Elizabeth Anne Gunn (née McConnell; June 10, 1927 – August 30, 2022) was an American writer.

Biography

Gunn was born in Chatfield, Minnesota on June 10, 1927, spent most of her writing career in Tucson, Arizona, and died in Helena, Montana on August 30, 2022. Her careful research into police techniques resulted in "precision-tooled procedurals" according to Marilyn Stasio of '' The New York Times''. Her Jake Hines Series is set in the fictional city of Rutherford, Minnesota. Her Sarah Burke Series, is set in Tucson, where she moved in 1999. Her publishers included Walker, Dell, Harlequin, Forge,

Severn House Severn House Publishers is an independent publisher of fiction in hardcover and ebooks. Severn House specialises in publishing mid-list authors in both the UK and the USA. Established in 1974, Severn House began republishing out-of-print titles ...

, and Joffe Books. Prior to her career as a writer, Gunn was a runner, skier, earned her private pilot's license, became a sky and scuba diver, hiked deserts and mountains, and travelled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, including several years as a live-aboard sailor. While she was sailing, Gunn began to write travel articles. Many were published in regional papers around the U.S. This was the beginning of her path to becoming a full-time writer. Her first novel was published when she was 70, her last two after she turned 90. Before "retiring" to her career as a writer, Gunn made her living as an innkeeper, in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

, where she owned a motel with her husband, Phillip. Together they raised two daughters and the family lived in a small apartment directly above the lobby of their motel. As a result of those cramped quarters, Gunn developed her desire to travel.

Works

The Jake Hines Mystery Series

The series features Jake Hines, a dumpster baby who survived a childhood of foster homes to become a detective with the Rutherford Police Department. *''Triple Play'' (1997) *''Par Four'' (1999) *''Five Card Stud'' (2000) *''Six-Pound Walleye'' (2001) *''Seventh-Inning Stretch'' (2002) *''Crazy Eights'' (2005) *''McCafferty's Nine'' (2007) *''The Ten-Mile Trials'' (2010) *''Eleven Little Piggies'' (2013) *''Noontime Follies'' (2015)

The Sarah Burke Mystery Series

Sarah Burke is a divorced homicide detective, and the protector of her substance-abusing sister's youthful daughter, Denny. Gunn chose the setting of Tucson because she viewed it as a rich resource. Tucson's proximity to the Mexican border allowed her to pursue the thriving drug corridor and people-smuggling operations typical of the community. Severn House published the Sarah Burke novels in matching trade paperbacks a few months after the hardcover. In 2021, Gunn and Severn House jointly signed a new publication deal with Joffe Books to reissue the Sarah Burke series with new titles and new covers, in Kindle editions and trade paperbacks. *''Close to Her'' (2021), originally published as ''Cool in Tucson'' (2007) *''At Close Range'' (2022), originally published as ''New River Blues'' (2009) then as ''Rio Nuevo'' (2019) *''Too Close to Kill'' (2022), originally published as ''Kissing Arizona'' (2010) *''Close to Death'' (2022), originally published as ''The Magic Line'' (2012) *''Closing Ranks'' (2022), originally published as ''Red Man Down'' (2014) *''Close to Home'' (2022), originally published as ''Denny's Law'' (2016) *''Close to the Edge'' (2022), originally published as ''Sarah's List'' (2020)

Stand-alone mysteries

*''Burning Meredith'': A mystery set in Montana (2018)

Anthology contributions

*"Too Many Santas" in '' How Still We See Thee Lie'' (2002) *"The Butler Did It" in ''Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice'' (2012)

Short fiction e-books

Gunn was an early adopter of the e-book format, publishing her Jake Hines backlist as Kindle novels almost as soon as that format became available. In addition, she has published a few pieces of short fiction as standalone ebooks: *''Runaway'' (2011) *''The Fountain'' (2011) *''Math'' (2011) *''Too Many Santas'' (2011)

References

External links

*
Severn House Elizabeth Gunn PageElizabeth Gunn ObituaryElizabeth Gunn Kirkus ReviewsPima County LibraryAmazonAmazon Elizabeth Gunn at GoodreadsPima County Library
Booklist
Review
of McCafferty's Nine in '' Tucson Weekly'', September 20, 2007
Review
of

Cool in Tucson Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...

in ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

'', May 1, 2008
Review
of '' Six-Pound Walleye'' in '' The New York Times'', July 22, 2001
Interview by Lynn Kaczmarek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, Elizabeth 1927 births 2022 deaths Writers from Tucson, Arizona American mystery writers Women mystery writers American women novelists Novelists from Arizona 21st-century American women writers