Joan Hall Hovey

Born and raised at Saint John, Canada, Joan Hovey has been writing articles as well as short stories for over twenty years. Her first story sold to True Confessions and her second to Home Life. Since then her efforts have seen the light in quite a number of diverse magazines as well as newspapers with her short story Dark Reunion selected for the anthology Investigating Women. Her first novel, Listen to the Shadows, was published in 1991 followed shortly by Nowhere to Hide which won an Eppie Award in 2001 (both have now been reprinted). Also a writing instructor Hovey has been regional Vice President of the Crime Writers of Canada and is currently a member of Sisters in Crime as well as Mystery Writers of America. She has another passion: acting. Hovey has starred in a number of plays in community theater. She also has four children.

Literary Criticism

In knowing that Joan Hovey is a writing instructor, a reader expects clarity of expression, a plot accurately told, credible characters and a well structured story: you get all of this plus one further aspect: passion. One can read through the lines the passion that this author puts in her work thus in other words producing literature for the want of writing and not to guarantee income. Furthermore, the people involved in the stories are not wonder women performing amazing feats but just human beings with their pain, physical as well as emotional, and their weaknesses. This gives her books an aura of realism making the reading extremely pleasant. Joan Hovey has told the Bastulli Mystery Library that she is currently at work on her third book. We are certainly looking forward to it.