Meyer, Joanne

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MEYER, Joanne

PERSONAL: Born in New York, NY; married; husband's name, Herbert J.

ADDRESSES: Home—220 Deerwood Cir, Naples, FL 34113.

CAREER: Author.

MEMBER: West Coast Writers.

WRITINGS:

Heavenly Detour, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Fortune Cookie, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to anthology Tapestry, Xlibris, 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Joanne Meyer's first novel, Heavenly Detour, is an "amazingly original" combination of the romance and murder mystery genres, according to Robyn Glazer on RomanticTimes.com. The book's uniqueness stems from its narrator, Annie Dowd, who is murdered as the book opens. As the story continues, she attempts to help the police and her ex-husband, investigative reporter Frank Dowd, solve her murder, but she discovers it is more difficult for ghosts to communicate with the living in the real world than it is in the movies. In fact, the only person who can "hear" her is Charlene, a police detective with a bullet fragment in her skull that makes her more receptive to psychic phenomena. Annie's spirit tries to comfort her distraught mother and commune with her ex-husband while investigating the office politics in the upscale real estate agency where she worked to try to figure out who would have wanted her dead and why. The book has "more shtick than gore," commented a Kirkus Reviews contributor, noting that Annie is not horribly upset about being dead, and her quirky coworkers, stereotypical Jewish mother, and the Mafia goons who were involved in the plot provide comic relief. Heavenly Detour was variously described as "fast fun" by St. Petersburg Times reviewer Kiki Olson and "an entertaining diversion" by Booklist contributor Diana Tixier Herald.

Meyer's next book, Fortune Cookie, also combines mystery and the paranormal with romance, but this time with a live protagonist. Rosie Rosenstein's boss, Grace, does not show up for work one morning, and Rosie sees visions of Grace being held prisoner in a basement. It is up to Rosie and Mike Bartel, Grace's legal firm's private investigator, to figure out where Grace is before she is murdered. Grace's secret black-sheep boyfriend is their prime suspect, but plenty of other people had scores to settle with Grace. The tale "has almost everything," commented Glazer: "a spunky and interesting heroine, a sexy detective, witty dialogue and nice pacing." "Readers will walk away from this book very happy," concluded AllReaders. com reviewer Harriet Klausner.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2003, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Heavenly Detour, p. 977.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2002, review of Heavenly Detour, pp. 1723-1724.

St. Petersburg Times, April 6, 2003, Kiki Olson, review of Heavenly Detour.

Sarasota Herald Tribune, September 22, 2002, Susan L. Rife, "West Coast Writers Weave Tapestry," p. E4; February 9, 2003, Naomi Donson, review of Heavenly Detour, p. E6.