Kate Flora Books In Order

Publication Order of Thea Kozak Books

Publication Order of Joe Burgess Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Kate Flora is an American author who writes mystery, suspense, and crime novels. Flora is best known for the Thea Kozak books.

+Biography
Kate Flora comes from Maine. Her upbringing was as ordinary as they get. Her home was a chicken farm. When she wasn’t doing chores, there wasn’t much else to pass the time, no dynamic and fun activities in which she could engage.

That left the library as her only source of entertainment. Though, you wouldn’t have found Kate Flora complaining. She always looked forward to her afternoon jaunts to the library.

The books she read fed her imagination and made each day a little brighter. For the longest time, Flora dreamt of reproducing the same stories she read in her favorite books, possibly even giving other kids the same joy she got every time she visited the library.

However, the author grew up in a period that was rather restrictive in the options it offered its young people. Women, in particular, had very little in the way of viable employment opportunities.

Fortunately, Flora was stubborn. Even though all the ‘help wanted’ Ads kept telling her that she had no place in the legal arena, the author made it her mission in life to get into law school and to pursue a lucrative career as an attorney.

And for the most part, Flora accomplished her mission. A former student of Northeastern University, Flora got her Law degree and then joined the Attorney General’s office in Maine.

Flora spent many a year helping the helpless. She saved kids from abusive homes, served justice to deadbeats fathers and even did some work for the Human Rights Commission. The author could not have hoped for a better foundation for her crime novels.

Her time in the legal field revealed to Kate Flora the true face of humanity. She realized just how cruel mankind could be. She bore witness to their unbridled propensity for committing crime.

By the time she decided to give writing a serious try some years later, there was no question in her mind that she would pursue the crime genre. The author had spent quite a few years in private practice before the call to start a family drove her to stay home to care for her young sons.

Having quit the law but still determined to find more productive ways to spend her days, Kate Flora finally sat down to write.

Of course, like most amateur authors, Flora was quickly overwhelmed by the harsh realities of the publishing arena. She spent a decade trying and largely failing to get her publishing career off the ground.

It was a grueling period but, to Flora’s credit, she never gave up. She kept working at it, refining her skills, perfecting her storytelling technique until her Thea Kozak series came into the picture and attracted all the right attention.

Even then, Flora never stopped fighting. She never took her success for granted. The author kept slaving away, churning out new ideas until she had an extensive bibliography with dozens of short stories and books.

In those early days, when her publishing prospects seemed so bleak, she could not have imagined becoming a Finalist for accolades like the Edgar, Derringer and Agatha awards. She definitely would not have expected to win the Public Safety Writers Association Award (nonfiction).

Kate Flora has come far. Her more impressive feats include founding the New England Crime Bake which is a mystery conference. She has also held the position of International President of Sisters in Crime.

Of course, Flora’s life does not solely revolve around her writing. The author has a husband, two sons, a pair of daughters-in-law, grandchildren and a couple of dogs.

The author is very serious about the research she does for her books primarily because it allows her to go on adventures. Do not be too shocked to find Flora riding ATVs through the Canadian Woods, going on stake-outs with cops or even learning to shoot a gun.

The author is always venturing out of her comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean she is always chasing an adrenaline high. Kate Flora is just as content to hang out in her garden.

Gardening relaxes Flora. She enjoys it because it teaches her patience and perseverance. In fact, the author has admitted to gleaning so many insights about her life and her stories from the sessions she has spent in her garden fighting woodchucks and dealing with nefarious pests.

That being said, every hobby in Flora’s life is secondary, a rare pastime with which she engages only when she isn’t writing. The author’s world is shaped by her books. She gives everything she has to her family and her writing, and only when those two areas have been properly sated will you find Kate Flora turning her attention to other activities.

+Playing God
When Doctor Steven Pleasant is found dead in his parked car on a cold night in February, everyone is so certain that his philandering ways got him killed. The clues paint a relatively straightforward picture.

Steven’s pants were unzipped and he had no wallet. So one had to assume that the doctor had met and fallen under the murderous hand of a hooker.

But Detective Sergeant Joe Burgess wasn’t convinced. He started looking into what he had also begun to suspect was a straightforward case. But then things quickly grew muddy.

Now Joe cannot help but consider the possibility that a patient of the dead doctor might be the culprit.

+The Angel of Knowlton Park
Life as a cop in Portland, Maine isn’t easy. Joe Burgess has it tougher than most because the deputy of his department hates him and is determined to see him removed from the force.

For once, though, none of that mattered. Joe was going on vacation. He was ready to put all the drama of his department behind him if only for a little while. But then a little boy was brutally murdered and Joe was asked to stick around a little longer.

Now Joe has to use the demons of his past to contend with a case that only he is suited to resolve.

One Response to “Kate Flora”

1. Anna de Leon: 10 months ago

   Love your writing!!! So happy I found you. Funny, I too was a lawyer (mostly) and am now a jazz singer in a wonderful band (mostly)! We are both lucky and blessed not to have been funneled into the linear path our society has forced on most men!! Thanks for what you do…

   Reply