Susan Wittig Albert, Thyme of Death.
When her friend dies of an apparent suicide, herb-shop proprietor China Bayles looks with suspicion upon the friendly folks of Pecan Springs, Texas. First in a series. Maywood native.

Ace Atkins, Leavin’ Trunk Blues.
Blues historian Nick Travers tries to clear the name of a legendary singer who was convicted of murdering her lover and has served 40 years in an Illinois prison. Part of a series.

Eleanor Taylor Bland, Dead Time.
Detectives Marti MacAlister and Vik Jessenovik of Lincoln Prairie, Illinois, investigate the murder of a schizophrenic woman at a shelter. First in a series. Waukegan author.

D.C. Brod, Murder in Store.
Quint McCauley, chief of security at an upscale Chicago department store, is hired on the side by his boss to find out who’s been sending him threatening letters. 1st in a series. Chicago author.

Dorothy Cannell, Mum’s the Word.
When mother-to-be Ellie Haskell agreed to accompany her husband to the U.S. for an exclusive
chef’s competition, she didn’t expect to end up in a gothic mansion in Mud Creek, Illinois. Part of a series. Peoria author.

Jill Churchill, A Knife to Remember.
Jane Jeffry’s quiet life in the Chicago suburbs is disrupted when a film crew comes to town bringing scandals & murder. Part of a series.

Julia Cameron, The Dark Room.
Chicago cop Elliot Mayo is drawn to a woman who is the prime suspect in the murder of a photographer.

Robert Campbell, The 600-Pound Gorilla.
A gorilla from the zoo is transferred to a bathhouse during a Chicago deepfreeze, but when two people are murdered in the steam room, it’s up to precinct captain Jimmy Flannery to prove the ape innocent. Part of a series.

Max Allan Collins, True Detective.
When Nate Heller, an honest cop in the corrupt Chicago of the Prohibition Era, is forced to resign and become a P.I., his first client is Al Capone. First in a series.

Barbara D’Amato, Hardball.
An explosion prevents Chicago freelance journalist Cat Marsala from interviewing an advocate for drug legalization but it doesn’t stop her from following the story. First in a series. Chicago author.

Michael Allen Dymmoch, The Man Who Understood Cats.
When a client dies in an apparent suicide, Chicago psychiatrist Jack Caleb joins forces with cop John Thinnes to prove it was really murder. 1st in a series. Northbrook author!

Philip Jose Farmer, Nothing Burns in Hell.
Things go horribly awry when a Peoria P.I. is hired to witness an illegal money transfer in a cemetery. Peoria author.

John Fink, The Leaf Boats.
A family is shocked when one sister is killed in a Skokie park just as their father’s second wife was 17 years ago. First in a series. Chicago author.

Kathleen Fleming, The Jazz Age Murders.
A woman discovers that a murder at a jazz club on Chicago’s North Side is linked to events that took place during the club’s heyday in the 1920s. Northfield author.

Ardella Garland, Details at 10.
Chicag TV news reporter Georgia Bennett feels guilty when a child disappears after telling her the identity of a drive-by shooter.

Joseph Glass, Eyes.
Psychic Susan Shader is asked by the Chicago police to help catch the Coed Killer. First in a series.

Bill Granger, The El Murders.
A pair of Chicago cops investigate crimes committed on the El. Chicago author.

Andrew Greeley, The Bishop & the Missing L Train.
The Archbishop of Chicago asks Blackie Ryan to track down a bishop who disappeared along with the train he was riding on. Chicago author.

Hugh Holton, Violent Crimes.
Larry Cole of the Chicago P.D. discovers that a series of violent crimes are rooted in a grudge held by a man he arrested for a brutal rape 15 years earlier. Part of a series. Chicago author.

Fred Hunter, Presence of Mind.
Chicago cop Jeremy Ransom is stumped by a case until a theater buff points out that the victim is one of several people murdered after attending the same play. First in a series. Chicago author.

Stuart Kaminsky, Lieberman’s Folly.
Chicago cop Abe Lieberman helps out a prostitute & becomes embroiled in a murder case with roots reaching ten years into the past. First in a series.

Ronald Levitsky, The Innocence that Kills.
Civil rights lawyer Nate Rosen returns to Chicago where his ex-wife lives & gets involved in protecting his daughter’s friend. Part of a series. Northbrook author!

Pascal Littman, Deadly Prayers.
A grisly murder, a surprising autopsy and a Chicago detective’s involvement with a meddlesome witness add up to an outrageous story of crime and passion. North Shore authors.

Alex Matthews, Secret’s Shadow.
The threat of a malpractice suit spurs Chicago psychotherapist Cassidy McCabe to try to prove a client’s apparent suicide was actually murder. First in a series. Oak Park author.

Thomas McCall, A Wide and Capable Revenge.
A murder in the confessional of Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral is linked by Lt. Nora Callum to the death of a Russian émigré and an old vendetta. First in a series.

Frank McConnell, Murder among Friends.
Chicago P.I. Harry Garnish is disgruntled when his boss’s daughter, Sister Bridget, leaves the convent to take over the firm. First in a series.

Ralph McInerny, Her Death of Cold.
Father Dowling of Fox River, Illinois, is awakened at 3 am by a phone call from an elderly parishioner and soon finds himself investigating a murder. First in a series.

Patrick Murphy, Drowning in Hot Water.
Chicago detective Carol Moore defies her superiors by investigating a drowning in Lake Michigan and uncovers an official cover-up. Chicago area author.

Catherine O’Connell, Skins.
New York detectives try to determine whether a model’s murder is related to an animal rights group’s anti-fur protests. Northbrook author!

Sara Paretsky, Indemnity Only.
Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski is hired to find a missing girl but soon begins to suspect her client’s motives. First in a series. Chicago author.

S.C. Pemberton, Murder in Winnetka.
Charles O’Brien of the Winnetka P.D. discovers a link between the death of a mob boss and the disappearance of two children. Evanston/Winnetka author.

Elizabeth Peters, The Crocodile on the Sandbank.
Amelia Peabody sets out for Egypt to indulge in her passion for archaeology and encounters murder, a mummy & a passionate archaeologist. First in a series. Canton native, U of Chicago grad.

Monica Quill, Not a Blessed Thing!
Three nuns living in a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Chicago agree to shelter a socialite whose life has been threatened. First in a series.

Michael Raleigh, Death in Uptown.
P.I. Paul Whelan investigates the murder of a friend who was writing a book about the street people of Chicago’s Uptown. 1st in a series. Chicago author.

Sam Reaves, A Long Cold Fall.
When Cooper MacLeish learns that a former love has plunged to her death from her Lake Shore Drive high rise, he seeks her missing son. 1st in a series.

Craig Rice, 8 Faces at 3.
Chicago lawyer John Malone is hired to defend a woman accused of murder after she woke from a nightmare to find her aunt’s stabbed & frozen corpse at her window. First in a series. Chicago author.

Edith Skom, The Mark Twain Murders.
Professor Beth Austin of Chicago’s Midwestern University teams up with an FBI agent when a series of crimes in the library ends in murder. First in a series. Winnetka author.

Troy Soos, Murder at Wrigley Field.
In the summer of 1918, second baseman Mickey Rawlings tries to determine whether the death of Chicago Cubs shortstop Willie Kaiser was the result of anti-German sentiment. Part of a series.

Susan Sussman, Audition for Murder.
Chicago actress Morgan Taylor is hoping for a juicy role in a play, but when her auditioning partner turns up dead she fears the production may be cursed. First in a series. Chicago author.

David J. Walker, A Ticket to Die For.
A P.I. hired to track down a missing witness gets more than she bargained for when she finds her quarry dead in an adult bookstore southwest of Chicago. First in a series. Chicago area author.

John Wessel, This Far, No Further.
A former Chicago P.I. who did hard time for protecting a girl from a client finds himself suspected of murder again after a simple domestic case turns deadly. Lincolnshire author.

Richard Whittingham, State Street.
When a family friend is murdered, ex-Chicago cop Joe Morrison follows a crooked trail of clues that leads him to the rape of a Mafia don's daughter. Sequel is Their Kind of Town. Wilmette author.

Mark Zubro, A Simple Suburban Murder.
A high school teacher in a quiet Chicago suburb discovers a dead body in his classroom and investigates with the help of his lover, a professional baseball player. First in a series. Mokena author.