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Constance and Charlie
Series · 9 books · 1987-2012

Books in series

The Hamlet Trap book cover
#1

The Hamlet Trap

1987

Deadly jealousies flair among the members of an Oregon repertory theatre. A man is murdered backstage, and the police nab the wrong person. Husband-and-wife sleuths Constance Leidl and Charlie Meiklejohn must delve into the town's sorid past to find the killer. Simultaneous release with Wilhelm's newest hardcover, The Defense.
The Dark Door book cover
#2

The Dark Door

1988

Charlie and Constance must figure out who has been setting fire to abandoned hotels, restaurants, and schools around the country. Reprint.
Smart House book cover
#3

Smart House

1989

Charlie and Constance are invited to a VERY unpleasant weekend party given in a super deluxe computer (AI) controlled house. The nasty genius who gives the party has arranged they must play a game of Murder. Things go downhill quickly and horribly with bodies and the creeping question ever at hand. Is the HOUSE doing it?
Sweet, Sweet Poison book cover
#4

Sweet, Sweet Poison

1990

Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl find themselves in a rural setting, investigating suspects in a series of poisonings directed against a loud but likable pair of lottery winners from the Bronx
Seven Kinds of Death book cover
#5

Seven Kinds of Death

1992

Former arson detective Charlie Meiklejohn and psychologist Constance Leidl team up to investigate sculptor Marion Olsen's artist's colony when bodies begin turning up there. Original.
Whisper Her Name book cover
#6

Whisper Her Name

2012

Charlie didn't want to take this case—he hated cases involving crazy wills—but when one of the new clients mentioned that the Bainbridge men are cursed, he knew resistance was Constance could not resist confronting a curse. In a quiet college town in New Jersey, five million dollars in cashier's checks lies hidden in a dead man's house, and whoever finds the checks gets to keep it all. Four family members have four weeks before the house and its contents become the property of a small college. Soon two deaths by drowning from the past and another clear case of murder in the present complicate matters. It takes the combined skills of a superbly trained homicide detective, Charlie, and an equally well trained psychologist, Constance, to unravel the mystery of the Bainbridge curse—and expose a killer.
Sister Angel book cover
#6.2

Sister Angel

2012

Wanda believed her murdered husband was communicating with her, using Brother Amos as a go-between. Brother Amos and his daughter Sister Angel were moving into her life, into her home. Charlie and Constance were hired to expose him as a charlatan. The result of their investigation leads to explosive violence that threatens their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives. A computerized cat is the catalyst that starts the action.
The Gorgon Fields book cover
#6.4

The Gorgon Fields

2012

What is Ramón’s hold on Carl Wyandot, one of the richest men in the country? Carl’s daughter hires Constance and Charlie to find out why her father intends to give a hidden valley in Colorado to him. In the valley there is the mammoth formation called the Gorgon Field, red sandstone pillars that are unscalable, cover an area a mile and a half from front to back, and reach nearly two hundred feet in height. Why is Constance entranced by them? Why are others so afraid of them?
Torch Song book cover
#6.5

Torch Song

2012

Charlie is being framed as a serial arsonist, fires that have resulted in five deaths so far. Their search settles on Peter Eisenbeis as the arsonist, a recently released convict that Charlie was responsible for convicting. Also, Charlie was part of the chase that caused massive brain injury to the man’s infant son. Marla, the child’s mother, has cared for the hopelessly bedridden boy for thirteen years with love and devotion. Only she can lead Charlie and Constance to Peter before another fire is ignited or before Charlie is arrested, whichever comes first.

Author

Kate Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm
Author · 64 books

Kate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers. Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit, Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan. Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops. Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction. Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.

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