Writing career

Walker began writing in her mid-forties, which she characterized as " 'pretty late to start' ". She spent two years writing her first published thriller, Zero at the Bone, which was published in 1991. Her second Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

-based mystery, Red Scream, was Walker's first to feature sleuth Molly Cates. Red Scream won the Best Mystery Edgar Award

Edgar Award

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...

 in 1993. Under the Beetle's Cellar, published in 1995, was Walker's third mystery.

Selected awards

• 1991: Agatha Award
  Agatha Award
  The Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie...
  
   for best first novel for Zero at the Bone
• 1995: Edgar Award
  Edgar Award
  The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
  
   for Best Novel for The Red Scream
• 1996: Macavity Awards
  Macavity Awards
  The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories -- best novel,...
  
   for Under the Beetle's Cellar
• 1996: Anthony Award
  Anthony Award
  The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....
  
   for Under the Beetle's Cellar
• 1998: Martin Beck Award
  Martin Beck Award
  The Martin Beck Award is an award given by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy for the best crime novel in translation. It is one of the most prestigious international crime-writing awards....
  
  for Under the Beetle's Cellar