Connie Berry

Connie Berry is the author of the Kate Hamilton mysteries, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, and travel. During college she studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany and St. Clare's College, Oxford, where she fell under the spell of the British Isles. In 2019 Connie won the IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery and was a finalist for the Agatha Award's Best Debut. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and is on the board of the Guppies and her local Sisters in Crime chapter. Besides reading and writing mysteries, Berry loves history, foreign travel, cute animals, and all things British. She resides in central Ohio and northern Wisconsin with her husband and their adorable dog, Emmie.

The new Kate Hamilton mystery is A Grave Deception.

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

Since I’ve finished the latest installments of all my current favorites—Richard Osman, Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, Sarah Pearse, Ruth Ware, Robert Galbraith—I decided to indulge myself by reading—or rereading—crime novels written during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (the period between the two world wars). Guided by British crime writer and editor Martin Edwards, current president of the famous London Detection Club, I’ve enjoyed wonderful novels by E. C. R. Lorac (Fire in the Thatch, Death of an Author), Anthony Berkeley (Murder in the Basement), and a lesser-known author, Anthony Rolls (Family Matters). They were recommended by Edwards, who wrote introductions to them for their publication by the British Library Crime Classics. In my opinion, these novels hold up today as true puzzle pieces with plenty of clues, red herrings, and twists. They also provide a fascinating time-travel experience to life in rural England between the wars, which I love. The BLCC collection to date includes more than 130 titles, but I’ve stopped reading them for now so I don’t unconsciously begin imitating their style. I can do that.

Over the Christmas holidays, I’ll reread as I always do The Wind in the Willows and several of the P. G. Wodehouse short stories, along with watching the movie Holiday Inn.

At present I’m enjoying Vaseem Khan’s third book in the Malabar House series, The Lost Man of Bombay. Set in the 1920s, Persis Wadia, India’s first female detective, investigates the murders of three European men, whose corpses bear similar mutilations.

Visit Connie Berry's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Art of Betrayal.

My Book, The Movie: The Art of Betrayal.

Q&A with Connie Berry.

--Marshal Zeringue

Elena Taylor

Elena Taylor is the author of the Sheriff Bet Rivers Mysteries, dark and atmospheric police procedurals set in a small, rural mountain town in Washington State. As Elena Hartwell, she writes the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, about a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo.

Taylor is also a developmental editor with Allegory Editing, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish their manuscripts. She also writes the Wait, Wait, Don't Query (Yet!) series of books on the writer's craft.

Her favorite place to be is home at Paradise, near Spokane, Washington. She lives with her hubby, their equines, dogs, and cats. Taylor holds degrees from the University of San Diego, the University of Washington, and the University of Georgia.

Her new novel is The Haunting of Emily Grace.

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

Currently I'm reading Jennifer K. Breedlove's debut novel, Murder Will Out, which launches on Feb 17, 2026. I do a lot of work with the International Thriller Writers' Debut Author program, and try to read as many debut books as I can. It also often gives me access to Advanced Reader Copies. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm totally hooked. Jennifer has a wonderful, almost literary voice, and the mix of mystery and paranormal is perfect for the dark days of autumn.

Then I'm going to be listening to Following Jimmy Valentine, an audiobook musical by Jeff Flaster. I can't wait to start that one! It stars several big names in musical theater, and is a reimagination of the O. Henry short story, “A Retrieved Reformation,” blending singing, jazz music, and noir comedy. I'll be reviewing that on Feb 3 to celebrate its launch. I don't do a lot of audiobooks, but I couldn't say no to this one when I heard the description. I worked in theater for two decades before moving into writing novels. My theater career included a lot of musical theater, so this felt like too fascinating a project not to sign up for.

It will be a lot of fun to go back and forth between reading and listening, both wonderful ways to experience fine storytelling.

Visit Elena Taylor's website.

Q&A with Elena Taylor.

The Page 69 Test: A Cold, Cold World.

My Book, The Movie: A Cold, Cold World.

--Marshal Zeringue

Cindy Jiban

Cindy Jiban lives in Minnesota, where she was awarded a 2023 emerging fiction writer fellowship through the Loft Literary Center. Jiban holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology; before writing novels, she was an educator and researcher who published frequently, particularly focusing on how students learn to read.

Like the main character in her debut novel The Probable Son, Jiban has taught in middle schools and is raising two sons. She was born and raised in the Seattle area but has now lived with her family in St. Paul for over twenty years.

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

I’m currently drawn to debut novels. The path to publishing is a roller coaster ride, one that’s hard to convey to people not buckled into that terrifying front car. Reading a debut right now feels like making a new friend.

A fast and weird and delightful debut I loved is My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithewaite. You know that feeling when your sister calls to say oops, I did it again – and he’s dead? Yeah, me neither. I tore through this tale in one sitting, completely bemused by the style of storytelling. Sparse and dryly funny, it’s a line drawing that gradually reveals its odd caption.

Right now I’m reading The Bright Years, a debut by Sarah Damoff. Forewarned, I keep tissues on hand for this multi-generational Texas saga of family secrets and addiction. What stands out so far: Damoff has an uncanny skill at focusing point of view on a simple detail, to great emotional effect. Just read the opening chapter, and you’ll see what I mean.

Up next for me is The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel. Two women, initially strangers, find themselves sharing a house in the Dutch countryside in 1961, with the post- WWII vibe not quite over and done with. Does anyone else choose movies based on Rotten Tomatoes, searching out very-fresh tomato ratings from both the critics and the ticket-buying audiences? This book is like that: it has earned both prestigious literary awards and a wide fan base of regular old readers. I’m in.

Visit Cindy Jiban's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Probable Son.

Q&A with Cindy Jiban.

--Marshal Zeringue