Laura Benedict

Laura Benedict is the Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award- nominated author of seven novels of suspense, including the newly released The Stranger Inside. On the lighter side of mystery, Benedict wrote Small Town Trouble, a cozy crime novel, for the Familiar Legacy series. Her Bliss House gothic trilogy includes: The Abandoned Heart, Charlotte’s Story (Booklist starred review), and Bliss House. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and in numerous anthologies like Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads, The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, and St. Louis Noir. A native of Cincinnati, she lives in Southern Illinois with her family.

Recently I asked Benedict about what she was reading. Her reply:

Last year was The Year I Discovered Library Audio Books. Now, if I’m not asleep or around other people (and not writing), I nearly always have an audio book streaming through my AirPods. I rarely listen to music because it seems like an unnecessary interruption of a story. Audiobooks have been a part of my reading life for decades, but having access through the library means I can listen far more often. A few of the truly excellent ones I’ve listened to lately: Circe by Madeline Miller, American Housewife (essays) by Helen Ellis, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Listening to Pillars of the Earth (which is about the building of a fictional cathedral), felt very nostalgic to me. I was a big fan of the family sagas of the seventies and eighties, and am also an English architecture geek.

I haven’t given up on paper or ebooks. There’s something about seeing the way a book works on the page that speaks directly to the writer in me, so I always have at least one going. Right now I’m treading through Robert Galbraith’s Lethal White. It’s enjoyable, but I need to give it more concentrated time because I keep losing the thread. Becoming Mrs. Lewis, by Patti Callahan Henry is terrific. It’s the story of writer Joy Davidman’s relationship with C.S.Lewis. Next up is the hardcover of Louise Penny’s latest, Kingdom of the Blind. I’ll be buying it in audio as well, because I do that with all of her books.

Visit Laura Benedict's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Stranger Inside.

--Marshal Zeringue