In her short life, Virginia Rath (1905-1950) wrote fourteen mystery novels with two series detectives. Her first stand-alone novel was written when she was sixteen years old and published in Complete Detective Novel Magazine. She then wrote five novels featuring Sheriff Rocky Allan of rural northern California and eight novels with Michael Dundas, a suave couturier (not ‘dress-maker’!) of San Francisco.
Rath was a California native, born in Colusa County, and attended the University of California at Berkeley before becoming a history teacher in Portola in the Sierra Nevadas. After a few years, she married and they ended up relocating to San Francisco. These settings, both rural and city, heavily influenced the local color of her novels. Strong characterization is another feature of her mysteries.
