Marianne MacDonald
Several years ago I read and very much enjoyed a mystery series written by Marianne MacDonald. Her protagonist was Dido Hoare, an independent 32-year-old London woman with a recently-failed marriage, a skeptical father (Barnabas Hoare, Emeritus Professor of English at Oxford University) who is keeping a pessimistic eye on her personal affairs, and Mr Spock, her resident ginger tabby – the one with the pointy ears. Dido is earning her living as a book dealer with her own small shop; and on the night when we meet her she is driving home along a dark country road with a carload of old books for which she has just paid too much: ‘Dido Hoare, the world-famous-soft-touch antiquarian book dealer.’
I really liked these books! Enough that I own them in hardcover.
Published in the years 1996 – 2006, the eight titles in the series are:
#2 Ghost walk
#3 Smoke screen
#4 Road kill
#5 Blood lies
#6 Die once
#8 Faking it
My question is this…
Where is she now?
I checked her website and the ‘latest’ post was written in August, 2007. As far as I can ascertain, Marianne MacDonald hasn’t written anything since that year.
According to her website, her last publisher was Severn House.
Does anyone know any current information about this author?
Have you read any of the Dido Hoare mysteries?
Fictionophile 
I loved her character and these books, but she seems to have disappeared.
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I loved her Dido Hoare series too. As Marianne MacDonald was born in 1934, I can only assume that her age of 85 – or perhaps poor health, has kept her out of the spotlight lately.
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I love the Dido Hoare mysteries! I, too, have read all of them and would like to know where the author is. A great post!
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It’s good to hear from someone else who has read this series. Thanks for letting me know.
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No, I have never heard of this author, but that is frustrating when there is no information.
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Yes Carla. Sometimes even Mr. GOOGLE fails to answer our questions. It is frustrating when you hit a brick wall when researching.
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I wish I could help you, but I am not familiar with this writer. I did put the first book in the series on my TBR, but this in itself is very mysterious.
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