Rhys Bowen is a New York Times Bestselling Author who has written many top selling series including Constable Evans, the Molly Murphy Mysteries, and the Royal Spyness series. She has been nominated for an Edgar Best Novel Award, the highest mystery book award, for her Constable Evans series book “Evan’s Gate” and won for the Agatha Best Novel Award. Her second book in the series, “Evan Help Us”, was subsequently nominated for a Barry Award. She has also written several short stories and won an Anthony. Rhys Bowen is listed in the “Who’s Who In America” under Janet Quin-Harkin, her married name. She is also an ex-chapter president of the group the Mystery Writers Of America. Her books have received favorable reviews world wide.
Rhys Bowen was born in the town of Bath, England. Her family was half English and half Welsh. She studied at London University and eventually started a career at the BBC as a drama studio manager. She was working on a dull play and decided to write one herself, marching into the office of the head of BBC drama at 22 and giving him the script. Two days later, he called her in and said that BBC was going to produce the play. Rhys went on to move to Australia and work for Australian Broadcasting. She then met her future husband, also a Brit. Rhys moved again and settled in San Francisco, California, and has lived there ever since. Rhys raised four children there with her husband.
Rhys also began writing children’s book as Janet Quin-Harkin and her first picture book won several awards. More picture books came after, and her agent asked her to write a book for young adults. Her first book was a big hit. Rhys was selling half a million copies by the time she was writing her third book. More young adult novels came until Rhys felt she was done with the genre, and turned to writing mysteries. Rhys loves to read books with a strong sense of time and place and set the Constable Evans series in North Wales near the mountains, where she had spent many vacations in her childhood. It was visiting Ellis Island that made Rhys start thinking and inspired her to come up with the spunky Irish lass Molly Murphy. Her first book, “Murphy’s Law”, won an Agatha Best Novel award as well as three others. Other books in the series have won great reviews and “Hush Now, Don’t You Cry” immediately made the New York Times bestseller list.
Rhys created a second heroine named Lady Georgiana as part of the Her Royal Spyness series. Georgiana is distantly an heir to the British throne but broke and trying to make her way through The Great Depression. The series was a bestseller that was nominated for multiple awards. “Naught In Nice” was nominated for a Bruce Alexander, Agatha, and RT Reviews award. In 2012 it won for Best Historical Mystery in the Agatha Awards. Rhys drew from her life in England to write the series. When not writing, Rhys likes to hike, paint, sing, play the Celtic Harp, travel, and spoil her grandchildren.
Murphy’s Law
The first book in the Molly Murphy series features smart and curious Irish lass named Molly Murphy. Her mother constantly said that Molly would end up in trouble. So when Molly commits a murder defending herself from the low down son of a landowner’s advances, she has to leave Ireland in order to avoid going to the gallows and take off for the new, exciting and scary world of America. She meets people on the ship such as a mother with two children and a loud brute named O’Malley, whom she gets into an argument with. Molly at last makes it to America and begins to relax when she sees the Statue of Liberty. When a murder goes down on Ellis Island with the man Molly was seen by witnesses arguing with, she becomes a prime suspect in committing the crime.
Molly Murphy arrives in New York and sees the promise of freedom and the Statue of Liberty and begins to rest easier. But when a murder is committed on Ellis Island with the man she was seen arguing with, Molly becomes one of the top suspects for the crime. Molly is determined to find the true culprit for the crime by hitting the streets of New York, scouring through the Lower East Side and roads of Hell’s Kitchen and clear her name. She also has a potential ally in the handsome policeman who is assigned to the case who thinks that Molly may be innocent. But Molly has to clear her name and investigate herself and free herself from blame before the past comes back to haunt her. Armed with her wits, her smarts and tenacity are the only tools that Molly with which to clear her name. Will she find who the killer is before she’s accused and tried for the crime? Driven, likable, curious and driven, Molly is a fun character who is set in a very real time and place, constantly running into danger, but feisty and smart enough to get herself out of it.
Death Of Riley
The second book in the Molly Murphy series begins with Molly trying to forget the bad memories of her past. There’s the murder of the unwelcome son back in Ireland and now there’s been the brutal homicide of O’Malley back on Ellis Island. It seems like trouble and death are following Molly wherever she goes. Now she’s free to start her new life in the New World and thinks that this might be the right time for her to strike out on her own and start doing detective work helping families in Europe who wish to find family members in America. Molly just might be able to use her talents to make some money and put food on the table. She thinks she just might find handsome detective Daniel Sullivan and get some advice.
Molly ends up finding a mentor in Paddy Riley, a tough P.I. but she comes to work one day and finds everything has changed. Before she knows it, Molly is taking to the streets of New York to find out what happened. Working through the bars and lounges of the literary scene, Molly’s world is getting bigger than ever. With her passionate determination, Molly is locked on cracking the case and dispensing justice to the killer.
Dear Mrs. Rhys Bowen, I have practically read all your books which I enjoy very much. Normally I can get them all here in Germany in the English language. But I cannot find and order some books of your wonderful Evans-series. I have only got Evans Above, Evan’s Gate and Evan Blessed. Could you name me an address where I could order the rest of the series?
Thank you very much for your answer, all the best
S. Juranek
I just discovered this author and the Molly Murphy series and can i just say “HOOKED”?? I am going to read each series in order because the best place to being is at the beginning. Love the character and really hope that she ends up with Daniel!! No, I’m not reading the synopses for each one…I want to be surprised when I get there!!!
Each summer for my reading pleasure I choose an author who has written several books so I can study the writing technique and become acquainted with the particular style of the author. This summer I have delighted in the Molly Murphy series. Each book is very special, and I have about three books to go until I will have completed the series totally. Thank you for such a delightful series! I have learned so much about New York and the time period. Although I grew up in a small town near New York, I have lived most of my life in the Midwest teaching children to read well. I have recommended this series to all who see me engaged in reading it!
Rosemary Henderson, B.A., M.A.
Is Masked Ball at Broxley Hall available as a printed book? And are the short stories “the Amersham Rubies, The Face in the Mirror and through the Window” in print? I can’t find a way to order them through anyone.
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Dear Mrs. Rhys Bowen, I have practically read all your books which I enjoy very much. Normally I can get them all here in Germany in the English language. But I cannot find and order some books of your wonderful Evans-series. I have only got Evans Above, Evan’s Gate and Evan Blessed. Could you name me an address where I could order the rest of the series?
Thank you very much for your answer, all the best
S. Juranek
I just discovered this author and the Molly Murphy series and can i just say “HOOKED”?? I am going to read each series in order because the best place to being is at the beginning. Love the character and really hope that she ends up with Daniel!! No, I’m not reading the synopses for each one…I want to be surprised when I get there!!!
Each summer for my reading pleasure I choose an author who has written several books so I can study the writing technique and become acquainted with the particular style of the author. This summer I have delighted in the Molly Murphy series. Each book is very special, and I have about three books to go until I will have completed the series totally. Thank you for such a delightful series! I have learned so much about New York and the time period. Although I grew up in a small town near New York, I have lived most of my life in the Midwest teaching children to read well. I have recommended this series to all who see me engaged in reading it!
Rosemary Henderson, B.A., M.A.
Is Masked Ball at Broxley Hall available as a printed book? And are the short stories “the Amersham Rubies, The Face in the Mirror and through the Window” in print? I can’t find a way to order them through anyone.
Looks like ebook versions only.