True Crime

Natalie Dvorak #14:Twenty years have passed since the sensational March Madness murders Natalie Dvorak worked as a State Police detective in Vermont. Now the subject of a true crime network TV show, Natalie is allowed to watch an advance copy of the episode. Natalie is retired from the force and living in the desert southwest in the wake of a personal loss. She is critical of the program at first, talking back to the TV screen and recording rebuttal remarks for relatives who will be watching it later. But Natalie gets caught up in the memories of this case, two murders connected with a program meant to help troubled teenagers. Some of the kids got involved in illegal activity that may have put themselves and others in extreme danger. Natalie solved the case in 1987 and now watches it unfold all over again after the turn of the century. I was born fifty-seven years ago in the Bible belt but grew up in a Massachusetts college town. I am married and my wife and I have moved frequently since we met. We've lived in Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New Mexico, as well as a brief residency in Berlin, Germany. I have worked peripherally in health care, banking, and insurance. In addition to writing, I have done a bit of amateur acting and comedy performances. I am afraid of heights but public speaking doesn't scare me. My wife and I live in Albuquerque with our chihuahua. Natalie Dvorak is a detective sergeant with the Vermont State Police in the 1980s. She's short but tough, more likely to subdue criminals with Taekwondo than by discharging her service revolver. Mature and experienced, Natalie solves crimes through interviews and observation. She is ethical and incorruptible, tenacious and courageous. As one of the first women recruited to the State Police, Natalie has had to win the respect of her male colleagues, whether or not she outranks them. Wrongdoers who underestimate Sergeant Dvorak put themselves in peril while victims have her commitment to finding justice for them. Natalie's personal life is complicated by her own insecurities and a sometimes difficult personality.