Patricia McElroy Carlson (born February 3, 1940) is an American writer of mystery fiction.

Life and career

Born Patricia McElroy in

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

, where her radio engineer father had moved to find work during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Carlson earned a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where she also taught psychology and human development. From 1975 until 1978 she chaired

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

's Environmental Commission; she was also on the boards of directors of Bloomington Restorations, Inc., and Historic Ithaca. Her mysteries often feature feminist themes. During her career she has created three detectives, actress Bridget Mooney, graduate student (later statistician) Maggie Ryan, and Deputy Sheriff Marty Hopkins. The Mooney stories are set in the late nineteenth century, while the Maggie Ryan novels are set in the 1960s and 1970s; both series are informed by the periods of their setting. Many of Carlson's works feature aspects of her background as well. Carlson has also written on the subject of children's linguistic development. Her novels have at various times been nominated for the

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

Macavity Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book '' Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber 1981 musical ''Ca ...

, and

Anthony Award 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 ...

s, and her short fiction has been nominated for the

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 ...

. Formerly a resident of southern Indiana, she later moved to

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 ...

. Carlson is a past president of

Sisters in Crime Sisters in Crime (SinC) is a writing organization focused on increasing equity and inclusion for women crime writers within the publishing industry. The group has 4,500 members in 60+ regional chapters worldwide, offering networking, advice and su ...

Works

List from:

Maggie Ryan novels

*''Audition for Murder'' (1985) *''Murder Is Academic'' (1985) *''Murder Is Pathological'' (1986) *''Murder Unrenovated'' (1987) *''Rehearsal for Murder'' (1988) *''Murder in the Dog Days'' (1990) *''Murder Misread'' (1990) *''Bad Blood'' (1991)

Marty Hopkins novels

*''Gravestone'' (1993) *''Bloodstream'' (1995) *''Deathwind'' (2004) *''Crossfire'' (2006)

Bridget Mooney books

*''Renowned Be the Grave'' (collected stories) (1998)

References

External links

Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, P. M. 1940 births Living people American women novelists American women short story writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American mystery writers American women mystery writers Writers from Guatemala City Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty American women academics