Murder, They Write

By day, she’s an attorney, specializing in Immigration and Naturalization Law. Once the Southern California sun goes down, however, Linda Nakamura slips into the role of armchair sleuth, penning dark mysteries set in the Arizona desert and involving a stressed out but relentless D.A. heroine named Laura Ramos.

Nor is she alone in her quest to put intrepid detectives on the trail of crafty crooks or lead readers down paths liberally strewn with red herrings that would make Agatha Christie proud. Nakamura and her fellow scribes—nearly 175 in number—are members of the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a writers group that meets monthly at the South Pasadena Library to discuss their latest capers, encourage each other’s work, listen to readings from the latest releases, and glean professional advice from guest speakers. Nearly 30% of the L.A. members have been published.

Rebecca Phillips-Dahlke’s first success came only last October with “Flying Through Forty,” a humorous mystery published by Treble Heart Books. “I'm already working on the rewrite for my second book in this series,” she tells us. “It’s about a woman crop-duster in the Central Valley of California.” Whether for good luck or just to be easily spotted in the crowd at writers’ conferences, Phillips-Dahlke divulges, “I'm always in a hot pink flight suit.”

Lori Wolf, author of “Gothic Doo-Wop” and “Parrot on a Limb” (the Quinn McKay series) is currently branching out to non-fiction, while Dr. Gay Toltl Kinman of Alhambra created the Alison Leigh Powers stories featuring a gutsy 11-year old who’s not afraid to put baddies behind bars.

Pasadena resident Naomi Hirahawa describes her own work as “cultural mysteries,” citing among her published credits “Summer of the Big Bachi” and “Gasa-Gasa Girl.” In addition, she has also written 6 non-fiction books.

Linda Bivens, who coordinates a number of special events for local authors and operates Crime Time Books, is quick to point out that she’s not a writer herself but joined the group because “it’s given me a chance to meet many wonderful writers and fans. I enjoy going to the mystery conventions and am planning to attend the next Left Coast Crime Convention, which will be held in Bristol, England next February.”

The Los Angeles Chapter was inaugurated only 3 years after Sara Peretsky founded the parent organization in Baltimore in 1986, a group whose ongoing mission statement is to promote the awareness and professional advancement of women who write mysteries. Worldwide, there are close to 3600 members in 48 chapters.

We’ve got quite a few ‘Mister Sisters’, too,” current president Sue Anne Jaffarian (author of the Odelia Grey mystery series) points out. Kevin Gillogly, a member for 12 years, favors the amateur detective sub-genre. Michael Mallory, editor of the group’s upcoming crime anthology, is partial to historical mysteries and has also penned nearly 90 short stories. Rod Johnson, meanwhile, is attracting an audience for his Rinnah Two Feathers mystery series.

Those who love this genre are invited to visit the chapter website at www.sistersincrimela.com., drop an email to the membership director at sincmember@adelphia.net, or drop in on one of the monthly meetings posted on the website calendar.