Trending

Crime writer Edna Buchanan sells Venetian Islands home for $12M

She paid $495K in 1996 for the waterfront San Marino Island house built in 1950

Edna Buchanan with 400 W San Marino Drive
Edna Buchanan with 400 W San Marino Drive (Google Maps, Getty)

The woman who once reigned as “the queen of crime” sold her waterfront Venetian Islands home for $12 million in an off-market deal.

Crime journalist and mystery writer Edna Buchanan sold her house at 400 West San Marino Drive in Miami Beach to a trust named for the address, records show. Richard Wood, an attorney based in Miami, signed on behalf of the buyer.

Buchanan is a former Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and novelist. She previously covered crime for the Miami Herald and wrote one of the most famous lines in journalism: “Gary Robinson died hungry.” She also authored several best-selling crime mysteries, including “Miami, It’s Murder” and her autobiography “The Corpse Had a Familiar Face.”

It was the Los Angeles Times that first crowned her “the queen of crime,” and the title stuck.

Sign Up for the National Weekly Newsletter

Buchanan bought the 0.25-acre property for $495,000 in 1996, according to property records. The home, built in 1950, spans 4,400 square feet, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, records show. The property includes a dock with a bay view.

The Venetian Islands are a wealthy enclave that experienced two years of record-breaking sales, as the pandemic spurred demand for high-end waterfront properties.

Despite a cooling market, pricing has remained strong across South Florida’s luxury market. In June, a venture capitalist flipped his waterfront Venetian Islands property for $26.3 million, or a record $4,900 per square foot. That same month a health care COO bought a waterfront Venetian Islands home for $19.5 million.

The Venetian Islands have been home to many big names, including WhatsApp investor Jim Goetz, and Gloria and Emilio Estefan, who sold a home there for $13.7 million in May.

Recommended For You