BIO

A writer of things. An observer of life.

Who am I?

Rachel was born in Los Angeles, California fifteen days after Paul McCartney announced the split of the Beatles. As a child, she kept a pen in her hand, writing everywhere—in notebooks, on loose-leaf paper, in her big brother’s prep-school yearbook and on the back of church bulletins. But never on walls, buildings or freeway overpasses. That is graffiti.

For four years, she lived in the forest at UC Santa Cruz. There, she received a degree in English and American Literature, and helped to charter the Pi Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated.

She left Santa Cruz in 1992 and returned to Los Angeles. Since then, she has worked a variety of jobs, including for incredible organizations like PEN Center USA West, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, City of Hope and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.


In 2002, her debut novel, A QUIET STORM, was published by Scribner to great notice, including reviews from O Magazine and Publishers Weekly, with a starred review from Library Journal and also chosen as a “Rory’s Book Club” selection, the must-read book list for fictional television character Rory Gilmore of The Gilmore Girls. She also published two e-novels: THE VIEW FROM HERE and NO ONE KNOWS YOU’RE HERE. In 2014, the first novel in the Detective Elouise Norton series was published, the critically acclaimed LAND OF SHADOWS, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and included on LA Times’ ‘143 Books to Read This Summer’ and the UK Telegraph’s ‘Top Ten Crime Books for Summer.’ In 2015, she followed up with the second in the series, SKIES OF ASH. New York Times called Lou Norton “someone you want on your side.” Rachel was also a featured writer on NPR Crime in the City. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Mystery Writers of America, and


has participated as a mentor in the Association of Writers & Writing Programs’ Writer-to-Writer program.

Rachel lives with her husband and daughter in Los Angeles, the land of exceptional drought – despite the recent El Nino effect.



  • ‘In the beginning was the word...”

    I write because I must. Because I can. Because someone has to tell you, yes you, that there's a dead body (real or imagined) in that alley over there because you need to know so that we can all stop the monster who's doing scary s*&t to other citizens.



  • You need the right weapons.

    Uniball Vision Needle Fine or Micro. Schaedtler F pencils, Sharpie highlighters. Legal pads. Each feel good in my hands. Not fancy but certainly writing indulgences.



  • All of writing is one big trespass.

    You can't write well and have manners. Writers offend, curse, gawk, giggle, poke, probe, ask too many questions. All the time.

THEY ALL FALL DOWN

While Hall's series is superb, "They All Fall Down" should be her breakout novel. - ABC News

PRAISE

  • Meg Gardiner

    "They All Fall Down isa devilishly clever mystery that deepens into a poignant look at a mother'sactions. Rachel Howzell Hall's writing sizzles and pops. Miriam Macy isunforgettable."--Meg Gardiner, author of Into the Black Nowhere

  • Kristen Lepionka

    "Tense, clever, andtimely, THEY ALL FALL DOWN is a brilliant, modern take on the classiclocked-room mystery, full of intriguing characters and harrowing retribution.Rachel Howzell Hall sure knows how to write suspense." - Kristen Lepionka,author of the Roxane Weary mystery series

  • Attica Locke

    "They All Fall Down is a riotous and wild ride. Laugh out loud funny one minute,bone-chilling and sinister the next, it's a page-turning exploration of whathappens when our shadow selves are allowed to run amok." —- Attica Locke

  • James Patterson

    "The twists start frompage one and never let up--dramatic, thrilling and even compulsive." ——James Patterson

Delighted by a surprise invitation, Miriam Macy sails off to a luxurious private island off the coast of Mexico with six other strangers. Surrounded by miles of open water in the gloriously green Sea of Cortez, Miriam is soon shocked to discover that she and the rest of her companions have been brought to the remote island under false pretenses―and all seven strangers harbor a secret. Danger lurks in the lush forest and in the halls and bedrooms of the lonely mansion. Sporadic cell-phone coverage and miles of ocean keeps the group trapped in paradise. And strange accidents stir suspicions, as one by one . . .

They all fall down.

         

ADDITIONAL READS

"All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy
family is unhappy in its own way.” - Leo Tolstoy

APPEARANCES

Here, there and everywhere.
I will be seeing you soon.

April 13-14
LA Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California

INSPIRATION

If you are ever around a writer, know that you are being watched.
You inspire me.

ALL
AROUND TOWN
SIGN LANGUAGE
ARSENAL

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