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Deb Baker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deb Baker
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Escanaba, Michigan, U.S.
Pen nameHannah Reed
Alma materDe Pere High School
University of Wisconsin
GenreMystery

Deb Baker (born 1953) is an American mystery writer from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, who has created three mystery series.

Biography

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Baker was born in Escanaba, Michigan.[1] She lived in the Upper Peninsula until she was 10.[2] Baker lived in Gladstone, Michigan before moving to De Pere, Wisconsin where she graduated from De Pere High School.[3] She earned a degree in English with emphasis on creative writing from the University of Wisconsin and began her writing career. She currently resides in North Lake, Wisconsin.[citation needed]

Baker writes American mystery fiction, especially in the cozy subgenre.[4] She has written two series under her own name. The Dolls To Die For series features a Phoenix, Arizona doll collecting club and member, Gretchen Birch,[5] who solves murders with her new-age Aunt Nina while sharing a doll restoration business with her mother. Baker is an "avid doll collector herself."[6] Baker also wrote the humorous Yooper mysteries centering on a fictitious town in the Michigan Upper Peninsula where Gertie Johnson, mother of the local sheriff, solves murders the old-fashioned way with friends Cora Mae and Kitty.[1] The Yooper series was called a "quirky, very appealing series" by Booklist.[7] Using the pen name Hannah Reed, she writes the Queen Bee mystery series about Story Fischer, a Wisconsin beekeeper.[8]

Baker’s first novel, Murder Passes the Buck (2006), was based on her personal experience in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. The colorful characters she created won her the Authorlink International First Novelist Award[9] in the mystery category, then went on to win Best of Show.

Bibliography

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As Deb Baker

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Gertie Johnson

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  1. Murder Passes the Buck
  2. Murder Grins and Bears It (2007). Llewellyn/Midnight Ink. ISBN 9780738709840[10]
  3. Murder Talks Turkey (2008). Llewellyn/Midnight Ink, ISBN 9780738712253[7][11]
  4. Murder Bites the Bullet
  5. Cooking Can Be Murder
  6. Gertie Johnson Boxed Set

Gretchen Birch Murder Mysteries

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  1. Dolled Up for Murder
  2. Goodbye Dolly
  3. Dolly Departed
  4. Guise and Dolls (originally published as Ding Dong Dead)
  5. Gretchen Birch Boxed Set

As Hannah Reed

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Queen Bee Mysteries

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  1. Buzz Off (2010)
  2. Mind Your Own Beeswax (2011)
  3. Plan Bee (2012)
  4. Beeline to Trouble (2012)
  5. Beewitched (2013)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Baker, Deb 1953-". Contemporary Authors. Gale. 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05.
  2. ^ Becker, Mary Helen (15 June 2007). "You'll Grin As You Read Deb Baker's New Mystery". The Capital Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Deb Baker". Book Series In Order. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. ^ Kolker, Jeanne (6 June 2014). "Just Read It". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 23 February 2016 – via EBSCO.
  5. ^ Becker, Mary Helen (18 October 2007). "4 Authors Visit, Each With Fine New Mystery to Discuss". The Capitol Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. ^ Becker, Mary Helen (28 August 2008). "Wisconsin Mystery Author Finds Crime in Dolls and Yoopers". The Capital Times. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b Bibel, Barbara (1 April 2008). "Murder Talks Turkey". Booklist. 104 (15): 31–32. Retrieved 23 February 2016 – via EBSCO.
  8. ^ Vicarel, Jo Ann (September 2010). "Buzz Off: a Queen Bee Mystery". Library Journal. 135 (14): 97. Retrieved 23 February 2016 – via EBSCO.
  9. ^ "Honors and Awards - Chris Roerden, Editor". Writersinfo.info. 2003-07-19. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  10. ^ "Murder Grins and Bears It". Kirkus Reviews. 1 May 2007. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Murder Talks Turkey". Kirkus Reviews. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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