Silent Are the Dead

The second day in Mud Sawpole’s unexpected quest starts with a missing body that leads to confrontations with deadly snakes—some with rattlers and others on two legs. Both want her dead.

Like her protagonist Mud, D. M. Rowell comes from a long line of Kiowa Storytellers within a culture that treasures oral traditions. She’s an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and has spent decades preserving sacred stories shared by tribe elders.

As a child, Rowell was heavily influenced by her traditional Kiowa Grandfather, C. E. Rowell. He was an artist, master storyteller, recognized Tribal Elder and one of the last readers of the Sai-guats, winter count deerskin calendars that chronicled a hundred years of Kiowa history. Her Grandfather’s stories, memories, and art instilled a deep respect and love for her Kiowa culture and traditions within Rowell.

The Case of the Missing Maid

It’s 1898 in Chicago. Harriet Morrow is hired on a trial basis as the first female operative at the Prescott Detective Agency. Wearing men’s shoes and a bowler hat and conducting her investigation by bicycle, Harriet is in many ways an unconventional young woman–not the least of which is being attracted to women. Determined to prove herself and carve a path for women who might follow, Harriet sets out to solve her first case: a maid has disappeared from a south-side mansion

Rob Osler is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Authors Guild, and Queer Crime Writers. Rob writes the contemporary comedic series Hayden & Friends Mysteries, featuring a gay and lesbian amateur sleuth duo. Book one, DEVIL’S CHEW TOY, was a 2023 Best Debut Mystery Finalist for the Anthony, Macavity, Agatha, and Lefty Awards and was a 2022 Year’s Best by Crime Reads, BOLO Books, Book Riot, and POPSUGAR. The second book, CIRQUE DU SLAY, out now, is a most anticipated mystery by Publishers’ Weekly, Cosmopolitan, Book Riot and LGBTQ Reads.