Writers Read: Vicki Delany

Friday, October 17, 2025

Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for

adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.

Delany is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Delany lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Delany's new novel is O, Deadly Night: A Year-Round Christmas Mystery.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Delany's reply:

I rarely read a book twice, even one I’ve enjoyed enormously. But somehow this fall I found myself returning to a couple of old favourites.

Keeping Watch by Laurie R King came out originally in 2003 and it had an enormous impact on me at the time. I decided to re-read it again and found it just as powerful as on first reading. King is best known for her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books, but she’s written quite a few others as well. This is now called Book 2 of a series, but it’s much more of a standalone. The protagonist is a Vietnam War vet, traumatised by an atrocity he took part in, and all these years later still trying to find redemption. It deals with the trauma of war, what survivors have to deal with, and how they try to rebuild shattered lives. Very moving and highly recommended.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron (translated from the Spanish). This is the first book in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, set in Barcelona in the 1920s to 50s. Moody and atmospheric, it’s about the power of books to transform lives. It’s also a powerful message about what it’s like for ordinary, genuinely good, people living under Fascism. The entire collection is highly recommended.

A new book pick was Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch. I’ve been reading the Rivers of London series from the beginning. They’re about a wizard police officer in London, his colleagues, and mentor. By this book he’s married to a River Goddess (yes). The books are fun and clever, as is the world of magic existing alongside ours created by Aaronovitch.