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Nancy Pickard

Author of The Scent of Rain and Lightning

39+ Works 5,624 Members 190 Reviews 6 Favorited

About the Author

Nancy Pickard is best known for her Jenny Cain mysteries. Her first novel was "Generous Death", and she began writing the culinary adventures of Mrs. Potter when the creator of the character, Virginia Rich, passed away in the mid 1980's. Rich's husband found a box of notes and newspaper clippings show more that were related to books that Virginia had hoped to write and they included a few first drafts of chapters. Pickard's relationship began with Rich when, as a fan, she wrote a letter to her after finishing "The Cooking School Murders." They were both mystery writers married to cattle ranchers. After her death, Rich's husband wanted to find another writer to continue Virginia's work, which eventually led to Pickard. The unfinished manuscript for "The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders" was continued by Pickard and published in 1993. Before her death, Rich wrote "The Cooking School Murders" (1982), The Baked Bean Supper Murders" (1983), and The Nantucket Diet Murders" (1985). The other Eugenia Potter novels written by Pickard were "The Blue Corn Murders," which turned the character Mrs. Potter into a more vigorous older woman, followed by "The Secret Ingredient Murders." Pickard is the past president of Sisters in Crime and received the Anthony, Macavity and Agatha awards for five of the ten novels in her popular Jenny Cain series. She was also a two-time Edgar Award nominee and a winner of the American Mystery Award. (Bowker Author Biography) Virginia Rich and her heroine, Eugenia Potter, were beloved by mystery fans for years. Now Nancy Pickard, the Edgar-nominated author of the Jenny Cain series, has taken up the mantle. A great fan of Mrs. Rich, Nancy Pickard is the co-author of The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders and the author of The Blue Corn Murders. (Publisher Provided) Nancy Pickard lives in Kansas with her family. "Ring of Truth" is the second Marie Lightfoot novel. (Publisher Provided) show less
Image credit: Nancy Pickard. Photo courtesy Bonner Springs Library.

Series

Works by Nancy Pickard

The Scent of Rain and Lightning (2010) 1,035 copies
The Virgin of Small Plains (2007) 820 copies
The Whole Truth (2000) 267 copies
Generous Death (1984) 253 copies
I.O.U. (1991) 240 copies
Twilight (1995) 230 copies
Confession (1994) 226 copies
The Blue Corn Murders (1998) 223 copies
Bum Steer (1989) 221 copies
Marriage is Murder (1987) 213 copies
Dead Crazy (1988) 201 copies
No Body (1986) 191 copies
Say No to Murder (1985) 183 copies
Ring of Truth (2001) 165 copies
The Truth Hurts (2002) 140 copies
Malice Domestic 3 (1994) — Editor & Introduction — 73 copies
Mom, Apple Pie and Murder (2000) — Editor — 60 copies
The First Lady Murders (1999) 43 copies
Storm Warnings (1999) 22 copies
Afraid All the Time (1992) 8 copies
Pocket 1 copy
Cinayetin Sifresi (2016) 1 copy
Noodweer 1 copy
[No title] 1 copy
Jenny et le vandale (1999) 1 copy
Trois morts pour Jenny (1998) 1 copy
Bigger Better Braver (2020) 1 copy
Firtina Kokusu (2012) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Hidden Staircase (1930) — Introduction, some editions — 5,360 copies
Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (2008) — Contributor — 924 copies
The Plot Thickens (1997) — Contributor — 329 copies
Naked Came the Phoenix: A Serial Novel (2001) — Contributor — 305 copies
A Woman's Eye (1991) — Contributor — 272 copies
A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women (2000) — Contributor — 264 copies
Women on the Case (1996) — Contributor — 209 copies
Two of the Deadliest (2009) — Contributor — 156 copies
Sisters in Crime (1990) — Contributor — 125 copies
Cat Crimes II (1992) — Contributor — 119 copies
The Night Awakens (2000) — Contributor — 114 copies
Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives (1998) — Contributor — 108 copies
Sisters in Crime 4 (1991) — Contributor — 105 copies
Sisters in Crime 2 (1990) — Contributor — 100 copies
The Best American Mystery Stories 2013 (2013) — Contributor — 97 copies
The Best of Sisters in Crime (1997) — Contributor — 92 copies
Cat Crimes III (1992) — Contributor — 86 copies
Deadly Housewives (2006) — Contributor — 84 copies
Women on the Edge (1992) — Contributor — 63 copies
A Modern Treasury of Great Detective and Murder Mysteries (1994) — Contributor — 57 copies
Diagnosis Dead (1998) — Contributor — 54 copies
Cat Crimes for the Holidays (1997) — Contributor — 51 copies
Murder, They Wrote (1997) — Contributor — 51 copies
Kansas City Noir (2012) — Contributor — 38 copies
Death Cruise: Crime Stories on the Open Seas (1999) — Contributor — 34 copies
Malice Domestic 10 (2001) — Contributor — 33 copies
Love and Death (2000) — Contributor — 31 copies
The Eyes Still Have It: The Shamus Award-Winning Stories (1995) — Contributor — 26 copies
Vengeance Is Hers (1997) — Contributor — 26 copies
Lethal Ladies II (1998) — Contributor — 14 copies
Crime After Crime (1998) — Contributor — 13 copies
Home Sweet Homicide (1991) — Contributor — 12 copies
Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing (2010) — Contributor — 9 copies
Marilyn: Shades of Blonde (1997) — Contributor — 8 copies
Crimes of Passion: Twenty-Three Tales of Love and Hate (1993) — Contributor — 8 copies
Felonious Felines (2000) — Contributor — 5 copies
Murder to Go (1993) — Contributor — 5 copies
AZ Murder Goes Professional (2002) — Contributor — 3 copies

Tagged

anthology (468) children (53) children's (109) children's literature (41) Christmas (46) cozy (43) cozy mystery (47) crime (119) crime fiction (48) detective (64) ebook (84) fantasy (127) fiction (1,145) hardcover (66) horror (58) Jenny Cain (104) juvenile (41) Kansas (98) library (41) Massachusetts (58) murder (84) mysteries (40) mystery (2,294) mystery fiction (38) Nancy Drew (402) novel (52) own (53) paranormal (44) read (175) series (151) short stories (428) suspense (62) thriller (37) to-read (480) unread (78) urban fantasy (45) werewolves (52) women authors (38) YA (44) young adult (106)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1945
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Organizations
Sisters in Crime (Past president)
Short biography
Nancy Pickard, creator of the acclaimed Jenny Cain mystery series, won the Anthony Award for Say No to Murder, a Macavity Award for Marriage is Murder, and two Agatha Awards for Best Novel, for Bum Steer (1990) and I.O.U. (1991). A former reporter and editor, she is a past president of Sisters in Crime. She splits her time between Kansas and Florida.

Members

Reviews

A Marie Lightfoot novel. We learn the truths of two murders- one of a girl on her first night in her own apt and the second of the wife of a minister. Good read.
 
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bentstoker | 2 other reviews | Jan 26, 2024 |
6yr old found hanging from a bridge in Bahia, FL. The murderer turns out to be a victim himself who was taken when he was six and sexually abused. Good read.
 
Flagged
bentstoker | Jan 26, 2024 |
Real crime writer must write a book about her own murder and try to find her killer before she dies. Suspenseful.
 
Flagged
bentstoker | 1 other review | Jan 26, 2024 |
Pretty good. Story of family whose son was murdered and D-I-L goes missing leaving a 3 yr old to raise. A story of beliefs and redemption.
 
Flagged
bentstoker | Jan 26, 2024 |

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Awards

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Peter Crowther Contributor
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P. M. Carlson Contributor
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Ed McMahon Narrator
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Statistics

Works
39
Also by
53
Members
5,624
Popularity
#4,406
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
190
ISBNs
192
Languages
7
Favorited
6

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