A journalism major in college, Linda Lovely has spent most of her career working in PR and advertising—an early introduction to penning fiction. NEIGHBORS TO DIE FOR is Lovely’s 10th mystery/suspense novel. Whether she’s writing cozy mysteries, historical suspense or contemporary thrillers, her novels share one common element—smart, independent heroines. Humor and romance also sneak into every manuscript. Her work has earned nominations for a number of prestigious awards, ranging from RWA’s Golden Heart for Romantic Suspense to Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion for Best Cozy Mystery.
WITH NEIGHBORS LIKE THESE and NEIGHBORS TO DIE FOR are the first two books in Lovely's new HOA Mystery series. The plots illustrate why managing HOAs can be murder. In the first book, murder victims in separate Lowcountry homeowner associations appear to have only two things in common—they antagonized neighbors and their corpses were posed to shock. Are HOA feuds provoking these murders? Kylee Kane, a retired Coast Guard investigator, agrees to help her friend’s HOA management company find the answer. After uncovering decades-old links between the murder victims, Kylee IDs the killer’s next target. Can she foil the third act in the killer’s death-as-theater game or will she be the next corpse on display?
Want added humor? Lovely's BRIE HOOKER MYSTERY SERIES features Brie, a vegan chef, who lives with her Aunt Eva, a dedicated carnivore, on Eva's Udderly Kidding Dairy farm. Squabbles about dinner menus are the least of the odd couple's problems, starting with a pot-bellied pig's accidental unearthing of a skeleton that belongs to Eva's unlamented husband, who disappeared years back.
Lovely's LIES: SECRETS CAN KILL, a stand-alone novel set in 1938, earned a finalist spot in the published category of the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for Historical Romantic Suspense. The time period between the World Wars provides a fascinating backdrop for the story of an independent woman who comes of age in the Roaring Twenties, then finds herself a social pariah after she leaves her husband. When her estranged spouse is murdered, she's the prime suspect.
Lovely has published novels in two more series--MARLEY CLARK MYSTERIES and SMART WOMEN, DUMB LUCK romantic thrillers.
The MARLEY CLARK MYSTERIES offer a main course of thrills coupled with a generous side of humor and romance. Marley, the 52-year-old, kick-ass heroine, is a retired military intelligence officer. In DEAR KILLER, she's working part-time as a security guard on an island in the SC Lowcountry. In NO WAKE ZONE, Marley travels to Spirit Lake/Lake Okoboji, Iowa, where the author spent many wonderful summers with her aunt, uncle, and cousins.
DEAR KILLER earned a spot in the finals of the RWA Golden Quill competition for published books. Harlequin purchased the mass market rights for both DEAR KILLER and NO WAKE ZONE for its Worldwide Mystery imprint.
Her SMART WOMEN, DUMB LUCK series features content that's a mite steamier. This series follows the adventures of three friends--Nexi Ketts, a forensic accountant, Riley Reid, director of security for a private university, and Kate Johnson, a medical researcher. In DEAD LINE, Nexi is the main character. In DEAD HUNT the spotlight turns on Riley. DEAD CURE will tell Kate's story.
An active member of Sisters in Crime, Lovely served five terms as the Upstate South Carolina Chapter's president. She's also a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the South Carolina Writers Association. For several years, she helped organize the annual Writers' Police Academy. Prior to publication, her manuscripts finaled in 15 contests, including RWA's Golden Heart and Daphne du Maurier competitions, Deadly Ink, Murder in the Grove and Malice Domestic.
A native of Iowa, Linda has called the South home for four decades. She and her husband live beside a lake in the South Carolina Upstate. The author's hobbies include reading, swimming, kayaking, tennis, and gardening.
