Amanda Kyle Williams
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Amanda Kyle Williams (August 17, 1957 – August 31, 2018) was an American
crime writer Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
best known for her Keye Street series of novels.


Life

Williams was born in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, and spent her childhood between
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. She grew up with a learning disability and dropped out of
South Gwinnett High School South Gwinnett High School (SGHS) is a public high school for students in grades 9–12. The school is located in Snellville, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system, one of the 15 largest public school sys ...
when she was 16 years old; she read her first book at the age of 23. She began her writing career as a freelance writer for ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' and also worked as a house painter, property manager, sales representative, commercial embroiderer, courier and dog walker. When she decided to experiment with writing crime fiction, she studied criminology to establish background knowledge, and worked with a private investigator firm in Atlanta on surveillance operations. She also worked as a process server to deliver
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
s to people that the local sheriff's department couldn't locate. Williams's Madison McGuire series of novels was published in the early 1990s; the lead character was modelled after
Emma Peel Emma Peel is a fictional character played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. ...
in the television show ''The Avengers''. The character of Keye Street, who appears in Williams's three novels published between 2011 and 2014, was inspired by Williams's Chinese niece, who, like Street, has white southern parents. Williams was diagnosed with
endometrial cancer Endometrial cancer is a cancer that arises from the endometrium (the epithelium, lining of the uterus or womb). It is the result of the abnormal growth of cells (biology), cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. The first s ...
in February 2014. She died on August 31, 2018, in Decatur, Georgia.


Recognition

Both ''The Stranger You Seek'' and ''The Stranger in the Room'' have appeared on annual best-of lists. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called ''The Stranger You Seek'' "an explosive, unpredictable, and psychologically complex thriller that turns crime fiction clichés inside out." Her novels have been translated into nine languages. In 1992 ''The Providence File'' was nominated for Best Mystery at the 4th Annual
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...
s. In 2012 ''The Stranger You Seek'' was shortlisted for the
Townsend Prize for Fiction The Townsend Prize for Fiction is awarded every two years to the best piece of literary fiction written and published while the author lived in Georgia. Past award winners include Alice Walker, Terry Kay, Ha Jin, Philip Lee Williams, Ferrol Sams, K ...
. The following year, the book was shortlisted for the Private Eye Writers of America's
Shamus Award The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a sing ...
.


Bibliography


Keye Street/Stranger series

* ''The Stranger You Seek'' (2011) * ''Stranger in the Room'' (2012) * ''Don't Talk to Strangers'' (2014)


Madison McGuire series

* ''Club Twelve'' (1990) * ''The Providence File'' (1991) * ''A Singular Spy'' (1992) * ''The Spy in Question'' (1993)


References


External links


Amanda Kyle Williams's Official Site

Review of Don't Talk To Strangers
''New York Journal of Books'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle Williams, Amanda 1957 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women novelists Crime novelists Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Novelists from Virginia People from Decatur, Georgia Women crime fiction writers Writers from Norfolk, Virginia Writers with dyslexia American writers with disabilities American crime fiction writers