Amanda Kyle Williams (1957–2018)
Author of The Stranger You Seek
About the Author
Amanda Kyle Williams was born in Virginia on August 17, 1957. She had undiagnosed dyslexia and dropped out of high school. As a teenager and young adult she struggled with substance abuse and addiction. Before becoming an author, she worked as a pet sitter, house painter, embroiderer, and process show more server. She wrote the Madison McGuire series and the Keye Street series. She was also a freelancer for the Southern Voice and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She died from endometrial cancer on August 31, 2018 at the age of 61. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Photo by Kaylinn Gilstrap Photography
Series
Works by Amanda Kyle Williams
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Williams, Amanda Kyle
- Birthdate
- 1957-08-17
- Date of death
- 2018-08-31
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- full time writer
cook
afternoon napper
dog walker
courier for a private investigator
property manager (show all 9)
house painter
commercial embroiderer
freelance writer - Organizations
- Lifeline Animal Project (www.atlantapets.org)
Fugees Family, Inc.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Agent
- Victoria Sanders & Associates LLC
- Short biography
- Amanda Kyle Williams was a successful, full-time crime novelist. A dyslexia diagnosis at age 22 explained why she had trouble in school; she had dropped out of high school at age 16. Her first set of novels were published by Naiad Press and featured a protagonist who, like Williams, was a lesbian. She developed the idea for her second protagonist, a Chinese-American woman like Williams's niece, almost twenty years later. She was at work on her fourth novel in the series when she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which eventually killed her.
- Cause of death
- cancer (endometrial)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Norfolk, Virginia, USA
- Place of death
- Decatur, Georgia, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams...My 1st Early Reviewer Review! in Reviews of Early Reviewers Books (September 2011)
Reviews
The second novel in a series is critical; after all, a good first novel could be a fluke. The more I like the first in a series, the more I hope the second lives up to its potential, and I am pleased to say that Amanda Kyle Williams more than delivers with her second Keye Street thriller, STRANGER IN THE ROOM. If you missed THE STRANGER YOU SEEK, Keye is a disgraced FBI profiler-turned-P.I., her brilliant career derailed by alcoholism, who gets pulled in as an APD consultant when a serial show more killer terrorizes Atlanta. Keye is funny but competent, deeply flawed, and self-aware. She's as funny as early Stephanie Plum, but in more intense thrillers (think Karin Slaughter, early Patricia Cornwell). It's an addictive combination. Thrillers are often relentless (which is the point, of course-- to keep the reader turning pages) in gore, action, and suspense, but in a twist on the usual thriller formula, Williams has used her heroine's abundant flaws to inject substantial humor into her books. The suspense is still intense; humor simply provides another layer of enjoyment.
Atlanta is practically a character in STRANGER IN THE ROOM. Having made it through a scorching summer, lines like "Atlanta's smoldering summer had dropped down around us like a burning building" really resonate with me. Keye observes of her private investigation business, "Missing persons, surveillance, bond enforcement, and process serving keeps the cash flowing when business slows to a crawl over the winter holidays. But when Atlanta starts to heat up and the glaring southern sun sets our bloodstreams ablaze, when the clothes get skimpy and overworked servers stagger out with trays of frosty pitchers at packed pavement cafes, my phone gets busy." Details of locations and mouth-watering descriptions of restaurant offerings (more on this later) add to the authenticity. Keye struggles with sobriety, and Williams treats alcoholism with great sensitivity and understanding, even as Keye cracks jokes about it.
STRANGER IN THE ROOM starts out with Keye's troubled cousin, Miki, asking for help; she's being stalked. Keye isn't sure how much of Miki's account to believe, but when a body turns up in Miki's house, Keye is convinced. Miki is possibly more screwed-up than Keye. "'Are you all right?' she asked, then went on without giving me time to answer. 'Oh, right. The alcohol thing. What's the big deal, anyway? I won't let you get wasted. Just order a fucking drink.' 'That's the worst idea I've heard all day.' She reached into her bag and withdrew a tiny glass vial with a black cap. 'I've got some coke. Would a line help?' That's my Miki, always thinking of others." Meanwhile, APD Lieutenant Rauser has asked for Keye's insight in a serial killer case. These two mysteries make up the main plot, with Keye's private investigation business providing the subplots. One is a bail bonds case that provides quality comic relief (and by "comic relief," I mean, "uncontrollable laughter"), and the other takes Keye up to rural Big Knob, where she investigates odd happenings at a crematorium. The Big Knob case introduces one of my favorite characters in any book in any genre: the politely racist Mrs. Stargell. In a less nuanced novel, Mrs. Stargell would have been a one-dimensional character to hate, but Williams rounds her out nicely, and she steals every scene she's in. I kind of hope future cases take Keye back to Big Knob.
Keye's supporting cast is fantastic. Williams is skilled at crafting complex characters, no matter how few words they have in the book. Keye's relationship with Rauser continues to develop in interesting and unexpected ways. He's a great cop: "'Listen to me, people,' Rauser snapped. 'All that DNA shit, it's gonna be great in court. But it's good old-fashioned police work that closes cases. Don't ever forget that.'" But he has a goofy side, too: "Rauser's hand went to his weapon, then slid away when we saw the gray tabby from next door pulling himself up and over the fence. He balanced on top for a couple of seconds, then jumped to the ground and sauntered over to the patch of neglected garden. He dug around, sniffed, turned a few circles, sniffed, dug, then laid back his ears and did his business. 'Little bastard,' Rauser growled, watching the cat with Wile E. Coyote eyes. 'Fucker's looking right at us.' I had to bite my lip and look away. Rauser had unintentionally built a giant cat box in his yard." Her coworker, stoner savant Neil, is hilarious and strangely competent. He and Keye exchange great childish banter that brings out Keye's silly side. "Neil had his electronic devices out, and he was balancing a hotel coffee mug. 'This is going to be one of those three-hour tour things, isn't it? Big Knob's the Minnow and you're Ginger and I'm the professor and we're never getting off the island.' 'You see me as Ginger? Really?' I glanced at myself in the rearview."
I'm tempted to quote all the passages I marked that made me laugh out loud (and, in one case, literally slap my knee), but I don't want to spoil the joy for new readers. I'm also tempted to quote all the passages about food (seriously, don't read Williams on an empty stomach!), but I'll just give one example: "She grew poblano peppers in her own garden and stuffed them with cheese and cubed acorn squash she'd sauteed in garlic. She skewered fresh peaches on cinnamon sticks and bathed them in bourbon and honey on the grill until their meat was sweet and smoky. She filled tiny pastry cups with goat cheese and homemade lime curd and glass pitchers with sweet iced tea and fresh thyme. Southern cooking gets a bad rap. But when it's done right, it's a beautiful thing." Besides their other attributes, I think Williams's books could be the foundation for a spectacular cookbook.
STRANGER IN THE ROOM stands well on its own, but I can't possibly recommend skipping THE STRANGER YOU SEEK. Do yourself a favor and read both. Quoting extensively in a review is the highest compliment for me: it means the writing is so good, it's best to let it speak for itself.
Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher and purchased my own hardcover edition. show less
Atlanta is practically a character in STRANGER IN THE ROOM. Having made it through a scorching summer, lines like "Atlanta's smoldering summer had dropped down around us like a burning building" really resonate with me. Keye observes of her private investigation business, "Missing persons, surveillance, bond enforcement, and process serving keeps the cash flowing when business slows to a crawl over the winter holidays. But when Atlanta starts to heat up and the glaring southern sun sets our bloodstreams ablaze, when the clothes get skimpy and overworked servers stagger out with trays of frosty pitchers at packed pavement cafes, my phone gets busy." Details of locations and mouth-watering descriptions of restaurant offerings (more on this later) add to the authenticity. Keye struggles with sobriety, and Williams treats alcoholism with great sensitivity and understanding, even as Keye cracks jokes about it.
STRANGER IN THE ROOM starts out with Keye's troubled cousin, Miki, asking for help; she's being stalked. Keye isn't sure how much of Miki's account to believe, but when a body turns up in Miki's house, Keye is convinced. Miki is possibly more screwed-up than Keye. "'Are you all right?' she asked, then went on without giving me time to answer. 'Oh, right. The alcohol thing. What's the big deal, anyway? I won't let you get wasted. Just order a fucking drink.' 'That's the worst idea I've heard all day.' She reached into her bag and withdrew a tiny glass vial with a black cap. 'I've got some coke. Would a line help?' That's my Miki, always thinking of others." Meanwhile, APD Lieutenant Rauser has asked for Keye's insight in a serial killer case. These two mysteries make up the main plot, with Keye's private investigation business providing the subplots. One is a bail bonds case that provides quality comic relief (and by "comic relief," I mean, "uncontrollable laughter"), and the other takes Keye up to rural Big Knob, where she investigates odd happenings at a crematorium. The Big Knob case introduces one of my favorite characters in any book in any genre: the politely racist Mrs. Stargell. In a less nuanced novel, Mrs. Stargell would have been a one-dimensional character to hate, but Williams rounds her out nicely, and she steals every scene she's in. I kind of hope future cases take Keye back to Big Knob.
Keye's supporting cast is fantastic. Williams is skilled at crafting complex characters, no matter how few words they have in the book. Keye's relationship with Rauser continues to develop in interesting and unexpected ways. He's a great cop: "'Listen to me, people,' Rauser snapped. 'All that DNA shit, it's gonna be great in court. But it's good old-fashioned police work that closes cases. Don't ever forget that.'" But he has a goofy side, too: "Rauser's hand went to his weapon, then slid away when we saw the gray tabby from next door pulling himself up and over the fence. He balanced on top for a couple of seconds, then jumped to the ground and sauntered over to the patch of neglected garden. He dug around, sniffed, turned a few circles, sniffed, dug, then laid back his ears and did his business. 'Little bastard,' Rauser growled, watching the cat with Wile E. Coyote eyes. 'Fucker's looking right at us.' I had to bite my lip and look away. Rauser had unintentionally built a giant cat box in his yard." Her coworker, stoner savant Neil, is hilarious and strangely competent. He and Keye exchange great childish banter that brings out Keye's silly side. "Neil had his electronic devices out, and he was balancing a hotel coffee mug. 'This is going to be one of those three-hour tour things, isn't it? Big Knob's the Minnow and you're Ginger and I'm the professor and we're never getting off the island.' 'You see me as Ginger? Really?' I glanced at myself in the rearview."
I'm tempted to quote all the passages I marked that made me laugh out loud (and, in one case, literally slap my knee), but I don't want to spoil the joy for new readers. I'm also tempted to quote all the passages about food (seriously, don't read Williams on an empty stomach!), but I'll just give one example: "She grew poblano peppers in her own garden and stuffed them with cheese and cubed acorn squash she'd sauteed in garlic. She skewered fresh peaches on cinnamon sticks and bathed them in bourbon and honey on the grill until their meat was sweet and smoky. She filled tiny pastry cups with goat cheese and homemade lime curd and glass pitchers with sweet iced tea and fresh thyme. Southern cooking gets a bad rap. But when it's done right, it's a beautiful thing." Besides their other attributes, I think Williams's books could be the foundation for a spectacular cookbook.
STRANGER IN THE ROOM stands well on its own, but I can't possibly recommend skipping THE STRANGER YOU SEEK. Do yourself a favor and read both. Quoting extensively in a review is the highest compliment for me: it means the writing is so good, it's best to let it speak for itself.
Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher and purchased my own hardcover edition. show less
Well, I have found my new detective obsession. I love good detective fiction and I love my handsome detectives, but I am an equal opportunity fan and Keye Street is my new best girl. The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams is a debut novel with great promise. The characters are terrific and the mystery is compelling — I put the book down half-way through to check Amazon and see if I could pre-order the next book. Sadly, I can’t, but I will be pestering her publisher for a review show more copy.
Keye Street is a terrific character. She’s a private detective with a sordid past, living in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s Chinese; she was adopted by the Streets when she was just a toddler. She didn’t come from a great background:
“I wasn’t emotionally devastated by the fact that they’d given me up. They did it because they were incapable of caring for a child. I mean, with the prostitution and stripping and drugs and all, they were really busy. I guess I was a little pissed that I’d grown up on cheese grits and gravy…but generally I have been incredibly blessed by their handing over their child.”
She’s also got a lot of baggage. She’s an alcoholic and her drinking destroyed her career at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. She’ll never officially work in law enforcement again, and with that background she does not make a compelling expert witness. Still, she has carved out a niche for herself in Atlanta, doing background checks, serving subpoenas, and chasing down bail jumpers. She does tend to gravitate to some odd work:
“I’d been a licensed Bail Recover Agent since leaving the Bureau. It bought the groceries while I built my private investigating business, and it still supplemented by income nicely. My shrink, Dr. Shetty, says it’s a power thing, that I have a brutal case of penis envy. What can I say? I like strapping on a big Glock now and then.”
In The Stranger You Seek, Keye gets caught up in the case of a serial killer. The killer is taunting police, writing letters to the media, and perhaps targeting those involved in the investigation. There are some real scares, some interesting twists, and a story you can really get wrapped up in. I was left with a few questions (Amanda, are you out there? I’ve got questions about Charlie!) but all in all this was a great read. show less
Keye Street is a terrific character. She’s a private detective with a sordid past, living in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s Chinese; she was adopted by the Streets when she was just a toddler. She didn’t come from a great background:
“I wasn’t emotionally devastated by the fact that they’d given me up. They did it because they were incapable of caring for a child. I mean, with the prostitution and stripping and drugs and all, they were really busy. I guess I was a little pissed that I’d grown up on cheese grits and gravy…but generally I have been incredibly blessed by their handing over their child.”
She’s also got a lot of baggage. She’s an alcoholic and her drinking destroyed her career at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. She’ll never officially work in law enforcement again, and with that background she does not make a compelling expert witness. Still, she has carved out a niche for herself in Atlanta, doing background checks, serving subpoenas, and chasing down bail jumpers. She does tend to gravitate to some odd work:
“I’d been a licensed Bail Recover Agent since leaving the Bureau. It bought the groceries while I built my private investigating business, and it still supplemented by income nicely. My shrink, Dr. Shetty, says it’s a power thing, that I have a brutal case of penis envy. What can I say? I like strapping on a big Glock now and then.”
In The Stranger You Seek, Keye gets caught up in the case of a serial killer. The killer is taunting police, writing letters to the media, and perhaps targeting those involved in the investigation. There are some real scares, some interesting twists, and a story you can really get wrapped up in. I was left with a few questions (Amanda, are you out there? I’ve got questions about Charlie!) but all in all this was a great read. show less
This book had me interested right from the prologue and even more so in the 1st chapter where the main character Keye Street narrates her introduction. Right off the bat her character is very unusual and "different." Her whole persona is about as contradictory as you can get...in a good, weirdy way...lol...and her origins are a mystery within itself. (Maybe learn more in a series?)
Keye was once an profiler with the FBI. She was dismissed from her position for "lack of focus" which translates show more drinking problem. Now sober and trying to reassemble some sort of life after losing her job and a divorce, she has a small investigative business in which she mostly tracks down bail jumpers.
Set in the middle of a stifling hot, humid Georgia summer, Keye's best friend Lt Rauser stops by and smacks down some grisly murder scene photos from victims of a possible serial killer on her desk and asks for her help. Speaking of Rauser, I loved the playful sparring and witty dialogue between him and Keye. Good chemistry.
Seemingly stumped, Rauser and Keye cannot seem to connect the dots on how or why the killer selects his prey. To top it off the killer starts sending them letters with clues on his next kill. He taunts them cat and mouse style. They are racing agaist the clock trying to figure out who the next victim will be before its too late!
The story really heats up when one of the "Wishbone" killer's next victims turns out to be one of Keye's bail jumpers.
Not quite midway this book really had me going. I had to stop reading, due to the unfortunate need for sleep..lol, but I found myself thinking about the story while at work, looking forward to getting back to it. The ending was very unexpected. A really good read and I would definitely read the next one in this series. show less
Keye was once an profiler with the FBI. She was dismissed from her position for "lack of focus" which translates show more drinking problem. Now sober and trying to reassemble some sort of life after losing her job and a divorce, she has a small investigative business in which she mostly tracks down bail jumpers.
Set in the middle of a stifling hot, humid Georgia summer, Keye's best friend Lt Rauser stops by and smacks down some grisly murder scene photos from victims of a possible serial killer on her desk and asks for her help. Speaking of Rauser, I loved the playful sparring and witty dialogue between him and Keye. Good chemistry.
Seemingly stumped, Rauser and Keye cannot seem to connect the dots on how or why the killer selects his prey. To top it off the killer starts sending them letters with clues on his next kill. He taunts them cat and mouse style. They are racing agaist the clock trying to figure out who the next victim will be before its too late!
The story really heats up when one of the "Wishbone" killer's next victims turns out to be one of Keye's bail jumpers.
Not quite midway this book really had me going. I had to stop reading, due to the unfortunate need for sleep..lol, but I found myself thinking about the story while at work, looking forward to getting back to it. The ending was very unexpected. A really good read and I would definitely read the next one in this series. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Listened for Fun!
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 3.50 (not part of the overall rating)
First thought when finished: Keye is a leading character that has really grown on me. In this 2nd installment I have really grown to care what happens to her!
What I Thought of the Characters: Stranger in the Room continued the character development that I thought was so well done in The Stranger You Seek! Keye continues to grow, mess up, stumble, and struggle show more through while using her brilliant profiling skills. I said this when I reviewed The Stranger You Seek: "Character development was fantastically done and brilliantly executed." and it holds true for Stranger in the Room. Keye is a flawed character that you want to root for. There was a good bit of her family (mostly her cousin who is involved in this case) and Aaron Rauser (her lover and detective leading the main case)too. Keye's relationship with her adoptive parents is explored more too. What is brilliant is none of these elements take over the story. The case is still the main reason to be there!
What I Thought of the Case: Stranger in the Room was the type of thriller where you aren't really trying to guess who is doing it but more "why?". It really is a case of what goes with what and how do they all fall together. I really enjoyed how it played out and thought it was really well paced. The last 1/4 of the book really kicked it up a notch and the ending was really good. Amanda Kyle Williams did a good job of not forgetting that Keye had a job that wasn't helping Rauser track down his killer. The way she wove the two cases together worked really well!
What I Thought of the Audio: Narrated by Ann Marie Lee, Stranger in the Room runs 13 hrs and 2 mins. I grew to like the audio but I have to admit it took about half the book. I read the first one and I just didn't have Keye sounding quite the way that Ann Marie played her. I was also not a huge fan of how Rauser sounded. That being said the pacing was really well done. I also loved the emotion that Ann Marie brought to the story. Overall, I will probably stick to print in the future for this one (maybe) but I will try other audios with Ann Marie as the narrator.
Final Thought: I have read both The Stranger in the Room and The Stranger You Seek (book 1). This is a series that I am really enjoying and can't wait to see what Keye gets into next.
(Y'all her cat is named White Trash, there was a Mumu toesock wearing funeral home momma, AND poor Rauser's garden is being raided by the neighbor's cat. There is a nice little bit of humor in the book that will make you smile. It isn't a light thriller by any means but those moments are what I think makes Keye very human.) show less
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 3.50 (not part of the overall rating)
First thought when finished: Keye is a leading character that has really grown on me. In this 2nd installment I have really grown to care what happens to her!
What I Thought of the Characters: Stranger in the Room continued the character development that I thought was so well done in The Stranger You Seek! Keye continues to grow, mess up, stumble, and struggle show more through while using her brilliant profiling skills. I said this when I reviewed The Stranger You Seek: "Character development was fantastically done and brilliantly executed." and it holds true for Stranger in the Room. Keye is a flawed character that you want to root for. There was a good bit of her family (mostly her cousin who is involved in this case) and Aaron Rauser (her lover and detective leading the main case)too. Keye's relationship with her adoptive parents is explored more too. What is brilliant is none of these elements take over the story. The case is still the main reason to be there!
What I Thought of the Case: Stranger in the Room was the type of thriller where you aren't really trying to guess who is doing it but more "why?". It really is a case of what goes with what and how do they all fall together. I really enjoyed how it played out and thought it was really well paced. The last 1/4 of the book really kicked it up a notch and the ending was really good. Amanda Kyle Williams did a good job of not forgetting that Keye had a job that wasn't helping Rauser track down his killer. The way she wove the two cases together worked really well!
What I Thought of the Audio: Narrated by Ann Marie Lee, Stranger in the Room runs 13 hrs and 2 mins. I grew to like the audio but I have to admit it took about half the book. I read the first one and I just didn't have Keye sounding quite the way that Ann Marie played her. I was also not a huge fan of how Rauser sounded. That being said the pacing was really well done. I also loved the emotion that Ann Marie brought to the story. Overall, I will probably stick to print in the future for this one (maybe) but I will try other audios with Ann Marie as the narrator.
Final Thought: I have read both The Stranger in the Room and The Stranger You Seek (book 1). This is a series that I am really enjoying and can't wait to see what Keye gets into next.
(Y'all her cat is named White Trash, there was a Mumu toesock wearing funeral home momma, AND poor Rauser's garden is being raided by the neighbor's cat. There is a nice little bit of humor in the book that will make you smile. It isn't a light thriller by any means but those moments are what I think makes Keye very human.) show less
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