Barbara Wilson Biography

American crime writer, born in Long Beach, California. She has a background in feminist publishing and the women's movement. Working within the conventions of a popular form, Wilson's crime novels are predominantly concerned with progressive and feminist social issues. Her first three novels, Murder in the Collective (1984), Sisters of the Road (1986), and The Dog Collar Murders (1989), all feature the reluctant investigator Pam Nilsen, the part-owner of a printing press active in leftist and lesbian circles in Seattle. As Nilsen becomes embroiled in mysteries, and develops a professional and sexual relationship with Hadley, a female associate, Wilson demonstrates an active concern with the gender of her protagonist. Wilson excels at problematic endings where the solution to the murder mystery raises more complex problems than it solves. Her gift for compelling and witty narratives on serious questions can be seen in Gaudi Afternoon (1990), featuring a new central figure, the Irish-American Spanish translator Cassandra Reilly.