Alafair Burke

Alafair S. Burke (born October 1969) is an American author, professor of law, and legal commentator. She is the author of two series of crime novels, one featuring NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher, the other featuring Portland prosecutor Samantha Kincaid. Her books have been translated into 12 languages. Burke was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but was raised primarily in Wichita, Kansas, where her mother was a school librarian and her father, fellow mystery novelist James Lee Burke, was a professor of English. She traces her fascination with crime to BTK, a serial killer who was active in Wichita during the 1970s. Burke received her B.A. in psychology from Reed College, completing the senior thesis "Emotion's effects on memory: spatial...