“Delivering Death,” is Julie Kramer’s sixth novel. Photo provided

It’s no mystery why Julie Kramer has built such a successful reputation as an author. The Adams native made a career in journalism, from her time working at the Minneapolis Tribune to eventually running the investigative unit at WCCO. She knew what made a good story when she wrote “Stalking Susan,” her first thriller, in 2008. Since then, Kramer has made a name for her stories about the exploits of TV investigative reporter Riley Spartz and the dangers she finds throughout Minnesota.

In just a few days, Kramer’s latest book, “Delivering Death,” will hit store shelves. For Kramer, that means it’s time to discuss her work, the sixth book in seven years and start a new book.

“People think that it gets easier every year, but it doesn’t,” she said with a laugh.

In “Delivering Death,” veteran reporter Spartz receives a mysterious package containing teeth. The mystery deepens once she discovers the teeth are from a person, and Spartz must navigate the world of white-collar crime and its blue-collar connections as she becomes part of a Minneapolis homicide investigation in which the killer seemingly wants the publicity.

Kramer has plenty of memories in Mower County to draw from, however, and she finds ways to include southern Minnesota in her works. Several scenes in “Delivering Death” revolves around the SPAM Museum and a high school reunion in the area.

“You’ve got to write what you know, and my books are set in Minnesota,” she said.

Kramer said a recent visit to the SPAM Museum helped spark the scene point. Yet that wasn’t the only research Kramer did for “Delivering Death.” She spends a good deal of time studying contemporary issues for each of her books, and in one instance had to change part of the novel to reflect the Minnesota Legislature’s landmark approval of same-sex marriage.

“That’s one of the dilemmas of writing a topical mystery,” she said.

Yet contemporary issues in Minnesota provided a trove of juicy details for her latest effort. Kramer made the decision to focus on white-collar criminals to reflect several high-profile crime stories in recent times, from car kingpin Denny Hecker to Ponzi scheme operator Tom Petters.

“We’ve had a lot of high-profile white collar criminals in Minnesota over the past couple years,” Kramer said.

Part of Kramer’s research involved an auction of Tom Petters’s possessions, which gave the proceeds to a crime victim’s fund. Kramer bought “a very ugly piece of art,” but said she was surprised at how low-key the auction seemed.

“I wanted to see the kind of goods that were on the auction block,” she said. “I was also expecting that because this was a really rich guy, that there would be luxury items for sale. Mostly the stuff that was there was garage sale stuff.”

Kramer also spent time inside a coffin for “Delivering Death,” to reflect an instance where Spartz is trapped inside a coffin in the novel. Kramer said she drove to a funeral home near her neighborhood in the Twin Cities and asked the directors to let her inside a coffin. Though it didn’t take much to convince the funeral directors to help her, Kramer visited the funeral home when there weren’t many cars nearby to avoid an awkward situation.

Julie Kramer

“I didn’t want to cause a scene, I just wanted to write one,” she said with a laugh.

Once “Delivering Death” is released on Jan. 7, Kramer will spend the next few months promoting her book and starting the next novel, That’s a little different from her reporting days, and though she credits her time spent in a newsroom, she isn’t looking for more news work. In the past she freelanced for NBC and CBS — she helped cover the 9-year-old boy who flew unaccompanied to Las Vegas on a Delta flight earlier this summer — but she’s focused on her new career and ready to continue succeeding as an author.

Her sense for news hasn’t completely disappeared, however. Kramer has received praise for her accurate depictions of the inner workings of a newsroom and her books are always set in the world of TV journalism.

“I like people to go inside and see, my books like to highlight different ethical concerns in the newsroom,” she said. “People realize there’s competition between different organizations, but they don’t realize there’s competition within the newsroom.”

Her latest work is already receiving praise, as “Delivering Death” is garnering positive early reviews. While that’s good news for Kramer, she’s already looking ahead to the next novel.

“I write each book as if it’s going to be the last one,” she said. “I put everything into the book.”