Dead of the Day
by Karen E. Olson

A soggy April has hit New Haven, Connecticut—along with an unidentified body in the harbor. The strange fact that there were bee stings on the floater gives New Haven Herald police reporter Annie Seymour an intriguing excuse to put off her profile of the new police chief—a piece that becomes a lot more interesting when the subject is gunned down.

But this is only the beginning of a killer expose—because as she connects the dots between the John Doe, the police chief, and the city's struggling immigrant population, Annie's drawing a line between herself and someone who doesn't want her to learn the truth, or live to report it...

Other Books by Karen E. Olson

Ink Flamingos
A Tattoo Shop Mystery #4

Driven to Ink
A Tattoo Shop Mystery #3

Pretty In Ink
A Tattoo Shop Mystery #2

The Missing Ink
A Tattoo Shop Mystery #1

Shot Girl
An Annie Seymour Mystery #4

Sacred Cows

Karen E. Olson's Bio

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, I grew up in the city's suburbs. Early on, I developed a love of books and great pizza. I wrote my first "book" when I was 9.

I went to Roanoke College in southwestern Virginia to study literature. In addition to reading a lot of dead white male British writers, I worked on the school newspaper. Woodward and Bernstein had inspired me, and I still wanted to write fiction, but thought I could supplement that with a newspaper job.

I found a job as a reporter at a weekly newspaper in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. That was when I discovered my salary made me eligible for food stamps. I also realized I wouldn't be taking down any presidents, since my first story was an interview with the town's new dog warden and then I spent a lot of time at planning and zoning and school board meetings. I hopped from small paper to small paper, until finding out I could make a decent wage working nights as a copy editor.

Being a vampire wasn't so bad, and I started writing fiction in the middle of the night when I got home from work.

I had been reading a lot of Oprah-type books, in which women characters spent a lot of time being victims. I discovered that in mysteries, the women protagonists were smart and didn't allow themselves to be victimized. I decided that was the sort of protagonist I wanted to create.

Annie Seymour is a tough-talking, smart police reporter at the fictional New Haven Herald. She's not as cynical as she thinks she is, but she has strong ethics and a curiosity that's necessary to be a good journalist. I wanted her to live and work in New Haven, because it has such diverse neighborhoods, a gritty past and great restaurants.

Annie and I have a common bond in that we're both longtime journalists, but she's a much more fearless reporter than I ever was. She's also chosen to continue to be a reporter, whereas I discovered I really enjoyed editing and page design.

I left the newspaper business in 2006 after a 20-year career. I now edit a medical journal part-time at Yale. It was not an easy decision to make, but it's made life a lot more simple, and I have more time to devote to my fiction writing. Also, unlike Annie, I've settled down with my husband, a former journalist now political flack for a high-ranking elected state official, and our daughter.

I have to admit, however, we do both enjoy the thrill of a good story.