Freeman, Brian 1963-

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Freeman, Brian 1963-

PERSONAL: Born 1963, in Chicago, IL; married; wife’s name Marcia. Education: Carleton College, B.A., 1984.

ADDRESSES: Home— MN. E-mail— brian@bfreeman books.com.

CAREER: Writer, novelist, marketing director, and communications professional. Faegre & Benson (an international law firm), former director of marketing and public relations.

MEMBER: Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Macavity Award for best first novel, Edgar Award finalist, Dagger Award finalist, Anthony Award finalist, and Barry Award finalist, all for Immoral.

WRITINGS

Immoral, St. Martin’s Minotaur (New York, NY), 2005.

Stripped, St. Martin’s Minotaur (New York, NY), 2006.

Freeman’s books have been translated into sixteen languages.

SIDELIGHTS: Mystery novelist Brian Freeman is a former marketing and communications professional. In his first novel, Immoral, Freeman “delivers a near pitch-perfect first novel that soars with believable characters, crisp dialogue and, for the most part, logical twists and turns,” commented reviewer Oline H. Cogdill in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Protagonist Jonathan Stride is a police detective in Duluth, Minnesota. Stride’s partner, Maggie Bei, is a colleague who has long been in love with Detective Stride from afar. Stride is called in to investigate the disappearance of teenage Rachel Deese, who vanished after returning home from school. He contrasts the current case with another disappearance from the same school fourteen months earlier, when sixteen-year-old Kerry McGrath also went missing. The local media suspect a serial killer at large in Duluth, but the thoughtful, meticulous Stride does not. He notes considerable differences in the personalities and characters of the two missing girls. Kerry was a pleasant, sweet, and largely innocent young woman. Rachel, in contrast, was sexually promiscuous, supremely manipulative, and a difficult personality. In many ways, she is not a likable character. Cogdill observed that it is “risky to provide a flawed victim, but the author manages to make her both imperfect and sympathetic.” As Stride’s investigation unfolds, he uncovers evidence that Rachel might have been the victim of unwanted sexual advances from her stepfather, Graeme Stoner, a wealthy local banker. Stoner is indicted for murder and the trial goes forward, even though Rachel’s body has not been found. A devastating revelation stops the trial, and three years later, a mysterious tip reignites the case. With Immoral, Freeman “turns in a psychologically gripping, virtuoso performance,” creating a detective with the potential to carry a series, stated Roland Person in the Library Journal.

In Stripped, Freeman’s second novel to feature Jonathan Stride, a forty-year-old murder continues to have deadly repercussions. Stride, now based in Las Vegas, works with transsexual investigative partner Amanda Gillen and courts police officer Serena Dial. In the course of investigating a rash of recent murders, Stride discovers connections between the killings and the death, forty years earlier, of gorgeous dancer Amira Luz. Hugely popular and desired by everyone from businessmen to mobsters, Amira was the star of the hottest show in Vegas. Her charmed career came to an abrupt end when she was murdered in her hotel pool, ostensibly by a deranged fan. Now, however, Stride finds that a series of recent murder victims were in some way associated with Amira Luz. While pursuing the case, Stride riles several members of the local power elite, who have secrets they wish to keep buried with the long-dead Amira. “Murder, money, suspense and sex are accounted for as Freeman consistently hits his thriller marks, keeping the action coming and the tension high,” commented a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. Stripped“fully illustrates Freeman’s strength as an author,” showcasing his “well-shaped characters” and “strong storytelling skills,” Cogdill remarked in another South Florida Sun-Sentinel review.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August 1, 2006, Allison Block, review of Stripped, p. 49.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2005, review of Immoral, p. 753; August 1, 2006, review of Stripped, p. 742.

Library Journal, August 1, 2005, Roland Person, review of Immoral, p. 67; March 15, 2006, Barbara Hoffert and Ann Burns, “All New, All Distinct,” review of Immoral, p. 48.

M2 Best Books, April 13, 2006, “Nominees for Edgar Awards Announced.”

PR Newswire, June 27, 2006, “Brian Freeman’s Immoral: The Suspense Novel Sold around the World... Now in Paperback,” review of Immoral; October 3, 2006, “Prepare to Get Stripped: Award-Winning Author Brian Freeman Releases His New Thriller Today.”

Publishers Weekly, July 25, 2005, review of Immoral, p. 40; October 31, 2005, audiobook review of Immoral, p. 52; August 7, 2006, review of Stripped, p. 31.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), August 31, 2005, Oline H. Cogdill, review of Immoral; September 27, 2006, Oline H. Cogdill, review of Stripped.

St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN), February 1, 2006, Mary Ann Grossman, “Debut Whodunit Gets Nod:Immoral Is Nominee for Coveted Edgar,” review of Immoral.

Swiss News, May, 2006, review of Immoral, p. 60.