Betsy Thornton papers

Betsy Thornton was born Mary Elizabeth Thornton in Wilmington, North Carolina, the oldest of four children, to Elizabeth Mary (Kelly) Thornton and Colonel Robert L. Thornton. She was educated in Europe and the US graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in English.

Thornton lived in England, France, Greece, Italy, New York City, and Venice, Calif. before settling in Bisbee, Arizona. In Bisbee she worked various jobs including director of the Cochise Fine Arts, a non-profit arts organization, and as a crime victim advocate for the Cochise Attorney's office.

Thornton's first publication was a chapbook of poems, in 1984. She is a recipient of a Poetry Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She turned to writing mystery fiction in the 1980's and her first mystery novel, was published in 1996. The book introduces readers to her main character, Chloe Newcombe, who works as a victim advocate in Cochise County, Arizona, the same position that Thornton worked at the Cochise Attorney's office for fifteen years.

Thornton has published seven mystery novels including: (1996), (2001), (2002), (2004), (2006), (2008), and (2010). Her book, , was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark award in 2008.