JAMES C. MITCHELL writes about Brinker, a Border Patrol agent-turned-private investigator in Tucson. Brinker's cases often bring him back to the border, dealing with drug smuggling, illegal immigration, and corruption.His first Brinker novel, LOVERS CROSSING, was nominated as Best First Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. Booklist called it "a first novel as satisfying as the debuts of such classic series heroes as Parker's Spenser and Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.... Outstanding."The second book, CHOKE POINT, was a finalist for the PWA's Shamus Award as Best Novel of the Year. Publisher's Weekly called it "gripping" and Kirkus Reviews described it as "memorable."OUR LADY OF THE NORTH, the third Brinker novel, leads the detective to Los Angeles. An old friend from high school has become one of the country's leading immigration lawyers. When two of her clients -- and maybe more -- are murdered, she asks Brinker's help in finding the killers. The Arizona Daily Star calls this one "fast moving... well written and informative about the illegal scene."Mitchell worked for years as a reporter for television stations in Los Angeles, New York, and Louisville, Kentucky. He earned a law degree at the University of Louisville and served for a short time as a deputy prosecutor in Mohave County, Arizona. He has spent most of his time since 1995 as a faculty member in the University of Arizona School of Journalism.