Philly's First Ladies of Mystery

Cheers to some of Philadelphia's most notable and successful mystery writers!

Lisa Scottoline
With over 25 million books in print and a regular column, Chick Wit, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Lisa Scottoline is truly Philly’s First Lady of Crime. The Philadelphia author and lawyer first published Everywhere that Mary Went in 1994 and since then she’s penned an additional fifteen popular titles, notably, Daddy’s Girl, Killer Smile, Dirty Blond. Lisa’s next book, Think Twice is due March, 2010.

Gillian Roberts
Although she’s moved on, Gillian Roberts is still best known for her award –winning Amanda Pepper crime series. In her fourteenth and final Pepper book appropriately entitled, All’s Well That Ends Well, schoolteacher, Amanda’s making a career change. She’s earned her PI certificate and is set exit stage right, bidding her students at Philly Prep—and her fans—goodbye. Roberts, however, promises to be back with new challenges as she tackles a work of historical fiction set in seventeenth century Mexico.

Cordelia Biddle
Society Hill resident, Cordelia Biddle takes a look at Philly crime from an historical perspective in her Martha Beale series. Beginning with The Conjourer and following up with her latest, Deception’s Daughter, would-be sleuth, Beale joins forces with homicide investigator, Thomas Kelman in 19^th century Philadelphia, where, then as now, affluence, murder, and tawdry street life may often collide.

Merry Jones
Merry Jones draws on her past experiences and relationships as a communications professional in the creation of her sleuth, Zoe Hayes. With no aspiration to the life of an investigator, Zoe is a Center City Philadelphia art therapist who has a way of stumbling into the midst of crimes. In Jones’ latest book, The Borrowed and Blue Murders, the therapist once again finds herself in the middle of a homicide.