Jaffarian, Sue Ann 1952(?)–

PERSONAL:

Born December 21, 1952 (one source says 1951), in MA.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. Office—3500 Overland Ave., Ste. 110, PMB 82, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Agent—Whitney Lee, The Fielding Agency, LLC, 269 S. Beverly Dr., Ste. 341, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, novelist, editor, marketer, promotions coach, and public speaker. Fat Chance Promotions (a marketing, editing services, and promotional coaching company), founder. Works as a paralegal in CA and as a motivational speaker. Founder of a support group for overweight females.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime (president, Los Angeles chapter).

WRITINGS:

"ODELIA GREY" MYSTERY SERIES

The Curse of the Holy Pail, iUniverse (Lincoln, NE), 2003.

Too Big to Miss, Midnight Ink (Woodbury, MN), 2006.

Thugs and Kisses, Midnight Ink (Woodbury, MN), 2008.

Work represented in the anthology Love at Large, Draumr Publishing, 2004. Author of blog, Babble 'n Blog.

ADAPTATIONS:

Too Big to Miss has been optioned for television.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sue Ann Jaffarian writes mysteries featuring a protagonist who, like herself, is a plus-sized, middle-aged paralegal living in southern California. Jaffarian self-published The Curse of the Holy Pail, the first book of the series featuring Odelia Grey, and received good reviews. Barbara Franchi wrote on the Reviewing the Evidence Web site that the character of Odelia is "engaging." The critic added: "The big publishing houses made a mistake when they didn't grab Jaffarian's series." In the debut, Odelia meets client Sterling Price, a wealthy property developer, at the law firm where she works. Asked to stop by Sterling's home to notarize some papers, Odelia pays a visit to the genial old man. When their business is concluded, Sterling gives her a tour of his vast collection of rare and vintage lunch boxes. Among the collectible items is the rarest of all, a one-of-a-kind metal prototype of what would have been the first licensed lunch box, featuring then-popular western hero Chappy Wheeler. This is the one he calls the "holy pail," highly prized and desired by any collector. Unfortunately, the lunch box has also seemed to curse all of its owners with untimely demises. When she returns to her office, Odelia finds that kindhearted Sterling has sent her a gift: the Zorro lunchbox she had admired among his collection, and which she told him she had always wanted, but never had, as a child. Soon after, she learns that Sterling has been murdered, and the Holy Pail has come up missing. Grieving her new friend's death, she is soon the object of darker attention as someone else who is highly interested in the Holy Pail comes to believe that she has it. Unknown vandals trash her home and office looking for it. The list of suspects quickly grows to include Price's fiancée, Stella Hughes; his greedy children, Kyle and Karla; Karla's husband, Jackson Blake; and Chappy Wheeler's old TV sidekick, Lester Miles. Odelia, who had become fond of the gentle Sterling, wants to assist the police in finding his killer before she herself becomes the victim of a relative or collector with a grudge. Jaffarian "plays the formula with finesse," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic, "giving her heroine room to use her ample wit and grit." Booklist reviewer Shelley Mosley concluded that with Odelia, Jaffarian "offers the perfectly flawed alternative for readers sick and tired of picture-perfect characters."

The corpse in Too Big to Miss is that of Sophie London, the star of her own Web site, an activist, and founder of a support group for large women. Odelia is shocked when she learns that the confident and successful Sophie committed suicide while performing on her sex site, so she investigates to uncover the truth about her demise. Library Journal reviewer Jo Ann Vicarel lauded Jaffarian for creating a believable character in Odelia, adding that this story is "beautifully plotted and carefully crafted."

Jaffarian continues her "Odelia Grey" mystery series with Thugs and Kisses, which was released in 2008. Odelia finds herself facing a dilemma as her thirtieth high school reunion approaches. She isn't all that sure she wants to attend, and matters are made worse when her paraplegic boyfriend Greg comes down with a cold and begs off, suggesting she take her best friend Zee instead. Odelia knows there is absolutely no way she can attend her reunion alone or with a girl friend; memories of a disaster the night of her high school prom mean that she absolutely has to attend with a nice-looking guy on her arm as her date. So Odelia turns to Devin Frye, a local homicide detective who has his eye on her in the event that her relationship with Greg should hit the skids. The reunion starts off on a sour note, however, when the decorations appear to replicate the prom night so many years earlier that left Odelia with terrible memories. However, when Donny Oliver, Odelia's first boyfriend and the man responsible for her horrid prom experience, gets shot to death while she and Devin are on the dance floor, Odelia finds a new purpose in her reunion attendance. Then Odelia's boss disappears before an important trial, and her former high school classmates all seem to be linked to the case, further increasing the confusion. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that "the double whammy of an ending will leave fans eager for the next installment."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2006, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Too Big to Miss, p. 68; December 1, 2006, Shelley Mosley, review of The Curse of the Holy Pail, p. 28.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2006, review of The Curse of the Holy Pail, p. 1200.

Library Journal, February 1, 2006, Jo Ann Vicarel, review of Too Big to Miss, p. 57.

Publishers Weekly, December 17, 2007, review of Thugs and Kisses, p. 37.

ONLINE

Fat Chance Promotions Web site,http://www.fatchancepromotions.com/ (August 27, 2007).

Gumshoe Review,http://www.gumshoereview.com/ (Au-gust 27, 2007), review of The Curse of the Holy Pail.

Mysterious Musings Web site,http://juliabuckley.blogspot.com/ (October 26, 2006), Julia Buckley, interview with Sue Ann Jaffarian.

Mystery Lovers Bookshop,http://www.mysterylovers.com/ (August 27, 2007), biography of Sue Ann Jaffarian.

Reviewing the Evidence,http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/ (August 27, 2007), Barbara Franchi, review of The Curse of the Holy Pail; Linnea Dodson, review of The Curse of the Holy Pail.

Sue Ann Jaffarian Home Page,http://www.sueannjaffarian.com (August 27, 2007).

Who Dunnit,http://www.who-dunnit.com/ (August 27, 2007), author biography.