One Book Chelmsford – Peter Swanson visit, Mystery Improv, Art mysteries, NY mysteries and scandals

Join us for a special event featuring our 2024 One Book Chelmsford author Peter Swanson! Space is limited so please register.

Peter Swanson will be in conversation with fellow mystery writer Connie Hambly Johnson.

Peter Swanson is the Sunday Times and New York Times best selling author of ten novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year. His books have been translated into over 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine.

In his latest novel, The Kind Worth Saving, Swanson revisits the characters from The Kind Worth Killing as a private eye starts to follow a possibly adulterous husband, but little does he know that the twisted trail will lead back to the woman who hired him.

A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts with his wife.

Connie Hambly Johnson is a past president and featured speaker of the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Mystery Writers of America, and co-chair of the New England Crime Bake.

Other programs related to mystery that are coming up:

Panelists on this fun, fast-paced improv game in which authors brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery will be:

Sharon Daynard: Sharon Daynard is the author of Murder Points North. Her short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US and Canada. Her short stories include “The Boss of Butler Square” which received Honorable Mention for the 2019 Al Blanchard Award and “Widows Peak”, a 51-word story, which was short-listed for a Derringer Award for Best Flash of 2004 and has been used to help teach minimalist writing in college classes. She is a managing partner at Potter’s Field Publishing and the co-creator of Evidoozle, an online evidence board-based playing card game. She holds degrees in Environmental Sciences and Geology and often incorporates elements from them in her stories. She is a past president of SinCNE and a former co-chair of the New England Crime Bake.

Kate Flora: Flora’s fascination with people’s criminal tendencies began in the Maine attorney general’s office. Deadbeat dads, people who hurt their kids, and employers’ discrimination aroused her curiosity about human behavior. The author of twenty-four books spanning many genres including crime fiction, true crime, memoir, and nonfiction, and many short stories, Flora’s been a finalist for the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Derringer awards. She won the Public Safety Writers Association award for nonfiction and twice won the Maine Literary Award for crime fiction. Flora has taught writing for the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Brown University Continuing Education, The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, the Cape Cod Writer’s Conference, and for Grub Street in Boston. She’s a former international president of Sisters in Crime, and a founder of the New England Crime Bake and the Maine Crime Wave conferences. She blogs with the Maine Crime Writers. Flora divides her time between Massachusetts and Maine, where she gardens and cooks and watches the clouds when she’s not imagining her character’s dark deeds.

J.A. (Judith) McIntosh: writes legal suspense and mysteries for thinking adults who like to see people get what they deserve. An attorney for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Children and Families representing the state in child custody matters and in child abuse and neglect cases, her novels are about this area of law and its heartbreaking consequences on families. Her books are primarily about people trying to make the best of an awful situation and their attempts to connect with others and get what they need. All does not turn out well. She lives in a small town, much like her fictional Meredith, Massachusetts, and has lived here most of her life. Most of her family lives here also, an atypical situation in the twenty-first century. As the town has less than 10,000 people, she knows a large percentage of the population.

Kim Herdman Shapiro: is an author, journalist, graphic artist, and vlogger. She has worked in both print and broadcast journalism, as well as creating one of the first ever digital e-zines with her Microsoft Award-winning travel site, Footloose. Although she grew up in Vancouver, she has lived and traveled to many different places around the world. Some of these places are detailed in her book, Gelato with the Pope: and other adventures of a travel writer in Europe. She has spent the last seven years filming across Canada for What the Hell is a Toque: and other questions on the great Canadian roadtrip, where she shows her two sons what it means to be Canadian. For the past twenty years, she has lived with her husband and sons in New England. At present, her writing life is focused on her two mystery series, one based in British Columbia and the other her home for the past 25 years: New Hampshire. She also serves on the board of Sisters in Crime New England and works as their Public Relations Director.

Tuesday, April 16th at 7pm – VIRTUAL-Curators of Crime — Art-Inspired Murders & Mysteries

Authors Connie Berry, Nina Wachsman, Lane Stone, and M.A. Monnin will discuss the real-life art, artifacts, and art crimes that inspired their mystery novels.

Connie Berry is the author of the best-selling 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. Her latest novel, THE SHADOW OF MEMORY, was a finalist for the Edgar Award’s Lilian Jackson Braun award.

Nina Wachsman is the author of a series of historical suspense set in 17th Century Venice. She has multiple ties to Venice, as an artist, visiting every two years for the world’s fair of art at the Venice Biennale. THE GALLERY OF BEAUTIES, her debut novel, was nominated for an Agatha for Best Debut, and a Silver Falchion for Best Historical. The second book in the series, THE COURTESAN’S SECRET, received 5-star recommendations from the Historical Fiction Company and the Historical Novel Society.

Lane Stone is the author of The Big Picture art thriller trilogy. Book one, THE COLLECTOR, was followed by THE CANVAS. She is also the author of several cozy mystery series. Stone has a post-graduate certificate in Antiquities Theft and Art Crime.

M. A. Monnin is the author of the Intrepid Traveler Mystery series, including Agatha Best First Novel nominee DEATH IN THE AEGEAN. Her 3rd in the series, DEATH IN ST. GEORGE’S, releases in May 2024.

Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm –

Are you interested in finding out about being tarred and feathered, shot by the Black Hand in Little Italy, being caught in a great fire or ravishing flood, participating in a riot, attending some fascinating trials, or encountering some of the most unsavory characters who ever lived in New York City? Of course, this doesn’t count meeting all the ghosts that haunt the City. Then, this is the presentation for you. Don’t worry, it isn’t as gory as it sounds.

Presenters: Susan & Art Zuckerman, Licensed Tour Guides, Radio Talk Show Hosts, Authors, College Professors, Historians, Lecturers, World Travelers

April is full of mystery at our library!