I'm a fan of Eileen, Dean, but her investigator is different from the type of death investigator in my novels, who is a specially trained lay person who works out of the ME's office.

[Storyteller Mary]

Shocked that my library no longer subscribes to AHM. I'm trying to remedy that . . . meanwhile, off to contest!

[Elaine Viets]

That's too bad, Mary. AHMM has excellent modern storytellers. Would it help to request it?