Lillian O'Donnell (March 15, 1926 – April 2, 2005) was an American crime novelist notable for being one of the first to introduce a female police officer as the lead character in a book series.
Biography
She was born in
Trieste, Italy
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the regional decentralization entity of Trieste.
Trieste is located at the head ...
but spent most of her life in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She studied at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...
, New York and her first career was in the theatre - as an actress on stage and television and as first female stage manager on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
. Until 1954, she worked as a director and stage manager of summer stock packages for
The Shubert Organization
The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers — Lee, Sam, and Jacob J. Shubert — in the late 19th century. T ...
. In 1954, she married J. Leonard O'Donnell.
From 1960, she published ten stand-alone novels. They varied from fairly stock murder mysteries to novels of psychological suspense. Only one, ''The Face of the Crime'', was a
police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
. In 1972, her first book with Nora Mulcahaney ''The Phone Calls'' was published. It brought back characters from her earlier police novel, but with the addition of the female lead. In total, 17 books were published in this series, the last in 1998. Each book focused on a single major crime and Nora's concerns about her personal life were intertwined with her working life.
In 1977, 1979 and 1980, she tried an interesting idea in a separate series - a protagonist, Mici Anhalt, who is an investigator for a Crime Victims Compensation Board. In 1990, she moved with the times, following other women who had begun series centered on female private detectives. In total, she published four books with lead character Gwen Rammadge, a genteel woman turned private investigator to pay the bills.
One of the Norah Mulcahaney books, ''No Business Being a Cop'' was filmed for TV as ''Prime Target'', starring
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...
,
Joseph Bologna
Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films '' My Favorite Year'', '' Blame It on Rio'', and '' Transylvania 6-5000''.
Life and career
B ...
and
David Soul
David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...
.
['Prime Target (1989)]
IMDb
accessed 31 August 2012.
Books
*Death on the Grass, 1959.
*Death Blanks the Screen, 1960.
*Death Schuss, 1963.
*Murder under the Sun, 1964.
*Death of a Player, 1964.
*Babes in the Woods, 1965.
*The Sleeping Beauty Murders, 1967.
*The Tachi Tree, 1968.
*The Face of the Crime, 1968.
*Dive into Darkness, 1971.
''Norah Mulcahaney'' series
*The Phone Calls, 1972.
*Don't Wear Your Wedding Ring, 1973.
*Dial 577-RAPE, 1974.
*The Baby Merchants, 1975.
*Leisure Dying, 1976.
*No Business Being a Cop, 1979.
*The Children's Zoo, 1981.
*Cop without a Shield, 1983.
*Lady Killer, 1984.
*Casual Affairs, 1985.
*The Other Side of the Door, 1987.
*A Good Night to Kill, 1989.
*A Private Crime, 1991.
*Shadow in Red, 1998.
*Pushover, 1992.
*Lockout, 1994.
*Blue Death, 1998.
''Mici Anhalt'' series
*Aftershock, 1977.
*Falling Star, 1979.
*Wicked Designs, 1980.
''Gwenn Ramadge'' series
*A Wreath for the Bride, 1990.
*Used to Kill, 1993.
*The Raggedy Man, 1995.
*The Goddess Affair, 1996.
See also
*
Lists of authors
The following are lists of writers:
Alphabetical indices
A – B – C – D –
E – F –
G – H –
I – J –
K – L –
M – N –
O – P â ...
*
List of mystery writers
*
List of thriller authors
*
List of female detective characters
This is a list of fictional female investigators from novels, short stories, radio, television, films and video games.
A
* Laura Ackroyd is an investigative reporter who solves crimes in West Yorkshire with her boyfriend DCI Michael Thacker ...
References
External links
Sleeper – Lillian O'DonnellWhodunit? Mystery Bookstore March 20, 2012
The Mysterious Bookshop, June 24, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Lillian
20th-century American novelists
American mystery writers
American women novelists
American women mystery writers
1926 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women