Trocheck, Kathy Hogan 1954-

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TROCHECK, Kathy Hogan 1954-

(Mary Kay Andrews)

PERSONAL: Born 1954, in St. Petersburg, FL; children: Mary Kathleen, Andrew. Education: University of Georgia, B.A.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency, 381 Park Ave. S., Ste. 914, New York, NY 10016.

CAREER: Writer. Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, GA, journalist. Teacher of writing classes and workshops.

WRITINGS:

"CALLAHAN GARRITY MYSTERY" SERIES

Every Crooked Nanny, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

To Live and Die in Dixie, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Homemade Sin, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

Happy Never After, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Heart Trouble, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Strange Brew, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Midnight Clear, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Irish Eyes, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

"TRUMAN KICKLIGHTER MYSTERY" SERIES

Lickety-Split, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Crash Course, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

AS MARY KAY ANDREWS

Savannah Blues, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Little Bitty Lies, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Hissy Fit, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS: Savannah Blues was adapted for audio (unabridged; nine cassettes), read by Susan Ericksen, Brilliance Audio, 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Kathy Hogan Trocheck worked as a journalist in Savannah, Georgia, where she covered the real-life murder trials upon which Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was based. From there, she wrote her own mysteries, including two series. For her nonmysteries, she writes as Mary Kay Andrews, a name that is a combination of the names of her children, Mary Kathleen, and Andrew.

Trocheck told a reviewer for Bookreporter.com that she was influenced by author Sue Grafton, who participated in an Antioch workshop that Trocheck attended. Grafton felt a complete manuscript Trocheck offered for a critique was ready to publish, but when Trocheck read a portion of a second novel, Every Crooked Nanny, to the class, Grafton said that was the work for which Trocheck should seek publication.

The book kicked off Trocheck's series featuring Callahan Garrity, a former policewoman who runs House Mouse, a cleaning business in Atlanta, Georgia, and a woman dealing with breast cancer. She is approached by Lilah Rose Beemish, whose home she is cleaning, to find Kristee, a former nanny who had an affair with her husband, Bo Beemish, and then fled with business secrets, furs, and jewelry. The trail leads to Kristee's boyfriend and a lesbian woman who also loved the missing girl, and Kristee's body turns up wrapped in a black sable coat. Callahan's investigation includes the Beemishes, who actually have more to gain from Kristee's death than was first apparent. Other characters include Callahan's lover, Mac, and her mother, Edna. A Publishers Weekly contributor called Every Crooked Nanny a "high-caliber debut."

In To Live and Die in Dixie, Callahan is cleaning the mansion of Civil War buff Elliott Littlefield when she finds the body of a teen girl. A similar murder had occurred there years earlier, but Littlefield proclaims his innocence and claims that the killer stole his valuable diary of a Civil War madam. Callahan is hired by the racist Littlefield, and would not be disappointed if he turned out to be the guilty party. A Publishers Weekly critic noted the story's "smooth writing and feisty characters" and called the novel an "appealing whodunit well above the norm."

The series continues with Callahan solving murders in and around Atlanta, although in Irish Eyes, Mac is considering a job offer in Nashville. Trocheck also began her "Truman Kicklighter" series during the years she was creating new situations for Callahan.

A Bookreporter.com interviewer asked Trocheck why she chose to write under another name, saying "why a pseudonym? Have warrants been issued under your own name?" Trocheck replied, "After publishing ten mysteries under my own name, I started hearing voices. The voices told me to write a completely new kind of story, and call myself Mary Kay Andrews. They did not tell me to shave my head, move to Mars, or start a new religion, fortunately…. And it's been very liberating to become someone else—if only for a few hours a day. As far as I know, there are no outstanding warrants—under either name."

A Kirkus Reviews writer commented that the first book Trocheck wrote as Andrews "offers deft plotting, sly humor, and appealing characters: pure fun." The protagonist of Savannah Blues exhibits a trait of the author, a love of finding treasures in second-hand stores and flea markets. Eloise "Weezie" Foley is trying to establish her antiques business after divorcing her husband, Talmadge Evans III, but she is still tied to him, sort of, because while he is living in their beautiful home with his girlfriend, Caroline DeSantos, Weezie is living in the carriage house on the property with her dog, Jethro, who enjoys lifting his leg in the direction of Caroline's camellias.

Anxious to see the offerings of an estate sale, Weezie breaks into the plantation house where it will be held and discovers a cabinet that may have been carved by a carpenter who was also a slave. A piece like this, if Weezie could buy and resell it, would bring in enough money that she could have her own shop. As she creeps through the house, Weezie finds the body of Caroline, and she becomes the prime suspect. This is no evidence, and the police do not hold her. The valuable cabinet, however, has disappeared, and another dealer may be involved. Weezie seeks help from her Uncle James, a gay former priest who has just "come out," old boyfriend Daniel Stipanek, who is the chef at her best friend's bistro, and friend Be-Be herself. Booklist's Joanne Wilkinson, who called Savannah Blues "smart, sassy, and fun to read," wrote that the author "sets a breakneck pace, and readers will just love keeping up with her."

Wilkinson called the next Andrews title, Little Bitty Lies, "a breezy story fairly brimming with good spirits and feisty humor." While Mary Bliss is trying to help her friend, Katharine, cope with a failed marriage, she fails to see signs of trouble in her own. Her husband, Palmer, cleans out their bank accounts and leaves her penniless. Her job as a product demonstrator does not make a dent in her bills, and she lets Katharine talk her into declaring that Palmer is dead so that she can collect on his life insurance. It is then that she meets fraud investigator Matt Hayslip, who brings heat to the story.

In Hissy Fit, an interior designer named Keeley Murdock finds her maid of honor messing around with her husband-to-be at the rehearsal dinner. Trocheck told the Brookreporter.com interviewer that "when Keeley throws the hissy fit of the century, the repercussions turn her world inside out."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1995, Mary Carroll, review of Happy Never After, p. 1555; June 1, 1996, Emily Melton, review of Heart Trouble, p. 1680; February 15, 2000, Jenny McLarin, review of Irish Eyes, p. 1090; January 1, 2002, Joanne Wilkinson, review of Savannah Blues, p. 803; September 1, 2003, Joanne Wilkinson, review of Little Bitty Lies, p. 52.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of Savannah Blues, p. 1698.

Library Journal, February 1, 2002, Margaret Hanes, review of Savannah Blues, p. 129; December, 2002, Carol Stern, review of Savannah Blues (audio), p. 196.

Publishers Weekly, May 11, 1992, review of Every Crooked Nanny, p. 57; June 21, 1993, review of To Live and Die in Dixie, p. 89; June 6, 1994, review of Homemade Sin, p. 59; March 20, 1995, review of Happy Never After, p. 46; May 13, 1996, review of Heart Trouble, p. 59; January 20, 1997, review of Crash Course, p. 397; September 15, 1997, review of Strange Brew, p. 55; October 12, 1998, review of Midnight Clear, p. 61; February 21, 2000, review of Irish Eyes, p. 68; December 24, 2001, review of Savannah Blues, p. 39; July 5, 2004, review of Hissy Fit, p. 36.