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Ed Lynskey is an American poet, critic, and novelist, mostly of crime fiction. He was born in 1956 in Washington, D.C. where he still lives and works. Lynskey received his B.A. (1979) and M.A. (1984) from George Mason University as well as did post-graduate study at The George Washington University. He writes five mystery series, including the P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series, the Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series, the Piper & Bill Robin Cozy Mystery Series, the Hope Jones (Nozy Cat) Cozy Mystery Series, the Ginny Dove Cozy Mystery Series, and the Juno Patchen Cozy Mystery Series.
His creative work has been reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, San Diego Union-Tribune, London Free Press, Halifax Chronicle-Herald, Lansing State Journal, The Virginian-Pilot, Tucson Citizen, and Nashville City Paper. Lynskey's work has been favorably compared to that of Loren D. Estleman, James Lee Burke, Daniel Woodrell, Bill Pronzini, and Robert Crais.
His essays have been reprinted by Gale Research and Gryphon Books. He has written reviews for The New York Times, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, Kansas City Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Roanoke Times, Des Moines Register, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), and Columbus Dispatch. He has also reviewed books for Paste. His speculative literature has appeared in Strange Horizons, Chizine, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
His numerous poems have appeared in such venues as The Atlantic Monthly, American Poetry Review, and Chicago Review. He won the 1993 Denny C. Plattner Appalachian Heritage Award in Poetry from Berea College, Kentucky. His work has been anthologized by St. Martin’s Press, University of Virginia Press, Kent State University Press, and Story Line Press.
His poem "April Sashays in Lime Heels" received an Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: 20th Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, editor. His stories were cited in Hardcore Hardboiled, Todd Robinson, Otto Penzler, editors, Kensington Publishing Group, 2008 and Sex, Thugs, Rock & Roll, Todd Robinson, editor, Kensington Publishing Group, 2009.
Bibliography
Novels
- Private Investigator Frank Johnson Mystery series
- The Dirt-Brown Derby (2006)
- The Blue Cheer (2007)
- Pelham Fell Here (2008) - (actually first novel in series published out of sequence)
- Troglodytes (2010)
- The Zinc Zoo (2011)
- After the Big Noise (2014)
- Death Car (2021)
- Bent Halo (2022)
- Clover (2022)
- Fluke (2023)
- Quarry (2023)
- Forge (2023)
- Lure (2023)
- Pawn (2023)
- Noel (2023)
- Grits (2023)
- Blaze (2023)
- Madge (2023)
- Nymph (2023)
- Roz (2023)
- Snatch (2023)
- Crib (2024)
- Traffic (2024)
- Framed (2024)
- Tyrst (2024)
- Iceman (2024)
- Zigzag (2024)
- April (2024)
- Limbo (2024)
- Junked (2024)
- Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series
- Quiet Anchorage (2011)
- The Cashmere Shroud (2013)
- The Ladybug Song (2014)
- The Amber Top Hat (2015)
- Sweet Betsy (2015)
- Murder in a One-Hearse Town (2016)
- Vi's Ring (2017)
- Heirloom (2017)
- A Big Dill (2018)
- Eve's Win (2019)
- To Dye For (2021)
- Fowl Play (2022)
- Robin and Bill Piper Cozy Mystery Series
- The Corpse Wore Gingham (2015)
- Fur the Win (2016)
- Juno Patchen Cozy Mystery Series
- Berried Truths (2020)
- Hope Jones Cozy Mystery Series (written under the pseudonym Lyn Key)
- Nozy Cat 1 (2016)
- Nozy Cat 2 (2017)
- Nozy Cat 3 (2018)
- Nozy Cat 4 (2019)
- Nozy Cat 5 (2024)
- Ginny Dove Cozy Mystery Series (written under the pseudonym Lea Charles)
- Found Key (2018)
- Easy Peasy (2021)
- Stand Alone Novels
- Lake Charles (2011, republished 2018) - Appalachian noir title
- Ask the Dice (2011) - hit man noir title
- Blood Diamonds (2012) - diamond heist title
- The Quetzal Motel (2012) - science fiction title
- Topaz Moon (2014) - suburban noir title
- Wrong Orbits (2015) - suburban noir title
- Cops Like Us (2020) - police novel set in Washington, D.C.
- Outside the Wire: A Washington, D.C. Private Eye Novel (2024) - private investigator novel set in Washington, D.C.
Short story collections
- Out of Town a Few Days (2004)
- A Clear Path to Cross (2008)
- Smoking on Mount Rushmore (2013)
Continuing characters
- Frank Johnson - Private detective living in Pelham, Virginia.
- Isabel & Alma Trumbo - Sister sleuths living in Quiet Anchorage, Virginia.
- Piper & Bill Robins - Married couple sleuths living in Beverly Park, Virginia.
- Hope Jones - Single mother and sleuth living with her daughter Stacey in Sweet Springs, Virginia.
- Ginny Dove - Single mother and sleuth living with her son Boone in Canaan, Virginia.
- Juno Patchen - Single mother and sleuth living with her son Chip in Cat's Paw, Virginia.
External links
- Works by or about Ed Lynskey at the Internet Archive
- "Ed Lynskey: New PI Author in Town" by Steve Lewis in Mystery*File, January 17, 2007.
- Ed Lynskey's GoodReads Author Page
- Cozy mystery series titles listed on CozyMystery.com
- Ed Lynskey's 1983 Master Thesis "Harry Crews' South"
- The Blue Cheer publisher's web page at Pointblank Press.
- William G. Contento's "The FictionMags Index's" List of short stories and articles by Ed Lynskey Archived August 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Ed Lynskey interview by Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Library Director Sam Clay in 2008
- Announcement for 1993 Denny C. Plattner Appalachian Heritage Awards, First Place, Poetry, Ed Lynskey
- Ed Lynskey at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Sex, Thugs, and Rock & Roll story citation.
- Author interview at Writer Unboxed, August 3, 2007, with Kathleen Bolton.
- Locus Index for Science Fiction list of short stories by Ed Lynskey
- 2007 Starred Review in Booklist for The Blue Cheer.