E.J. Kindred

Writer, Mystery Reader, Quilter, and Lover of Cats

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Welcome to My Web Page!

I’m a retired Oregon attorney who traded contracts for mysteries. I’m writing the Annie Velasquez mystery series. The first instalment, In Harm’s Way, was published in 2019. You can purchase my books in paperback or ebook from all the usual online outlets, or you can also get the ebook through my publisher's store. (See bottom of page.)

After considerable delay (entirely my own fault!), I finally finished the second book in the series. Family Secrets will be published in April 2024 and will be available through the same sources as In Harm’s Way.

Book 2 in the Annie Velasquez Mystery Series

Family Secrets begins shortly after the events of In Harm’s Way. Annie and her brother, Joe, have decided to rebuild their dad’s bicycle shop. What should be a straightforward building project becomes anything but when someone starts causing problems at the construction site. First, small items are stolen, then the shop itself is vandalized with spray painted graffiti and broken windows, and problems escalate from there, including vandalism at Annie’s home.

When Annie stops in at a local coffee shop, she comes face to face with her former girlfriend, Nicky Fleming, who has long been believed to have been murdered. In fact, Annie has been the person of interest in Nicky’s murder. When Annie reports sighting Nicky to her family and Portland homicide detective, Beth O’Brien, she’s met with skepticism. After all, Nicky’s family identified the body, so how could Annie have seen Nicky alive and well?

In the meantime, Annie has been approached by Mandy, a restaurant server who asks Annie to locate her long-lost girlfriend. Annie reluctantly agrees, but the information Mandy provides isn’t sufficient, so Annie has to let her know she won’t be able to help. Mandy makes a fuss and refuses to listen, and Annie starts to wonder if Mandy is the vandal.

Is Nicky really alive? If so, where has she been and why has she reappeared? Does Detective O’Brien believe Annie about Nicky? Who is so determined to damage the new bicycle shop? Is it Mandy? Or someone else? Will Annie ever be free of the police? Will she and Beth ever get together? Has Grandma Natalie found someone who loves her? And will Annie and Joe ever be able to open Velasquez Cycles?



The first novel in the series:

IN HARM'S WAY Summary:

When her father dies in a fire and the suspected arsonist is later murdered, Annie Velasquez comes under suspicion. Though the police don’t have evidence to arrest her, in an effort to escape stress and rebuild her shattered life, Annie moves south of Portland, Oregon, and gets a housekeeping job. Peace of mind is short-lived when her employer is stabbed to death and a new police investigator is on this case. Who killed Dr. Wentworth? Is there a malevolent force dogging Annie's footsteps? And what happened to the house chef, Annie’s friend Mo? Will Annie live long enough to find out?

Here are links to check it out and get the book or ebook!


My First Publication!

I have a story in the anthology, TIME'S RAINBOW: Writing Ourselves Back into American History.

My story is called "The Other Marie" and is, in part, about Marie Equi, the lesbian Oregon doctor who was a real rabble-rouser around the turn of the 20th Century. The story is in the anthology edited by Lori Lake and Kit Moss and is really a terrific collection.

You can get the anthology here:

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