Kyra Davis (born August 23, 1972) is an American novelist. She is best known for her ''Just One Night'' trilogy and the ''Sophie Katz'' mystery series. In 2013

Anonymous Content Anonymous Content (AC) is an independent global entertainment company founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin, Dave Morrison and Gore Verbinski. It is based in Los Angeles with offices in Culver City, New York City and London. History Anonymous Co ...

optioned Davis' ''Just One Night'' trilogy with the intent to develop it into a television series.

Biography

Davis was born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...

, to a Jewish single mother who raised Davis with the help of family. She was named after Kira Argounova, the protagonist in

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

's novel ''

We The Living ''We the Living'' is the debut novel of the Russian American novelist Ayn Rand. It is a story of life in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, post-revolutionary Russia and was Rand's first statement against communism. Rand observes in t ...

''. Her father was African-American and her mother was of Eastern European descent, giving Davis a mixed heritage. Davis attended the

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. The college was founded in 1969 by Tonian Hohberg, the institute's president and CEO. In 2023, Arizona State University (ASU) announced that ...

and

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

, during which time she met and married her first husband. Davis later attended the

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in business and humanities. In 2001 Davis filed for divorce. Davis began writing the Sophie Katz series due to the stress resulting from the divorce and published her first novel through

Red Dress Ink Harlequin Enterprises ULC (known simply as Harlequin) is a publisher of romance, women's fiction and various other genres under multiple publishing imprints. Founded in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949, from the 1960s, it grew into the largest publishe ...

in 2005. In 2013 Davis published the ''Just One Night'' trilogy through Simon & Schuster's digital imprint. Davis lives in

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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with her son and her husband, director and screenwriter

Rod Lurie Rod Lurie (; born May 15, 1962) is an American director, screenwriter, producer and former film critic. Early life and career The son of internationally syndicated cartoonist Ranan Lurie, he was born in Israel but moved to the United States at a ...

, who has two children from a prior relationship. She has two stepchildren from Rod, Paige and Hunter.

Critical reception

Reception to Davis's work has been positive, with "Just One Night" getting a starred review in ''

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 ...

'' and ''Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss'' being one of GalleyCat's "Featured Book of Color Pick of the Day". The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' praised ''Sex, Murder and a Double Latte'', calling it "a terrific mystery". ''So Much For My Happy Ending'' received positive reviews, with Boston.com saying that the book had a "sensitive, honest, engaging voice".

Bibliography

Just One Night trilogy

*''The Stranger'' (2013) *''Exposed'' (2013) *''Binding Agreement'' (2013) *''Just One Night'' (2013, compilation of all three novellas) *''Just One Lie'' *''Just One More''

Pure Sin

*''Deceptive Innocence'' (2014, initially released in three parts) *''Dangerous Alliance'' (2014)

Sophie Katz Mysteries

*''Sex, Murder and a Double Latte'' (2005) *''Passion, Betrayal And Killer Highlights'' (2006) *''Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate'' (2007) *''Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss'' (2009) *''Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress'' (2010) *''Vanity, Vengeance And A Weekend In Vegas'' (2012) *''Seven Swans A' Shooting'' (2013)

Standalone novels

*''So Much for My Happy Ending'' (2006)

Non-fiction

*''Perfectly Plum: Unauthorized Essays On the Life, Loves And Other Disasters of Stephanie Plum, Trenton Bounty Hunter'' (2007) *''Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume''

References

External links

*
Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Kyra Living people 21st-century American novelists African-American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists Golden Gate University alumni Jewish American novelists People from Santa Clara, California American women mystery writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from California 1972 births 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American women