Dolores Hitchens Books In Order

Publication Order of Jim Sader Mystery Books

Publication Order of Lt. Stephen Mayhew Mystery Books

Publication Order of Prof. A. Pennyfeather Mystery Books

Publication Order of Rachel Murdock Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Dolores Hitchens was an American published author of fiction.

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1907, Hitchens would rise to become a popular author of mystery and thriller novels. She was not born with her name name but was born with the full name of Julia Clara Catharine Dolores Birk Olsen Hitchens. She would change the name to Dolores Hitchens, much less of a mouthful to say, when she began writing her mystery novels.

Hitchens was born to her mother Myrtle Statham and her father W.H. Robbins. The two had been married in 1901 in Caldwell County, Texas. Dolores went by the name of Julia C. Robbins back then, and in 1910 was believed to be living with her mother. Her mother was thought to be widowed now and with the loss of W.H. the family were forced to be taken in by family. They resided for a time with the paternal grandfather of the young girl, living in San Antonio.

Dolores’s mother would end up processing her grief and choosing to go out and date and find love once more. At some point during the next ten years, she accepted a proposal and was to walk down the aisle again. She would get married to Norton, but would end up having the divorce go through. This happened at least by the period of time that the 1920 census was conducted for Kern County in California, where the daughter and the mother were recorded.

Myrtle would date once more and once again find herself successfully engaged to be married. This marriage would also go through and she would become the betrothed of one Oscar Carl Birk, who also went by the name of Arthur. They became a new family unit of sorts and by the time 1930 had rolled around, they were all living together in Long Beach. Things were apparently going well for the family as Dolores would end up taking on the surname of her stepfather.

Hitchens would get married to the merchant vessel radio operator known as Beverley S. Olsen in the 1934 range. By the time it was 1940, their home had somehow expanded to be occupied by the author’s mother as well, who had been widowed once more. Dolores did end up marrying once more, although it is unclear whether she herself was widowed or ended up choosing to get a divorce from Beverley Olsen. She would marry a man named Hubert A. Hitchens in the early time frame of the forties, and the two would end up sharing a child that the author gave birth to in 1942.

Dolores would unfortunately pass away on August 1, 1973 in Orange County, California. Her husband would follow her six years later, passing in 1979 in Riverside County. Today the legacy of her novels and her plays lives on.

Hitchens would have a prolific period of writing starting from when she sat down to write first in 1938 until she would eventually pass on in 1973. She would also publish novels using other pen names, which included Noel Burke, Dolan Birkley, and D.B. Olsen. The D.B. Olsen was a play on the name that hse had taken when she was first married.

The author would not only write on her own but also collaborated. She got married to Bert Hitchens, who would be her second husband, and he actually worked a day job as a railroad detective. This proved quite useful when the married pair worked on five different mystery stories set on the railroad.

Dolores would also choose to write in different genres and not limit herself to just one. She evolves into writing Western stories but also mystery novels. Readers loved her mysteries and one of her most popular series featured the main character of Rachel Murdock, portrayed as a type of spinster.

Hitchens first became a published author many different times if you take into consideration her pen names. Under her own name of Dolores Hitchens, the author would publish a play in 1941 called “A Cookie for Henry”, which was a one act play that was supposed to be for six female actors. For novels, her first stand alone novel would be the 1951 novel Stairway to an Empty Room. Her first book with her spouse Bert Hitchens would be the railroad mystery novel F.O.B. Murder.

Hitchens also debuted the Rachel Murdock mysteries under the pen name of D.B. Olsen in 1939 with the release of the debut novel, Cat Saw Murder. She would write two more series under this pen name, the Professor A. Pennyfeather series and the Stephen Mayhew Mystery series. Under her pen name of Dolan Birkley, she wrote the novels Blue Geranium and The Unloved. She also wrote the novel Shivering Bough, released in 1942 under the pseudonym Noel Burke.

The author would find success in having her work adapted to film when her 1958 novel Fool’s Gold was selected to be made into a movie. The famed director Jean-Luc Godard chose to adapt the book to make the movie “Bande à part”. Translated from French to English, the 1964 movie comes to mean “Band of Outsiders”.

Hitchens would have another of her works adapted when the television series “Thriller” opted to pick her book The Watcher to make into an episode. The episode did end up being filmed and made it to air on November 1, 1960.

Hitchens would pass away in 1973.

Dolores Hitchens created and wrote the Jim Sader Mystery Series. The series of novels first became available to readers in 1955 with the release of the debut novel, Sleep with Strangers. The second novel in the series is very engaging and is titled Sleep with Slander.

Sleep with Strangers is the first book in the Jim Sader Mystery series written by Dolores Hitchens. If you love mystery stories, be sure to check this book out!

Jim Sader appears for the first time in this story. A private eye that solves mysteries, this is the tale of one man’s attempt to try and find his way through the tough streets of California.

He’s a loner and is only on his own side. But can he use his skills as a private eye to do some good and help people? Read the first book in this amazing mystery series to find out!

The second novel in the Jim Sader Mystery series is titled Sleep with Slander. In the first story, you met the private eye Sader. He’s been taking on cases left and right, and now he’s got another one to solve.

When a millionaire shows up at Sader’s office, he’s less than thrilled. But a case is a case, and he agrees to take it on when he finds out this one involves a young child that may be in danger. Can he crack this case and find the young kid before it’s too late? Read this book to find out!