Book Talk: Former Cleveland forensic scientist launches new crime series

Lisa Black writes what she knows: The former forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office writes novels about forensic scientists. Having just wrapped up two Cleveland-set series, she’s launching a new one with “Red Flags,” based out of the fictional Locard Institute in Washington, D.C.

It’s named for the real-life French criminologist Edmond Locard, who developed the contact tracing theory of forensic science, which states that every contact between two items leaves evidence such as fibers or oils.

The main character, Ellie Carr, works for the FBI and is called to a mansion overlooking the Potomac in response to the disappearance of a 4-month-old baby. She is astonished to learn that the mansion belongs to her cousin Becca, whom she has not seen in more than five years, and the baby is Becca’s son Mason.

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Although her presence would ordinarily be a conflict of interest, her unit is stretched thin and she’s told to stay. At the same time, Becca’s husband approaches Rachael Davies, an assistant director at the Locard Institute, to ask them to consult privately. He explains the source of their wealth — she’s a policy adviser to a Senate committee; he’s a lobbyist with a client who’s about to make him a billionaire, pending a Senate hearing. As they’re talking, Hunter gets a text: “We have your son.” He’s instructed to admit to rules violations at the hearing or he won’t see the boy again.

Rachael arrives at the mansion, introduces herself to Ellie and tries to claim the evidence she’s collected, to which Ellie’s response is “Oh, hell no.” The two women, with their doctorates and highest level of expertise, grudgingly work together. They discuss mitochondrial DNA and iodine sublimation with ease but know nothing about Special Purpose Acquisition Properties, which is how Hunter considered dodging some disclosures about his Senate hearing. The subject is a massive online gaming platform and it’s being challenged about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

While they work, three more children disappear. The ease with which children can be kidnapped is realistic and shocking.

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The suspenseful story includes little about Rachael’s personal life and even less about Ellie’s. It’s not announced if the next book in the series will be about one of the women, both working together, or another member of the Locard Institute.

“Red Flags” (338 pages, hardcover) costs $26 from Kensington Books. Lisa Black also wrote two excellent thrillers under the name Elizabeth Becka. She is a latent print examiner and certified crime analyst for the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida.

‘Akron Neighborhoods’

You may know where Firestone Park is, but what about Sherbondy Hill? They’re two of the neighborhoods included in “Akron Neighborhoods – Old and New,” an exhaustively researched pictorial by Akron historian Sharon Moreland Myers.

According to Myers, Akron has 25 neighborhoods, and she includes origins, early settlers, notable buildings and landmarks. It’s sad to read about buildings that have been demolished, but pleasing to see those that still exist, like the beautiful Art Deco terminal at Akron Fulton Airport. Myers describes “sub-neighborhoods and pocket neighborhoods,” and neighborhoods that are commercial developments, like High Hampton.

With industry, canals and trains came the need for hotels. Myers’ “Akron and Summit County Hotels Over the Years” begins in 1826, with a tavern at the corner of Main and Exchange streets. She chronicles the lavish and the sordid, some being the same buildings at different times. Make a game out of how many times the words “burned down” appear in the book.

Useful and informative as these books may be, the jewel is “The Town Crier, Kenneth Nichols, Akron Beacon Journal, 1941-1942” a compilation that reveals the warmth and generosity of the beloved columnist, who retired in 1981 and died in 1987. The delightful anecdotes and insights into wartime Akron life could provide months of bedtime reading.

There’s some troublesome racial language, mostly about the Japanese after the war began, and light annotation would be welcome for today’s readers for things like draft classifications and rationing.

“Akron Neighborhoods” (384 pages, $49.99), “Akron and Summit County Hotels” (127 pages, $21.99) and “The Town Crier” (394 pages, $21.99) are available in softcover from online retailers.

Sharon Moreland Myers is an alumna of Cuyahoga Falls High School and the University of Akron. She is one of a dozen authors who will sign their books at the inaugural Shelf Life Local Lit Fest Saturday in Cuyahoga Falls; see the event listings for information.

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Awards

The Ohioana Library has announced the winners of the 2022 Ohioana Book Awards. They include two National Book Award finalists: In fiction, Cleveland native Anthony Doerr, for “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” and in nonfiction, Hanif Abdurraqib of Columbus, for “A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance.” The awards will be presented Oct. 26 in the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse. See the list of winners at ohioana.org.

Events

Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Gabe Hudson signs his storybook “The Loving Wind,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday; Nancy Christie signs “Peripheral Visions and Other Stories,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library: Bill Shaffer talks about “The Scandalous Hamiltons: A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father’s Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of Tabloid Journalism” in a Zoom event from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. From 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nina Nesseth talks about “Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films.” Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Middleburg Heights branch, 16699 Bagley Road): NCAA basketball official Phil Bova discusses “Throwing Back the Chair,” Bova’s memoir (with co-author Nino Frostino) of 30-plus years as a referee, 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Portage County District Library (Garrettsville branch, 10482 South St.): Dave Schwensen, author of “The Beatles in Cleveland,” discusses his book and displays memorabilia, 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Register at portagelibrary.org.

Massillon Public Library (Pam S. Belloni branch, 12000 Navarre Road SW, Brewster): Bob Lung, who runs the annual Fantasy Football Expo in Canton, talks about “Fantasy Football Consistency Guide,” 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Tuscarawas County Public Library (121 Fair Ave., New Philadelphia) Wanda Brunstetter launches “The Applecreek Announcement,” third in her Creektown Discoveries romance series set in Walnut Creek, 6 p.m. Tuesday. Register at tusclibrary.org.

Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Marcia Chatelain, author of “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America,” winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History, discusses fast-food restaurants and their influence in the Black community, in a virtual appearance from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Register at smfpl.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Fairview Park branch, 21255 Lorain Road): Bette Lou Higgins discusses “Lost Restaurants of Downtown Cleveland,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

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B-Side (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd. Cleveland Heights): David Spero, former entertainment manager and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame executive, signs “A Life in the Wings: My Sixty Year Love Affair with Rock and Roll: A Memoir,” his memoir with K. Adrian Zonneville, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Rocky River Public Library (1600 Hampton Road): Malcolm Wood of Rocky River signs his self-published mystery novels and talks about his upcoming work, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Berea branch, 7 Berea Commons): Former TV anchor Jack Marschall signs “From the Heart: Words to Inspire a Weary World,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): The One Full Wit Reading Series features Chris Drabick, Fatima Al Matar, Laura Owsiany, Zach Peckham and Justin Todd Smith, 7 p.m. Thursday.

Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Riley Black joins the Peculiar Book Club in a virtual event to talk about “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World.” The cost is $10. Register at loganberrybooks.com. The first of three Author Alley events, the BiPOC Author Showcase, features writers who are Black, indigenous, and people of color, beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday. The second and third events will take place Aug. 13 and 20.

Canal Fulton Public Library (154 Market St. NE): “4x4 Fantasy Author Extravaganza” features authors Dan Arman (“The Maiden’s Thorn”), Mary Arman (“Ty and the Blood Fairy Prince”), David F. Balog (“Necromancer’s Lament”) and Cat Russell (“Pinholes: Traveling Through the Curtain of the Night”) reading from and signing their works from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Wayne County Public Library (220 W. Liberty St., Wooster): Wooster author Marcy Campbell launches her picture book “The More You Give,” 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Register at wcpl.info.

Pavilion at Falls River Square (2085 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls): The inaugural Shelf Life Local Lit Fest brings authors Michael Gershe (“The Magic of Life”), Michael Haase (“School of Fish”), Megan Higgins (“My Super Special Magic Shoes”), MaggyGrace Howe and Susan Bagby (“The Magical Future Song Book”), Amanda Kowalsky (The Garbage Bandits and the Attack of the Trash”), Mary Meyer (“Lyla’s Encore”), Sharon Moreland Myers (see above), Patricia Miller (“Joshua: Life After Theos”), Barbara Marie Minney (“If There’s No Heaven”), Mark Morelli (“Effwords”), Art Reed (“Track Star”) and Jim Woods (“Bite the Bullet”). Food and merchandise vendors, raffles noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. See the list and schedule at shelflifebookstore.com.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former Cleveland forensic scientist launches new crime series