Cops Writing Crime - The 2nd Squad: 9 Americans.

This is the second group of cops and ex-cops writing crime.  This time it's our American cousins, and I've found 9 of them.
There are 2 still serving as police officers, 6 are ex-police (or equivalent, given different names for some law enforcement in the US), and 1 ex-PI, who then wrote PI fiction (a clue - he's really famous!).
As I said in my 1st Squad blog - if you know of any others, please do let me know.
And the complete list will shortly feature in the new "Genre" section of my website. 

So, here are our American cousins:

1.   Joseph Wambaugh.
Wambaugh served with the LAPD.
He has been a prolific author, and I fondly remember reading some of his when I was a serving officer myself.  The realism gripped me then, as it still does now.
Some examples:  The Choirboys (1975), The New Centurions (1971), or The Blue Knight (1972).  And there are a lot more, as well as some non-fiction.
Website:   www.josephwambaugh.net   

2.   John M. Wills.
Wills served in the Chicago PD and then the FBI.
He has written several crime novels.
Example:   Targeted (2011).
Website:   www.jwillsbooks.com

3.   James Byron Huggins.
Huggins was a Patrolman in Alabama.
He has written many novels, although from what I could see only one of them is a crime novel in the genre:  Maggie Magdalene (2013).
No website found.

4.   Dorothy Uhnak  (Deceased 2006).
Uhnak was a Detective with the New York City Transit Police.
She wrote a series of crime novels with the protagonist Detective Christie Opara.
Some examples:  The Bait (1968), The Witness (1969), and The Ledger (1970).

5.   Rick Reed.
Reed was a Detective in Indiana.
He has written a number of crime novels with the protagonist Detective Jack Murphy.
An example:  The Cruelest Cut (2010).
Website:   www.rickreedbooks.com

6.   Neil Low.
Low is still a serving officer with the Seattle PD.
He has written a number of crime novels.
An example:  Deadly Attraction (2012).
Website:   www.neillow.com

7.   Neal Griffin.
Griffin is also still a serving officer, in California.
He has a number of crime novels to his name.
An example:  Benefit of the Doubt (2015).
Website:   www.nealgriffin.com

8.   Sunny Frazier.
Frazier spent years as an "undercover narcotics secretary" with the Fresno Sheriff in California.  I'm not quite sure whether she was a police officer, but clearly she worked the scene in law enforcement and now writes crime, amongst other things, so I've included her in the Squad.
An example:  Where Angels Fear (2009).
Website:   www.sunnyfrazier.com

9.   Dashiell Hammett   (Deceased 1961).
Hammett needs no introduction, being the father of the hard-boiled school.  He wrote private eye novels, but he had worked as a PI for the Pinkertons Agency, so was able to bring his experience to bear on the realism of his writing.  He joins the Squad on that basis.
He wrote several novels, as well as numerous short stories.  Perhaps his most famous title:  The Maltese Falcon (1930).

So there we have it my fellow crime fiction connoisseurs.  Our complete platoon of cops writing crime is 19 in number (until I hear of more) - our 9 Americans above, and the 4 Aussies, 5 Brits, and 1 Frenchman from the 1st Squad.
You will never be lacking in options for realistic crime fiction again!  Happy reading!

Cheers,
ABP
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