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Douglas Anne Munson (February 17, 1948 – December 22, 2003) was an attorney, teacher, and author of four critically acclaimed novels. She published three of those novels under the pseudonym of Mercedes Lambert.


Biography

Douglas Anne Munson was born in
Crossville, Tennessee Crossville is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Crossville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,071 at the 2020 census. History Crossville developed at the inters ...
on February 17, 1948. She was named Douglas by her father in honor of his brother Douglas who died in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. As the daughter of a newspaperman, Douglas's childhood was spent moving from town to town before her family finally settled in
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. Douglas attended the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
, where she majored in
Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
studies, and lived for a year in
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
. After attending law school at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, Douglas became an attorney in the
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
criminal courts. Most of her legal career was spent in dependency court. Dependency court is where children who have been removed from their parent's custody because of severe abuse, neglect or abandonment move through the legal system. It's a niche of the judicial system with a high burn-out rate. In 1990, Douglas published a novel called ''El Niño'' with
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...
. The book was well received by critics and Douglas went on to publish two mystery novels with
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
under the name of Mercedes Lambert, ''Dogtown'' in 1991 and ''Soultown'' in 1996. These books feature two women detectives: Whitney Logan, fresh out of law school, and Lupe Ramos, a chicana prostitute. Drawn into webs of corruption and deceit, Whitney and Lupe move through the multicultural landscape of
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. Their relationship underlines the cultural friction in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
at the end of the 20th century. In the mid-1990s, Douglas had three well-regarded books published. She was teaching creative writing and journaling at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. Los Angeles magazine, in an article on the hottest LA mystery writers, included her in a group composed of
Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bes ...
,
Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private inv ...
,
James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...
, and
Robert Crais Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Cagney & Lacey'', '' Quincy'', ''Miami Vice'' and ''L.A. Law ...
. Despite growing recognition and accomplishment, Douglas was struggling to stay afloat. As the caseload in dependency court grew, she became less able to endure the suffering she witnessed daily. In 1996, Douglas resigned from the courts and quit teaching. She moved briefly to
Bainbridge Island Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...
in
Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
to complete the third Whitney Logan novel, ''Ghosttown''. During this time she traveled back-and-forth to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
to earn a credential to teach English abroad. After completing ''Ghosttown'', Douglas sent it to her agent. She learned a month later the publisher had rejected the book, mainly over creative differences. After trying unsuccessfully to reshape the book into a completely different work, Douglas stopped writing completely and accepted a position in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
teaching English to soldiers, missionaries, and mink farmers. In 2001, Douglas discovered a lump in her breast. She had successfully fought
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
while writing ''El Niño'' in the late 1980s. Fearing the cancer had returned, Douglas returned to the United States to seek medical treatment in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. When the tests were conclusive, she was given six months to live. She outlived that prediction, and was able to make one last visit to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
in December 2003 before dying on December 22, 2003 at a hospital in
Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...
. Four years after her death, ''Ghosttown'', the third and final Whitney Logan mystery, found a publisher with Five Star Mystery; in the Spring of 2008, the first two Whitney Logan mysteries—''Dogtown and Soultown''—will be reprinted in a single edition by Stark House.


Publication history

2008, ''Dogtown/Soultown'' omnibus edition scheduled to be published by Stark House with an introduction by
Ken Bruen Ken Bruen (born 1951) is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction. Biography Education and teaching career Born in Galway, he was educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned ...
.
2007, ''Ghosttown'' scheduled to be published in hardback by Five Star Mystery Press with an introduction by
Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bes ...
.
1997, ''Soultown'' published in paperback by
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
.
1994, Contributor to ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' feature: "The Writer in the Sun They came, they saw, they wrote. Sometimes they didn't even see; they imagined, and it turned out to be true. A sampler of how various writers have tried to pin L.A. down." (May 29, 1994).
1994, Botticelli's Venus (short fiction) published in Tales of the Heart.
1992, ''Dogtown'' published in paperback by
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
.
1990, ''El Niño'' published in hardcover by
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
.


External links

Douglas Anne Munson's website is at
Mercedes Lambert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munson, Douglas Ann 1948 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American educators Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers People from Crossville, Tennessee