The Official Site of
Rachel Howzell Hall
A Passion for Telling Untold Stories
Rachel Howzell Hall is the author of thirteen novels, including the bestselling thriller What Fire Brings and The Last One, the explosive debut romantasy in her new series. A two-time nominee of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Rachel is also a former member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and was a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast.
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• Commendation from the City of Los Angeles - Lou Norton Mystery Series
• Nominated - International Thriller Award for Best Novel (They All Fall Down)
• Finalist - Los Angeles Book Prize for Mystery and Thriller (We Lie Here)
• Commendation from the City of Los Angeles - Lou Norton Mystery Series • Nominated - International Thriller Award for Best Novel (They All Fall Down) • Finalist - Los Angeles Book Prize for Mystery and Thriller (We Lie Here)
• Finalist Los Angles Times Book Prize for Mystery and Thriller (And Now She's Gone)
• Nominated - Anthony Award for Best Novel (They All Fall Down)
• Nominated - Lefty Award for Best Novel (And Now She's Gone)
• Finalist Los Angles Times Book Prize for Mystery and Thriller (And Now She's Gone) • Nominated - Anthony Award for Best Novel (They All Fall Down) • Nominated - Lefty Award for Best Novel (And Now She's Gone)
• Finalist - Barry Award for Best Novel (And Now She's Gone)
• Shamus Award for Best P.I Novel - Finalist (And Now She's Gone)
• International Thriller Writers (ITW) Award for Best Novel (These Toxic Thin
• Finalist - Barry Award for Best Novel (And Now She's Gone) • Shamus Award for Best P.I Novel - Finalist (And Now She's Gone) • International Thriller Writers (ITW) Award for Best Novel (These Toxic Thin
“Cements her as one of the strongest voices in crime fiction today.” — J.T.Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of A Very Bad Thing
She’s a new PI in a beautiful seaside town. It’s dirtier than it looks—and more dangerous too—in a twisting novel of suspense
After ten years on the force, LAPD cop Sonny Rush relocates with her elderly mother to peaceful Haven, California, to join her godfather’s burgeoning PI business. What crimes could possibly happen in a town nicknamed “Mayberry by the Sea”? Sonny’s first case: find Figgy, a missing goldendoodle last seen sporting a Versace collar. At least scouting out a dognapper gives Sonny a chance to get to know her new neighbors.
Forty-eight hours in town and Figgy’s disappearance entangles Sonny in an unwelcome reunion with her ex, one of Haven’s wealthiest citizens. And when the body of a teenage boy is found along a popular hiking trail, Sonny is drawn into a web of strange beyond anything she ever saw in LA.
Then comes a local’s warning: question everything. Haven hides secrets that could destroy its idyllic facade. Or destroy Sonny first.
Good Morning America Book Club's Pick for December 2024!
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FAE BALL EVENTS
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JESS LOUREY
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THE LAST ONE LAUNCH
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REBECCA YARROS
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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KIRKUS REVIEWS
What People Are Saying
Lee Child
author of Jack Reacher series
A fresh voice in crime fiction, fast, funny, heatbreaking and
New York Times Book Review
Trail of Echoes—“Lou…is a formidable fighter-- somone you want on your side.”
James Patterson,
author of Alex Cross series
A fresh voice in crime fiction, fast, funny, heatbreaking and
S. A. Cosby
author of Blacktop Wasteland
“These Toxic Things is a master class in tension and suspense.”
Attica Locke
author of Bluebird,Bluebird
They All Fall Down —“A riotous and wild ride.”
Washington Post
It’s a feat to keep high humor and crushing sorrow in plausible equilibrium in a mystery novel, and few writers are as adept at it as Rachel Howzell Hall.”
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L.A. crime novelist’s long road to writing one of best books of the year
By Paula L. Woods
Whip-smart and emotionally deep, “And Now She’s Gone” is a deceptively straightforward mystery, blending a fledgling PI’s first “woman is missing” case with underlying stories about racial identity, domestic abuse and rank evil. Along the way, we get a myth-busting tour of South L.A. neighborhoods too frequently confined to alarming headlines and helicopter journalism.
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Sin and Punishment: An interview with Rachel Howzell Hall
By Karen Grigsby Bates
RACHEL HOWZELL HALL has had two jobs for years: one is as a writer for health care organizations, such as City of Hope and (currently) Cedars-Sinai; the other as a prolific novelist. Her police procedurals center on LAPD homicide detective Elouise “Lou” Norton, a brilliant, slightly brittle black woman who is intimately familiar with many neighborhoods even the police don’t want to work.
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When personal isn’t good enough: Just keep the rejection letters coming
By Rachel Howzell Hall
Throughout my pregnancy, I’d been battling a rare kind of breast cancer. Three months after our daughter was born, my husband, a digital web designer, was laid off from his Hollywood dream job. I’d return to my full-time job after maternity leave and had insurance—but his insurance covered my ongoing cancer care.
I kept writing, though. Optimistic even as I received reams of rejection letters.