Claire Carmichael (1940 – 2022), also known by her pen name Claire McNab, was an Australian writer born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-1980s to become a full-time writer. In her native Australia, she is known for her self-help and children's books. She was best-known for 14 crime novels featuring Detective-Inspector Carol Ashton and six featuring undercover agent Denise Cleever. Her latest series features Kylie Kendall, an Australian transplanted to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, who determines to become a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

in order to pursue her father's business and his business partner. McNab served as the president of Sisters in Crime and was a member of both the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

and the Science Fiction Writers of America. She is a 2006 Medal Winner of the Alice B. Awards and was nominated for the 1996 Lammy Award Lesbian Mystery Award. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 after falling in love with an American woman, and taught not-yet-published writers through the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Writers' Extension Program.. In addition to crime fiction, McNab has published children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks.

Works

See also

References

External links