Background
Eleanor Taylor Bland was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Taylor was her father"s name, not her maiden name.
Bland graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.A. degree in 1981.
Bland got a degree at the College of Lake County.
(When Chicago narcotics detective Johnny MacAlister was fo...)
When Chicago narcotics detective Johnny MacAlister was found shot to death in what appeared to be suicide, his wife, homicide detective Marti MacAlister, left the city with their two children for a quieter life in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois. Three years later, one of Johnny's old colleagues has died under equally mysterious circumstances, and the man's wife persuades Marti that the official explanation for both men's deaths could be covering up accidents, negligence - or murder. Marti knows an investigation will take time away from her job and her kids, but until she finds out what really happened to Johnny, neither she nor her family will be able to accept his death. With the help of her partner, Jessenovik, her friends Ben and Sharon, and her enduring love for her complicated husband, Marti confronts police bureaucracy and the dangers of the Chicago streets to uncover the truth. But in the most challenging case of her career, Marti may be risking more than she can afford in order to bring her family peace of mind.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312130538/?tag=2022091-20
1995
(Lincoln Prairie Police detective Marti MacAlister and her...)
Lincoln Prairie Police detective Marti MacAlister and her partner, Jessenovik, try to solve the seemingly unrelated murders of two women, and the duo discovers that both victims once tried to help an abused young girl.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312143184/?tag=2022091-20
1996
(As Illinois police detective Marti MacAlister investigate...)
As Illinois police detective Marti MacAlister investigates the brutal murder of a young woman, a homeless man and the victim's criminal contacts threaten not only the investigation but Marti's own career and family.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312169108/?tag=2022091-20
1998
(African American police detective Marti MacAlister return...)
African American police detective Marti MacAlister returns from her honeymoon to the suburbs of Chicago, where she and her partner Vik face a difficult new case involving two brutal and apparently unrelated murders.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312200676/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(With an arsonist on the loose in the quiet suburb of Linc...)
With an arsonist on the loose in the quiet suburb of Lincoln Prairie, middle-aged African-American homicide detective Marti MacAlister and his partner Matthew Jessenovik race the clock to catch this fiery prophet of doom from escalating his crimes to murder.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312203780/?tag=2022091-20
2000
(Marti MacAlister, Eleanor Taylor Bland's popular African-...)
Marti MacAlister, Eleanor Taylor Bland's popular African-American heroine, is forced to confront some extremely personal demons from long ago-her husband Johnny MacAlister is long-buried, but now someone from Johnny's past is back, looking for him, and Marti fears she knows who it might be. In the meantime, her work as a suburban Chicago homicide detective has taken her back in time in another way, to a group of children she once counseled, each now four years older and with four more year's worth of problems. There's LaShawna, now seventeen and with her own four-year-old daughter; Padgett, all grown up at twelve but still living with his alcoholic mother; and then Jose, fifteen, who's in the most trouble of them all. He's been accused of murder, but the Jose that Marti remembers could not have committed such a terrible crime. Her first step is to find out what could have happened in the past four years to lead Jose to such a desperate act, and she hopes her second step will be to prove his innocence. It won't be easy, though; just what's going on with this tight group of kids, and how does it relate to the increasingly foreboding sense of doom Marti gets about the mystery man who's nosing around the remnants of her distant past? She's not sure, but she knows she must figure it all out, and soon, before another of the children, or even Marti herself, falls into grave danger. Windy City Dying is another taut, absorbing read from one of the masters of mystery fiction.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQMQH9Y/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(When Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jesse...)
When Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik respond to a report of skeletal remains found on a wooded piece of land, the pair has no idea it's just the first indication of a convoluted case of murder and conspiracy dating back hundreds of years. The skeleton turns out to be quite a mystery in itself, leading Native American groups and historians specializing in the Underground Railroad to flock to the site. Unfortunately for all involved, the violence associated with the area is not confined to the distant past, and soon reports of mysterious accidents and suspicious deaths are coming in faster than Marti would like. A small contingent of locals even swears the land is haunted by a ghost intent on exacting a vicious revenge for some unknown grievance. Marti knows there must be a more traditional explanation, and it's her job to find out what it is. Eleanor Taylor Bland is at the top of her form in this taut, well-researched, suspenseful entry in her award-winning Marti MacAlister series.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQMLIV6/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(Lincoln Prairie Homicide Detective Marti MacAlister does ...)
Lincoln Prairie Homicide Detective Marti MacAlister does not get along with her new boss. Lieutenant Gail Nicholson disapproves of what she calls Marti's sloppy work habits, and regards her success as a fluke rather than the result of hard work and skill. Marti thinks the woman just may be feeling overly competitive with her, as one of the only other women on the job, and a black woman at that, but Marti knows she must put up with her boss's ill will or else she could be out of job. When a homeless woman turns up dead, Lt. Nicholson dismisses the case. After all, being a suburb of Chicago, Lincoln Prairie has its share of homeless citizens, and another dead one-especially in the winter-ranks pretty low on the lieutenant's radar screen. She's more worried about an assault on a city alderman. But unable to let the woman's death go, Marti takes it upon herself to figure out the truth, even if it costs Marti her job. Could this homicide be part of a larger pattern? Can Marti find the killer before another person turns up dead? The twelfth book in Eleanor Taylor Bland's acclaimed series, A Cold and Silent Dying is a suspenseful, compelling, compassionate story.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HXZMZI/?tag=2022091-20
2004
(Chicago detective Marti MacAlister has her work cut out f...)
Chicago detective Marti MacAlister has her work cut out for her these days. First, during the filming of a big Hollywood movie on location in Lincoln Prairie, the body of one of the film's stars turns up dead, along the shores of the Des Plaines River. Then, the skeletal remains of another gunshot victim turn up in a hundred year old building that is being renovated. The closer Marti comes to piecing the clues of each case, the closer they come to understanding how the two cases are connected. But the longer it takes, the more dangerous the killer becomes. This next book in Eleanor Taylor Bland's acclaimed series is a captivating story that will engage both fans and new readers with its suspense and wit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E4CXQI/?tag=2022091-20
2007
(A fine rain was falling as Detective Marti MacAlister mad...)
A fine rain was falling as Detective Marti MacAlister made her way through the tall grass to the wooded area where the arm had been found. It was cool for early September, and the rain, little more than a mist, felt cold. Marti stared at the hand. The fingers were curled in a beckoning gesture. Eleanor Taylor Bland's popular African-American heroine, homicide detective Marti MacAlister, and her partner are assigned a most unusual case-all that's left of the unfortunate murder victim is an arm. Their investigation leads them into the exclusive and secretive history of the artistic community in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois. Meanwhile, Marti's troubled best friend Sharon is slowly getting involved with a man who makes Sharon's friends and family uneasy. When he spirits her away to the Bahamas, then lures her daughter down after them, Marti has no choice but to go to the islands on a dramatic rescue mission. Another captivating tale of danger and obsession from Eleanor Taylor Bland, Whispers in the Dark will keep fans and new readers alike in gripping suspense.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FOBA2IA/?tag=2022091-20
2013
Eleanor Taylor Bland was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Taylor was her father"s name, not her maiden name.
She was the creator of Lincoln Prairie, Illinois (based on Waukegan, Illinois) police detective Marti McAllister. Although she was diagnosed with Gardner syndrome in the 1970s and given a short time to live, she managed to overcome the disease. In later years, however, she fought several bouts with cancer.
Bland received a Bachelor from the University of Southern Illinois in 1981, and from 1981 to 1999 worked as an accountants
Bland died of Gardner"s syndrome on June 2, 2010, at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
(Marti MacAlister, Eleanor Taylor Bland's popular African-...)
2003(When Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jesse...)
2003(With an arsonist on the loose in the quiet suburb of Linc...)
2000(When Chicago narcotics detective Johnny MacAlister was fo...)
1995(Lincoln Prairie Police detective Marti MacAlister and her...)
1996(As Illinois police detective Marti MacAlister investigate...)
1998(African American police detective Marti MacAlister return...)
1999(A fine rain was falling as Detective Marti MacAlister mad...)
2013(Lincoln Prairie Homicide Detective Marti MacAlister does ...)
2004(Chicago detective Marti MacAlister has her work cut out f...)
2007
Physical Characteristics: Bland was diagnosed with Gardner's syndrome in the 1970s. The doctors gave her a short time to live. She went through years of treatment that included surgery and radiation. Nevertheless, she managed to overcome the disease. In later years, however, she fought several bouts with cancer and finally died of it in 2010.