KAREN ODDEN received her Ph.D. in English literature from New York University and subsequently taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays and chapters to many academic books and journals; she wrote introductions to novels by Dickens and Trollope for the Barnes and Noble Classics Series; and she served as an Assistant Editor for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture. She freely admits she might be more at home in nineteenth-century London than today, especially when she tries to do anything complicated on her iPhone.

All of her mysteries are set in 1870s London. Her first novel, A LADY IN THE SMOKE, was a USA Today bestseller and won a New Mexico-Arizona 2017 Book Award. Her second novel, A DANGEROUS DUET, introduces readers to Nell Hallam, an ambitious young pianist in 1870s London, who stumbles on a notorious crime ring while playing in a Soho music hall. In A TRACE OF DECEIT, Annabel Rowe, a young painter at the Slade School of Art, must delve below the glitter of the art and auction world to uncover the truth about her brother's murder.

In her fourth mystery, DOWN A DARK RIVER (November 2021), Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, a former thief and bare-knuckles boxer, is faced with a series of young women's corpses placed in small boats and sent floating down the Thames.

Praise for Karen's novels:

"Sparkling prose, vivid description, a haunting and satisfyingly complex story, and a unique and compelling sleuth in Michael Corravan, a former bare-knuckled boxer turned Scotland Yard inspector, make DOWN A DARK RIVER a must read for fans of any genre of crime fiction.”

—Edwin Hill, author of The Secrets We Share

"Odden's third effort injects a refreshing level of complexity, both in character development and plotting, into what one typically expects to find in historical cozies. This will appeal to fans of Victorian mysteries, as well as those interested in art history."

—Booklist (starred review)

"Odden keenly evokes the physical as well as cultural milieu of Victorian England, and peoples her setting with fully realized and intriguing characters. This book will delight readers who like their mysteries cloaked in well-researched history."

—Publishers Weekly

Karen resides in Arizona with her husband, two teenage children, and a ridiculously cute beagle named Rosy. Connect with Karen at https://www.karenodden.com, on facebook @karen.odden and on IG @karen_m_odden.