Joan Hess is a winner of the American Mystery Award and the author of twelve previous Claire Malloy books, including "Roll Over and Play Dead," "A Diet to Die For," "A Conventional Corpse," "Dear Miss Demeanor," and "Strangled Prose," as well as the Maggody mystery series. A member of Sisters in Crime and a former president of the American Crime Writers League, she lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.