Linda Stein

I'm a veteran newspaper reporter who has covered the courts and other topics for newspapers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Arizona.

I've been a writer since I was a child, scribbling stories and poems. I had a poem published when I was 10 years old, after my grandmother submitted it to a newspaper. I've always loved to read and, according to my mother, spent too much time with my "nose in a book." Reading kept me company since we moved nearly every year when I was growing up because of my father's job.

I live with my husband and dog near Philadelphia and have two grown children. In addition to reading, I enjoy long walks, painting and horseback riding.

I'm currently working on a sequel to my first novel, "Trenton Dead," which will incude some of the same characters, incluing Rachel Havens, a newspaper reporter. The working title is "The Princeton Problem."

Praise for Trenton Dead:

In the gritty world of the Trenton court system, things are not what they seem. A reporter covering her beat soon finds herself enmeshed in murderous plots, break-ins and courtroom intrigue. Before it all ends in this finely woven tale, the distinct outlines of the justice system and the criminal underworld will momentarily blur as boundaries are crossed and order is restored.

Author Linda Stein, herself a longtime courthouse reporter, invests this yarn with credibility and passion. She spins a sexy tale of diverse characters on an extra-legal romp in a city too preoccupied with itself to notice everything that goes on. You'll find this a satisfying read.

---Tony Hagen, city editor, The Times of Trenton

The title says it all. "Trenton Dead," Linda Stein's debut novel, explores the court system of the deteriorating, gang-colonized town of Trenton, N.J., where even minimal participation in the conviction of violent perpetrators could prove fatal if justice does not prevail quickly enough.

The murder of a beloved town judge ignites a malicious spiral of events, and the tales of quarrelsome jurists, distressed police officers, ambitious FBI agents and an audacious journalist intertwine to create a holistic vantage point of the city of Trenton and the threatening facades it has to offer. --Nicole Schaefer, Journal Register News Service