Erin Hart (born September 1, 1958) is an American author of crime fiction.

Life and career

Hart was born in

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville () is a city in Montgomery County, Indiana, Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The c ...

, and raised in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. She is the daughter of Robert Hart, a mechanical engineer, and Nancy VanSteenhuyse Hart, a medical laboratory technician. She attended high school in Rochester, where she was involved in music and theater. Hart's early career was in arts administration, at the Affiliated Arts Agencies of the Upper Midwest, now Arts Midwest, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. She also worked as a freelance journalist, contributing theater reviews and arts features at the ''

Saint Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington countie ...

'', ''

Minnesota Monthly Minnesota ( ) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and Nor ...

'', the Minneapolis ''

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

'', and '' Skyway News'', among other publications. She also served as the on-air theater critic for

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...

's ''Midmorning'' program. Hart lives in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

with her husband, Irish accordion player Paddy O'Brien, creator of the ''Paddy O'Brien Tune Collection: A Personal Treasury of Irish Traditional Music'', and author of a 2012 memoir, ''The Road From Castlebarnagh: Growing Up In Irish Music''.

Works

Hart is best known for writing a series of novels set mostly in Ireland and featuring pathologist Nora Gavin and archaeologist Cormac Maguire, who are engaged in the recovery of artifacts and human remains from Irish boglands. Hart's debut novel, ''Haunted Ground'' (Scribner, 2003) won the Friends of American Writers award and Romantic Times' Best First Mystery, and was shortlisted for a number of awards, including the

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...

and an

Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short ...

for Best First Novel. ''Haunted Ground'' was also named by Book-Of-The-Month Club and

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

as one of the best crime novels of 2003, and has been translated into ten foreign languages. ''Lake of Sorrows'' (Scribner, 2004) was shortlisted for a

Minnesota Book Award The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

, and ''False Mermaid'' (Scribner, 2010) was named by Booklist as one of the Top Ten Crime Novels of 2010. The latest in the series, ''The Book of Killowen'', was published by Scribner in March 2013.

Nora Gavin/Cormac Maguire Series

# ''Haunted Ground'' (2003) Scribner, # ''Lake of Sorrows'' (2004) Scribner, # ''False Mermaid'' (2010) Scribner, # ''The Book of Killowen'' (2013) Scribner,

Non Series

* "On ''Possession'' by A.S. Byatt" (2012) (essay in ''Books to Die For'', edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke)

Awards

*2003 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Best Book Awards - Best First Mystery *2003 Agatha Award Finalist for Best First Novel *2004 Anthony Award Finalist for Best First Novel *2004 Friends of American Writers Award *2005 Minnesota Book Award Finalist - Popular Fiction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Erin 1958 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists Living people St. Olaf College alumni University of Minnesota alumni People from Crawfordsville, Indiana Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota American women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Minnesota