Karen Odden
Author of A Dangerous Duet
About the Author
Image credit: Photo credit: Tina Celle
Series
Works by Karen Odden
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Education
- New York University (Ph D ∙ English Literature)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (M.A. English Literature)
Cornell University (B.A., English and Biology) - Occupations
- novelist
college lecturer
media buyer
assistant editor
bartender - Organizations
- Mystery Writers of America
Sisters in Crime (National) and Desert Sleuths (SinC Arizona chapter) - Agent
- HG Literary Agency
- Short biography
- After earning her PhD in English literature at New York University, Karen served as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and as an assistant editor at the academic journal Victorian Literature and Culture. Her essays and chapters have appeared in numerous journals, and she has written introductions for Barnes and Noble’s Classics Series editions of books by Dickens and Trollope. Prior to receiving her Ph.D. in English, she worked as an Editorial Assistant for several publishing companies, as a Media Buyer for Christie’s auction house in New York, and as a bartender at the airport in Rochester. She is a member of Sisters in Crime (National and AZ chapters) and Mystery Writers of America. Her first book, A LADY IN THE SMOKE (Random House, 2015), was a USA Today bestseller, and her second, A DANGEROUS DUET (Harper Collins, 2018) won for best historical fiction at the New Mexico-Arizona book awards. Her third, A TRACE OF DECEIT (Harper Collins, 2019) takes place in the 1870s London art world. Karen currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, her two children, and her ridiculously cute beagle, Rosy.
from http://www.karenodden.com/about-karen... - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Arizona, USA
Members
Reviews
Down a Dark River is a very promising start to a new historical series featuring Inspector Michael Corravan, the type of multi-faceted character that readers will love to sink their teeth into. An orphan, Corravan was raised by a foster mother in the East End of London. He's been a dockworker, a bare-knuckle boxer, a river cop, and a Metropolitan police officer. His life seems to have taught him that there are two ways to deal with people: fight them or rescue them, and this attitude has show more caused him many problems. Even his mistress, wealthy author Belinda Gale, is finding it difficult to put up with a man who's been described more than once as a rabid bear barreling through the woods. Corravan is the type of character that can exhaust and annoy a reader-- at least he did me-- except for one thing: he does show a willingness to change the personality traits that are causing him so many personal and work-related problems. This is just the sort of rich characterization that I love.
The mystery is excellent, with plenty of misdirection. Readers have to make their way through the theft of a valuable necklace, a runaway wife, an insane asylum, the ongoing feud between the River Police and Scotland Yard, the deaths of young women who have no obvious connections to each other, and rich, entitled men who think it's beneath them to deal with the police.
I also liked the secondary characters of young Mr. Stiles and Belinda Gale. This series isn't going to be a mere one-man show, which means readers will reap even more benefits. There's also something for the poetically inclined: Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is woven into the story, and since that's one of my favorite poems, it was the icing on the cake of this very well-done historical mystery. Down a Dark River is the first book by Karen Odden that I've read, but it won't be the last. I'm definitely looking forward to Inspector Corravan's next case.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less
The mystery is excellent, with plenty of misdirection. Readers have to make their way through the theft of a valuable necklace, a runaway wife, an insane asylum, the ongoing feud between the River Police and Scotland Yard, the deaths of young women who have no obvious connections to each other, and rich, entitled men who think it's beneath them to deal with the police.
I also liked the secondary characters of young Mr. Stiles and Belinda Gale. This series isn't going to be a mere one-man show, which means readers will reap even more benefits. There's also something for the poetically inclined: Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is woven into the story, and since that's one of my favorite poems, it was the icing on the cake of this very well-done historical mystery. Down a Dark River is the first book by Karen Odden that I've read, but it won't be the last. I'm definitely looking forward to Inspector Corravan's next case.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less
It is 1878 and Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan has been assigned to the Wapping River Police after some police scandals. He's busy with some murders that look like gang problems between two Irish gangs. Then the unthinkable happens, the Princess Alice which is filled with day trippers collides with the Bywell Castle which is a coal hauler. The Princess Alice comes apart drowning more than 600 people.
When it looks like the accident could have been caused by the Irish Republican show more Brotherhood, Corrovan is pulled in many directions. Some of his superiors are concerned that he will be too sympathetic to the Irish because of his own Irish heritage. While he struggles to unravel the tangled threads of the disaster, he is also dealing with family issues. His young foster brother Colin, who deeply resents the fact the Michael took off unexpectedly when he was young, is getting mixed up in the doings of Irish crime lords. Michael wants to get him out from under their thumbs and give his brother an easier, legal future.
The setting was fascinating. The politics of the day intriguing and reflecting current day politics as well. I liked Corrovan who was a dedicated police officer determined to find the true culprits behind the accident. He was a complex man who deals with guilt and grief with the strong support of his foster mother and lady friend.
Fans of historical mysteries won't want to miss Inspector Michael Corrovan and his colleagues and his world. show less
When it looks like the accident could have been caused by the Irish Republican show more Brotherhood, Corrovan is pulled in many directions. Some of his superiors are concerned that he will be too sympathetic to the Irish because of his own Irish heritage. While he struggles to unravel the tangled threads of the disaster, he is also dealing with family issues. His young foster brother Colin, who deeply resents the fact the Michael took off unexpectedly when he was young, is getting mixed up in the doings of Irish crime lords. Michael wants to get him out from under their thumbs and give his brother an easier, legal future.
The setting was fascinating. The politics of the day intriguing and reflecting current day politics as well. I liked Corrovan who was a dedicated police officer determined to find the true culprits behind the accident. He was a complex man who deals with guilt and grief with the strong support of his foster mother and lady friend.
Fans of historical mysteries won't want to miss Inspector Michael Corrovan and his colleagues and his world. show less
It’s circa 1880 in London and Annabel Rowe is a 20-something art student at the Slade. She visits the apartment of her brother Edwin after leaving her studio and meets instead police officers. Her brother is dead and the Scotland Yard officers tell her Edwin was murdered. Annabel is not much surprised that Edwin came to a bad end. Although he was a gifted artist, Edwin was known to be involved with some dodgy folks and served a year in prison for forgery.
But Annabel had believed his show more promises that he was going straight and she so wanted that to be true. The investigating officer, Matthew Hallam, needs a little help navigating the art/auction-house worlds that Edwin inhabited, so the two team up to find his killer.
A Trace of Deceit is a lovely historical mystery that takes readers back to the Victorian age with all its gilt and grit. The story gets increasingly intricate as it moves along and the author takes readers on quite a ride.
I’m a big fan of historical mysteries, preferring those set in the World War I to World War 2 era – but I loved this one nonetheless. The characters are complex and Annabel is a great protagonist. The writing is smooth and assured, creating a perfect balance between period detail and plot. I will definitely look for more books by this author.
Review based on publisher-provided bound galley. show less
But Annabel had believed his show more promises that he was going straight and she so wanted that to be true. The investigating officer, Matthew Hallam, needs a little help navigating the art/auction-house worlds that Edwin inhabited, so the two team up to find his killer.
A Trace of Deceit is a lovely historical mystery that takes readers back to the Victorian age with all its gilt and grit. The story gets increasingly intricate as it moves along and the author takes readers on quite a ride.
I’m a big fan of historical mysteries, preferring those set in the World War I to World War 2 era – but I loved this one nonetheless. The characters are complex and Annabel is a great protagonist. The writing is smooth and assured, creating a perfect balance between period detail and plot. I will definitely look for more books by this author.
Review based on publisher-provided bound galley. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.The (misquoted) maxim "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it" takes on new meaning in Karen Odden's Victorian set mystery, Under a Veiled Moon, the second in the Inspector Corravan Mystery series. Although the ethnic group is different (the Irish as versus the groups who are the targeted today), people and media still scapegoat "others" and consider them lesser than. These bigoted beliefs led to resentment and violence in the past, as shown in the novel, and similar bigoted show more beliefs lead to resentment and violence today. Perhaps one day we will learn.
Michael (Mickey) Corravan is the Acting Superintendent of the Wapping River Police. As the novel opens, he has found a unidentified body but quickly this one, potentially murdered man becomes a side note to a much bigger investigation. There's a collision on the Thames between a daily, wooden, pleasure boat and a heavy iron-clad collier that causes massive loss of life and Corravan must determine whether it was an accident or if it was intentionally caused by the Irish Republican Brotherhood as the newspapers attest. The possibility that the IRB is behind the collision causes a massive swell of anti-Irish sentiment at a time when the Irish were already considered vermin. And Michael Corravan is Irish. His superiors and colleagues want a speedy conclusion to the case and question whether he can investigate impartially given his own heritage and close ties to the community. At the same time, Corravan is worried about the youngest son of the family who took him in after his mother left. Colin Doyle has join the Cobbwallers, another Irish gang, and Corravan wants nothing more than to get Colin out of the gang and keep him safe for Ma Doyle.
The prevailing sentiment about the Irish and the debate about Irish Home Rule weaves through the entire story. Newspapers fan the flames of bigotry, falsifying evidence and printing half-truths, allowing extremists and other bitter and angry people an outlet and mouthpiece for their beliefs. Through it all, Corravan keeps his head, tamps down his own reaction, and doggedly goes about uncovering the actual truth of the collision, finding connections to his loved ones that will fill him with regret and sadness forever. Corravan's backstory before and then with the Doyle family weaves through the investigation but there is obviously more to be unveiled in future books. The plot is quite intricate and Odden does a fantastic job keeping it moving along and tying it all together. The politics of the time, the vitriol toward the Irish, and the quiet machinations of Parliament are front and center and at the root of everything here so readers should be prepared for politics to carry as much weight as the mystery itself. The whole thing is detailed, well researched, and well written. The larger story of Michael Corravan is intriguing and the secondary characters in his work and personal life are appealing. This is a good read for historical mystery readers, with a spot on sense of time and place and a sometimes troubling parallel to life, beliefs, and media today. show less
Michael (Mickey) Corravan is the Acting Superintendent of the Wapping River Police. As the novel opens, he has found a unidentified body but quickly this one, potentially murdered man becomes a side note to a much bigger investigation. There's a collision on the Thames between a daily, wooden, pleasure boat and a heavy iron-clad collier that causes massive loss of life and Corravan must determine whether it was an accident or if it was intentionally caused by the Irish Republican Brotherhood as the newspapers attest. The possibility that the IRB is behind the collision causes a massive swell of anti-Irish sentiment at a time when the Irish were already considered vermin. And Michael Corravan is Irish. His superiors and colleagues want a speedy conclusion to the case and question whether he can investigate impartially given his own heritage and close ties to the community. At the same time, Corravan is worried about the youngest son of the family who took him in after his mother left. Colin Doyle has join the Cobbwallers, another Irish gang, and Corravan wants nothing more than to get Colin out of the gang and keep him safe for Ma Doyle.
The prevailing sentiment about the Irish and the debate about Irish Home Rule weaves through the entire story. Newspapers fan the flames of bigotry, falsifying evidence and printing half-truths, allowing extremists and other bitter and angry people an outlet and mouthpiece for their beliefs. Through it all, Corravan keeps his head, tamps down his own reaction, and doggedly goes about uncovering the actual truth of the collision, finding connections to his loved ones that will fill him with regret and sadness forever. Corravan's backstory before and then with the Doyle family weaves through the investigation but there is obviously more to be unveiled in future books. The plot is quite intricate and Odden does a fantastic job keeping it moving along and tying it all together. The politics of the time, the vitriol toward the Irish, and the quiet machinations of Parliament are front and center and at the root of everything here so readers should be prepared for politics to carry as much weight as the mystery itself. The whole thing is detailed, well researched, and well written. The larger story of Michael Corravan is intriguing and the secondary characters in his work and personal life are appealing. This is a good read for historical mystery readers, with a spot on sense of time and place and a sometimes troubling parallel to life, beliefs, and media today. show less
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