Ed Gorman is the definition of a professional writer.
He has written dozens of novels in several genres—mystery, western, science
fiction. His work has earned him The Eye for lifetime achievement from the Private
Eye Writer’s Association, an Anthony, a Spur, and the International Writers
Award.
In 1994 Mr. Gorman introduced a series character named Robert Payne—former FBI psychological profiler turned consultant—in Blood Moon. The series ran four books; each set in Iowa. Click the title of each book to be taken to its Amazon page.
“Crime
writing veteran Gorman…evokes the closed-in atmosphere of small towns in this
promising series launch that features modern psychological crime fighting by a
winning detective.” –Publishers Weekly on Blood Moon
“Payne
belongs to the hard-boiled detective school, but Gorman gives him an appealing
softer side by detailing his loving relationship with live-in girlfriend
Felice, by showing his attention to a young girl with cerebral palsy and by
examining his ambivalent feelings for his dying stepfather. The prolific Gorman
delivers another smooth page-turner with top-notch mystery production values.” –Publishers
Weekly on Harlot’s Moon
Publisher’s
description. Former FBI agent and psychological
profiler Robert Payne is on the trail of a serial killer. A 12 year old girl
has been murdered and mutilated, and the detective assigned to the case wound
up dead. Now Nora Conners, the girl's wealthy mother, has hired Payne to solve
the murder and bring closure. After narrowing his search to three men, a
televangelist, a honey salesman, and an art teacher, all living in the small
Iowa town of New Hope, Payne begins to narrow the field, posing as a
journalist. That's just the start. As the daughter of one of the suspects joins
the list of victims, and the woman who hired him is murdered, Payne finds
himself on a race to solve the case before he himself is implicated.
First
paragraph. First day of incarceration, there’s a killing.
Publisher’s
description. Two beautiful Indian women are found
dead with their noses cut off—an old Indian practice to punish infidelity—in
this suspenseful second mystery by best-selling author Ed Gorman. The
mutilation murders stun the quiet Iowa town of Cedar Rapids and call for the
special skills of criminal psychologist Robert Payne, who uses clues from the
crime scene to piece together a psychological portrait of the killer. The prime
suspect is another Indian, David Rhodes, who is estranged from his wife, police
detective Cindy Rhodes—and the woman with whom Payne is starting to fall in
love.
First
paragraph. Anna Tolan was helping her father shear sheep when
she heard the woman’s cry on the wind across the cornfield.
Publisher’s
description. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A Catholic priest
has been found half-naked and dead in a seedy motel room, with his tongue cut
out. Ex-FBI profiler Robert Payne has been called in to investigate by his
childhood friend Steve Gray, now a monsignor. With a fund-raising drive coming
up, Steve wants to squelch a scandal. But all the signs point to unholy doings
in the tightly knit parish.
Why did the pugnacious
president of the Parish Board remove a gold earring from the scene of the
crime? Was his beautiful blonde wife doing more than confessing to the
profligate priest? And why was the dead priest hoarding newspaper stories about
two other brutal murders? As Payne examines the evidence and pieces together
the profile of a subtle and devious killer, it's clear that there will be hell
to pay—with no end in sight...
First
paragraph. So one night when she’s thirteen, Tawanna decides to
give it a try for herself. She waits till after eight, till her mother’s done
some dope and is sleeping in the bedroom.
Publisher’s
description. Twenty-five years ago, in a small Iowa
town, an asylum for the criminally insane burned to the ground, killing inmates
and employees. The fire was set by Paul Renard, a sexual psychopath who escaped
the blaze and disappeared. Today young Ricky Hennessey faces murder charges in
the death of his girlfriend. His defense: Paul Renard did it. Legal
investigator Robert Payne joins the case at the request of Tandy West, a cable
TV psychic and Payne's former lover. She’s doing a piece on the Hennessey case
for her show but has begun to question her gift and feels the need for Payne’s
reality-based investigatory skills. With the assistance of the local police
chief, Susan Charles, Payne learns that the past has invaded the future in a
most unexpected way.
First
paragraph. Way up here, at certain times of year, you can
sometimes hear them screaming, more than twenty people who died in the asylum
fire over thirty years ago.
A great series indeed; up there with Sam McCain, but a little darker and without the autobiographical period detail. Read them all in a couple of months.
ReplyDeleteMichael. These are Ed's hidden treasures. I read all of them about ten years ago and really enjoyed the,
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