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Hunter's Green Mystery Writer Dies

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By LAURA KINSLER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

HUNTER'S GREEN - Amanda Louise Martin, whose murder-mystery became the talk of the neighborhood, died June 19 of complications from lupus.

Martin, 36, published her first book, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," in November.

Diagnosed at age 17, Martin had end-stage renal disease and wrote the manuscript for "Beautiful Day" in longhand while connected to a home dialysis machine.

"She wrote the book for me because I've always loved mysteries," said her mother, Toni Martin.

The book, loosely based on her Quail Creek neighborhood, caused a stir among neighbors who thought some of the characters hit a little too close to home.

"There were a lot of people who were upset," said Dave Murray, president of the Quail Creek Homeowners Association. Some of the characters were virtually identical to people who live in Quail Creek, he said.

In a March interview, Amanda Martin said she based the crime-solving heroines on herself, but the only true character in the book was her dog, Yale.

"It was pure fiction," her mother said. "It was a murder-mystery. She had to give negative traits to the characters because they all had to be considered suspects."

Martin was born in Pennsylvania. She earned a master's degree in liberal studies from Wake Forest University and a master's in religion from Yale Divinity School.

On May 17, she participated in her first book-signing event at a local Barnes & Noble store.

"She was one of the nicest authors I've ever had the pleasure to deal with," said Abby Russell, community relations director for Barnes & Noble. "She was very sweet, and she had a lot of friends and family there. All of her books sold within a few days of her book signing."

A few days after the reading, she had a lesion removed from her foot. An infection spread to the bones of her foot, which had to be partially amputated.

"She was still in good spirits," Toni Martin said. "Her doctor told her she was going to be discharged."
Amanda Martin was released from the hospital June 16, but shortly after arriving home, she suffered a heart attack. She was rushed back to the hospital and was placed on life support. The family decided to remove her from life support after three days.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," her mother said. "It was getting to the point where they were going to have to put in a feeding tube. That wasn't what she wanted."

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, 9724 Cross Creek Blvd.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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