The Best Writers You've Never Read
Now we begin a new series in this blog called "the best writers you've never read." Every now and again I am exposed to a wonderful writer whose star has either not risen or whose fame is now long forgotten. Our first writer falls into the latter camp. Margaret Millar is a Canadian who became a California transplant. Her work is marked by an interest in psychology and the dark motives of people. That sounds bad, but her writing is not. Millar's work often shines a light on the way people behave in a succinct, brutal manner. The mysteries in her work are engaging, page turning, but at book's end they matter less than the characters she's constructed. The main characters of Mermaid remained with me for months after I finished the book. That's one of the best compliments one can pay an author, I think.
Millar won an Edgar Award and was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Sadly it's difficult to find much of her work, as most of it has fallen out of print. But given the ready availability of second hand books via the internet and the interlibrary loan borrowing capabilities, there is no excuse for you not to go find a book or two of her work. Try it. You might like it.