Libby Fischer Hellmann
Biography
Crime fiction author Libby Fischer Hellmann claims she’s “writing her way around the genre.” With nine novels and twenty short stories published, she has written thrillers, suspense mysteries, historicals, PI novels, amateur sleuth, police procedurals, and even a cozy. At the core of all her stories, however, is a crime or the possibility of one.
She is a transplant from Washington, D.C., where, she says, “When you’re sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you’re talking politics.” Armed with a Masters Degree in Film Production from New York University, and a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania, she started her career in broadcast news. She began as an assistant film editor at NBC News in New York, but moved back to DC where she worked with Robin McNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. When Watergate broke, she was re-trained as an assistant director and helped produce PBS’s night-time broadcasts of the hearings.
In 1978, Hellmann moved to Chicago to work at Burson-Marsteller, the large public relations firm, staying until 1985 when she founded Fischer Hellmann Communications. Currently, when not writing, she conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training, and crisis communications. Additionally, Libby also writes and produces videos.
Her first novel, AN EYE FOR MURDER, which features Ellie Foreman, a video producer and single mother, was released in 2002. Publishers Weekly called it a “masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense,” and it was nominated for several awards. That was followed by three more entries in the Ellie Foreman series, which Libby describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24.”
A few years later, Libby introduced her second series featuring hard-boiled Chicago PI Georgia Davis, which Chicago Tribune describes as, “a new no-nonsense detective …. tough and smart enough to give even the legendary V.I. Warshawski a run for her money.” There are three books in that series so far: EASY INNOCENCE (2008) and DOUBLEBACK (2009), which was selected as a Great Lakes Booksellers’ Association “2009 Great Read,” and TOXICITY (2011), a police procedural ebook thriller that became the prequel to the Georgia Davis series.
Her 7th novel, SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE, (December, 2010) was a standalone thriller that goes back, in part, to the late Sixties in Chicago. Publishers Weekly describes it as “top-rate” and says, “A jazzy fusion of past and present, Hellman's insightful, politically charged whodunit explores a fascinating period in American history.” It was short-listed for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of 2010 in the suspense/thriller category.
A BITTER VEIL, Her most recent novel, a political thriller set in revolutionary Iran was released in April, 2012.
Libby has also edited a highly acclaimed crime fiction anthology, CHICAGO BLUES (October, 2007). In May, 2010, she published a collection of her own short stories called NICE GIRL DOES NOIR. In 2005-2006 she was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 3,400 plus member organization committed to strengthening the voice of female mystery writers.
Libby blogs at “SAY THE WORD And You’ll Be Free,” http://libbyhellmann.com/wp, and also at “The Outfit Collective” at www.theoutfitcollective.com.
Where to find Libby Fischer Hellmann online
Where to buy in print
Books
The Murder of Katie Boyle
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: Free! 5790 words.
Published on December 4, 2012. Fiction.
I'm often asked how Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis, my two series protagonists originally met. That's explained in this short story, written and published in 2009. It takes place prior to AN EYE FOR MURDER when Georgia was still a cop. The story was published in a limited numbered edition. It can also be found in NICE GIRL DOES NOIR, in print, audio and electronic formats.
Inocenia Fåcil (Spanish Version of Easy Innocence)
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: $5.99 USD. 102130 words.
Published on October 24, 2012. Fiction.
Cuando encuentran a la bella e inteligente Sara Long apaleada a muerte, es facil inculpar al hombre con el bate. Pero Georgia Davis, expolicia y recientemente convertida en investigadora privada, es contratada para indagar el incidente por peticion de la hermana del acusado, y lo que ella encuentra hace alusion a una respuesta diferente y mucho mas sombria.
Flight
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: $1.99 USD. 4380 words.
Published on June 28, 2012. Fiction.
A woman with a secret picks out a mark in an airport garage. But the mark she picks out has a secret too. Both of them are running for their lives. Will they make it? Will they find safety and comfort with each other? Read FLIGHT to find out. This short story thriller was "born" at the "You Done It" workshop conducted at the 2012 Chicago Romantic Times Convention.
The Georgia Davis PI Series: Boxed Set of Three
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: $9.99 USD. 267240 words.
Published on November 15, 2011. Fiction.
PI Georgia Davis burst on the scene in Libby Fischer Hellmann's EASY INNOCENCE (2008). That was followed in 2009 by DOUBLEBACK, which reunited Georgia with Ellie Foreman. TOXICITY, the prequel to the series was released in 2011. Now all three are together in one volume. We hope you enjoy this highly acclaimed crime fiction thriller series.
Your Sweet Man -- A short story
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: $1.99 USD. 6310 words.
Published on June 29, 2011. Fiction.
My story in the CHICAGO BLUES anthology (Bleak House,2007) was way out of my comfort zone, but that’s why I write stories. They allow me to stretch, to experiment with characters, plots, eras, and settings. This story is about a Blues bass player whose ability to love and forgive is tested by events beyond his control. There’s also a historical element:the story occurs in the '50s and'80s.
Top Suspense Short Story: The Jade Elephant
by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Price: $1.99 USD. 4360 words.
Published on June 28, 2011. Fiction.
"The Jade Elephant" was originally published in the EXPLETIVE DELETED anthology (Bleak House, 2007(, and then in the TOP SUSPENSE anthology, 2011. I loved researching the seamier, sleazier parts of Chinatown where menus are stained, kitsch is king, and even walking down the street after dark is risky. Add in two older criminals seeking redemption, and the result was irresistible. At least to me.
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