Author Spotlight: Kevin Doyle

A retired high-school teacher and former college instructor, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of six novels in the Sam Quinton mystery series, all published by Camel Press. He’s also written four crime thrillers, including And the Devil Walks Awayand The Anchor, and one horror novel, The Litter, along with numerous short horror stories published in small magazines over the years. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel, and the sixth in the series, The Booker, is set for release in August of 2025.

 

A little bit about Author Kevin R. Doyle…

I’ve been writing since 1986. I was actually into writing short stories, mainly horror, long before I chose my eventual career as a high-school and college teacher. Over my last dozen or so years of teaching I somehow, despite the workload, evolved into writing novels. After having ten released in the previous ten years, in May of 2023, I taught my last class, graded my last paper, handed in my last grade book and headed off into retirement, which now allows me to spend most of my days writing fiction.

I’d always been a heavy reader, mainly of genre fiction, but until one day when I was nineteen never gave much thought to writing. On this particular day, I was sitting at home with not much to do, and on a whim sat down in front of the family’s Smith-Corona typewriter (it was 1986, after all) and began pounding out my first short story. (A really awful short story, by the way. That one never came close to getting published even by the most desperate of little magazines).

In terms of preferred genres, I’m kind of split. My shorts, which I still write occasionally, tend to be in the horror field. However, with one exception all of my novels are in the mystery/suspense genres.

 

Kevin’s works…

All of my works can be found at all the usual places. August 12th, 2025 will see the release of  The Booker, the sixth entry in my Sam Quinton series. Sam is a former professional wrestler who, when he retired from the sport, began working as a private investigator. All six of the books are available through Camel Press. The Wild Rose Press is the current publisher for a trilogy of mine that began with The Group, continued with When You Have to Go There, and has culminated, to date, in And the Devil Walks Away. They also are the current publisher for a small e-book novelette in the general fiction area called One Helluva Gig.

Night to Dawn Magazine and Books is the publisher for two standalones: The Anchor, a suspense novel set in the local TV news business, and the one exception I mentioned above. To date, The Litter is my only full-length horror novel, though I have an unpublished one from several years back that I’m thinking of revisiting. Amazon links for all these are below:

The Group

When You have to Go There

And the Devil Walks Away

 

Sam Quinton series:

Squatter’s Rights

Heel Turn

Double Frame

Clean Win

Private License

 

Standalones:

The Anchor

The Litter

One Helluva Gig

 

Four of my works are also available in audiobook from Books in Motion;

The Group

When You have to Go There

And the Devil Walks Away

The Litter

 

And the Devil Walks Away Blurb

Helen Lipscomb seemingly has nowhere to go but down. Cashiered from the force, ostracized by most of her former acquaintances, and with no real connections left to the community, she’s been getting by as a sort of unofficial investigator, doing piecework for various lawyers and bail bondsmen. Her former life as a homicide detective seems far behind her until a notorious serial killer, locked away and facing the death penalty, offers her the challenge of a lifetime. Not to prove his innocence, but to prove him guilty of even more murders than the authorities suspect, murders for which another convicted man, several states away, is taking credit.

One of the parts I like best from ATDWA is where Leo Benson unveils to Helen exactly what he wants her to do. When she’s summoned to the penitentiary to meet a serial killer, a man already on death row, she assumes he wants her to help prove his innocence. It takes her a minute to realize he’s asking for exactly the opposite:

Helen frowned and glanced at Conroy, whose face remained impassive, before turning back to Benson.

“Then what do you want out of me?” she asked.

Benson smiled, but the expression had no warmth.

“I want you to prove that I’m guilty,” he said in a flat, calm tone. “Guilty of those murders they haven’t yet pinned on me.”

“Excuse me?” Helen was sure she looked as baffled as she felt.

“I thought that was fairly clear,” Benson said. “Someone’s out there taking credit for my work, and I want you to put a stop to it. If I have anything to say about it, no one’s going to get the credit for my work but me.”