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FOURTEEN AUTHORS
TO CHECK OUT DURING Mystery and suspense novels are densely populated with the one PI, the resourceful police detective, and doctors and lawyers to spare. Engineering related characters and subjects in this genre are not as plentiful, but they do exist. The following is a list of individuals who write books related to engineering and construction, resulting in enough authors to check two per day during National Engineers Week. SARAH ANDREWS writes a series featuring Em Hansen, introduced in TENSLEEP as the sole woman working on an oil-drilling rig in the Wyoming badlands. When a geologist and a well-worker fall prey to fatal accidents, Em sets off in search of the killer. Her adventures continue in A FALL IN DENVER and MOTHER NATURE. These books are published by Otto Penzler Books, Signet, and St. Martins, respectively. JAMES BRADBERRY is an architect, as is his protagonist Professor Jamie Ramsgill. This book is sure to please all those engineers who have muttered, or at least thought, "First, kill all the architects," to paraphrase Shakespeare. In THE SEVENTH SACRAMENT, the great architects of the world gather in Italy for a design competition, but someone is killing off the competitors one by one. Professor Ramsgill goes looking for the culprit. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called this "...a taut, intricate tale." (St. Martin's Mass Market Paper, l995, List price $4.99, ISBN 0312956363) SIMON BRETT takes a more whimsical look at the relationship between construction and murder in MRS. PARGETER'S PLOT. Mrs. Pargeter, a character in a continuing series, decides to use some of her inheritance from her late husband's crooked ventures to build a country home. She hires a crony of said husband, the none too reputable Concrete Jackson, to oversee the construction. A corpse is soon discovered in the wine cellar of the new home, and Mrs. Pargeter must identify the murderer to keep her foreman from being framed, no pun intended. (Scribner, l998, List price $22.00, ISBN 0684837145) SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE weighs in with a selection from the classics with his story THE ENGINEERS THUMB, available in selected collections of Sherlock Holmes stories. An engineer shows up on Holmes doorstep with his thumb torn out of his hand, having been asked by some unsavory characters to repair some sort of mechanical press. It's one of the few adventures in which Holmes fails to catch the culprits. KEN FOLLET's PILLARS OF THE EARTH is an epic story about the plight of a master builder as he tries to construct a cathedral in the 12th century. This book, which was published to rave reviews, details the origin of stone masons and is a "gripping tale of faith, ambition, bloodshed, and betrayal." Surely anyone involved with modern construction projects can relate. Those reading for pure escape will appreciate the fact that Follet's protagonist didn't have to contend with liability insurance issues! DICK FRANCIS is another well known author with a book that addresses aspects of engineering. In DECIDER, Lee Morris, a young architect, engineer, and builder becomes involved with the deadly infighting among members of the clan that own a private racecourse. The book addresses the subjects of design, renovation, and preservation of historic buildings, in addition to murder. (Jove, 1995, List price $5.99, ISBN 0515116173) MARY BOWEN HALL writes a series about Emma Chizzit, a female housewrecker (not to be confused with homewrecker!) As the owner and operator of A-1 Salvage, Emma tracks killers in books titled EMMA CHIZZIT AND THE QUEEN ANNE KILLER, EMMA CHIZZIT AND THE SACRAMENTO STALKER, EMMA CHIZZIT AND THE NAPA NEMESIS, and EMMA CHIZZIT AND THE MOTHER LODE MARAUDER. MARGARET MARON's recurring character, North Carolina judge Deborah Knott, participates in a program that builds houses for battered and homeless women in SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT. Her own niece, responsible for wiring the house, is found battered and half-naked in the abandoned structure, and there is blood on Deborah's own hammer. Working with a local police detective, Deborah tries to determine if dark secrets within her own family have led to murder. (Warner Books, l994, List price $5.50, ISBN 0446400807) SJ ROZAN, another real-life architect turned mystery author, looks at high-rise building in her novel NO COLDER PLACE. Her two series detectives go undercover at a construction site to determine why the Crowell company is losing supplies and equipment at an alarming rate. Then a missing construction worker is discovered dead. Answers are few and far between, especially when the lead suspect takes a swan dive off the building. (St. Martin's Press, l997, List price $23.95, ISBN 031216811X) AILEEN SCHUMACHER, a registered professional engineer and owner of a consulting engineering firm, introduced engineer Tory Travers in ENGINEERED FOR MURDER. While inspecting a fast track stadium project, a quality control technician is murdered and Tory becomes a suspect, according to the detective working the case. But when her employees and family are threatened, the two work together to solve the mystery. (Write Way Press, l997, List price $5.95, ISBN 1885173431) The sequel, FRAMEWORK FOR DEATH, will be published in August of l998. KEITH SNYDER's protagonist in SHOW CONTROL is Jason Keltner, a disillusioned musician marking time while he tries to recover from his divorce. A fellow musician dies when her laser show is set to lethal levels and cuts her in half on stage. Jason is compelled to investigate when no one else seems to suspect murder, and he drags his two housemates into the investigation. Computers and Jason's day job as a pipeline maintenance worker at a water treatment plant both figure heavily in this book. (Write Way Publishing, l996, List price$20.95, ISBN 1885173113) The sequel, COFFIN'S GOT THE DEAD GUY ON THE INSIDE, will be published by Walker in August of l998. LES STANDIFORD writes a popular series about Miami building contractor John Deal, who runs a company appropriately named Deal Co. Deal has to cope with mayhem and murders surrounding the acquisition of a site for a major league baseball franchise in DONE DEAL, which was called "...a page turner of the first water" by Kirkus. Standiford's protagonist continues to battle the bad guys in subsequent books: DEAL TO DIE FOR, RAW DEAL, AND DEAL ON ICE. PRESIDENTIAL DEAL is due out in l998 from HarperCollins, publisher of the Deal series. MARILYN WALLACE explores the darker side of death by electricity in CURRENT DANGER. Wallace's protagonist, Claudia Miller, is an independent building contractor working in Manhattan. The relatives of people who worked with Claudia on a specific renovation project years earlier start dying in ways connected with electricity, and Claudia must unmask the murderer when her father and young step brother are attacked. With a great sense of timing, this book is due for release in February 1998. (Doubleday, l998, List price $22.95, ISBN0385474482) Last, but not least, VALERIE WOLZIEN has both a series and a stand alone book dealing with construction. Josie Pigeon is the head of Island Contracting, an all-woman construction crew, in SHORE TO DIE and PERMIT FOR MURDER. In REMODELED TO DEATH, Susan Henshaw is having her home remodeled when the pipes in the bathroom burst. The only person having a worse day is the building inspector, who has just been murdered. (Fawcett Books, l995, List price $5.99, ISBN 0449149218) With the growing popularity of such cultural icons as DILBERT, those working in engineering careers need no longer feel quite so neglected by popular fiction. Hopefully even more authors will have engineering related offerings available by the time National Engineers Week rolls around again. ###
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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