Kane, Stephanie

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Kane, Stephanie

PERSONAL: Born in Brooklyn, NY. Education: Attended University of Colorado; graduated from law school.

ADDRESSES: Home—CO. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Scibner, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Briefly owned and ran a karate studio in Boulder, CO; attorney, first in banking law, then in criminal defense.

AWARDS, HONORS: Colorado Authors League Award, 2005, for Seeds of Doubt.

WRITINGS:

SUSPENSE NOVELS

Blind Spot, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Quiet Time, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Extreme Indifference, Scribner (New York, NY), 2003.

Seeds of Doubt, Scribner (New York, NY), 2004.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Sequel to Seeds of Doubt.

SIDELIGHTS: Stephanie Kane was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but migrated west for college, attending the University of Colorado, where she majored in Italian language and literature. After graduation, she briefly owned and operated a karate studio, and earned a second-degree black belt. She went on to attend law school, and to work at a prestigious Denver firm that specialized in banking law where she was eventually awarded a partnership. Shortly following this achievement, she went on vacation in Turkey, where she climbed Mount Ararat. Something about the trip and her level of achievement gave her a new perspective on her life, and when she returned home she quit her job and began to take classes with an eye toward applying to medical school. Though her test scores were good, she failed to gain acceptance to any of the schools she applied to, and instead returned to the law. This time, however, she was hired by a criminal defense firm, and was thrilled to be working in a courtroom. The new position served as inspiration when Kane began to write her legal suspense thrillers.

Kane's first novel, Blind Spot, introduces readers to criminal defense attorney Jackie Flowers, a Denver lawyer with a unique handicap to overcome: she's dyslexic. In an interview for LD.org, Kane explained why she chose this particular difficulty for her character. "I knew I wanted to write about a female lawyer—but I didn't want her to be me. To do that, I decided to give her both a challenge and an advantage that I never had as an attorney, thinking that this would keep me on the straight and narrow, and I wouldn't backslide into writing about myself." Kane determined that dyslexia would be a difficult thing to face as an attorney, since the job requires so much reading and research. Conversely, she gave her heroine the ability to think swiftly on her feet, which would give her the impression of strength in the courtroom along with minimizing the need for her to refer to written notes during a trial. A contributor for Publishers Weekly remarked that "Kane … can certainly weave a captivating yarn." Roland A. Soler and Phyllis A. Roestenberg, writing for Florida Bar Journal, stated that "Kane proves herself by delivering a creative work of fiction that is entertaining and suspenseful but also realistic."

Several books continue the "Jackie Flowers" series, including Extreme Indifference and Seeds of Doubt. In Extreme Indifference college freshman Amy Lynch manages to escape a mountain cabin in Colorado where she has been held captive, only to die of pneumonia she catches while wandering naked in the snow. Jackie Flowers finds herself defending U.S. District Judge Glenn Ballard, the owner of the cabin. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews remarked that the novel offers "sturdy intrigue in and out of court with an especially sharp eye for the riptides of power running just beneath the legal quiddities." Seeds of Doubt finds Jackie defending Rachel Boyd, a convicted murderer who has just finished a thirty-year prison sentence, only to be accused of killing again a mere days after her release. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that "Kane deserves to join the ranks of the big-time legal-thriller eagles."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2004, Jenny McLarin, review of Seeds of Doubt, p. 212.

Florida Bar Journal, December, 2000, Roland A. Soler and Phyllis A. Roestenberg, review of Blind Spot, p. 65.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2003, review of Extreme Indifference, p. 1103; September 15, 2004, review of Seeds of Doubt, p. 883.

Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2000, review of Blind Spot, p. 74; October 13, 2003, review of Extreme Indifference, p. 57; September 27, 2004, review of Seeds of Doubt, p. 36.