Susan Dunlap

Susan Dunlap has created three memorable mystery heroines - Berkeley, California, police officer Jill Smith, medical examiner Kiernan O'Shaughnessy, and meter reader-turned-amateur sleuth Vejay Haskell. Her latest book, No Immunity (Delacorte), now available in paperback, is an O'Shaughnessy mystery set in the mountains of Nevada. To most readers, however, Dunlap will always be the Bard of Berkeley, a city that provides her with endless amounts of inspiration for her novels starring Smith. From the streetcorner jewelry vendors and homeless people on Telegraph Avenue to the city's notoriously cantankerous city council, Dunlap captures the freewheeling spirit and quirky charm of Berkeley and its citizens. Jill Smith, a police officer who nevertheless distrusts authority and whose cases often force her to confront her deepest fears, first appeared in 1981, making Dunlap a true pioneer in the field of crime novels with female protagonists. She lives in Albany, a small community just north of the Berkeley city limits, and is an active member of Sisters in Crime, having previously served as president of the organization.