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Laurie Loewenstein Books In Order

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Publication Order of Dust Bowl Mystery Books

Death of a Rainmaker (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
Funeral Train (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Unmentionables (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon

Laurie Loewenstein is a renowned American writer of fiction, thriller, crime fiction, mystery, historical fiction, feminism, and historical mystery stories. She is famous for writing her debut book called Unmentionables. This 2013 book is widely recognized for its unique story, engaging characters, intriguing plot, and interesting writing style.

Following the worldwide success of this novel, Loewenstein went on to write several other novels in the mystery/thriller genre. Author Loewenstein hails from Middletown, Ohio. She is a 5th generation Midwesterner and takes great pride in being so. Her forefathers used to be farmers, salesmen, and butchers.

Author Loewenstein was brought up in western and central Ohio. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in BA and MA respectively from Ohio, both in the subject of history. Following the completion of her academic studies, Loewenstein began working as a reporter. She was also employed for several small-scale daily newspapers as an obituary and feature writer for a few years before deciding to focus on developing her writing career.

When Loewenstein was in her 50s, she joined college again to pursue a course in Creative Writing. After obtaining her MA in this subject, she succeeded in writing her first novel. In 2014, the book, Unmentionables, was selected as a pickup by Midwest Connections and went on to receive starred reviews from various literary magazines, including Library Journal.

Recently, Loewenstein has started a new series called the Dust Bowl Mystery series. This new series features historical mystery/thriller stories set in Dust Bowl during the 1930s. In addition to writing novels, author Loewenstein serves as an instructor of Creative Writing for the Maslow Family Graduate Programme at Wilkes University.

There, she is employed as a coordinator for the WRC and co-teacher of Writers’ Research. Currently, Loewenstein lives in Columbia, Maryland along with her loving husband named Steven Goldfarb. Before that, she has lived for many years in eastern Pennsylvania.

The authors whose works have influenced her the most include Kaylie Jones, William Maxwell, Ann Tyler, Barbara Pym, and Edith Wharton. Loewenstein is an active member of the MWA and likes to participate in all its activities. Books have been Loewenstein’s constant companions and best friends since her childhood. This shows that she has been an avid reader all her life.

Loewenstein’s historical mystery series is set in a fictional town called Vermillion. To make sure that her stories were accurate with respect to the setting, she gave this town the resemblance of a real Oklahoma town called Woodward. Loewenstein also checked the census records of that area from the 1930s and studied the lifestyle and occupations of the local folks as part of her research process to make sure that she was on the right path.

The other aspects of her research work included studying old photographs, listening to the music of the 1930s, and reading farmwives’ diaries. Author Loewenstein has depicted the chief protagonist in her mysteries in the form of a female character named Etha. She is stubborn, intelligent, strong, and compassionate.

Loewenstein has claimed that she always wanted to show a strong woman as one of the protagonists of her novel, a character who seems equally important as the male protagonists and helps to unravel the mystery. And it gave her immense joy when the character of Etha was finally created and introduced in her story. As of now, Loewenstein is busy writing the next installments of her Dust Bowl series and is expected to release them in the near future.

The debut book written by author Laurie Loewenstein is entitled ‘Unmentionables’. It was released by the Kaylie Jones Books publication in 2013. The central characters mentioned in this book include Marian Elliot Adam, Deuce Garland, Helen, etc. Initially, Marian Elliot Adams is introduced as an outspoken woman. She fights for the right of women to wear sensible undergarments.

One night in August 1917, she climbs onto the stage of Chautauqua in Emporia town and shocks everyone with her speech. She tells people the women’s undergarments in fashion at the time force them to be confined and prevent them from competing with men at workplaces. While giving the speech, Marian falls down the stage and twists her ankle. This forces her to remain in town for one week.

During her stay, Marian learns about the unspoken rules of the town that govern the women, Negroes, and social order. Deuce Garland is a recently widowed editor living in Emporia. He works in the newspaper agency owned by his father-in-law. Deuce lives a shameful life because the town’s people look down upon him as his great-grandfather had married a woman of the black race. Even his father-in-law doesn’t like him much.

The two are always at odds with each other as Deuce’s father-in-law doesn’t allow his stepdaughter named Helen to move to Chicago to fight for the suffrage of women there. The arrival of Marian brings about a lot of changes in Deuce’s life. He falls in love with the beautiful New York-based activist. After Marian comes to know about Deuce’s story, she tries to push him to be a braver, more dynamic, and greater man than he thought himself to be.

The motivation helps Deuce in taking a stand for Helen and helping her escape. Later, he also publishes a story in his newspaper exposing the oldest family of the town as responsible for the typhoid outbreak that affected the town recently. By overlooking her own loneliness, Marian strives to agitate for justice and enlightenment and continues her journey by passing through different places and helping to bring social reforms.

The second book of Loewenstein’s career is known as ‘Death of a Rainmaker. It was published by Akashic Books publication in 2018. The main characters created by Loewenstein for the novel include Temple Jennings, Eth Jennings, Carmine, and several others. This novel opens by depicting that a rainmaker is killed during a dust storm in Vermillion.

When sheriff Temple Jennings is called in to investigate, his troubles only get magnified. As he joins his deputy to look for possible suspects, a local teenager named Carmine, who is a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, looks quite suspicious. Temple’s deputy, an ex-CCCer, finds it difficult to remain loyal to the organization and gets noticed by Temple.

As Temple is about to arrest Carmine as the prime suspect, his wife, Etha, comes in his way claiming that Carmine is innocent. She has reasons to believe that someone is responsible for the rainmaker’s death and sets out to find evidence. Her independent investigation reveals many hidden secrets about the town and its people. Temple and Etha are forced to confront each other about their differences and sort out their grief over losing their 8-year-old son.

Book Series In Order » Authors » Laurie Loewenstein

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