Donald Bain (writer) explained

Donald Bain
Birth Name:	Donald Sutherland Bain
Birth Date:	6 March 1935
Nationality:	American

Donald Sutherland Bain (March 6, 1935 – October 21, 2017) was an American author and ghostwriter, having written over 115 books in his 40-year career.^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

Bain was a native of Mineola, New York and graduated from Purdue University in 1957 where he studied speech and drama.^[3] While there, he earned his pilot's license through the Air Force ROTC.^[4]

Bibliography

The Coffee, Tea or Me? series

byline: Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones

• Coffee, Tea or Me? (1967)
• The Coffee Tea or Me Girls’ Round-the-World Diary (1970)
• The Coffee Tea or Me Girls Lay It on the Line (1972)
• The Coffee Tea or Me Girls Get Away From it All (1974)

The Murder, She Wrote series

See main article: List of Murder, She Wrote novels. byline: Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

A spin-off book series based on the Murder, She Wrote American crime drama television series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher.

• Gin and Daggers (1st edition) (1989)
• Manhattans and Murder (1994)
• Rum and Razors (1995)
• Brandy and Bullets (1995)
• Martinis and Mayhem (1995)
• A Deadly Judgment (1996)
• A Palette for Murder (1996)
• The Highland Fling Murders (1997)
• Murder on the QE2 (1997)
• Murder in Moscow (1998)
• A Little Yuletide Murder (1998)
• Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch (1999)
• Knock 'em Dead (1999)
• Gin and Daggers (2nd edition) (2000)
• Trick or Treachery (2000)
• Blood on the Vine (2001)
• Murder in a Minor Key (2001)
• Provence - to Die for (2002)
• You Bet Your Life (2002)
• Majoring in Murder (2003)
• Destination Murder (2003)
• Dying to Retire (2004)
• A Vote for Murder (2004)
• The Maine Mutiny (2005)

• Margaritas and Murder (2005)
• A Question of Murder (2006)
• Three Strikes and You're Dead (2006)
• Coffee, Tea, or Murder? (2007)
• Panning For Murder (2007)
• Murder on Parade (2008)
• A Slaying in Savannah (2008)
• Madison Avenue Shoot (2009)
• A Fatal Feast (2009)
• Nashville Noir (2010)
• The Queen's Jewels (2010)
• Skating on Thin Ice (2011)
• The Fine Art of Murder (2011)
• Trouble at High Tide (2012)
• Domestic Malice (2012)
• Prescription For Murder (2013)
• Close-Up On Murder (2013)
• Aloha Betrayed (2014)
• Death of a Blue Blood (2014)
• Killer in the Kitchen (2015)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher (2015)
• Design for Murder (2016)
• Hook, Line, and Murder (2016)
• A Date with Murder (2018) written with Jon Land

Comedic novels

• Tender Loving Care – byline: Joni Moura & Jackie Sutherland (1969)
• Girlpower – byline: Kathy Cole & Donna Bain (1971)
• How to Make a Good Airline Stewardess – byline: Cornelius Wohl & Bill Wenzel (1972)
• If It Moves, Kiss It – byline: Joni Moura & Jackie Sutherland (1973)
• We Gave at the Office – byline: Laura Mills & Pauline Burlick (1977)
• Fly Me - byline: Cornelius Wohl & Bill Wenzel (1974)
• Teachers Pet – byline: Janet McMillan & Mitzi Sims (1975)
• The Casting Couch and Me – byline: Joan Wood (1975)
• Wall Street & Broad – byline: Teri Palmer (1976)

The J.D. Hardin western series

byline: J.D. Hardin

• Bloody Sands
• The Spirit & the Flesh
• Death Flotilla
• The Lone Star Massacre
• Raider’s Revenge
• Raider’s Hell
• Apache Gold
• Bibles, Bullets & Brides
• Death Lode

Other novels

• The Airport Affair (1975) – byline: David Toma & Jack Pearl
• The Affair of the Unhappy Hooker (1976) – byline: David Toma & Jack Pearl
• Sado Cop (1976) – byline: Nick Vasile
• A Member of the Family (1993) – byline: Nick Vasile
• Raven (1987) – byline: Mike Lundy
• Baby Farm (1987) – byline: Mike Lundy
• Daughter of the Sand (1978) – byline: Pamela South
• The Eagle & the Serpent (1982) – byline: Lee Jackson
• Texas Lily (1987) – byline: Stephanie Blake

Biographies and autobiographies

• Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer's Life (2006) (Autobiography)

Other books

• The Racing Flag (1965) – byline: Bloys Britt & Bill France
• Veronica (1969) – byline: Veronica Lake (her autobiography, whose ghostwriter he was)
• The Case Against Private Aviation (1969) – byline: Donald Bain
• Long John Nebel (1974) – byline: Donald Bain
• The Control of Candy Jones (1976) – byline: Donald Bain
• Club Tropique (1978) – byline: Donald Bain
• War in Illinois (1978) – byline: Donald Bain
• Charlie & the Shawneetown Dame (2004) – byline: Donald Bain
• Caviar, Caviar, Caviar (1981) – byline: Gerald M. Stein & Donald Bain
• The "Girls" in the Newsroom (1983) – byline: Marjorie Margolies
• The World’s Best Bartenders’ Guide (1998)– byline: Joseph Scott & Donald Bain
• Margaret Truman's Experiment in Murder (2012)
• Margaret Truman's Undiplomatic Murder (2014)
• Margaret Truman's Internship In Murder (2015)
• Margaret Truman's Deadly Medicine (2016)
• Margaret Truman's Allied in Danger (2017)

Unacknowledged books

A ghostwriter is often required to be anonymous as a part of the contract to write the book. Some sources claim Bain is the author of most of the mystery novels attributed to Margaret Truman. While Bain initially denied this,^[5] he wrote a column in the March 14, 2014 issue of Publishers Weekly and finally acknowledged writing "27 novels in the Margaret Truman Capital Crimes series (mostly bylined by Truman, my close collaboratormy name is on only the most recent entries, released after her death)."^[6]

Personal life

Bain died of congestive heart failure on October 21, 2017, in White Plains, New York at the age of 82.

See also

• United States novelists
• American literature

External links

• Donald Bain on New American Library

Notes and References

1. News: Roberts . Sam . Donald Bain, Widely Read Author (but Not by That Name), Dies at 82 . 23 April 2021 . The New York Times . 26 October 2017.
2. News: Schudel . Matt . Donald Bain, ghostwriter of dozens of books, dies at 82 . 23 April 2021 . The Washington Post . 28 October 2017.
3. Web site: Donald Bain, ghost writer for popular novels, dead at 82 The Spokesman-Review . 2024-08-05 . www.spokesman.com.
4. Web site: Donald Bain - College of Liberal Arts - Purdue University . 2024-08-05 . www.cla.purdue.edu.
5. Web site: The Ghost of Miss Truman. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181717/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/886tuxmk.asp?pg=2. 2007-09-30.
6. News: Bain. Donald. A Novel of My Own. October 15, 2014. Publishers Weekly. March 14, 2014.