Meet Robin Burcell. New York Times bestselling author, Robin Burcell, takes challenges in stride. Before earning two Anthony Awards and the Barry Award for her highly acclaimed Kate Gillespie, San Francisco PD series, Robin carved out a career in law enforcement that spanned almost three decades. She was the first female police officer hired in Lodi, California, breaking through barriers and the biases involved as she moved from uniformed patrol to hostage negotiator, then detective. Today, with a readership that spans from North America to the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and beyond, Robin has penned more than one inimitable series.
During her eighteen years in the Lodi police department, Robin’s assignments included investigating child abuse, crimes against persons (sexual assaults, assault and battery, robberies) and crimes against property (burglaries, embezzlements, thefts). As a hostage negotiator, she worked with SWAT, often responsible for navigating through and defusing high-pressure situations with armed and barricaded suspects. She also testified as an expert witness in the fields of child abuse, forensic art and fingerprints.
An FBI Academy trained forensic artist, Robin was tapped by multiple police agencies—and the FBI—for those skills. Her sketches were used to solve homicides,
bank robberies, hate crimes and other criminal offenses. In addition to using her artistic proficiency with live witnesses, she frequently assisted in determining the identity of the dead, working inside a morgue to capture the true physical appearance of victims who were beyond recognition. Robin concluded her wide-ranging career as a Criminal Investigator for the District Attorney in Sacramento County
Before she retired from law enforcement, Robin set her sights on being a successful author. Assigned to extradite a California prisoner from Phoenix, she detoured after landing at Sky Harbor Airport and drove to the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale—even though it wasn’t open. Standing in front of the Poisoned Pen for the first time, she asked her partner to take her photo. She later explained, “Someday, I thought, I was going to go to the Poisoned Pen and sign my own books.” Robin has accomplished that feat many times over.
Her international thriller series, featuring FBI Forensic Artist Sydney Fitzpatrick, includes Face of a Killer, which garnered a starred review from Library Journal and The Kill Order, named one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2014.
In 2015, legendary, worldwide-bestselling author, Clive Cussler asked Robin to collaborate with him on the Fargo series. Their first novel, Pirate launched in 2016 and continued the suspense saga of husband-and-wife team, Sam and Remi Fargo—a dynamic, adventurous duo known for treasure hunting. Robin and Clive’s third book together, Oracle, received a starred and boxed review from Publishers Weekly. Two more globally acclaimed Fargo novels followed, all reaching New York Times bestseller status.
Wrath of Poseidon, their fifth co-written novel (twelfth in the series), is a prequel and relates how the Fargos met. Publisher’s Weekly calls it “intriguing” and said, “Readers will keep turning the pages to see what happens next.” The next Fargo book, The Serpent’s Eye, is scheduled for release in 2021.
With an intercontinental following, multiple awards and novels translated into French, Japanese, Russian, Italian and German, Robin continues to meet the challenges of a writing career.
Robin is a member of the national Sisters in Crime organization, Sisters in Crime Grand Canyon Writers and numerous other professional writers associations. She and her husband, Gary, live in Central California with their two beautiful standard poodles, Poppy and Charli. While life as a full-time author is a departure from her previous law enforcement profession, it’s not without its unique experiences. Robin smiles when she relates one distinctive honor she received. In 2018, she was inducted into the Dick Tracy Hall of Fame, complete with her appearance in the world-famous comic strip.
To learn more about Robin go to www.robinburcell.com