Two local writers will talk about their newest mysteries and the art of crafting a story that catches – and holds – our attention!

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor is the first novel in a new historical series set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s. The interstate is under construction, the war in Vietnam is creating rifts in communities, and back-to-the-landers are moving in when a barn fire comes under suspicion…

In Flynn Berry's Trust Her, two Northern Irish sisters discover they can't outrun their past. Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, they are settling into a new life in Dublin with their young children. Figures from the past surface to drag them back into the conflict and long-held secrets rise to the surface.

How do these writers incorporate place into the story? How do they portray the nuances of personal relationships with words? How important is the time setting to the novel? So much to talk about!

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Sarah Stewart Taylor is also the author of the Sweeney St. George series, set in New England, the Maggie D'arcy mysteries, set in Ireland and on Long Island. She has been nominated for an Agatha Award and for the Dashiell Hammett Prize and her mysteries have appeared on numerous Best of the Year lists. A former journalist and teacher, she writes and lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries.

Flynn Berry is the author of Under the Harrow, winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best First Novel; A Double Life, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice; and Northern Spy, a Reese's Book Club Pick that was named one of the ten best thrillers of 2021 by The New York Times and The Washington Post. The recipient of a Yaddo fellowship, Berry is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and Brown University.

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Co-hosted by the Yankee Bookshop, this event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Registration is appreciated but not required. Please email Programs@NormanWilliams.org for more information.

Event Info

Dec 28, 2024, 4 to 5 PM

Dec 31, 2024, 2 to 2 PM

Jan 1, 2025, 10 to 11 AM