About the author: Amanda Brenner is a native Midwesterner who has traveled extensively throughout the United States and now lives quietly with her husband in their suburban home. Her interest in writing began when westerns were popular attractions at the local theater. It seemed only natural that her first novel, Trail of Vengeance, should be in that genre. After a second western, Shadow of the Rope, she began to explore a new direction and completed three contemporary mysteries involving private investigator Sid Langdon, a self-doubting magnet for offbeat clients and hapless scenarios, the latest being The Mystery of the Nourdon Blue. Amanda enjoys learning from the books she reads, a characteristic reflected in the research she includes in her own works.