Berkshire Hilltown Mystery Books

It’s November in the Berkshires, a dreary time of dwindling light when the tourists have fled along with the last gasp of fall foliage. So when a stranger shows up in the sleepy hilltown of New Nottingham and starts asking questions, the locals don’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon. Bostonian Kathryn Stinson is on a deeply personal quest to solve a family mystery: the identity of a nameless beauty in an old photograph an ancestor brought with him to California over a century ago. But, as Kathryn quickly discovers, the hills possess a host of dark secrets – both ancient and new – that can only be revealed at the price of danger and even death. Her suspicious neighbors on Rattlesnake Hill, named for the timber rattlers that haunt its rocky slopes, become openly hostile when Kathryn starts seeking answers to a more recent mystery: the murder of Diana Farley, who once occupied the house Kathryn is now renting. Was it Diana’s husband, who killed her to keep her from divorcing him, or her lover, Earl Barker, a backwoods charmer and leading member of a wild clan known for their violent tempers? When Kathryn plunges into a passionate affair with Earl, she puts herself on a collision course with past and present. She must find out if Earl killed Diana, or risk becoming a victim herself.

It’s June in the Berkshires, a beautiful month when everything is lush and green. Bostonian Kathryn Stinson returns to see if she and New Nottingham local, Earl Barker, can rebuild their romantic relationship. She’s barely arrived when New York real estate developer, Niall Corrigan, takes over the property she’s been renting with plans to turn it into an upscale development. Kathryn’s opposition to the development pits her against Earl, offered the job of clearing the land. Amid escalating violence, a fire breaks out in the woods and the burned body of another opponent is discovered. Did he die trying to escape a fire he set, or did someone else start the fire to cover up his murder? Other questions swirl around Corrigan’s connection to Kathryn’s new friend, Gwen Waite. The happily married wife of a local, Gwen is a role model for Kathryn. But is Gwen’s marriage truly happy? And what was the mysterious “accident” that caused Gwen to flee New York years ago? Kathryn’s search for answers puts her in grave danger.

It’s August in the Berkshires, and the area is suffering from a terrible drought. As wetlands dry up, the perfectly-preserved body of a local young man, missing for forty years, is discovered in Wolf Bog by a group of hikers that includes Kathryn Stinson. Who was he and what was his relationship with close friend Charlotte Hinckley, also on the hike, that would make Charlotte become distraught and blame herself for his death? Kathryn’s search for answers leads her to the discovery of fabulous parties held at the mansion up the hill from her rental house, where local teenagers, like the deceased, mingled with the offspring of the wealthy. Other questions dog the arrival of a woman claiming to be the daughter Charlotte gave up for adoption long ago. But is she really Charlotte’s daughter? And if not, what’s her game? Once again, Kathryn’s quest for the truth puts her in grave danger.