Karen Kijewski (born 1943) is a writer of mystery novels, known for her Kat Colorado series. She was born in Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, the daughter of a University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 professor Clarence Glacken

Clarence Glacken

Clarence James Glacken was Professor of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley.He was known for a 1967 magnus opus, Traces on the Rhodian Shore, that demonstrated how perceptions of the natural environment shaped the course of human events over millennia...

, and received B.A. and M.A. degrees from UC-Berkeley. She was a high school English teacher in Massachusetts for almost a decade before dedicating herself to writing. A resident of Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, she made a living tending a bar while establishing herself as a novelist. Her first novel, Katwalk, was published in 1989 and received an Anthony Award

Anthony Award

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....

, for Best First Novel, and a Shamus Award

Shamus Award

The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....

, for Best First P.I. Novel. Kijewski is married and has two daughters.

Novels

• Katwalk (1989)
• Katapult (1990)
• Kat's Cradle (1991)
• Copy Kat (1992)
• Wild Kat (1994)
• Alley Kat Blues (1995)
• Honky Tonk Kat (1996)
• Kat Scratch Fever (1997)
• Stray Kat Waltz (1998)