CLAUSEN, Lowen

PERSONAL:

Male. Education: Attended the University of Washington.

ADDRESSES:

Office—2208 Northwest Market St., Ste. 505, Seattle, WA 98107. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and business owner. Police officer for thirteen years in the Seattle, WA, police department.

WRITINGS:

First Avenue: A Novel, Watershed Books (Seattle, WA), 1999.

Second Watch, New American Library (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lowen Clausen was a Seattle, Washington, police officer for thirteen years. His first novel, First Avenue, uses the author's inside knowledge of police work in Seattle. First Avenue features officer Sam Wright, a loner with a pretty routine life. However, Sam's existence is shaken up when he is sent to investigate the death of a baby that he was certain he had seen earlier in the week with its mother. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly claimed that "Clausen debuts with a strong effort" and goes on to say that Sam is a "well-develped, intriguing protagonist."

Clausen's second novel, aptly titled Second Watch, features detectives Katherine Murphy and Grace Stevens. Together they must unravel a case of two separate child murders—both bodies found in garbage bins. In a review for the Mystery Reader, Andy Plonka noted, "Second Watch has much to offer beyond the emotionally charged plot of interrupting a child pornography scheme. The author … clearly displays his knowledge of Seattle and the workings of a police department." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly stated, "The second novel from former Seattle police officer Clausen is equal parts police procedural and character study, and the two halves are balanced to perfection."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, November 20, 2000, review of First Avenue, p. 52; February 17, 2003, review of Second Watch, p. 62.

ONLINE

A Novel View,http://www.anovelview.com/bookreviews/second_watch/ (October 26, 2003), review of Second Watch.

Lowen Clausen Web site,http://www.lowenclausen.com (October 26, 2003).

Mystery Reader,http://www.mysteryreader.com/clausen-second.html (October 26, 2003), Lesley Dunlap, review of First Avenue;http://www.mysteryreader.com/clausen-first.html (October 26, 2003) Andy Plonka, review of Second Watch.*