Sue Henry (January 19, 1940 – Novevember 20, 2020) was an American writer of mystery thriller fiction. She was also a librarian, college administrator, instructor at the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stud ...

Biography

According to her obituary in the ''

Anchorage Daily News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage, ...

'', she was born Mathilda Sue Hall in Salmon, Idaho, married Paul K. Henry in 1965; they had two boys, Bruce and Eric. After they divorced, she moved the boys to

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

in 1975. Her first book ''

Murder on the Iditarod Trail ''Murder on the Iditarod Trail'' () is a book written by Sue Henry and published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1991, which later went on to win the Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bou ...

'' (1991), was well reviewed and won both the

Macavity Awards The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

and

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

for best first novel, prompting the author to develop a series based on this book's characters, Alaskan state trooper Alex Jensen and Jessie Arnold, a sled dog racer. In 2005, she started a new mystery series featuring a 63-year-old widow, Maxine McNab, travelling in her

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

with a miniature

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

, Stretch. Maxine had appeared in ''Dead North'' (2001) in the first series. Henry went on the road to research the book. ''Murder on the Iditarod Trail'' was filmed for television as ''The Cold Heart of a Killer'' (1996) starring

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King in the series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. Kin ...

, who bought the rights to the book.''The Cold Heart of a Killer''
at www.kate-jackson.com accessed 10 Aug 2012. All maps for her books starting with Dead North (2001) were made by her son, Eric Henry.

Publications

Alex Jensen and Jessie Arnold series

(1991) Winner of the

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

and

Awards for Best First Novel, 1992 *Termination Dust (1996) *Sleeping Lady (1996) *Death Takes Passage (1997) *Deadfall (1998) *Murder on the Yukon Quest: An Alaska Mystery (1999) *Beneath the Ashes (2001) *Dead North (2001) *Cold Company (2002) *Death Trap (2003) *Murder at Five Finger Light (2005) *Degrees of Separation (2008) *Cold as Ice (2010)

Maxie and Stretch series

*The Serpents Trail (2004) *The Tooth of Time (2006) *The Refuge (2007) *The End of the Road (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Sue 1940 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American mystery writers American women novelists University of Alaska Anchorage faculty Women mystery writers Writers from Anchorage, Alaska Anthony Award winners American women academics