Hello! I’m a practicing lawyer and author of crime novels and short stories set in Greater Portland, Maine.
I tapped into into my early career as a newspaper reporter for the Joe Gale mystery series. The protagonist, Joe Gale, is a contemporary newspaper reporter with old-school style who covers the Maine crime and courts beat.
In addition to publishing several short stories, I will be publishing a new series featuring Neva Pierce, a criminal defense lawyer who takes on cases others won’t touch in the hometown to which she swore she’d never return.
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Photo: Ali Rosa Photography
Buchanan’s prose is lean and assured, her characters are nuanced and fully fleshed, and her stories zip along with the relentless urgency of a lit fuse. – Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind
The Joe Gale Mystery Series
The book that introduced Joe Gale to the world, Quick Pivot (2015).
A cunning thief skimmed a half a million dollars from the textile mill that was the beating heart of Riverside, Maine. A sharp-eyed accountant discovered the discrepancy, but was killed before he could report it. Decades later, reporter Joe Gale discovers the skeleton in a basement crawl space at the long-shuttered mill.
The second book in the Joe Gale series, Cover Story (2015).
Joe Gale is at his best when covering the crime beat for the Portland Daily Chronicle. In the dead of winter, he heads Downeast to cover the murder trial of a fisherman charged with burying a filleting knife in the chest of politically well-connected social worker.
Truth Beat, the third book in the series of Joe Gale Mysteries (2016).
A Maine newspaper reporter struggles with unreliable sources while covering two explosive stories—the apparent murder of a Catholic priest who stood up to his church during a child sexual abuse scandal and a spate of increasingly destructive bombings near the high school.
All three books in the Joe Gale series can be purchased through my publisher, Carina Press, or at any of the following ebook retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, ibooks and Kobo.
The Neva Pierce Crime Series: Coming soon!
Neva Pierce is featured in a short story called Means, Motive, and Opportunity, where she is defending a particularly difficult client who’s accused of killing her fiancé. Old friend Joe Gale, the protagonist of my first three novels, also plays a key role in the plot.
Means, Motive, and Opportunity was included in the anthology Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories 2021. I am honored that this short story has also made the list of Other Distinguished Stories in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 (BAMS).
Chris Holm, author of the much praised thriller The Killing Kind, which is featured on many “Best of 2015” lists, says of Truth Beat: Buchanan’s prose is lean and assured, her characters are nuanced and fully fleshed, and her stories zip along with the relentless urgency of a lit fuse. TRUTH BEAT, which tackles thorny social issues with rare grace, might be Buchanan’s finest work to date. Don’t miss it.
The second book in the series, Cover Story, was released in September, 2015. Here’s what reviewer Katrina Niidas Holm had to say about Cover Story in an October 7, 2015 review in Crimespree Magazine:
“Equal parts courtroom thriller and small-town mystery, Brenda Buchanan’s second Joe Gale mystery is destined to win her legions of new fans. COVER STORY is a whip-smart page-turner of a read.” Read the full review.
Sarah Graves, author of Winter At The Door and the Home Repair is Homicide Series, had good words for Cover Story:
COVER STORY gets Downeast Maine right, from its hard-headed, warm-hearted inhabitants to its remote, tragic beauty. Brenda Buchanan spins a devious, deeply-felt tale as dark as a Maine winter. Add a smart, seasoned journalist-hero Joe Gale and Buchanan’s own intensely readable prose and you’ve got another you’re-gonna-love-it winning entry in an excellent series.
Many kinds words also have been said about the book that introduced Joe Gale to the world, Quick Pivot:
“Brenda Buchanan brings her storyteller’s craft and her lawyer’s eye for detail to this powerful story of secrets from the past emerging explosively in the present. As compelling as the story itself is her deep understanding of Maine—the complexity of her generous, honest, grouchy, and shady characters, and the physical and social geography of a state where failing industries can destroy whole towns.” — Kate Flora, award-winning author of And Grant You Peace
“The brisk plotting and crisp dialog in Quick Pivot will suck you in immediately. This debut has action, heart, and twists in all the right places. Brenda Buchanan is a talent to watch!” — Steve Ulfelder, Edgar finalist, author of Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage
“The surprises start on page one of Brenda Buchanan’s debut novel, Quick Pivot, when a skull rolls out from behind a collapsed wall of an abandoned mill being demolished to make way for real estate development near Portland, Maine. The story behind the story gets unearthed in this promising new series that introduces reporter/sleuth Joe Gale.” — Hallie Ephron, author of Night Night, Sleep Tight
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