McClintock, Norah (1952-2017), was a popular Canadian author of mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction for young adult readers. She wrote more than 60 books. McClintock’s stories feature teenage characters who find themselves in unusual or challenging situations while dealing with real problems that face young people, such as parents who are separated, troubles at school, and peer pressure. She received the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel five times, for Mistaken Identity (1995), The Body in the Basement (1996), Sins of the Father (1998), Scared to Death (2001), and Break and Enter (2002).
McClintock was particularly respected for her mystery and thriller series. One of them, the “Chloe and Levesque” series, centers on a high school student and her stepfather, the local chief of police. The series began with The Third Degree (1990), also titled The Stepfather Game. The central characters of the “Mike and Riel” series are 15-year-old Mike and his foster father, John Riel, Mike’s teacher and a former police officer. The series began with Hit and Run (2003). The hero of the “Robyn Hunter” series is a teenage girl who plays amateur detective, beginning with Last Chance (2006).
McClintock was born on March 11, 1952, in Pointe-Claire, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. She earned a B.A. degree in history from McGill University. Her first mystery novel, End of the Line, was published in 1981. She also wrote the nonfiction book Body, Crime, Suspect: How a Murder Investigation Really Works (2001). McClintock died on Feb. 6, 2017.
