Elaine Viets is a Midwestern American newspaperwoman and mystery writer.

Life and career

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Viets has a degree in journalism and became a longtime popular media figure in St. Louis. She was a regular columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for twenty-five years,[1] her columns focusing mostly on local issues and human-interest fare. She also hosted the local light-news television program Viets Beat, for which she won Emmy Awards in 1989 and 1990. After moving to Washington, D.C., and leaving the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Viets wrote a syndicated column carried by United Feature Syndicate and later by United Media.[1]

She also began writing mystery novels and eventually left the newspaper business almost entirely to become a full-time novelist. Viets first drew on her professional experience to produce four novels set in St. Louis and featuring fictional St. Louis newspaper columnist Francesca Vierling (and exciting speculation over which characters might represent real-life Post-Dispatch figures).

By the time she had written the last of these, Viets had relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1997, which became the locale for her next novels, the Dead-End Jobs series.[1] Viets researches these books herself by taking the same sort of low-level dead-end jobs—telemarketer, shop clerk, and so forth—as the series' protagonist, Helen Hawthorne.

Viets, married for over thirty years to author and actor Don Crinklaw, is active in the trade organizations Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She is a board member of the Mystery Writers of America. In 2004 she was nominated for three Agatha Awards.[2] In 2005, she won awards presented for Best Short Story at two notable mystery conventions: an Agatha Award at Malice Domestic Ltd and an Anthony Award at Bouchercon, both for her story Wedding Knife.

On April 11, 2007, Viets's fellow contributors to The Lipstick Chronicles reported that Viets had suffered a stroke. According to a subsequent update, Viets is recovering well and is again creating mysteries based on real life and the people who live it.

She appeared one the very first episode of Mythbusters during the "Biscuit Bullet" story.

Publications

Francesca Vierling, Newspaper Columnist

# Title Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
1 Back Stab 1997 Dell ISBN 0-440-22431-4
2 Rubout 1998 Dell ISBN 0-440-61348-5
3 The Pink Flamingo Murders 1999 Dell ISBN 0-440-61351-5
4 Doc in the Box 2000 Dell ISBN 0-440-23620-7

Dead-End Job

# Title Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
1 Shop Till You Drop 2003 Signet ISBN 0-451-20855-2
2 Murder Between the Covers 2003 Signet ISBN 0-451-21081-6
3 Dying to Call You 2004 Signet ISBN 0-451-21332-7
4 Just Murdered 2005 Signet ISBN 0-451-21492-7
5 Murder Unleashed 2007 Signet ISBN 0-451-22108-7
6 Murder with Reservations 2007 NAL Hardcover ISBN 0-451-22111-7
7 Clubbed to Death 2008 NAL Hardcover ISBN 978-1-615-51534-9
8 Killer Cuts 2009 Signet ISBN 0-451-22854-5
9 Half-Price Homicide 2010 NAL

Obsidian

 ISBN 978-0-451-23154-3
10 Pumped for Murder 2011 NAL

Obsidian

 ISBN 978-0-451-23320-2
11 Final Sail 2012 NAL

Obsidian

 ISBN 978-0-451-23674-6
12 Board Stiff 2013 NAL

Obsidian

 ISBN 978-0-451-23985-3
13 Catnapped! 2014 Obsidian ISBN 978-0-451-46630-3
14 Checked Out 2015 NAL

Premier Mystery Series

 ISBN 0451466322, 9780451466327
15 The Art of Murder 2016 NAL

Berkley

New American Library

Premier Mystery Series

 ISBN 0451476131, 9780451476135

Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper

# Title Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
1 Dying in Style 2005 Signet ISBN 0-451-21679-2
2 High Heels Are Murder 2006 Signet ISBN 0-451-21988-0
3 Accessory to Murder 2007 Signet ISBN 0-451-22258-X
4 Murder with All the Trimmings 2008 Signet ISBN 0-451-22548-1
5 The Fashion Hound Murders 2009 Signet ISBN 978-0-451-22842-0
6 An Uplifting Murder 2010 Obsidian ISBN 978-0-451-23170-3
7 Death on a Platter 2011 Obsidian ISBN 978-0-451-23524-4
8 Murder Is a Piece of Cake 2012 Obsidian ISBN 978-0-451-23851-1
9 Fixing to Die 2013 Signet ISBN 978-0-451-24098-9
10 A Dog Gone Murder 2014 Signet ISBN 9780451465986

Angela Richman, Death Investigator

# Title Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
1 Brain Storm 2016 Thomas & Mercer

Brilliance Audio

Kindle

 ISBN 1503936317, 9781503936317
2 Fire and Ashes 2017 Thomas & Mercer

Brilliance Audio

Kindle

 ISBN 1477848800, 9781477848807
3 Ice Blonde 2018 JABberwocky Literary Agency

Kindle

 ISBN 1625673620, 9781625673626 4 Death Grip 2021 JABberwocky Literary Agency

Kindle

 ISBN 9780727890184

Anthologies and collections

Title Contents Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
Images of St. Louis Introduction 2000 University of Missouri ISBN 0826206972, 9780826206978
Blood On Their Hands Red Meat 2003 Berkley Prime Crime ISBN 0-425-19035-8
High Stakes Sex and Bingo 2003 Signet ISBN 0-451-21018-2
The World's Finest Mystery

and Crime Stories

 Red Meat

Sex and Bingo

 2004 Forge ISBN 0-765-31146-1
Chesapeake Crimes I Wedding Knife 2004 Quiet Storm ISBN 0-9749-6080-2
Show Business is Murder Blonde Moment 2004 Berkley Prime Crime ISBN 0-425-19652-6
Drop-Dead Blonde Killer Blonde 2005 Signet ISBN 0-451-21444-7
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine After the Fall January/February 2006
Many Bloody Returns Vampire Hours 2007 Ace Books ISBN 978-0-441-01522-1
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Death of a Condo Commando May 2009
Vampires in Love Vampire Hours 2010 Barnes & Noble ISBN 978-1-435-11852-2
Crimes by Moonlight The Bedroom Door 2010 Berkley Prime Crime ISBN 978-0-425-23563-8
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Main Squeeze November 2015
Happy Homicides 2: Thirteen Cozy Mysteries Red Meat 2016 Spot On Publishing

Kindle
Deal with the Devil and 13 Short Stories The Seven 2018 Crippen & Landru ISBN 1936363275, 9781936363278

Other books

Title Coauthor Publication

Date

 Publisher ISBN
Urban Affairs: Tales from the Heart of the City 1988 Patrice Press ISBN 0-935284-65-6, 9780935284652
Viets Guide to Sex, Travel and Anything Else That Will Sell This Book 1993 Patrice Press ISBN 0-935284-72-9
St. Louis: Home on the River Quinta Scott 1995 Towery Pub ISBN 1881096181, 9781881096184
How to Commit Monogamy: A Lighthearted Look at Long-Term Love 1997 Andrews McMeel Publishing ISBN 0836227239, 9780836227239
How to Survive the Happiest Day of Your Life 1997 Dh Audio (audio cassette) ISBN 0886469023, 9780886469023
Censored Viets 1996 Wildstone Audio (audio cassette) ISBN 1882467000, 9781882467006
  • Kramer, Staci (February 1, 1996). "Viets-Post marriage on the rocks? Editor Woo takes over negotiations. (Includes related article on the 'Retain Elaine' party at Pancke House)". St. Louis Journalism Review. 26 (183).
  • St. John, Burt (September 1, 1996). "Viets' future with the Post uncertain; she continues to build syndication". St. Louis Journalism Review. 26 (189).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Steve Glassman (2007). Florida crime writers: 24 interviews. McFarland. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7864-3083-3.
  2. ↑ Ed Gorman, Martin H. Greenberg (2004). The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, Volume 2 World's Finest Mystery and Crime Series (5th ed.). Macmillan. p. 275. ISBN 0-7653-1146-1.
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