SUSAN DUNLAP

CHARACTER:	JILL SMITH
CATEGORY:	POLICEWOMEN

Jill Smith is a Berkeley cop. Since her introduction in 1981, she's been promoted from patrol to homicide and demoted back to patrol again. She's given up some of her more bohemian habits, such as living on a converted sunporch, but she's never quite been able to lose her affection for Berkeley's enduring counter-culture. Susan Dunlap's mysteries are deftly plotted and well written, but it's the wry social satire that makes them special.

Karma
As A Favor
Not Exactly A Brahmin
Too Close To The Edge
A Dinner To Die For
Diamond In The Buff
Death And Taxes
Time Expired
Sudden Exposure
Cop Out

CHARACTER : VEJAY HASKELL

CATEGORY : AMATEUR

Vejay Haskell is a meter reader for Pacific Power & Electric in the Russian River area of Northern California. These three books convey a wonderful sense of place and character.

The Last Annual Slugfest
The Bohemian Connection
An Equal Opportunity Death

CHARACTER : KIERNAN O'SHAUGHNESSY

CATEGORY : PIs, DAs, and MEs

To me, this is the least successful of Susan Dunlap's three series, perhaps because the character is the most conventional. Kiernan O'Shaughnessy is an ex-Medical Examiner for the city of San Francisco who now does private forensic investigations. She lives on the beach in extravagant luxury with a boxer/houseboy/cook. While the books display Dunlap's usual clever plotting and clean writing, there is something just a little too predictable yet unbelievable about O'Shaughnessy.

Rogue Wave
Pious Deception
High Fall