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This page lists novels, short story collections and non-fiction by Barbara D'Amato.

Cover images are, where possible, of the first US edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

The Hands of Healing Murder

Barbara D'Amato

1980

A Dr. Gerritt DeGraaf novel.

"After dinner, Dr. Adam Cotton settled in a chair by the fireplace to read, while his guests made up two tables of bridge. Engrossed in their game, no one left the room. And the two servants who were sitting in the hallway all evening, deep in conversation, claim that no one entered the room. But someone inserted a small surgical scalpel into the parietal bone of Dr. Cotton's temple, killing him instantly."

The Eyes on Utopia Murders

Barbara D'Amato

1981

A Dr. Gerritt DeGraaf novel.

"The Most Peaceful Town in the World boasts the sign leading to the quiet adult community of Young Lake. And it was—until they started shooting across the generation gap. First there were the "incidents": a broken arm, a scorpion sting, rocks hurled at the school bus. Next little Timmy Barkus was missing—until they found his body. And then the little girl... Gerritt DeGraaf had never seen such an unlikely assembly of suspects. And yet it had to be—one of these mild old people was frightened enough or insane enough to murder."

On My Honor

Malacai Black

1989

Originally published using the pen name Malacai Black. Subsequently published as by Barbrara D'Amato.

"Samantha Lawton, recently separated, is raising two sons by herself. Fortunately, they're in Boy Scouts, and, with no father in the house, she is glad they have positive male role models. After a series of fatal accidents, however, she starts having second thoughts - and these second thoughts grow stronger after a Scout is seen in the area of another 'accident'. Determined to protect her children by getting to the bottom of things, Samantha soon finds herself in trouble. But she is not the only one concerned. Henry Ax, the chief of police, has also noticed what's been going on, but he's not so worried about protecting the Boy Scouts—he's afraid that they might be the ones causing the accidents. Samantha has to learn who is doing this before her own sons end up as suspects - or, worse, before they end up victims themselves."

Hardball

Barbara D'Amato

1990

A Cat Marsala novel.

"A bomb explodes, taking the life of Louise Sugarman and injuring reporter Cat Marsala. As a controversial advocate for the decriminalization of drugs and for treating addiction as a medical problem, Sugarman has many enemies. Outraged by the attack, Cat resolves to find the killer. The investigation forces Cat to confront the issues and the people on both sides of the debate."

Hard Tack

Barbara D'Amato

1991

A Cat Marsala novel.

"Good food, rich company and a great story on how the other half lives combine for an assignment free-lance journalist Cat Marsala just can't pass up. Except for the fact that all this eating and making merry will take place on a gorgeous sixty-two-foot sloop—and Cat hates boats and water. But she has a nose for trouble even if she lacks sea legs, and trouble is definitely brewing aboard the Easy Girl. The yacht's passenger list reads like a television drama—complete with characters whose real lives are laced with passion, scandal, vengeance... and murder. The killer strikes behind a locked door—and there are witnesses to prove no one went in or out of the victim's stateroom. It's a crime that couldn't have happened. Now Cat is hunting a killer in the middle of Lake Michigan—risky business for a woman who can't swim."

Hard Luck

Barbara D'Amato

1992

A Cat Marsala novel.

"Chicago journalist Cat Marsala has just begun her assignment on the state lottery when murder falls into the picture literally as a lottery official takes a leap during the multistate lottery conference. Suicide... or murder? It’s curious to Cat—and to the police that the guy took his mighty plunge right before his meeting with her. Especially curious since he'd hinted at some great exposé material such as 'misappropriation' of lottery funds. Cat's investigation into the numbers game is fascinating, educational... and dangerous. Because the money is big, the stakes are sky-high - and a killer is not about to let a nosy free-lance journalist spoil the odds."

Hard Women

Barbara D'Amato

1993

A Cat Marsala novel.

"Does anybody care about a dead hooker? That's the question Chicago journalist Cat Marsala is wrestling with. The hooker, Sandra Love, is sleeping on Cat's couch in exchange for the inside scoop on life as a prostitute. Now she's dead in a gutter outside Cat's building and nobody seems to be in a hurry to solve the crime. Except Cat. Digging into the netherworld of prostitution, from the streetwalkers who trade sex for food, to the enormously high-priced independents, Cat's search for a killer takes her deep into the motives and motivations of hard women - and men - on both sides of a dirty game."

Hard Case

Barbara D'Amato

1994

A Cat Marsala novel.

"Cat figures on some quick bucks doing a feature on the life-and-death drama of one of Chicago's largest trauma centers. What she doesn’t figure on is finding the director dead in the staff lounge, a lump of gauze stuck in her throat. Now Cat's story has a whole new slant. Not every staff member is dedicated to healing - and Cat's next tour could be of the morgue."

Hard Christmas

Barbara D'Amato

1995

A Cat Marsala novel.

"Journalist-turned-sleuth Cat Marsala knows there's no such thing as easy money. But a feature story on Christmas tree farming does sound relaxing. And once she arrives at the DeGraaf farm, Cat finds a friendly, colorful family whose hard work spans generations. Then Cat learns about the mysterious death of Henry DeGraaf, Sr., the previous spring, and a palpable tension replaces the cheery air. Could the DeGraaf family closet be rife with skeletons? When a fresh corpse turns up, she's sure of it."

Killer.app

Barbara D'Amato

1996

A Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis novel.

"SJR Computer Systems is the largest, most powerful corporation of its kind. With secret tentacles that reach into all kinds of business, political, and government institutions, its power is mammoth. To Chicago cop Suze Figueroa, cyberspy is not in her job description - until a mysterious accident lands her computer engineer sister in a coma. Did her sister's "accident" have anything to do with the secret database at SJR Systems that she had just uncovered? With help from her beat partner, Suze investigates SJR and uncovers a greedy computer genius's horrific plan to commandeer the world's power centers."

Hard Bargain

Barbara D'Amato

1997

A Cat Marsala novel.

"She's an ace reporter. An amateur sleuth. And she's always clued in. But now Cat Marsala is faced with her toughest case, one that could put a friend's job—and life—on the line. A domestic-violence call turns into a case of murder—of one cop by another. The alleged killer is an officer in the unit of Cat's friend, Chief McCoo, and now his reputation is on the line. Department leaks begin to destroy his career—and dangerous incidents around the station soon follow. Now Cat must sift through the conspiracy to clear McCoo's name—before the unknown traitor resorts to murder."

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Barbara D'Amato

1998

A Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis novel.

"A beat cop dumped back into uniform twice for screwing up on the job, Aldo Bertolucci is consumed by jealousy and resentment of his older brother Nick -- Superintendent of the the Chicago Police. Aldo finally gets his chance at revenge when he discovers suppressed records concerning an illegal raid on a Black Panther stronghold back in 1969. But his scheme to connect his brother to the scandal may bring down the entire Chicago Police Department and tear apart his whole family from the inside out."

Hard Evidence

Barbara D'Amato

1999

A Cat Marsala novel.

"It begins with a romantic dinner for three: Chicago journalist Cat Marsala, her semi-significant other, Dr. Sam Davidian, and a temporary houseguest named Dapper, a Dalmatian with a bone to pick. Unfortunately, Dapper's doggie treat happens to be from a human cadaver. It's just one piece in a grisly puzzle that leads Cat to a panic-stricken butcher—and an elite catering service that's feeding the appetite of an ingenious killer. And piecing the mystery together has left Cat to wonder... What other evidence in this grisly murder remains to be seen?"

Help Me Please

Barbara D'Amato

1999

A Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis novel.

"An hour and a half after three-year-old Danielle Gaston is kid-napped from the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, a new Web site pops up on the World Wide Web--featuring Danielle Gaston. She's isolated in a room with no food and only water to drink. This live-action Web page is available to all net users around the world and is soon rebroadcast on CNN and other television networks. Since Danielle is the only child of a popular country-and-western singer and a senator, her case is a high profile one--and likely to end in heartbreak. Unless Deputy Chief of Detectives Polly Kelly can crack the case before the child is harmed."

Authorized Personnel Only

Barbara D'Amato

2000

A Suze Figueroa and Norm Bennis novel.

"For Chicago cop Suze Figueroa, home is a sanctuary, a quiet refuge from the crime, corruption, and tragedy she encounters everyday on the job. The creaky old Victorian house she shares with her little boy, her invalid sister, and her sister's family seems far removed from the threats and dangers of the mean city streets - or so she believes. The truth is far more terrifying, for, unknown to Suze, a stranger has moved into the house: an intruder who waits in the attic by day and prowls her home at night, spying on both the unsuspecting adults and the defenseless children. While Suze spends her work day tracking down an elusive serial killer, she has no idea that a much more personal danger lives under her own roof, eating her food, handling her gun, and watching her loved ones."

Of Course You Know That Chocolate Is a Vegetable and Other Stories

Barbara D'Amato

2000

A short story collection. Includes stories that feature Suze Figueroa / Norm Bennis and Cat Marsala.

• Dolley Madison And The Staff Of Life
• I Vant To Be Alone
• Hard Feelings
• The Lower Wacker Hilton
• Shelved
• Soon To Be A Minor Motion Picture
• If You've Got The Money, Honey, I've Got The Crime
• Stop Thief!
• See No Evil
• Freedom Of The Press
• Of Course You Know That Chocolate Is A Vegetable
• Motel 66

Hard Road

Barbara D'Amato

2001

A Cat Marsala novel.

"The story begins at a big centennial Oz festival in Chicago's Grant Park. Investigative reporter Cat Marsala rediscovers the wonderful world of Oz when she takes her six-year-old nephew Jeremy to meet Dorothy and the Tin Man and to explore the Yellow Brick Road, the Emerald City, and all the other Oz-inspired creations to be found at the summer festival celebrating a century of Oz books. It's opening day, and Cat is babysitting her brother Barry's young son while Barry, a professional events organizer, confers with dignitaries. But suddenly a day of pure delight turns into a scene of horror. Cat and Jeremy witness a murder, and the chief suspect is a man they both love - Barry. He can't be the killer, but Cat also can't deny what she saw with her own eyes."

White Male Infant

Barbara D'Amato

2002

"Dr. Dooley McSweeny and his wife, Claudia, dearly love the son they adopted from Russia four years ago. But when medical tests indicate that their little boy could not possibly have come from Russia, the couple is plunged into the dark, complex, and emotionally fraught world of international adoption. Who is their son? Where did he come from? How did he come to them? The answers to these questions threaten to destroy their marriage, their happiness—and their lives—as they explode a powder keg of betrayal and deceit."

Death of a Thousand Cuts

Barbara D'Amato

2004

"The Hawthorne House was once known for its remarkable success rate with autistic children. Now, fifteen years after it closed former residents have returned to Hawthorne House for their first-ever reunion. But the gala event turns into a bloody nightmare when the House's revered founder, Dr. Jay Schermerhorn, is found tortured to death in the mansion's basement. Schermerhorn had enjoyed a worldwide reputation for his innovative methods and compassionate treatment of autistic children. How could anyone have hated him enough to kill him? As Chicago detectives probe deeply into the history of Hawthorne House, a troubling picture emerges of a man who inspired both fear and hatred in the children and families who came to him for help."

Foolproof

Barbara D'Amato

Tor/Forge, 2009

"The morning of 9/11 Brenda Grant and Daniel Henderson met for coffee before going to their software firm in the World Trade Center. That casual act saved them from the Twin Towers' collapse, even as their friends and Brenda’s fiancé were killed and their company obliterated. Founding their own software security firm, they never forgot that morning of horror. Grant and Henderson then establish a clandestine division inside their company committed to covertly tracking down global terrorists. In a search involving Washington DC, Egypt, Italy and Turkey, they expose a plot to hijack a US presidential election, rig voting machines, and topple democracies worldwide."

Other Eyes

Barbara D'Amato

2011

"When archaeologist Blue Eriksen's book Goddess shot to bestsellerdom, no one was more surprised than Blue herself. Now she's studying ancient sites across the world, looking for evidence of the use of hallucinogens in long-dead religions. She believes that one of these substances may prevent or cure drug addiction. Surely that's a good thing--so why is someone trying to kill her? Leeuwarden Associates is the cover name for a deeply secret international organization that facilitates the production, delivery, and sale of illegal drugs worldwide. Leeuwarden considers Blue a threat to their drug empire and sends one of their enforcers to kill her. As she prepares for an isolated dig high in the Peruvian mountains, Blue has no idea that she is being hunted."

The Doctor, the Murder, the Mystery: The True Story of the Dr. John Branion Murder Case

Barbara D'Amato

1992

"In 1968, Dr. John Branion was found guilty of murdering his wife. After exhausting his appeals, he evaded authorities by fleeing to Africa. He was finally captured in 1983 - but his case was far from over. It would take another seven years for Dr. Branion to finally win his freedom - and for those who prosecuted him to admit that he could not have committed the murder, and that they knew it all along. Acclaimed mystery writer Barbara D'Amato was drawn to this story two decades after the murder, as Dr. Branion languished in prison, ill and without hope. Her meticulous research repeatedly led her to one startling conclusion: that it was impossible for Donna Branion's murder to have unfolded the way the police alleged. D'Amato deftly explores the intriguing facts of this shocking case - from the tragic blunders made by authorities to Branion's arrest, conviction, and years practicing medicine in Africa as a fugitive from justice. The result is a damning indictment of our criminal system - and the vindication of an innocent man."