Background
Janet Dawson was born on October 31, 1949, in Purcell, Oklahoma, United States. She is the daughter of Donald E. and Thelma Louise (Metcalf) Dawson. She grew up in Colorado.
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd, Hayward, CA 94542, United States
California State University
Boulder, CO 80309, United States
University of Colorado
(The Ghost in Roomette Four A California Zephyr Mystery By...)
The Ghost in Roomette Four A California Zephyr Mystery By Janet Dawson "Engrossing..." -- Gumshoe "...a murder mystery a la Dame Agatha..." -- Terry Shames It's almost midnight on the sleek streamliner known as the California Zephyr en route from Oakland to Chicago in 1954. Heading for her quarters, Zephyrette Jill McLeod walks through the Silver Gorge Pullman car, and sees something she can't explain. Is the shimmering light a ghost? Jill doubts the evidence of her own eyes, but soon learns that others have seen the phenomenon, too. Whatever-whoever-is haunting roomette four may be connected to an incident two months earlier, when Jill found the body of a young man there. The verdict on the death was natural causes. Now it looks like the unquiet spirit is pointing to murder. Several years ago Dawson took a trip on the Pacific Sands, a privately owned Pullman car. The owner told stories about a roomette on the car that was supposedly haunted. Passengers would tell about hearing voices during the night, and the porters who worked trips talked about the porter call button in the roomette ringing. When the porter answered the bell, no one was there. As a mystery writer, anything and everything was grist for the mill. As a matter of fact, the roomette on the Pacific Sands was number four
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BNW3FXN/?tag=2022091-20
(December 23, 1952. A transcontinental train is stopped co...)
December 23, 1952. A transcontinental train is stopped cold by a rockslide in a remote Colorado canyon. There's a murderer aboard, one who has already killed, and will kill again unless stopped. The California Zephyr, with its run from Oakland to Chicago and back, was famous for its Vista-Domes, which provided a 360-degree view of spectacular Western scenery. It was a kind of small city populated by passengers from all walks of life and a large crew whose duty it was to keep them safe. Zephyrette Jill McLeod is the passengers' primary point of contact. She's armed for any emergency”with a first-aid kit, a screwdriver, and her knowledge of human nature. But can she figure out a ruthless killer's clever plot in time?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F4IIWQW/?tag=2022091-20
(The Zephyr speeds across the West, Death deals the cards ...)
The Zephyr speeds across the West, Death deals the cards It's April 1953, and Zephyrette Jill McLeod is back on the rails, aboard the fabled train called the California Zephyr. Heading west from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, Jill looks forward to reuniting with family members and the new man in her life. She’s learned to expect and deal with just about anything on the train, from troublesome passengers to long-lost relatives to high-stakes poker games. But the stakes just got even higher: Death has a seat at the table.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D1ZO9LG/?tag=2022091-20
(IT'S BEEN 50 YEARS SINCE FERN CHATFIELD DISAPPEARED. WHAT...)
IT'S BEEN 50 YEARS SINCE FERN CHATFIELD DISAPPEARED. WHAT HAPPENED TO HER? DID SHE RUN AWAY? OR WAS SHE ABDUCTED? MAGGIE CONSTABLE WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS. A warm June evening. A high school graduation party. Fern ends her relationship with her boyfriend Hank. He doesn't take it well. In fact, he tries to hit her. But Fern's best friend Maggie intervenes. After Hank stalks off into the darkness, Fern says she's going to walk home. But she never gets there. Fifty years have gone by. Maggie's a tough-minded veteran reporter, accustomed to pursuing the truth. This story has haunted her for years. She goes to her 50th high school reunion, determined to find out, once and for all, what happened to Fern.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4Q5CJ4/?tag=2022091-20
(A fabulous jeweled egg made by Fabergé for the Russian im...)
A fabulous jeweled egg made by Fabergé for the Russian imperial family disappears during an art gallery opening. Does the gallery owner have something to do with the crime? He’s had thefts from his other galleries, a pattern that retired private investigator Errol Seville believes is part of a scam to defraud the insurance company. Or maybe the perpetrator is the thief that Errol spots casing the gallery, looking for an opportunity to relieve patrons of their expensive jewels. Has he branched out, stealing priceless objets d’art? The scam turns bloody when murder enters the picture. Errol may be retired, but in this short story it’s clear that he still has his private eye chops.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00652C4E2/?tag=2022091-20
(Hattie Ballew is a gold miner in California’s Mother Lode...)
Hattie Ballew is a gold miner in California’s Mother Lode. She works a claim with her brothers, and enjoys the company of her cat Little Bit, who pilfers things from the cabin and the surrounding woods. As Hattie finds out in this short story, the lust for gold leads to violence – and murder. And Little Bit may drag in a clue.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00631PDBG/?tag=2022091-20
(“When the neighbors saw rats climbing the curtains . . . ...)
“When the neighbors saw rats climbing the curtains . . . they called the cops.” A pack rat – of the human variety – lives in the rundown house, surrounded by the junk he hoards. As the officers discover, there’s more to this short story than the rats at the window and the piles of old newspaper inside. What’s going on is a crime.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UZCSWS/?tag=2022091-20
(Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the sixteenth president, is th...)
Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the sixteenth president, is the First Lady of a nation embroiled in the Civil War. She’s also a savvy political wife in wartime Washington. In this short story, the First Lady uses her powers of observation and the help of two White House employees to sort out crimes – including murder – and bring the perpetrators to justice.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062WCH8I/?tag=2022091-20
(Accident? Or suicide? That’s the question Navy Lieutenant...)
Accident? Or suicide? That’s the question Navy Lieutenant Dinah Gray must answer when a sailor at her Navy command drives a car into San Francisco Bay. In this short story, Dinah discovers a lot of people would rather she didn’t make waves, including the formidable captain Dinah calls The Dragon Lady. Despite the pressure, the young officer must go where the evidence, and her conscience, lead her.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YS9USQ/?tag=2022091-20
Janet Dawson was born on October 31, 1949, in Purcell, Oklahoma, United States. She is the daughter of Donald E. and Thelma Louise (Metcalf) Dawson. She grew up in Colorado.
Dawson graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, as a Bachelor of Science in journalism. She also obtained Master of Arts degree in history from the California State University, Hayward.
Successful crime novelist Janet Dawson began her career in the genre with the 1990 novel Kindred Crimes. Kindred Crimes introduces Dawson’s signature heroine, private eye Jerusha “Jeri” Howard, an operative working out of Northern California’s Oakland-Berkeley region. Beginning with her debut novel, Dawson demonstrates her fascination with plots and characters that center around family relationships, often involving long-held secrets.
Since the publication of her first novel, Dawson has produced a half of a novel per year.
Dawson has written twelve novels with Oakland private investigator Jeri Howard and two novels featuring Zephyrette Jill McLeod.
Later, Dawson was a newspaper reporter in Colorado, and she was a U.S. Navy journalist, becoming an officer. As an officer in the Navy, she was stationed in the San Francisco Bay Area. After leaving the Navy, Dawson worked in the legal field and at the University of California.
(The Zephyr speeds across the West, Death deals the cards ...)
(Bag the ENTIRE AWARD-WINNING Jeri Howard murder mystery s...)
(Accident? Or suicide? That’s the question Navy Lieutenant...)
(A fabulous jeweled egg made by Fabergé for the Russian im...)
(Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the sixteenth president, is th...)
(The Ghost in Roomette Four A California Zephyr Mystery By...)
(Hattie Ballew is a gold miner in California’s Mother Lode...)
(IT'S BEEN 50 YEARS SINCE FERN CHATFIELD DISAPPEARED. WHAT...)
(“When the neighbors saw rats climbing the curtains . . . ...)
(December 23, 1952. A transcontinental train is stopped co...)
Dawson is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Sisters in Crime, the Private Eye Writers of America, the American Crime Writers League, the Authors Guild, the Mystery Readers International.
She also serves as MWA NorCal president, and more recently, chair of the Edgar Allan Poe awards.