Katherine Howell

Katherine Howell
Katherine Howell was born and raised in Sydney and after various jobs, including as an animal handler and bookshop sales assistant, she joined the ambulance service and worked as a paramedic for fifteen years while completing her Bachelor and Masters degrees in creative writing.

Her first novel, Frantic, was published in 2007 and featured a paramedic alongside Sydney police detective Ella Marconi in 'an adrenaline rush of a thriller' (Sydney Morning Herald). It won the 2008 Davitt award for best crime fiction. Her second book, The Darkest Hour, continued the pattern with Ella and another paramedic in 'a finely paced and engrossing novel' (Guardian UK). The third in the series, Cold Justice, made the Australian bestseller list and was described by the New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen as 'one of my favourite books of the year'. It also won the 2011 Davitt award for best crime fiction, making Katherine the only author to have won twice. Her fourth book, Violent Exposure, was described by Bookseller & Publisher as 'arguably her best yet - four stars', while the fifth, Silent Fear, was chosen as a 'Guaranteed Book You Can't Put Down' by the national Get Reading! programme.

Katherine has gone on to write three more Ella Marconi novels, Web of Deceit, Deserving Death and Tell the Truth. Katherine's books are published in multiple countries and languages and have been likened to the work of Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell. Katherine teaches writing and editing, and she lives in Queensland with her partner, who owns a bookshop.