Virginia Rudd Lanier ( - ) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

writer, author of a series featuring bloodhound trainer Jo Beth Sidden.

Biography

Lanier was born in

Madison County, Florida Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida, and borders the state of Georgia to the north. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,968. Its county seat is also called Madison. History Located ...

in 1930. She was an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

and was adopted by Ira and Mary Holt Rudd.

Death

Lanier died in her home in October 2003 after a long illness.

Bibliography

Lanier published her first book in 1995 at age 65 after having thrown a book across the room in disgust and attempting to write something better herself.

Novels

*'' Death in Bloodhound Red'' (1995) *''The House on Bloodhound Lane'' (1996) *''A Brace of Bloodhounds'' (1997) *''Blind Bloodhound Justice'' (1998) *''Ten Little Bloodhounds'' (1998) *''A Bloodhound to Die For'' (2003)

Short stories

*"Bark M for Murder" (2006) (with

J. A. Jance Judith Ann (J. A.) Jance (born October 27, 1944) is an American author of mystery novels. She writes three series of novels, centering on retired Seattle Police Department Detective J. P. Beaumont, Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady, and for ...

Lee Charles Kelley Lee Charles Kelley is an American novelist and dog trainer living in Manhattan. Kelley is the author of six detective novels featuring Jack Field, an NYPD homicide cop who loves dogs and hates people, so he takes early retirement, moves to Maine, ...

and Chassie West)

Awards

Lanier's

début novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

'' Death in Bloodhound Red'' won the

1996 Anthony Award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the con ...

for "Best First Novel" and was also nominated for the same honour at the

Agatha Awards The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expl ...

the previous year. Her fourth novel, ''Blind Bloodhound Justice'', was nominated for the 1998 Agatha Award in the "Best Novel" category. Lanier's last novel, ''A Bloodhound to Die For'', was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award at the 2004

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

Adaptations

As of 1998, the ''Jo Beth Sidden'' series was optioned to be the basis for a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

movie or a TV

Mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

. However, this project appears to have been scrapped.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanier, Virginia 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists 1930 births 2003 deaths Anthony Award winners Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers