!["Digging Up Otis" is a madcap and heartwarming "cozy mystery" set at a retirement home. A group of quirky senior citizens tries to figure out what really happened after their friend Otis disappeared and much hilarity and mayhem ensues.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/6e/25/6e2596dfdafddbdabb0e5bcacb9a70b0.jpg?itok=rdNIQF1g ""Digging Up Otis" is a madcap and heartwarming "cozy mystery" set at a retirement home. A group of quirky senior citizens tries to figure out what really happened after their friend Otis disappeared and much hilarity and mayhem ensues.")
!["Some Degree of Murder" by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a gripping tale of revenge and justice set in Zafiro's River City. The book features two protagonists working on the same case from different angles. The story is told in alternating chapters written from each character's perspective.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/24/64/2464bab68b77adb74cf61dc3e36668cc.JPG?itok=Q7vQeFiz ""Some Degree of Murder" by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a gripping tale of revenge and justice set in Zafiro's River City. The book features two protagonists working on the same case from different angles. The story is told in alternating chapters written from each character's perspective."){kind=small}
!["Lovely Dark and Deep"is Frank Zafiro's second Stefan Kopriva mystery set in River City, a fictional stand-in for Spokane. The books are set in the same universe as Zafiro's River City crime fiction series. In this novel, Kopriva finds himself dealing with organized crime, corruption and local politics as he works on two separate cases that are connected by a dark secret.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/9f/02/9f0299b3a2a80daea63667f8d7d7d221.jpg?itok=ZUUMn6Ti ""Lovely Dark and Deep"is Frank Zafiro's second Stefan Kopriva mystery set in River City, a fictional stand-in for Spokane. The books are set in the same universe as Zafiro's River City crime fiction series. In this novel, Kopriva finds himself dealing with organized crime, corruption and local politics as he works on two separate cases that are connected by a dark secret."){kind=small}
!["The Financial Lives of the Poets" is a by turns funny and heartbreaking novel about a former journalist trying to save his marriage and his finances by becoming a drug dealer.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/31/71/1363324196_2313_bn%20financial%20lives%20of%20poets.JPG?itok=wf2Php0o ""The Financial Lives of the Poets" is a by turns funny and heartbreaking novel about a former journalist trying to save his marriage and his finances by becoming a drug dealer.")
For some reason, Spokane has produced several exceptional mystery and crime fiction writers.
It may have something to do with the cold winters, or the surprising amount of crime in the Spokane area, or maybe even the barely hidden hostility some area residents feel toward people in Seattle and Olympia.
It may have something to do with all the time people spend inside watching procedural crime dramas. Or maybe there is something strange in the water that encourages people to imagine unusual murders. Whatever the explanation, Spokanites who enjoy a good mystery can find many excellent crime fiction novels written by local authors.
Local writers who are better known for their works in other genres, such as Patrick F. McManus, John Soennichsen, and Jess Walter have written crime fiction. There are also several authors who specialize in crime fiction such as Frank Zafiro, T. Dawn Richard, Colin Conway and Steve Oliver.
Whether people prefer gritty tales of revenge, carefully plotted procedural crime novels, or light-hearted mysteries, Spokane-area authors have written books they will love. Many of their books are available at local retailers such as Auntie's Bookstore in addition to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online merchants.
!["The Financial Lives of the Poets" is a by turns funny and heartbreaking novel about a former journalist trying to save his marriage and his finances by becoming a drug dealer.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/31/71/1363324196_2313_bn%20financial%20lives%20of%20poets.JPG?itok=R-rEcrTc ""The Financial Lives of the Poets" is a by turns funny and heartbreaking novel about a former journalist trying to save his marriage and his finances by becoming a drug dealer.")
!["Lovely Dark and Deep"is Frank Zafiro's second Stefan Kopriva mystery set in River City, a fictional stand-in for Spokane. The books are set in the same universe as Zafiro's River City crime fiction series. In this novel, Kopriva finds himself dealing with organized crime, corruption and local politics as he works on two separate cases that are connected by a dark secret.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/0c/0c/0c0cc9aa7a32790971b67f3b71cb19cb.jpg?itok=yWAeGKB8 ""Lovely Dark and Deep"is Frank Zafiro's second Stefan Kopriva mystery set in River City, a fictional stand-in for Spokane. The books are set in the same universe as Zafiro's River City crime fiction series. In this novel, Kopriva finds himself dealing with organized crime, corruption and local politics as he works on two separate cases that are connected by a dark secret.")
!["Some Degree of Murder" by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a gripping tale of revenge and justice set in Zafiro's River City. The book features two protagonists working on the same case from different angles. The story is told in alternating chapters written from each character's perspective.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/04/b4/04b4fcc27f92edb034f81e672e905928.JPG?itok=i1IbyxY5 ""Some Degree of Murder" by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a gripping tale of revenge and justice set in Zafiro's River City. The book features two protagonists working on the same case from different angles. The story is told in alternating chapters written from each character's perspective.")
!["Digging Up Otis" is a madcap and heartwarming "cozy mystery" set at a retirement home. A group of quirky senior citizens tries to figure out what really happened after their friend Otis disappeared and much hilarity and mayhem ensues.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/b2/6b/b26bf9c3d1bdbd6ea9b497ebca33552c.jpg?itok=5VRh2Pc5 ""Digging Up Otis" is a madcap and heartwarming "cozy mystery" set at a retirement home. A group of quirky senior citizens tries to figure out what really happened after their friend Otis disappeared and much hilarity and mayhem ensues.")
![In "Par for the Corpse" by T. Dawn Richard, amateur sleuth May Bell List takes a job at a golf course located near Spokane to figure out why somebody is killing some of the club's members.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/28/49/1363324509_2841_par%20for%20the%20corpse.jpg?itok=_XtJj6GM "In "Par for the Corpse" by T. Dawn Richard, amateur sleuth May Bell List takes a job at a golf course located near Spokane to figure out why somebody is killing some of the club's members.")
!["The Double-Jack Murders" by Patrick F. McManus is the third book in his popular Bo Tully mystery series, set in the fictional Blight County.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/f8/03/1363324509_6935_BN%20double%20jack.JPG?itok=pF4sJLZ2 ""The Double-Jack Murders" by Patrick F. McManus is the third book in his popular Bo Tully mystery series, set in the fictional Blight County.")
![In the fourth Bo Tully mystery "The Huckleberry Murders", the eponymous Sheriff Bo Tully tries to take a day off in the woods and ends up investigating a triple homicide.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/44/cd/1363324509_2676_Bn%20huckleberry%20murders.JPG?itok=g3NVq44q "In the fourth Bo Tully mystery "The Huckleberry Murders", the eponymous Sheriff Bo Tully tries to take a day off in the woods and ends up investigating a triple homicide.")
!["The Fat Detective" is described on the cover as a "gruesome tale of murder, mayhem and bad puns." The book is about a private detective from Spokane with a compulsive eating problem who tries to solve a murder before a Norwegian hitman succeeds in killing him. The book is set in a slightly fictionalized version of Spokane populated by eccentrics and femme fatales.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/37/9e/379e56d058110e3da7346a05314062a9.JPG?itok=F4Bv2Y9S ""The Fat Detective" is described on the cover as a "gruesome tale of murder, mayhem and bad puns." The book is about a private detective from Spokane with a compulsive eating problem who tries to solve a murder before a Norwegian hitman succeeds in killing him. The book is set in a slightly fictionalized version of Spokane populated by eccentrics and femme fatales.")
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