Tierney’s Time Had Come

I just read in Mystery Fanfare that Ronald Tierney, a mystery novelist recently relocated from San Francisco to Palm Springs, passed away on September 2 at age 72. His death is blamed on what one friend describes as “a great battle with cancer for multiple years.”

Ron was most generous with me and supportive of my blogging efforts. He sent his books my way, made comments about the things I wrote in The Rap Sheet, and backed me up on those occasions when my condemnations of Donald Trump on Facebook attracted the wrath of fire-breathing right-wingers. Ron penned two pieces for The Rap Sheet over the years—a “forgotten books” post about Diva, by the pseudonymous Delacorta; and an article about his own 2011 novella, Mascara. By inadequate way of exchange, I included his 2015 Deets Shanahan novel, Killing Frost, in a piece about gumshoe fiction I contributed to the Kirkus Reviews Web site.

Below is Mystery Fanfare’s brief recap of the author’s life:

Ronald Tierney's The Stone Veil [1990] introduced semi-retired, Indianapolis-based private investigator “Deets” Shanahan and the love of his life, Maureen. The book was a finalist in St. Martin Press’ “Best First Private Eye Novel” competition, and [was] nominated for the Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award for “Best First Novel.” Killing Frost is the eleventh in the highly regarded series Booklist said was “packed with new angles and delights.” San Francisco is the setting for his lighter series the Library Journal calls a “winner.” The four [Carly] Paladino/[Noah] Lang books feature an eclectic collection of investigators in the equally eclectic neighborhoods of one of the world’s most exciting cities. Good to the Last Kiss [2011] is a dark mystery that captures the insane world a serial killer creates.

Ron Tierney was founding editor of NUVO Newsweekly, an Indianapolis alternative newspaper, and the editor of a San Francisco monthly. After living 25 years in the “City by the Bay,” he moved to Palm Springs, where he was working on several writing projects.

Also worth reading is Ron’s Web site biography page.

Like the late blogger Randy Johnson, Ronald Tierney was someone I never actually had occasion to meet, but who I came to know and like through our electronic correspondence and because of our mutual interest in the delights of crime and mystery fiction. My world—and I’m sure that of others—is poorer for his departure from it.