Tooley, S.D. (Lee Driver, Sandra D. Tooley)

PERSONAL:

Born in Chicago, IL; married.

ADDRESSES:

Home—IN. E-mail—sdtooley@sbcglobal.net.

CAREER:

Writer, 1998—. Has worked variously as a secretary, administrative assistant for a mayor, technical writer, car salesperson, seminar coordinator, sales assistant, and casino dealer on a riverboat on Lake Michigan.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Reader's Choice Award, Best First Mystery, for When the Dead Speak; Book of the Year Award, Best Mystery, 2001, for Nothing Else Matters; Book of the Year Award, Best Mystery, and finalist, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category, Independent Publisher Book Awards, both 2003, and both for Restless Spirit.

WRITINGS:

The Skull: A Remy and Roadkill Mystery (juvenile mystery), Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2006.

"SAM CASEY" MYSTERIES

When the Dead Speak, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 1999.

Nothing Else Matters, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2000.

Restless Spirit, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2002.

Echoes from the Grave, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2007.

"CHASE DAGGER" MYSTERIES; AS LEE DRIVER

The Good Die Twice, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 1999.

Full Moon, Bloody Moon, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2000.

The Unseen, Full Moon Publishing (Schererville, IN), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Good Die Twice was adapted for audio by Books in Motion.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mystery novelist S.D. Tooley is the author of works in the "Sam Casey" series, featuring a detective with paranormal abilities, as well as the "Chase Dagger" series, written under the pseudonym Lee Driver. "I love watching science fiction movies and television shows but my imagination can't conjure up a Star Wars or X-Files-type plot," Tooley remarked to Cathy Sova on the Mystery Reader Web site. "I've compromised, though. I've managed to toss a little mythology and psychic powers, so to speak, in my novels."

When the Dead Speak introduces Sergeant Sam Casey, who communicates with the dead by placing her hands on their remains, a gift inherited from her grandmother, a Sioux medicine woman. In the work, Casey investigates a mystery dating back to the Korean War. A murder on a riverboat casino is the subject of Nothing Else Matters, the second Casey novel. In Restless Spirit, Casey learns that an inmate sits on death row for a murder he didn't commit. Tooley "is at her creative best in this latest mystery, keeping the pace relentless, the dialogue ear-perfect, and her characters believable and complex," noted Lisa DuMond on the SF Site. "If ‘believable’ seems an odd word to use to describe a paranormal mystery, it's only because you haven't entered her world yet."

Private investigator Chase Dagger, his shape-shifting Native American assistant Sara Morningsky, and the rest of Dagger's mysterious crew look into the murder of a woman presumed dead years earlier in The Good Die Twice. DuMond, again on the SF Site, praised the relationship between Dagger and his associates, writing: "These are people you want to follow about and eavesdrop on, just because you don't want to miss a single spark fly." In Full Moon, Bloody Moon, Dagger searches for a serial killer who may be a shape-shifter like Morningsky, and The Unseen concerns a thief with supernatural powers. "In Driver's novels it is impossible to separate the lure of the plot and the magnetism of the characters," DuMond commented. "Every piece works together as an integral part of the breathless, heart-pounding situation."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1999, Budd Arthur, review of When the Dead Speak, p. 840; October 15, 1999, David Pitt, review of The Good Die Twice, p. 421; April 1, 2000, Budd Arthur, review of Nothing Else Matters, p. 1438; October 15, 2000, David Pitt, review of Full Moon, Bloody Moon, p. 421.

Library Journal, November 1, 1999, Rex E. Klett, review of The Good Die Twice, p. 126; October 1, 2002, Rex E. Klett, review of Restless Spirit, p. 131; March 1, 2004, Rex E. Klett, review of The Unseen, p. 112.

Publishers Weekly, December 21, 1998, review of When the Dead Speak, p. 58; March 13, 2000, review of Nothing Else Matters, p. 66.

ONLINE

Books 'n' Bytes,http://www.booksnbytes.com/ (September 29, 2004), Harriet Klausner, review of Nothing Else Matters, Jon Jordan, "An Interview with S.D. Tooley—aka Lee Driver."

Crescent Blues,http://www.crescentblues.com/ (May 10, 2007), Ceridwen Lewin, review of Restless Spirit.

Midnight Blood,http://www.midnightblood.com/ (August 30, 2002), Linda Suzane, review of Nothing Else Matters; (March 7, 2004), review of Restless Spirit.

Midwest Book Review Online,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (May 10, 2007), Cindy Penn, review of Restless Spirit; (May 10, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of The Unseen.

MyShelf.com,http://www.myshelf.com (September 29, 2004), Pam Stone, reviews of When the Dead Speak, Nothing Else Matters, and The Good Die Twice; (May 10, 2007), Pam Stone, "March 2001's Author of the Month: S.D. Tooley," review of Full Moon, Bloody Moon.

Mystery Reader,http://www.themysteryreader.com/ (April 5, 1999), Thea Davis, review of When the Dead Speak, and Cathy Sova, "New Faces 13—S.D. Tooley."

Paranormal Romance Reviews,http://pnr.thebestreviews.com/ (July 8, 2002), Moni Draper, review of The Good Die Twice; (January 11, 2003), Har- riet Klausner, review of Restless Spirit; (March 10, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Full Moon, Bloody Moon.

Pop Syndicate,http://www.popsyndicate.com/ (February 14, 2007), Angela Wilson, review of The Skull: A Remy and Roadkill Mystery.

Rambles.net,http://www.rambles.net/ (May 10, 2007), Tracie Vida, review of The Unseen.

Reviewing the Evidence.com,http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/ (May 10, 2007), Barbara Franchi, review of Restless Spirit.

S.D. Tooley Home Page,http://www.sdtooley.com (April 15, 2007).

SF Site,http://www.sfsite.com/ (September 29, 2004), Lisa DuMond, reviews of The Good Die Twice, Full Moon, Bloody Moon, and Restless Spirit.

Wordweaving.com,http://www.wordweaving.com/ (April 20, 2000), Cindy Penn, review of Nothing Else Matters; (January 9, 2001), Cindy Penn, review of Full Moon, Bloody Moon.