Caroline Todd was the pen name of Carolyn Watjen; Charles Todd is actually David Watjen. “Everyone respected that their books weren’t fluff, that they were about real history, about real people in a real time,” said Rhys Bowen, a mystery novelist. “They were one of the better mystery writers.”
Why Barbara Neely Is Indeed a Grand Master
By Oline H Cogdill
Mystery fiction has been a major part of my life since I was a child. I’ve said so many times that I have never read a Nancy Drew or a Hardy Boys I started with Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, etc.
In the beginning, these were just entertaining stories, puzzles to figure out, characters who didn’t resemble anyone I knew. But as I got older, mysteries began to encompass new writers who introduced readers to different worlds. (Thank you, Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller.)
One of those authors who brought readers to another world was Barbara Neely, who has been named the 2020 Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America (MWA). The 2020 Raven Award recipient is Left Coast Crime, and Kelley Ragland will receive the Ellery Queen Award at the 74th Annual Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on April 30, 2020.