Steve Hamilton is one of the most acclaimed mystery writers in the world, and one of only two authors to win Edgars for both Best First Novel and Best Novel. His Alex McKnight series includes two New York Times notable books, and he’s put two recent titles on the New York Times bestseller list. Wikipedia
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Les Standiford
Locations: Florida and others.
Les Standiford
Les Standiford is the author of twenty-one books, including the critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean –a History Channel Top Ten Pick & the One Read choice of more than a dozen public library systems; Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America, and Washington Burning: How a Frenchman’s Vision for Our Nation’s Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army–both publisher’s nominees for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Awards; The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits (a New York Times Editors Choice); Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction that Changed America (a New York Times best-seller); and most recently, Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles, a featured alternate of the History Book Club.
He is also the author of novels, including the acclaimed John Deal mystery series as well as the stand-alone thrillers Black Mountain and Spill (adapted as a feature film).
He has received the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami and was appointed holder of the Peter Meinke Chair in Creative Writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg for the Spring of 2016.
He and his wife, Kimberly, a psychotherapist and artist, are the parents of three children, Jeremy, Hannah, and Alexander. They live in Pinecrest, Florida, in a home built of native Florida pine and maintained by the spirit of John Deal.
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Carl Hiaasen
Locations around Florida
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in a bizarre place called Florida, where he still lives. His books have been described as savagely funny, riotous, and cathartic. Oddly, they are beloved even by readers who’ve never set foot in the Sunshine State.
A graduate of the University of Florida, at age 23 Hiaasen joined The Miami Herald as a city-desk reporter and went on to work for the newspaper’s weekly magazine and prize-winning investigations team.
From 1985 to 2021 he wrote an opinion column, which at one time or another thrashed just about every major politician in the state – and occasionally his own bosses. One of Hiaasen’s proudest moments came when a Miami City Commissioner who was enraged by the columns introduced a resolution officially denouncing him.
Hiaasen began writing novels in the early 1980s with his good friend and fellow journalist, the late William D. Montalbano. They collaborated on three mystery thrillers – POWDER BURN, TRAP LINE and A DEATH IN CHINA – which borrowed heavily from their reporting experiences. (From his website)
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Craig Johnson
Location – Wyoming
Craig Johnson/Longmire
Craig Allen Johnson is an American author who writes mystery novels. He is best known for his Sheriff Walt Longmire novel series. The books are set in northern Wyoming, where Longmire is sheriff of the fictional county of Absaroka. Wikipedia
For fans of the Netflix series (Longmire,) if you have watched the six seasons, grab a book. Walt, Vicki, Ruby and the gang live on…
