Rachel Howzell Hall

Rachel Howzell Hall (born 1970) is an American author and mystery and thriller novels. She is best known for her series featuring Detective Elouise Norton, including Land of Shadows (2014), Skies of Ash (2015), Trail of Echoes (2016), and City of Saviors (2017).

Rachel Howzell Hall at the San Diego Writers Festival 2025

Biography

Hall was born in 1970^[1] and grew up in Los Angeles.^[2] Her family attended a Seventh-day Adventist Church.^[3]

At age 33, Hall was diagnosed with BRCA-positive breast cancer while she was pregnant with her first daughter.^[4]

In her late 30s, Hall was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer.^[5]

Hall lives in Los Angeles with her family.^[2]

Awards

In 2019, CrimeReads includedThey All Fall Down on their list of the year's best crime novels.^[6]

In 2020, Publishers Weekly included And Now She's Gone on their list of the year's best mystery and thriller novels.^[7] They included These Toxic Things on the list the following year.^[8]

Awards for Hall's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	They All Fall Down	Anthony Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1]
		International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1]
		Lefty Award for Best Mystery	Finalist	[1]
	And Now She’s Gone	Goodreads Choice Award for Best Thriller/Mystery	Nominee	[9]
		Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller	Finalist	[10][11]
2021		Anthony Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1][12]
		Barry Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1]
		Lefty Award for Best Mystery	Finalist	[1]
		Shamus Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1]
2022	We Lie Here	Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller	Finalist	[13]
	These Toxic Things	Anthony Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1][14]
		International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel	Finalist	[1]

Publications

Essays

• Child, Lee; King, Laurie R., eds. (2021). "Finding Lou: The Police Procedural". How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook by Mystery Writers of America. Scribner. ISBN 9781982149437.
• Zackheim, Victoria, ed. (2020). "I Don't Know This Word". Private Investigations: Mystery Writers on the Secrets, Riddles, and Wonders in Their Lives. Seal Press. ISBN 9781580059213.

Novels

Detective Elouise Norton books

1. Land of Shadows. Forge Books. 2014. ISBN 9780765336354.^[15]
2. Skies of Ash. Forge Books. 2015. ISBN 9780765336361.^[16]
3. Trail of Echoes. Forge Books. 2016. ISBN 9780765381170.^[17]
4. City of Saviors. Forge Books. 2017. ISBN 9780765381194.^[18]

Standalone novels

• A Quiet Storm. Touchstone Books. 2002. ISBN 9780743226165.^[19]
• The View from Here. Amazon Digital Services. 2010.
• No One Knows You're Here. Beyond the Page. 2011.
• They All Fall Down. Forge Books. 2019. ISBN 9780765398147.^[20]
• And Now She's Gone. Forge Books. 2020. ISBN 9781250753175.^[21]
• These Toxic Things. Thomas & Mercer. 2021. ISBN 9781542027472.^[22]
• We Lie Here. Thomas & Mercer. 2022. ISBN 9781662500329.^[23]
• What Never Happened. Thomas & Mercer. 2023. ISBN 9781662504150.^[24]
• What Fire Brings. Thomas & Mercer. 2024. ISBN 9781662504174.^[25]
• The Last One. Entangled: Red Tower Books. 2024. ISBN 9781649377098.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)^[26]

Novellas

• Scorpions. Amazon Original Stories. 2024. ISBN 9781662517365.^[a]

Short stories

• Phillips, Gary; Brewer, Richard, eds. (2015). "Do No Harm". Occupied Earth: Stories of Aliens, Resistance and Survival at all Costs. Polis Books. ISBN 9781940610528.^[27]
• Graham, Heather, ed. (2020). "Down Girl". Shattering Glass: A Nasty Woman Press Anthology. Nasty Women Press. ISBN 9781734387902.

Notes

1. Scorpions is part of the Never Tell Collection.