Part 4: Close-Up Talk Radio spotlights author Laura Elvebak

Houston, TX – If solving a mystery requires paying attention to even the smallest of details, writing a mystery is no different. Ideas can come from anywhere at any time; it’s simply a matter of being able to recognize them when they present themselves.

While working across the street from Houston’s Tranquility Park, long a refuge for the city’s homeless, mystery writer Laura Elvebak noticed a large mound of grass.

“I looked at that and thought, ‘What a great place for a body!’ recalls Elvebak. “That was the beginning of the book.”

Laura Elvebak is the author of the acclaimed Niki Alexander mystery series: 2008’s Less Dead and its follow-up, 2009’s Lost Witness. The series follows Niki Alexander, an ex-cop who quits the Houston police force to help the city’s troubled street children. Elvebak’s compelling stories and rich characters have made the books a favorite among readers, many of whom have described her novels as “impossible to put down.”

“Serial killers look at runaways, throwaways, prostitutes and homeless people as less dead,” explains Elvebak. “If something happens to them, nobody cares. But Niki does care and she’s going to help them.”

Now retired, Elvebak has devoted herself to writing full-time. Fans of the Niki Alexander mystery series will be pleased to learn she’s currently working on a third Niki Alexander novel tentatively titled A Matter of Revenge.