Victoria Abbott

Mary Jane Maffini thinks she’s the luckiest woman in the world. After all, she gets to work at home in her cozy office -- or at her roomy dining room table or on her deck in summer -- writing what she has always loved to read: mysteries. And she gets to write in her pyjamas if she wants, with her miniature dachshunds, Daisy and Lily, snuggled up. She can take her breaks with her husband and the pooches in the dog park and it’s no one’s business but her own. What’s not to love? Plus anyone who has ever made her mad has ended up in a book. No wonder she’s usually in a good mood. MJ discovered mysteries as a child and read her way through the classics. Later in libraries, she found that people would pay her to select mysteries. They could have saved a bundle if only they’d realized who they were dealing with. She also learned how wonderful and varied crime fiction can be. Following a career as a librarian (not nearly as quiet as it sounds!), she continued her mystery infatuation by becoming co-owner of her favourite bookstore: Prime Crime Mystery Books, with her business partner, Linda Wiken . Once again, people died. But only in her manuscripts. Since those wonderful reading days, MJ has written thirteen books in three mystery series and more than two dozen short stories. Her latest Charlotte Adams book The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder won the 2012 RT Award for Best Amateur Sleuth. She’s picked up several awards for her short fiction, including three Arthur Ellis awards and an Agatha. She’s also been nominated for an Anthony, a Barry, and several other Ellis awards. She also holds the Crime Writers of Canada Murdoch award. Victoria Maffini comes by her murderous tendencies honestly, not to mention her writing skills. This is her first collaboration and first novel. She dove head first into the eerie world of Mysteries when she worked at Prime Crime Books for five creepy good years. Vic the Chic is long gone now, but her many glorious years of gorging on New Releases and used paperbacks sure come in handy when writing a Book Collector Mystery series. When Victoria’s fingers are not on the keyboard they are pointing her Nikon at brides, babies and bad dogs, turning the images into cards, art and memories. Speaking of art…being creative is deep in Victoria’s soul, she never comes back from her long Lanark Highland walks without a stunning shot or a scene that will need to be painted or a pinecone that must be glittered and glued to something. The crafting is strong with this one.