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Laura Caldwell

Born:
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Caldwell lives in Chicago. She attended Loyola University in Chicago and is currently an adjunct professor and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of Law.

Biography: Laura Caldwell is a Lawyer-turned-Author-turned-Humanitarian. She is a former civil trial attorney, now Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Director of Life After Innocence, published author of 10 novels and 1 nonfiction book.Lauras began her writing career in womens fiction and soon turned to mystery/thriller. Research of her sixth novel led her to Jovan Mosley, a young man held in Cook County holding cell for nearly six years. What transpired next is chronicled in Caldwells first nonfiction, Long Way Home.She is published in over 22 countries and translated into more than 13 languages.


Awards:

Primary Literary Genre(s): Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers

Email: info@lauracaldwell.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauracaldwellpage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraACaldwell
Website: http://www.lauracaldwell.com
Laura Caldwell on WorldCat : http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=laura++caldwell


Selected Titles

  A Clean Slate
ISBN: 9781459246348 OCLC: 1002097477

Red Dress Ink, [Place of publication not identified] : 2012.

A Clean Slate chronicles the days of Kelly McGraw, a Chicago woman who suddenly can't remember the last five months of her life, a time when she was dumped by her soon-to-be fianc? and laid off by the company she thought would make her partner. Overwhelmed and confused but otherwise feeling wonderful, she begins to realize that she has a clean slate in life. She can do anything she wants, go anywhere she wants, be anything she wants. But what, exactly, does she want? Follow Kelly on a journey that includes her search to discover what caused her memory loss, an internship with a bad-boy British photographer, a Caribbean photo shoot, her boyfriend's desire to come crawling back and, eventually, a brutal discovery that will cause her to reevaluate both her old and new lives.

A clean slate /
ISBN: 037325038X OCLC: 53354861

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : 2003.

A Chicago woman suddenly can't remember the past five months of her life and begins to realize she has a clean slate. She can do anything she wants, but what does she want?

Burning the map
ISBN: 9781459246331 OCLC: 864314092

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

The choices Casey Evers has made in her twenty-six years aren't exactly making her happy. In fact, her life is so on course-college, law school, boyfriend, job offer-that it's actually off. So, before she slides into fourteen-hour days at a Chicago law firm, she heads to Rome and Greece with her two best friends for one last hurrah. The thing is, her best friends haven't really been all that close to her since she started seeing John two years ago, she hasn't been all that close to John lately, and she's awfully partial to Mediterranean men ...

Burning the map /
ISBN: 0373250215 OCLC: 50925620

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : 2002.

Casey Evers and her two best friends head for Greece for one last hurrah. The only problem, she and her friends haven't really been all that close for the past two years. Set against the backdrop of sparkling beaches and old-world villages, Burning the Map ignites the fire within us all, to shine in unexpected ways.

  Claim of innocence
ISBN: 9781742776583 OCLC: 747854695

Harlequin Mills & Boon, Chatswood, N.S.W. : 2011.

Claim of innocence /
ISBN: 0778329321 OCLC: 704387161

Mira Books, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2011.

"Valerie Solara has been charged with poisoning her best friend. The prosecution claims she's always been secretly attracted to Amanda's husband, and with Amanda gone, she planned to make her move. Attorney Izzy McNeil left the legal world a year ago, but a friend's request pulls her into the murder trial. Izzy knows how passion can turn your life upside down. She thought she had it once with her ex-fiancé, Sam. Now she wonders if that's all she has in common with her criminally gorgeous younger boyfriend, Theo. It's Izzy's job to present the facts that will exonerate her client, whether or not she's innocent"--Page 4 of cover.

  Dr. Funster's think-a-minutes.
ISBN: 0894558110 OCLC: 56998277

Critical Thinking Books & Software, Pacific Grove, CA : ©2002.

Perfect for school, home, and travel, the activities in this collection of riddles and puzzles develops the creative thinking skills needed for better grades and test scores.

  False impressions
ISBN: 9781848453401 OCLC: 889523477

False Impressions /
ISBN: 0778313735 OCLC: 779876642

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2012.

"Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil is ready to take a break from private investigation and focus on her career in criminal law. But as a favor, she agrees to work with Madeline Saga, a beautiful art gallery owner who fears that artwork she has sold is fake. Who in Madeline's tight circle of artists and gallery owners is guilty of the forgeries? When Madeline's life is threatened, Izzy is suddenly asking a more troublesome question: Who wants the gallery owner dead? As the case spins out of control, there's only one person who makes Izzy feel safe-Detective Damon Vaughn. But getting close to her former nemesis is full of surprises. Astonishing truths about the glittering Chicago art scene will introduce Izzy to the deadliest art of deception"--Page 2 of cover.

Long way home :
ISBN: 9781439123027 OCLC: 464593301

Free Press, New York : 2010.

Nineteen-year-old Jovan Mosley, a good kid from one of Chicago's very bad neighborhoods, was coerced into confessing to a crime he didn't commit. Charged with murder, he spent five years and eight months in a prison for violent criminals. Without a trial. Jovan grew up on the rough streets of Chicago's Southeast Side. With one brother dead of HIV complications, another in jail for arson and murder, and most kids his age in gangs, Jovan struggled to be different. Until his arrest, he was. He excelled in school, dreamed of being a lawyer, and had been accepted to Ohio State. Then on August 6, 1999, Jovan witnessed a fight that would result in a man's death. Six months later, he was arrested, cruelly questioned, and forced into a confession. Sent to a holding jail for violent criminals, he tried ceaselessly to get a trial so he could argue his case. He studied what casework he could, rigorously questioning his public defenders. But time after time his case was shoved aside. Amiable, bright, and peaceable, he struggled to stay alive in prison. As the years ground on, he'd begun to lose hope when, by chance, he met Catharine O'Daniel, a successful criminal defense lawyer. Although nearly all cases with a signed confession result in a conviction, she was so moved by him, and so convinced of his innocence, that Cathy accepted Jovan as her first pro bono client. Cathy asked Laura Caldwell to join her and together they battled for Jovan's exoneration. Here is Laura's firsthand account of their remarkable journey. This is a harrowing true story about justice, friendship, failure, and success. A breakdown of the justice system sent a nice kid to one of the nation's nastiest jails for nearly six years without a trial. It would take a triumph of human kindness, ingenuity, and legal jousting to give Jovan even a fighting chance. Deeply affecting, Long Way Home is a remarkable story of how change can happen even in a flawed system and of how friendship can emanate from the most unexpected places--Jacket.

Look closely
ISBN: 9781460305812 OCLC: 863750466

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

Look CloselyThat's all the anonymous letter said, but attorney Hailey Sutter understands the meaning behind the well-chosen words. Someone wants her to investigate what happened to her mother, who died when Hailey was only seven. The death was ruled accidental, but Hailey begins having flashbacks that tell a different story: a pounding at the door ... her mother struggling to stand ... a man with a gold ring that flashed in the night as he held her mother's lifeless body. Obsessed with uncovering the truth, Hailey can't trust anyone, especially her father, whose secrecy both unnerves and protects her. Desperate to remember that fatal night, she seeks out the brother and sister who left home after their mother's death. But they have disappeared. It's soon clear to Hailey that the answer is right in front of her-all she has to do is find the courage to look closely ...

Look closely /
ISBN: 0778321835 OCLC: 60532782

Mira, Don Mills, Ontario : ©2005.

An anonymous letter causes attorney Hailey Sutter to investigate the death of her mother by hinting that the accident that killed her mother had actually been murder, and forces her to seek out her estranged brother and sister.

Question of trust /
ISBN: 0778313212 OCLC: 747531643

Mira Books, Don Mills, Ont. : 2012.

When attorney Izzy McNeil's home is broken into, right after her boyfriend, Theo, moves in, she ignores the coincidence. When Theo is arrested on charges of fraud, she wants to believe he's innocent. But when a neighbor is found dead, she can't ignore that something is very, very wrong. Izzy also can't forget how Theo was inexplicably turned down for a mortgage. Or his recent moody silences. Or how a stranger warned her that Theo needs to "accept responsibility". Thrust into Theo's case, Izzy must walk the line between attorney and lover to prove that Theo is innocent. But only Izzy can decide whether trusting Theo will keep her safe or throw her into unimaginable danger.

Red blooded murder
ISBN: 9781460305829 OCLC: 863763586

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

Chicago is the Windy City, and these days the winds of change are whipping Izzy McNeil's life all over the map. A high-profile job on Trial TV lands her in the hot seat. After a shocking end to her engagement, she finds herself juggling not only her ex-fianc', but a guy she never expected. And a moonlighting undercover gig has her digging deep into worlds she barely knew existed. But all of this takes a backseat when Izzy's friend winds up brutally murdered. Suddenly, Izzy must balance the demands of a voracious media and the knowledge that she didn't know her friend as well as she thought.

Red blooded murder /
ISBN: 0778326586 OCLC: 299694077

MIRA, Don Mills, Ontario : 2009.

A high-profile job on Trial TV lands Chicago lawyer Izzy McNeil in the hot seat. After a shocking end to her engagement, she finds herself juggling not only her ex-fiancé, but a guy she never expected. And a moonlighting undercover gig has her digging deep into worlds she barely knew existed. But all of this takes a backseat when Izzy's friend winds up brutally murdered. Suddenly, she must balance the demands of a voracious media and the knowledge that she didn't know her friend as well as she thought.

Red hot lies
ISBN: 9781460305836 OCLC: 863763550

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

They say bad things happen in threes. When her fianc', Sam, disappears on the same day her mentor and biggest client is killed, hotshot Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil starts counting. But trouble keeps coming. Sam is implicated in the client's death, her apartment is broken into and it's not just the authorities who are following her. Now, to find Sam and uncover her client's murderer, Izzy will have to push past limits she never imagined. Lucky for her she's always thrived under pressure, because her world is falling apart. Fast. And the trail of half-truths and lies is red-hot.

Red hot lies /
ISBN: 0778326500 OCLC: 290420915

MIRA, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2009.

"They say bad things happen in threes. When her fiancé, Sam, disappears on the same day her mentor and biggest client is killed, hotshot Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil starts counting. But trouble keeps coming. Sam is implicated in the client's death, her apartment is broken into and it's not just the authorities who are following her. Now, to find Sam and uncover her client's murderer, Izzy will have to push past limits she never imagined. Lucky for her she's always thrived under pressure, because her world is falling apart. Fast. And the trail of half-truths and lies is red-hot."--Page 4 of cover.

Red, white & dead /
ISBN: 0778326667 OCLC: 310399656

Mira, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2009.

"Izzy McNeil is hot on the trail of one of Chicago's most notorious gangsters. Not that he realizes the crimson-tressed enchantress, a self-proclaimed 'lapsed lawyer, ' is moonlighting as a private investigator. But when an unexpected run-in trashes Izzy's cover, she's swept into an evil underworld where she is definitely not safe. That is, until Izzy receives help from an unlikely source: the ultimate guardian angel. And the last person she ever dreamed she'd see again. Now Izzy is racing from Chicago to Rome, all the while battling personal demons, Mafiosi killers and red hot emergency desires ..."--Page 4 of cover.

The dog park /
ISBN: 0778317145 OCLC: 883861236

"Stylist Jessica Champlin knows it takes more than a darling goldendoodle to save a marriage. She and her ex-husband, investigative journalist Sebastian Hess, had too many irreconcilable differences for even their beloved dog, Baxter, to heal. So they've agreed to joint custody, and life has settled into a prickly normalcy. But when Baxter heroically rescues a child and the video footage goes viral, Jess and Sebastian are thrown together again, and her life takes some very unexpected twists. The line of dogwear she creates becomes wildly successful, and suddenly she's in the spotlight with everyone watching--the press, the new guy she's seeing, Sebastian and the past she never imagined she would face again. Soon there's only one person by her side--and it's the person she least expected. She's willing to open up to a new normal ... just as long as Baxter approves"--

  The dog park.
ISBN: 9781488744488 OCLC: 892115815

The good liar
ISBN: 9781460305850 OCLC: 863750467

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

Kate Livingston and Liza Kingsley have been best friends since their childhood in the suburbs of Chicago. They know everything about each other. Or do they'When Liza sets up the newly divorced Kate with Michael Waller, an elegant man sixteen years her senior, neither woman expects Kate to fall for him so soon. The relationship is a whirlwind that enthralls Kate ... and frightens Liza. Because Liza knows she may have introduced Kate to more than her dream man; she may have unwittingly introduced her to a dangerous world of secrets. And yet Kate marries Michael and follows him to a French-Canadian town called St. Marabel, where she begins to suspect that Michael isn't exactly who he seems. As each new suspicion arises, Kate finds herself investigating her husband, but what she doesn't know is that she's about to steer her friendship with Liza on a collision course that will race from the U.S. to Russia and from Canada to Brazil, and the betrayals she uncovers could cause the end of all of them.

The good liar /
ISBN: 0778325016 OCLC: 166386936

MIRA Books, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2008.

When her best friend Liza introduces her to Michael Waller, Kate Livingston is caught up in a whirlwind romance that leads to marriage, but soon discovers that her new husband is hiding a dark secret that could destroy them all.

The night I got lucky
ISBN: 9780373895311 OCLC: 61405626

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2005.

At 32, Billy Rendell isn't exactly where she thought she'd be. She is still waiting, possibly in vain, for that promotion to VP at the PR company she works for, and her marriage to handsome Chris seems to be in real trouble. Billy pays a visit to her kooky therapist, Blinda, and leaves with a good luck charm, a small frog. The next day, when Billy wakes up, things are different. Her formerly distant husband is attentive and loving, and she has received the promotion to VP at work and already has a posh new office. Billy is puzzled but soon settles in by firing a snooty coworker, Alexa, and engaging in a flirtation with the office hunk, Evan, whom she has always had a crush on. But as her perfect life rolls on, Billy is nowhere near as satisfied as she thought she would be.

The rome affair
ISBN: 9781460305867 OCLC: 863750622

Harlequin, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

It was an affair ... to regret. Rachel Blakely's charmed life is significantly tarnished after her husband Nick's infidelity, but she wants to give her marriage a second chance. Then a business trip to sun-drenched Rome with her best girlfriend Kit leads to a night of passion with a stranger - a one-night stand meant to signify the end of a painful chapter in her life. Rachel returns home determined to put the past behind her, and at first life seems golden again. Nick is more loving than ever, and following his promotion to senior partner in a prestigious plastic surgery practice, the couple is welcomed into Chicago's high society, where beautiful people live beautiful lives. But there is a dark side ... one that sends Rachel's life spiraling into a nightmare. It's clear everyone is guilty of something. But whose secrets will lead to murder'

The Rome affair /
ISBN: 0778323099 OCLC: 69853787

Mira, Don Mills, Ont. : ©2006.

Rachel Blakely, determined to put the past behind her, is welcomed into high society when her husband is promoted to senior partner in his medical practice, until her passionate indiscretion abroad resurfaces, plunging her into a nightmare.

The year of living famously
ISBN: 9781459246362 OCLC: 864313935

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : 2013.

Some girls seek fame, others have it thrust upon them ... Clothing designer Kyra Felis has never been one to worship celebrities-she'd rather read a good book or make a blouse out of an old tablecloth. She marries Hollywood up-and-comer Declan McKenna for love, with no inkling of how his newfound notoriety will send her life spinning out of control. But once Kyra reluctantly becomes a celebrity by association there's no turning back. And even though she has all the trappings of success, she can't do the things that make her happy-throw a party; drink a glass of wine (or four) at a quiet cafe; confide in her friends. When Declan's fame literally endangers Kyra's life, she starts to wonder, can she survive more than a year of living famously'

The year of living famously /
ISBN: 0373250754 OCLC: 56823245

Red Dress Ink, Don Mills, Ont. : 2004.

Some girls seek fame, others have it thrust upon them. . . Clothing designer Kyra Felis has never been one to worship celebrities--she'd rather read a good book or make a blouse out of a tablecloth. She marries Hollywood man-of-the-moment Declan McKenna for love, with no inkling of how his notoriety will send her life spinning out of control. But once Kyra reluctantly becomes a celebrity by association there's no turning back. And even though she has all the trappings of success, she can't do the things that make her happy--throw a party; drink a glass of wine (or four) at a quiet caf?; confide in her friends. When Declan's fame literally endangers Kyra's life, she starts to wonder, can she survive more than a year of living famously?

 

 

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