Everyone is invited to “Get a Clue!” at the Panhellenic Alumnae of Palm Beach County’s scholarship fundraising event Saturday, March 8. The person of interest (and guest speaker) will be acclaimed mystery fiction review maven Oline Cogdill. The scene will be the North Palm Beach Country Club at 951 U.S. 1 between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All the usual suspects — a scrumptious lunch, auction and raffles — will be in the lineup.
In 2024, PAPBC presented 10 scholarships to upper-level university women, residents of Palm Beach County. While this year’s goal is to increase that philanthropy, tickets are a reasonable $60. For reservation details, e-mail susanbreece@bellsouth.net. Tickets must be purchased by March 1.
PAPBC members are affiliated with any of the 26 Greek sorority members of the National Panhel-lenic Conference. It has been active and honoring scholars in Palm Beach County for 98 years.
Cogdill is the quintessential mystery fiction reviewer, published widely across the country. She’s the authority about past and current mystery writers, especially those populating the South Florida scene. She is also an expert witness about the ways mystery fiction reflects and dissects societal norms. Under questioning, she may confess the secret of just how she reads “all those books!”
Cogdill recently appeared as part of the Writers Live program at the Wellington branch library. Her awards include the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Ellen Nehr Award from the American Crime Writers League. She’s a nine-time judge in the mystery/thriller category for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and she contributed to the book How to Write a Mystery with Lee Child and Laurie R. King.
With a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Cogdill spent 29 years at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where she was a senior and assistant features editor and senior copy editor. She also oversaw production of the weekly “Showtime” edition. Her outstanding contribu-tions earned the coveted Pettijohn Award, the paper’s highest prize.
