About Author

BLAIR HOWARD
“If you think you can, or if you think you can’t…
you’re right!”

Me? I’m a retired journalist turned mystery writer. Until early in 2015, I wrote “sweeping historical epics” and thus I am the author of five historical novels, including the highly acclaimed Chickamauga… yeah, yeah it is. It’s a novel of the American Civil War. In July of 2015 I decided the research was more than I wanted, so I decided to try my hand at writing mystery novels, and so we have Harry Starke, a hard-boiled detective, “the original tough guy, wealthy with finely tuned senses and good instincts, as well as a rougher Mike Hammer type of attitude.” Really? Yeah, that’s what they say… the readers. Harry Starke, the first in the series, was released in mid-September 2015. The second book, Two for the Money, was released October 19 the same year. These were quickly followed by Hill House, Checkmate, GONE, Family Matters, Retribution, Calypso and Without Remorse. Calaway Jones, EMOJI and Hoodwinked bringing the total number of books in the Harry Starke series to 12. Number 13 should be available sometime June 2018. There is also a spin-off series featuring Lt. Kate Gazzara. These are pure police procedurals (American, of course).

It’s highest honor the Commonwealth can bestow. But to continue, I am the author of more than 40 books and more than 4,500 magazine, newspaper, and web articles. For seven long and dreadful years, I ran the Golf Travel channel for the New York Times company, and I continued to do so, even after the NYT sold the company in 2013, for 3 more years – 10 in all. My work has appeared in many national and international publications, including Delta’s Sky Magazine, PHOTOgraphic magazine, The Mail on Sunday, The Walking Magazine, Petersen’s Hunting Magazine, The Boston Herald, The Detroit Free-Press, The Anchorage Times and many more. Now I just write pulp fiction. It’s fun and it keeps the little gray cells sharp. Somebody else said that, right? Hercules, I think it was… well, maybe not.

The first four books in the new series are Jasmine, Cassandra, Saffron, and Sapphire. Number 5 in the series, yet to be titled, should be available in June 2019. The second book, Two for the Money, was released October 19 the same year. These were quickly followed by Hill House, Checkmate, GONE, Family Matters, Retribution, Calypso and Without Remorse. Calaway Jones, EMOJI and Hoodwinked bringing the total number of books in the Harry Starke series to 12. Number 13 should be available sometime June 2018. There is also a spin-off series featuring Lt. Kate Gazzara. These are pure police procedurals (American, of course). The first four books in the new series are Jasmine, Cassandra, Saffron, and Sapphire. Number 5 in the series, yet to be titled, should be available in June 2019. I am also Kentucky Colonel, an honor bestowed upon me in 2008 by the then Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Steven L. Beshear. I’m quite proud of that.

LATEST RELEASE

Alexandra (Kate Gazzara Series Book 11)

by Blair Howard

It’s Kate Gazzara’s first day on the job as a detective, and she has a new partner. One with an attitude and a past.

Investigating a murder solo is one thing, joining forces with a partner, as a new female homicide detective is a whole new level of complicated. When the death of a second rich girl is reported, the game is on to catch the killer. Are the murders the work of a serial killer or has a green-eyed monster reared its head?

Can Kate and her new partner put their differences aside to work the case together and catch a murderer?

OTHER BOOKS BY BLAIR HOWARD:

Harry Starke Series Book 1: Harry Starke

A tragic death. A guilt-ridden PI. A brutal path to justice.Private Investigator Harry Starke spends sleepless nights wandering the city streets. His perpetual attempt to clear his head takes a dark turn when a frightened young woman runs past him and hurls herself off a bridge to her death. Wracked with guilt over letting the woman’s life slip through his fingertips, he vows to find out what drove her to make that fateful plunge.

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Harry Starke Series Book 10: Calaway Jones

When a detective is this good, his family inevitably ends up in the crosshairs…

Harry Starke has lost count of the criminals he’s put behind bars, and death threats are part of the job description. But when a sniper’s bullet comes within inches of Starke’s wife, his whole world changes. It turns out an ex-congressman with an axe to grind doesn’t just want to kill the detective. He wants Starke to suffer…

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Harry Starke Series Book 11: EMOJI

There’s a Fine Line Between Genius and Insanity…

Maggie Hart, a student at UTC, was abducted on Labor Day. Her body was found five days later on the RiverPark. She’d been strangled. She wasn’t the first, nor would she be the last. Harry Starke, recovering from a near-death experience, is dragged reluctantly into an investigation that quickly turns into a cat and mouse game between Harry and a very clever killer, Harry being the mouse. Emoji is an action-packed, lightning-paced story with an explosive finale you’ll not see coming.

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Harry Starke Series Book 12: Hoodwinked

When horseplay becomes deadly, it’s up to a retired detective to clear his friend’s name…

Harry Starke is chomping at the bit to take up his old badge. When his longtime friend becomes the lead suspect in his wife’s murder, he fights to get back on the case. Despite damning evidence and his old partner’s warnings to steer clear, Harry is determined to prove his friend’s innocence.

Hoodwinked is the 12th standalone mystery in the captivating Harry Starke series. If you like grizzled private investigators, high-society intrigue, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Blair Howard’s twisty mystery.

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Harry Starke Series Book 13: Apocalypse

An elite Iranian military unit. A missing tactical nuclear weapon. An aging Vietnam vet with a taste for violence. It began when an FBI informant was brutally gunned down outside a soccer stadium…

Apocalypse is the 13th standalone novel in a series of hard-boiled thrillers. If you like tough-as-nails heroes and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love Blair Howard’s latest gritty, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

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Harry Starke Series Book 14: Aftermath

An elite force of private military contractors. A ragtag band of aging war heroes and civilians.

It began with a simple kidnapping. It ended in an all-out private war. In Harry Starke’s world, nothing is ever quite as it seems. His wife is lying in hospital in a coma. His best friend and business partner is not who he says he is.

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Harry Starke Series Book 2: Two For The Money

Who Killed Tom Sattler? Who Stole $350 Million from New Vision Strategic Investments?

It’s up to Harry Starke to Figure it out. The call came on a Tuesday evening in the middle of August at around nine-thirty. It was from an old school friend that Harry Starke hadn’t heard from in almost five years, and he hadn’t thought about him in almost as long.

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Harry Starke Series Book 3: Hill House

For More Than Ten Years She Lay Beneath the Floorboards of Hill House

For more than ten years, she waited. Who was she? Who put her there? Why? Harry Starke vows to find the answers to those questions, but how?

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Harry Starke Series Book 4: Checkmate

They found Angela Hartwell lying in the shallow waters beside the golf course. There was not a mark on her, yet she was dead, strangled. How could that be?
Once again, it’s up to Harry Starke to find out. The investigation takes him into a world he’s very familiar with, a world of affluence, privilege and… corruption.

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Harry Starke Series Book 5: GONE

Emily Johnston is GONE. She’s been GONE for more than a week. She’s also the daughter of Harry Starke’s one-time boss and nemesis, Chattanooga Police Chief Wesley Johnston. Harry and Chief Johnston haven’t seen eye-to-eye in a long time, but when Johnston needs help, he knows there’s only one man he can turn to.

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Harry Starke Series Book 6: Family Matters

Harry Starke loves a cold case, but this one is really cold – more than a hundred years cold.

Family Matters is a whimsical tale, a flight of fancy. It takes place on the lonely coast of Maine, where Amanda, a true believer in the paranormal, has inherited a haunted house. Or at least that’s what the rumors say.

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Harry Starke Series Book 7: Retribution

Shadows from the past. A brutal murder. This time it’s personal.

It takes only one phone call to turn Harry Starke into a monster. It begins when Harry’s kid brother is brutally murdered, his body thrown into the murky waters of the Tennessee River.

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Harry Starke Series Book 9: Without Remorse

On a balmy afternoon in May 2002, wealthy stockbroker Peter Nicholson was turkey hunting with three friends in Prentice Cooper State Forest when he tripped, fell on his shotgun, and accidentally shot himself… dead, but did he? 15 years later, as a last resort, Nicholson’s mother asks Harry Starke to find the truth. As we all know, Harry loves a cold case, but…. As always, there’s a twist in the tale.

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Ideas & Inspiration

BLAIR’S BLOG

Update July 29

Good news, at least for me. Just returned from the surgery center after enduring a throat…

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Testimonials & Reviews

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

Awesome!

Richard A. Grammer

“Bravo, Blair! Another awesome and exciting novel of Harry Starke! I couldn’t put it down! I read it in a half day. I think the lake you mentioned is at the Vulcan Quarry. It is at least 450 feet deep. I was a security officer there for a couple of years. If the bomb had gone off I would have been flattened! I now work at at Passenger Flats behind the Choo Choo. I’m a security officer there! I’m sorry but Harry shouldn’t wear pink!”

A plus; highly recommended.

Jack L. Knapp

“Started slow. I wondered at first, but once the action picked up it never stopped. This is a real ‘barn burner’–okay, it promises to burn more than a barn, but to explain further would be to reveal too much about the plot!
Buy it!”

Excellent mystery thriller!

Renee Arthur

“Apocalypse starts with an assassination that must take place before the murdered man meets with his handler. The next afternoon Harry walks in to his office to find out that FBI agent Carl Parker is in his actual office, sitting in Harry’s chair, behind Harry’s desk. They have a history and needles to say, Harry is pissed. Carl wants Harry to find Shady Tree because they think he’s involved with terrorists. He’ll find Shady Tree alright, but then he’s done. Or so he says… Oh, this book is a good one! It’s more of a thriller than Harry’s usual mystery solving as a private investigator. Excellent plot along with great characters we’ve come to love or hate. Whatch out terrorists, Harry is coming!”

All Harry at Twice the Speed!

Brad Friedlander

“Blair Howard gives us a change of pace in his harry Starke series. This is a true thriller that includes many of the characters from the previous books. It is clearly part of the overall story arc even if the style is a little different. Blair doesn’t sacrifice his attention to detail and character development even as he gives us a really fast-paced effort to thwart a terrorist plot. Harry is about to become a father and weighs his responsibilities to Anna and his unborn child vis-a-vis saving thousands of lives. This is a quick and enjoyable read.”

Another great read!

James C.

“A great book from Blair Howard. Blair has did it again . Great plot and story line keeps you turning pages till the end. Well written with a great cast of characters who are likable and well defined. I highly recommend this book and this author.”

Can't stop reading!

Kimberly R.

“I stumbled upon Harry Starke and am so very glad I did. Following Harry and Amanda and Kate along this journey has been a joy. I gave grown to care about them and wish them the best. The writing and story are easy to follow. You have to keep reading to find out what happens next. You really need to start with book 1 and read them all.”

Blair does it again.

Mary Baldwin

“Once again I was hooked by the first page. It was like coming home to family. Lots of action and new surprises too. This has got to be my favorite author! Can’t wait for what’s next!!!”

Action packed.

Carlin Eagan

“Well it’s Mother’s Day and between seeing most of my children and grandkids I managed to read this entire book in between visits, because That’s what I wanted to do today. Loved the book and all the action! Thanks for writing another action packed book.”

Can't put it down!

Carol Y.

“Don’t start this book late at night. You won’t be able to put it down! A fast paced thriller that leaves you breathless! Totally unpredictable story line…this takes Harry Starke to a whole new level! If you enjoy thrillers, you will not want to miss this. Can’t wait for the next book!!”

Discover Exiting World of Mystery

With Blair Howard’s
World Famous Harry Starke Series!