Kathleen Delaney Books

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Kathleen Delaney is an American author that writes cozy mystery novels. She has a lot of fond memories of Glendale in California. This is where she grew up. Though, at the time, it was more of a town than a city.

The streets were choked with children back then as they played baseball and rode their bikes. Life was far different from what it eventually became. As an adult, Delaney wasn’t as stationary. Because of her marriage, she did a lot of moving, though her travels were restricted to South California.

Eventually, the author settled down to raise a family. It was a large one. On top of her children, she also had cats, dogs, pigs, cows, rabbits, and numerous other animals. Life was an adventure, far from the dull existence some people thought she lived.

Delaney’s writing journey started late. She initially pursued a career in real estate, working as a broker in Paso Robles. But then the writing bug bit and she decided to inject her passion into the cozy mystery genre.

The author grew up reading authors like Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Lawrence Block, to mention but a few.

Kathleen Delaney’s love for reading is as strong as her passion for writing. Nothing brings her more joy than losing herself in a good book. It could be argued that her strong love for reading drove her to write.

People call Delaney’s books cozy mysteries, and this is true. They always feature protagonists living in a small community of people that know each other well. However, unlike most cozy mysteries that are warm and pleasant, Kathleen Delaney’s work touches upon issues like domestic abuse, arson, and dementia.

Delaney believes that the presence of those themes makes her stories more accurately comparable to traditional mysteries. However, she still insists that they are cozy mysteries. While she enjoys exploring the darker aspects of life, she also places emphasis on the mysteries and puzzles.

That being said, Delaney has important messages in her work that she wants her readers to note such as the importance of women’s shelters. The author’s background in real estate has left more of a mark on stories than people realize.

Real estate is a social industry, one that forces people to interact with one another. During her time in the field, Delaney was able to meet so many different people. She also shared their joys and sorrows and this gave her an insightful understanding of human beings and their personalities.

She has been known to take inspiration for her stories from some of the events she encountered in her past. But she always exaggerates them.

Delaney doesn’t outline her novels before she writes them. It takes her several tries to get her plots right which is why she does so many revisions. The author relies on her characters to guide her. She lets them tell her where the story should go and who the murderer should be. Along the way, she tries to position her clues appropriately to ensure that they align with her conclusion.

Things always get messy when the author is writing. She wants to leave in a home that is as clean as possible. But when she enters the writing season, things always deteriorate. She allows her messes to persist until she gets her writing done. Then she settles down and gets some thorough cleaning done.

Kathleen Delaney Awards

The author’s first novel was a St. Martin’s Domestic Contest Finalist.

Best Kathleen Delaney Books

Even though Delaney writes cozy mysteries with dark and potentially depressing themes, she always finds a way to add humor, with some of the best books in her bibliography including:

Dying for a Change: Ellen McKenzie’s hometown was quite peaceful when she was growing up. But she abandoned it to start a new life elsewhere. Ellen is divorced now and she needs to start over once more. Santa Louisa seems like the perfect place to do just that, or at least it was. The town has just been rocked by murder and political intrigue and Ellen must get to the bottom of the situation before things become worse.

Murder Half Baked: Ellen was looking forward to her wedding. She wanted a simple ceremony without distractions. But now two men are dead and a third one might join them if Ellen doesn’t act soon.

When Does The Next Kathleen Delaney book come out?

Kathleen Delaney doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Dressed to Kill and was released on September, 2nd 2019. It is the newest book in the Mary McGill Dog Mystery Series.

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