Three Published Novels
My published novels include two thrillers and a mystery.
A Quicker Blood
Jealous Mistress
Red Diana
All three novels are available for purchase on Amazon, both in physical book format and as Kindle ebooks, as well as by order at bookstores.
In almost everything I write, I include law and lawyers. In my novels, I've created colorful characters and stories about lawyers,
including women lawyers. In my nonfiction writing, I often highlight legal issues that concern everyone.
My audience is worldwide. It includes readers from every country, every background, and every identity: Readers
who are seeking exciting thrillers and mysteries, readers who like stories featuring women protagonists,
especially women who've worked as lawyers, readers who like stories that focus on the parent-child relationship,
and readers who find modern history absorbing.
Connect with Me
Whether you're interested in obtaining a signed copy of my books, learning about my personal appearances, please don't hesitate to contact me.
ABOUT ME
My Personal History
After graduating from law school, I worked as a public interest lawyer and served as a law clerk to a federal judge. I've also been an arbitrator, a law school professor, a consultant on legal writing, and a lawyer at three Chicago law firms.
I now focus primarily on writing. My writing has appeared in a number of publications, including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, The San Francisco Daily Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and The Chicago Sun-Times, among other professional and mainstream publications.
I was also the first editor of The Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, and my short story "Neglect" was one of the winners of the Chicago Lawyer magazine's first annual fiction competition.
BOOKS
A Quicker Blood
This exciting legal thriller features Karen B. Clark, who finished law school at Harvard only three years ago but is already a stereotypical "burned-out" lawyer. Weary of life in New York City, bored by the work at her Wall Street law firm, and fed up with her two-timing boyfriend, Karen impulsively takes off for a lawyers' convention in Chicago. There she meets another young woman named Karen B. Clark, whom Karen calls "K.B." K.B. has just finished law school and is about to begin her legal career in the small town of Walden, Wisconsin, where a law firm has hired her, sight unseen. When both Karen and K.B. are injured in separate mishaps, Karen awakens in a hospital, where she's been identified as K.B. After learning that the real K.B. is dead, Karen decides to seize the moment and turn her life around. She'll take K.B.'s place and try life as a small-town lawyer. In Walden, Karen relishes her new existence and begins a sizzling romance, but she soon uncovers terrible secrets that lead her to fear for her life.
In one online review, a reader called this story of a burned-out lawyer who leaves her Wall Street law firm, assumes a new identity, and fears for her life a “page-turner” they “couldn’t put down.”
Jealous Mistress
Here's an exciting mystery with a twist. It features a stay-at-home mom who reinvents herself as a savvy sleuth.Alison Ross has chosen to temporarily abandon her demanding career as a lawyer so she can spend more time at home with her two young children. She'd like to find a part-time job, but because “the law is a jealous mistress,” requiring a full-time commitment, her search for part-time work has led nowhere.Early one morning, Alison stumbles across a dead body at her daughter’s nursery school. Because she saw the school janitor making a hasty exit, she reluctantly becomes enmeshed in the police investigation. When the police charge the janitor with the murder, Alison has doubts about his guilt and decides to find out what really happened. Could this be the part-time job she's been trying to find? Pursuing the real killer while she juggles life at home with her husband and kids, Alison uncovers a host of shocking secrets in the quiet suburb of East Winnette.
One online reviewer called this mystery “an engrossing read with a gutsy, likeable heroine.” A reviewer added that they were “totally immersed in the story and could not put the book down until they finished it.”
Red Diana
Set in San Francisco, with flashbacks to Chicago and New York, this chilling psychological thriller explores themes like the desire for revenge, the terrible burden of guilt, and the tyranny of unethical lawyers and corrupt judges. It also focuses on the love between parent and child, the shattering pain of losing a loved one--and the many routes survivors take to deal with their loss.
Featuring a story packed with suspense, an original and compelling story line, vivid characters, and a satisfying ending, this thriller is must-reading.
When 8-year-old Davi is abducted on Market Street in San Francisco, her mother, lawyer Karen Clark, is gripped by fear. Karen has moved to the city from Chicago hoping to make a "fresh start" after the death of her husband. The abductor, disguising his voice, calls Karen and reveals where he's left Davi. Karen and her friend Abby rush to find Davi, cruelly left alone in a barren parking lot--but unharmed. Karen's panic subsides until she finds a crude note pinned to Davi's shirt: "You're next, Karen." Haunted by the note naming her as the next victim, Karen begins working with SFPD Detective Greg Chan to discover who abducted her daughter--and why. Their only clues are Davi's recall of a brown sofa and the words "RED DIANA."
Please note: Karen Clark is also the protagonist in another riveting thriller, "A Quicker Blood." The suspenseful story in "RED DIANA" takes place 12 years later.
In online reviews, one reader has called it “a gripping tale” for “anyone with a passion for psychological thrillers.”
Another reader has called it a” tangle of abduction, murder, corruption, and insanity. Enjoy it!”