Susan Bacon

Perhaps best known for her compelling mysteries, Susan Bacon has a new novel out that’s more in the realm of women’s fiction. Published on November 4, 2025, ALICE ADRIFT is an intimate portrayal of a woman’s struggle to get her bearings in the wake of a tragic loss and a husband’s infidelity.

Susan’s mysteries—THE HISTORY TEACHER (2019) and its sequel, THE ART COLLECTOR (2024)—have won three Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs), including a Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction and a Bronze for Best Series-Fiction.

A graduate of Barnard College, Susan grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and has lived in New York City, Washington, DC, and Memphis, TN, all of which serve as settings for her novels. She is a former journalist, speechwriter

Perhaps best known for her compelling mysteries, Susan Bacon has a new novel out that’s more in the realm of women’s fiction. Published on November 4, 2025, ALICE ADRIFT is an intimate portrayal of a woman’s struggle to get her bearings in the wake of a tragic loss and a husband’s infidelity.

Susan’s mysteries—THE HISTORY TEACHER (2019) and its sequel, THE ART COLLECTOR (2024)—have won three Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs), including a Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction and a Bronze for Best Series-Fiction.

A graduate of Barnard College, Susan grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and has lived in New York City, Washington, DC, and Memphis, TN, all of which serve as settings for her novels. She is a former journalist, speechwriter and ghostwriter whose credits include an international best-seller.

Today, she lives and writes in Memphis, and is particularly proud of the fact that she recorded her audiobook of THE HISTORY TEACHER at Sam Phillips Recording, birthplace of Rock'n Roll.

PRAISE for THE ART COLLECTOR

“The Art Collector is not only an intriguing mystery story that draws you in and keeps you guessing but also a vibrant portrayal of the downtown art scene in Manhattan in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and the Deep South back in the ‘60s.” — EBET ROBERTS, Legendary photographer of Manhattan’s music scene

"When Professor Emma Quinn's friend and neighbor, Seal Larsen, a photographer with Memphis roots, is murdered, Emma finds herself enmeshed in a web of deceit, money, art, and Southern history. Bacon deftly maneuvers the reader through present-day chapters and those set in the past, juggling locations and characters and crafting a compelling page-turner in the process . . ." — JESSE DAVIS, Memphis Magazine

“An intriguing whodunit with memorable characters.”— KIRKUS REVIEWS (Recommended review)

PRAISE for THE HISTORY TEACHER

"riveting" — Midwest Book Review

“fresh and eye-opening” — EMILY YELLIN, author of Our Mothers’ War

“cagily and compellingly plotted and eminently credible.” — BRUCE WEBER, author of Life Is a Wheel: Memoirs of a Bike-Riding Obituarist

“a satisfying page-turner.”— JESSE DAVIS, Memphis Flyer