Susan Moody Books In Order

Publication Order of Alex Quick Books

Publication Order of Cassie Swann Books

Publication Order of Penny Wanawake Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Malice Domestic Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Susan Moody is a British author that writes mystery and suspense novels. The author is best known for the ‘Penny Manawake’ books.

+Biography

Susan Moody is a pseudonym used by Susan Elizabeth Horwood. Moody was born in 1940 in Oxford, England. She later moved to France, met and married her first husband. Circumstances saw them eventually make the move to Tennessee, though Moody was only there for a decade before making the move back to England.

Moody’s literary career began in 1983. That was when ‘A Distant Shore’, the author’s first novel was published. She proceeded to write a few more novels under different pen names, though none of those books garnered Moody much attention until she created Penny Manawake.

Susan Moody has garnered many notable achievements over the years. ‘Love Over Gold’ made her a bestselling author for the first time in her life, and she was ecstatic to be recognized by the Sunday Times for it because writing a best-seller had been a goal of hers for quite a while.

She also worked in Her Majesty’s Prison, Medford as a Creative Writing Tutor, an experience Moody knows few other authors have enjoyed. This isn’t even taking into account her time as Chairman of the Crime Writer’s Association and her membership of the Detection Club, not to mention the role she has played with the International Association of Crime Writers.

The author’s books have found a home in multiple foreign markets. She is also fairly commonplace at workshops in England and the United States.

Many readers know Susan moody for her marriage to Professor John Donaldson. The pair tied in the knot in 2001. The occasion was of some significance because it made Susan Moody the stepmother to the Crown Princess of Denmark.

+Literary Career

Susan Moody was an avid reader as a child. In fact, she might go so far as to say she was a little obsessed with the written word. It was a real struggle to drag her away from her books, and it wasn’t that uncommon to find her reading even as she walked on the street.

Of course, she was forced to put that habit to bed when she ran into a lamp post that one time. The author has named Dickens, Austen and Susan Hill amongst her favorites. She has always been impressed by Vanity Fair (Thackery).

The book’s introduction and development of such a strong and feisty heroine, the kind that grows so amoral and manipulative as the story progresses is so fascinating to Moody that she cannot stop buying new copies of the book to read.

The author entered her writing phase at a very young age. By the time she was eight, Moody was producing entire albums of stories with pictures, though she wasn’t always able to get the adults around her interested in her work.

Susan Moody got famous when she started writing the Penny Wanawake books. The author was driven to write the books by her involvement in the civil rights movement of her time.

Moody was alive in the 1960s. That was a time when the injustices of society were starting to elicit attention from the public. Moody and her first husband were heavily involved in the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NCAAP).

Moody’s activities attracted the wrong kind of attention and it wasn’t long before she had a burning cross on her lawn. And that wasn’t the last time she drew the ire of rednecks with a thirst for violence.

When the author finally went back to England, she could not wait to create a fictional but relevant feisty black female character that fought injustice and solved murders. Moody has said that felt obligated to create the character and write compelling stories about her.

Susan Moody has since created other protagonists of note like Cassie Swann.

The author takes her work seriously. She does not have any secret to her success as a writer. Moody depends on her willpower to sit her down every single day before her computer and to stay seated until she has at least a thousand words written.

Moody has admitted that she had an easier time getting her writing done during the earliest sections of her career. She had a child at the time, and the moment he left for school, it felt almost natural for her to use the rest of her day to sit at her desk and write until he came back.

Marrying Professor Donaldson changed all that. Because he is retired and, hence, always around, Donaldson requires a lot of her attention; he isn’t like a child who she can avoid for most of the day while he is in school.

However, the challenge has not stopped Susan Moody from pursuing her career. The author still finds a way of getting at least four hours of writing done. More often than not, she must wake up much earlier.

Her work as an author involves doing revisions of manuscripts, researching and answering emails. She also always finds time to engage with people because it gives her a taste of real life and she is able to inject those experiences into her books.

Moody has admitted that, even after so many years, writing is hard for her. There are so many things fighting for her attention in life that each day gives her new excuses to neglect her writing. However, she always fights them.

+Quick and the Dead

Doctor Helena Drummond is an acclaimed art historian and University Professor, and she’s missing. Her business partner feels guilty. Alexandra Quick knows that Helena thought she was being stalked.

Helena even confessed her fears to Alexandra but she dismissed what she presumed to be groundless paranoia. So when Helena goes missing, Alex cannot help but wonder whether her stalker might have something to do with it.

A former police officer, as Alex begins to investigate the case, the discoveries she makes cause her to question everything she thought she knew about Helena.

+A Final Reckoning

Sabine was working for a wealthy family as an au pair when her life ended in brutal murder. Chantal Frazer was just 13 when her sister was murdered. The event changed her life.

Over two decades later, Chantal goes back to the scene of the crime, now a lodge, to find answers. She realizes too late that there might be parties who will go to great lengths to keep her from uncovering their secrets.