Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: A Cold Day in Hell
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1-Dec
WEBSITE: http://lissamarieredmond.com/
CITY: Buffalo
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
Retired cold case detective.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born December 1, in Buffalo, NY; married; husband’s name Dan; children: Mary Grace and Natalie.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Worked previously as a cold case detective.
AVOCATIONS:Scrapbooking.
WRITINGS
Also contributor to Frozen Fairy Tales.
SIDELIGHTS
Lissa Marie Redmond worked with the Buffalo, New York police force until 2015. Redmond now devotes her time to her family and to writing fiction. Her writing is informed by her experiences as a police officer, as well as by life in the city of Buffalo.
Buffalo Noir
Buffalo Noir is an anthology featuring one of Redmond’s fiction pieces. As a whole, the anthology focuses on noir fiction set in the city of Buffalo. The anthology contains thirteen stories total, all of them by different authors. The work of Joyce Carol Oates also features within the book. Redmond’s story is titled “Falling on Ice,” and follows a man who finds himself in the middle of a sudden and violent mystery. The man, Mike, has long been wading his way through a sea of hard times. Everything spirals even further out of control for him, however, once he discovers his wounded sister and is plunged into trying to figure out exactly what happened to her.
A Publishers Weekly contributor recommended the book to “those curious about the criminal side of the second-biggest city in New York.” On the Dead End Follies website, one reviewer stated: “Violent, gritty, and packed with cold in a way that the weather becomes a character, this tale, which is one of the longest in the collection, is full of the kind of sharp prose that makes top-notch crime writing such a pleasure to read.”
A Cold Day in Hell
A Cold Day in Hell follows a protagonist by the name of Lauren Riley. Lauren resides and works in the city of Buffalo as a member of its police force, and her reputation precedes her. She has become well known for her success rate with the cases she takes on, much of which have long grown ice cold by the time she is assigned to them. However, her latest case may prove to be her most challenging one yet, when she is approached by an attorney who personally requests she track down the killer of a young woman named Katherine. By agreeing to take the case on, Lauren plunges herself into a situation that threatens to unravel her life.
A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book “an excellent police procedural combined with a psychological thriller.” A Publishers Weekly remarked: “Redmond … keeps everything moving nicely in this well-constructed crime novel.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2017, review of A Cold Day in Hell.
Publishers Weekly, September 7, 2015, review of Buffalo Noir, p. 46; January 1, 2018, review of A Cold Day in Hell, p. 42.
ONLINE
Cozy Up with Kathy, https://cozyupwithkathy.blogspot.com/ (December 27, 2015), “Meet Lissa Redmond,” author interview.
Dead End Follies, http://www.deadendfollies.com/ (February 4, 2016), review of Buffalo Noir.
Lissa Marie Redmond website, http://lissamarieredmond.com (June 25, 2018), author profile.
About Lissa
about-lissa-marie-redmond
sisters-in-crime-murder-on-ice-wny-lissa-redmond
LISSA MARIE REDMOND
Lissa Redmond was born in Buffalo and grew up in a compact little neighborhood south of the city called Woodlawn, squashed between the massive Bethlehem Steel plant and Ford Stamping plant. Growing up she rode her bike, played on the shores of Lake Erie and never dreamed she’d someday be a cop.
During her days at the University of Buffalo she took the exam to be a city of Buffalo police officer and got on the job. At the age of twenty-two they gave her gun, a badge, a bullet proof vest, and put her on patrol. Twenty-two years, a detective’s badge, a fellow detective husband and two kids later, she retired to pursue a “normal” life.
She decided to become a writer instead.
Now she still lives in Buffalo with her husband, raises her kids, feeds and pampers her ungrateful cat, and writes about the things that kept her up at night, staring at the ceiling in the dark, asking herself, “What if?”
And she invites you to come along.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Meet Lissa Redmond
I'm so pleased to welcome Lissa Redmond to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Lissa is a recently retired veteran of the Buffalo Police Department who is now able to devote more time to writing her own mysteries.
Kathy: You have short stories published in two recently released anthologies, Buffalo Noir and Frozen Fairy Tales. How is writing a short story for an anthology different than writing a full length novel?
LR: Having a strict word count. When you only have 10,000 or 7,500 words to tell an entire story you have to make every word count and economize when you can. All the luscious descriptions and backstory get chopped when you are 900 words over.
Kathy: You and I are both from Buffalo and your contribution to Buffalo Noir is, of course, set in Buffalo. What makes Buffalo such a great setting and what must you include in a Buffalo story?
LR: The first two things people think of when they hear Buffalo are snow and chicken wings with the Bills as a close third. Snow was a big part of both stories, which is ironic this year since we've just set a record for fifty degree days in December and there is not a snowflake in sight! Wings takes on a whole new meaning in my story Buffalo Wings, since it is a fairy tale. The Buffalo Bills don't make an appearance in either story but there's always the next one!
Kathy: Are you a fan of fairy tales? The originals or the more modern takes on them?
LR: I love fairy tales, whether modern or classic. Good versus evil, beautiful princesses and dashing (or accidental) heroes never seem to go out of style.
Kathy: What first drew you to mysteries?
LR: Growing up I read Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown books. I puzzled over how to solve the crime. When I got older and became a cop and then a detective myself, I found myself solving real life mysteries. Although watching CSI makes me cringe, I still love a great, well written mystery.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
LR: I'm actually working on my last draft (hopefully) of a young adult novel. It's taken me out of my comfort zone and I think that's a good thing. When you get stuck on one project or type of project for too long I think you need to cleanse your brain a little with something else. It's a little post apocalyptic but not dystopian. It's more about survival and love, no evil empires or dark futuristic societies. It takes place now and what would happen now, to a seventeen year old girl faced with her family's survival and breaking the bonds with her past. It's such a great genre to write in, to connect with that younger part of yourself.
Kathy: Tell us about your books.
LR: Buffalo Noir is part of Akashic books' Noir series. There's Chicago Noir, Boston Noir, Memphis Noir, Brooklyn Noir, etcetera and it was Buffalo's turn. The cool thing about the book is every story is set in a different distinct neighborhood. The stories really give you a feel for the city as a whole. The darker side of the city. It's a glimpse of what goes on in the shadows, the things that go bump in the night and hide in the snow.
Frozen Fairy Tales is exactly that. Fairy tales set in winter, both classic and contemporary. I love the log line on the back cover: Winter is not coming...winter is here. And in Buffalo winter is almost always here. It just made sense to set my frozen fairy tale there.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
LR: I really like my hero in the Frozen Fairy Tales anthology. He's an over educated, under employed hipster. He really tries his best and his heart is in the right place. He's the kind of guy you'd set your best friend up with and she'd dump him for being too nice. I'd love to bring him back again and see what other trouble he can get himself in to.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your stories?
LR: My story in Buffalo Noir was inspired by a newspaper article my mother in law brought me about a murder in 1938. It was so fascinating, I had to write my own take on it.
The fairy tale sprang from my own constant questioning of What If? There's a table made from an old door at a local bookstore and cafe, over the years I've sat at it and drank my coffee. What if there was something special about that table made from a door? Where was the knob and lock? Why is there never any cream when I want it? It's funny how such small things can turn into a story.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
LR: Luck? I've always been a writer but getting on the police department at twenty-two years old put a damper on my writing. Two years ago I was approached by Ed Park, the editor of Buffalo Noir, to submit a story. No one was more surprised when they offered to publish it than I was! Especially in the company of such greats as Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block and S.J.Rozan. I retired from the Buffalo Police Department this past May and now have the time to devote myself to writing.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
LR: Stephen King for the ghost stories.
F. Scott Fitzgerald because I'd love to party roaring twenties style.
Agatha Christie because she was a fascinating person as well as an amazing author.
Walt Whitman because after a wonderful dinner full of great stories and good company, I imagine him tipping his hat, pulling on his overcoat and getting back to traveling the open road.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
LR: For Whom the Bluebells Toll by Beverly Allen (almost done, so sad to go onto the last book in the series, I love her fictional town of Ramble) and Hercule Poirot's Christmas, because tis the season!
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
LR: I snap a lot of pictures so I fell into scrapbooking. I try to get together with my friends to do it. It's one of the few hobbies where you can gab and still get things done. I'm not very athletic so you'll never see me posting about going to the gym or working out. The only way I'm running now is if a zombie is chasing me.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
LR: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and coffee. Did I mention the chocolate?
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books?
LR: I have plans for at least four different projects but I have to be realistic and finish the projects I am working on now. That's the great thing about being a retired cold case homicide detective, I will never run out of ideas for a good story.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
LR: I love meeting people, especially at the events I've gone to and talking to them about books. In this day and age I love finding people that still cherish the written word and appreciate good storytelling. When I was growing up authors were my rock stars. Other girls dreamed of meeting Bon Jovi and I dreamed of meeting Stephen King. I am so grateful to be able to share my stories with readers.
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Author Bio:
Lissa Redmond is a recently retired veteran of the Buffalo Police department. She spent her first five years on patrol before making detective in 1999. She then joined the Sex Offense Squad where she first started looking into the Bike Path Rapist, a serial killer who terrorized western NY for over twenty years. She was put on the Bike path rapist task force in 2007, which culminated in the arrest and conviction of Altemio Sanchez. The task force’s investigation also led to the exoneration of Anthony Capozzi, who spent twenty two years behind bars for crimes Sanchez committed. She then became a member of the Cold Case Homicide Unit, from which she retired. Her cases have been featured on Dateline, America’s most Wanted, the Nightmare Next Door and others.
Redmond is also the author of one accidently self-published book. Her short stories have been included in several local anthologies produced by the Dogears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center. Her short Story, Like Falling on Ice, is slated to be published in Akashic Books new anthology Buffalo Noir in November. She also content edits for writers on police procedure.
She is the wife of a Buffalo Homicide Detective, Dan Redmond and the mother of two girls, Natalie and Mary Grace, who prove to her daily that she is not as smart as she thinks she is.
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Print Marked Items
Redmond, Lissa Marie: A COLD DAY IN
HELL
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Redmond, Lissa Marie A COLD DAY IN HELL Midnight Ink/Llewellyn (Adult Fiction) $15.99 2, 8 ISBN:
978-0-7387-5410-9
A detective's complicated past catches up with her when she investigates a murder.
Together with her partner, Shane Reese, Detective Lauren Riley of the Buffalo Police Department has a
great record clearing cold cases. Now a hot one is about to change her life. Frank Violanti, a cocky lawyer
who's been her enemy in many a court proceeding, begs her to use her PI license to investigate the murder
of Katherine Vine, which took place outside of the Buffalo police jurisdiction. His godson, David Spencer,
who admits to having had consensual sex with Katherine in her car, parked near the store where he works,
shortly before she was strangled with her own scarf, has been arrested for the murder. Since Lauren's two
daughters from her youthful first marriage are both in college, she has some time on her hands. Against her
better judgment she takes the case, at least in part because the arresting officer is Joe Wheeler. During the
short time she dated him after her first husband bailed, she realized that Wheeler was a bad cop who was
physically abusive to her. Unchanged by time, he expresses his rage over her interference after the first
court hearing by punching her in the face. Although Lauren divorced her second husband, Mark Hathaway,
for cheating, their sexual chemistry flares up when they meet again despite Lauren's reservations. After
Mark, who runs with the same crowd, tells Lauren that Katherine's wealthy, well-connected husband has
been having an affair, she comes up with plenty of information casting doubt on the case against David but
also learns a few unsettling facts about his past. Stalked by a furious Wheeler and harassed by the unhappy
district attorney, Lauren has all she can do to keep her life together.
The first in a planned series by Redmond, a retired police detective, is an excellent police procedural
combined with a psychological thriller.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Redmond, Lissa Marie: A COLD DAY IN HELL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514267710/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=9478fbca.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514267710
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A Cold Day in Hell: A Cold Case
Investigation
Publishers Weekly.
265.1 (Jan. 1, 2018): p42.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
A Cold Day in Hell: A Cold Case Investigation
Lissa Marie Redmond. Midnight Ink, $15.99 trade paper (408p) ISBN 978-0-7387-5410-9
Buffalo, N.Y., cold case detective Lauren Riley, the heroine of Redmond's promising first novel and series
launch, is also a licensed PI. It's in that latter capacity that lawyer Frank Violanti, with whom Lauren has
tangled in court, hires her. His 18-year-old godson, David Spencer, has been charged with the seconddegree
murder of Katherine Vine, a customer at the store where he worked. He claims she lured him into
her car one night and was still alive when he left her after an hour of wild sex. Lauren is dismayed to learn
that the lead detective in the case is her ex-fiance, the abusive Joe Wheeler, who, after discovering she's
working for Frank, punches her in the face. In contrast, Lauren's married ex-husband, Mark Hathaway, with
whom she's having an affair, is glad to provide information about the victim and her husband, whom he
knows socially. Redmond, a recently retired Buffalo PD homicide detective, keeps everything moving
nicely in this well-constructed crime novel, marred only by the cartoonish Joe. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"A Cold Day in Hell: A Cold Case Investigation." Publishers Weekly, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 42. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522124979/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4286c8ae.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A522124979
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Buffalo Noir
Publishers Weekly.
262.36 (Sept. 7, 2015): p46+.
COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Buffalo Noir
Edited by Ed Park and Brigid Hughes. Akashic, $15.95 trade paper (192p)
ISBN 978-1-61775381-7
Park's introduction, in effect a true-crime case study, is as gripping as any of the 13 stories set in or around
Buffalo, N.Y., in this strong Akashic noir volume, whose contributors include several mystery
heavyweights. Lawrence Block's arresting "The Ehrengraf Settlement" brings his dapper, devious lawyer,
the Perry Mason-like Martin Ehrengraf, into a case reminiscent of George Zimmerman's killing of Trayvon
Martin. Joyce Carol Oates's "Valentine" is a remarkably tense and atmospheric study in emotion and
relationships. S.J. Rozan's "Parkside" is a throat-clutching modern version of the conte cruel. But the
greatest surprise is "Falling on Ice" by Lissa Marie Redmond, a Buffalo police detective who specializes in
cold-case investigations. Redmond mixes character, emotion, and formal detection into an irresistible
amalgam.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Among the lesser-known authors, Dmitri Anastasopoulos's police procedural, "The Bubble Man of
Allentown," stands out. Those curious about the criminal side of the second-biggest city in New York will
be rewarded. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Buffalo Noir." Publishers Weekly, 7 Sept. 2015, p. 46+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A428752514/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c77d406f.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A428752514
Book Review : Buffalo Noir (2015)
Order BUFFALO NOIR here
I’ve been a fan of Akashic’s Noir Series for a very long time. Each collection is different, but there are always three elements that readers can count on: an almost palpable sense of place, outstanding crime/noir narratives from some of the best writers in the game, and a diversity of approaches, styles, and themes that make each entry in the series unique and each story within that entry different from all others. Buffalo Noir, released at the end of 2015, is yet another great addition to Akashic’s catalog and a collection that fans of gritty fiction should definitely check out.
The first standout is Tom Fontana’s “It’s Only for Forever.” Quick and hard-hitting, this tale of a promise and the man who refuses to fail to deliver on his word is the equivalent of a noir master class crammed into a few pages. From emotional turmoil to murder, there’s nothing Fontana leaves out, and he makes most of it feel fresh.
Also deserving individual attention is Lissa Marie Redmond’s “Falling on Ice.” A man whose life is the opposite of what his deceased father’s was, and whose current situation leaves much to be desired, open the door to find his sister injured. What follows is first a mystery and then a narrative about doing very bad things for a very worthy cause. Violent, gritty, and packed with cold in a way that the weather becomes a character, this tale, which is one of the longest in the collection, is full of the kind of sharp prose that makes top-notch crime writing such a pleasure to read:
Mike went to his mom’s closet, opened the door, and felt around the highest shelf. He's fingers managed to grab the edge of a shoebox, which he carefully took down. Inside was his dad's silver revolver. He hadn't held it in a long time. Once when he was seventeen he sat on the bed and held it to his forehead for two hours. He wasn't sure why, what his endgame had been at the time, but now he's reason for taking it was crystal clear.
As mentioned above, there’s always at least one story in each entry of Akashic Book's Noir Series that comes out of nowhere and pushes at the edges of the genre. In Buffalo Noir, that narrative is Gary Earl Ross’ “Good Neighbors.” It all starts with neighbors helping an elderly lady and quickly morphs into a superb exploration of greed and the lies we tell ourselves. In a way, this is one of the most comedic entries in the book, but the fact that it’s also the one that involves the most normal circumstances and people, both of which add a great sense of plausibility to it, make this a standout.
Kim Chinquee’s “Hand” follows “Good Neighbors,” and the differences between the two exemplify what Akashic does best: diversity. Giving away too much of the plot would take away some pleasure from reading the story because it’s short and moves forward at a frenetic pace, but some of the elements should suffice to entice readers: insanity, a severed hand, a main character that manages to be simultaneously creepy and sad.
He wants wine. He goes to the fridge, where he sees her right hand where he left it. He picks it up and smells it. It reminds him of merlot; the skin is rubbery. He touches the foil on the end, and he imagines a big tree. He remembers a branch from his grandfather’s oak that smashed onto his father's windshield in the middle of a snowstorm. “It's okay,” he says out loud. He decides to make some eggs. He turns on the stove and pours himself some wine. He picks up the hand; he cradles it and rocks.
Take these stories and add writing by literary giants Joyce Carol Oates and Lawrence Block along with plenty of cold, snow, violence, and Rick James, both in person and his music, and you get an anthology that fans of great crime fiction need to check. Of course, for those familiar with the series, saying that is preaching to a very devout choir.
Akashic Books, Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block, book reviews