Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick.

Let’s see what Angela has to say.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
What is your name?
– – Angela Richman.

How old are you?
– – 41.

What is your profession?
– – Death investigator for Chouteau County, Missouri, home of the one percent and those who serve them. I work for the medical examiner’s office. I’m sort of a paralegal for pathologists. My profession was created in 1978 because there weren’t enough trained pathologists to handle crime scenes. I’m not a medical doctor, but I have the training to handle the crime scene. When there’s a murder or unexplained death, I’m called to the scene. I’m in charge of the body. The police are in charge of the scene.

Do you have a significant other?
– – I’m widowed. Donegan died suddenly of a heart attack. He was a college professor. I still can’t talk about it and I’m not ready to date. Please don’t ask me out or set me up with a “nice guy.” There’s only one man for me, and I’m grateful for the years we had.

Any children?
– – No.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
– – I’m an only child.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
– – I love animals, but it’s not fair to keep one with my schedule. But I live on the Du Pres estate and old Reggie Du Pres has retired racehorses in his barn. I’ve learned to ride them and I love to pet them and feed them peppermints.

What town do you live in?
– – Chouteau Forest, the largest city in Chouteau County. It’s about 40 miles from St. Louis, Missouri.

House or building complex?
– – A white stone house with a white gingerbread porch. My mother’s peonies are in the garden.

Do you rent or own?
– – I own my late parents’ house, a former guest house on the Du Pres estate. My parents both worked for Reggie. But there’s a hitch. Reggie can buy the house back for what my parents paid for it, which was $25,000. Reggie tried to hold that over my head at least once in Fire and Ashes, but fortunately, the situation worked out and I kept my home.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
– – The big leather couch in my living room, in front of the fireplace. I like to read there.

Who is your best friend?
– – Dr. Katie Kelly Stern, assistant medical examiner for Chouteau County. Katie is fearless, funny and foul-mouthed. At first glance, she looks plain, but her intelligence and humor have captivated the most eligible bachelor in Chouteau County.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
– – Not sure. I’m a professional death investigator, but DIs aren’t supposed to solve crimes. That’s the detectives’ job. But when I see blatant injustice, like in Fire and Ashes when Mexican-American Kendra Salvato was being railroaded for murdering her fiancé, or in Brain Storm, when the brain surgeon who saved my life was unjustly accused of murder, I use the resources I have to find the real killer.

Ice Blonde, my new novella, was another case. Sixteen-year-old Juliet La Rouche, a rare ice blonde, was dating Dex, a mechanic’s son. Her parents disapproved, so Juliet sneaked out of the house to go to a Christmas holiday party with Dex. The party had drinking and drugs, and afterward, Juliet had a fight with Dex. She ran off into the woods in below-zero weather and disappeared. Juliet’s parents came to me for help. I wasn’t supposed to be working that case, either – and the last thing I wanted was a teenage death at Christmas. So I used my contacts to go into the closed world of over-privileged adults and teens, hoping to save the girl.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– – My favorite cop is a new hire from Chicago, Det. Jace Budewitz. My least favorite is Det. Ray Greiman. He’s just plain flat out lazy.

Favorite meal?
– – Dinner at Gringo Daze, our local Mexican restaurant.

Favorite dessert?
– – Anything chocolate.

Favorite hobby?
– – Horseback riding.

Favorite vacation spot?
– – What’s a vacation?

Favorite color?
– – Blue.

Favorite author?
– – Mark Twain, another Missourian.

Favorite sports team?
– – The St. Louis Cardinals.

Movies or Broadway?
– – Broadway.

Are you a morning or a night person?
– – I’m a night owl, but when I’m on call, I have no choice. I’ve had to do vehicular fatalities at dawn. Maybe it’s better not to be wide awake for those.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– – Most death investigators have offices, but our chief medical examiner, Evarts Evans, took most of my cubicle space so he could have a Swedish shower and a putting green in his office. I have a tiny desk and an ancient computer, which is fine with me. I traded that for my freedom. I mostly work from home. When I’m on call, a Chouteau County detective will call to tell me there’s been a fatal accident, murder, or unexplained death in Chouteau County. I drive to the scene, which has been secured by the police, get the case number, and take photos of the body. The police have their own videos and photos, but mine are for the medical examiner. Then I open the body actualization – (identification) – forms on my iPad. Depending on the type of death, I have to get past the “Oh, my God” reflex and record what I see. I start at the head and work down to the feet. Anything on the body, including jewelry, has to be documented.

The dead do talk. They tell us how they died, if we’re willing to listen by observing and recording what we see.

You can read about Angela in Ice Blonde, an Angela Richman novella. The first book in the series is Brain Storm.

The last thing Chouteau County death investigator Angela Richman wants to do during the holidays is her job. So it’s with some trepidation that she agrees to help the desperate Mr. and Mrs. LaRouche when they show up on her doorstep.

Their daughter Juliet is missing. She was last seen leaving a high school party just before midnight, and they’d like Angela’s help getting their trusted local detectives involved. The officer assigned to the case―Chouteau newcomer Det. Jace Budewitz―is far too blunt and impolite for their liking. And with the weather murderously cold, they can’t bear the thought that their little princess is in the harsh winter wilderness.

Discreetly investigating Juliet’s disappearance, Angela finds herself struggling to break through the silence from the rich teenagers who knew Juliet and their infuriatingly detached parents. She also discovers that their vicious bias against the local working class has cast a shadow over the case.

The more she digs, the less Angela can comprehend the lengths the one percent will go to protect their own. Angela must work quickly as she searches for answers with the acute awareness that Juliet LaRouche edges closer to becoming just a memory.

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About the author
National bestselling mystery writer Elaine Viets completed the Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo. Elaine has written 32 mysteries in four series: the bestselling Dead-End Job series with South Florida PI Helen Hawthorne, the cozy Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper mysteries, and the dark Francesca Vierling mysteries. With the Angela Richman Death Investigator series, Elaine returns to her hardboiled roots and uses her experience as a stroke survivor and her studies at the Medicolegal Death Investigators Training Course. Elaine was a director at large for the Mystery Writers of America. She’s a frequent contributor to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris and Lawrence Block. Elaine won the Anthony, Agatha and Lefty Awards.

Visit Elaine at elaineviets.com.

All comments are welcomed.