Edwin Hill Books In Order

Publication Order of Hester Thursby Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Edwin Hill is a critically-acclaimed American writer of crime fiction, mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. He is particularly famous for writing the Hester Thursby series. Edwin was nominated for the Agatha Award for the debut novel of the series in the category of the best debut. He has finished writing another novel, which is expected to be released in mid-2019. Edwin is expected to continue writing the Hester Thursby series and add several more titles to the series. Authors like Laura Lippman, Kate Atkinson, and Louise Penny have always inspired Edwin and their works have influenced his style of writing a lot. Edwin Hill was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts. During his childhood, he used to obsess with over Agatha Christie and The Famous Five. Edwin’s parents used to take him and his sister on long family trips across the United States and Canada. His best memory of those trips is getting a chance to finish reading The Seven Dials Mystery.

When Edwin was growing up, VHS tapes were newly introduced. And it was considered luxurious to watch movies and documentaries whenever people wanted. Just like the chief protagonist of his debut series, Hester Thursby, Edwin also liked to watch a lot of movies. Some of his favorite movies include The Shining, Halloween, Jaws, Alien, etc. Author Edwin attended Wesleyan University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. Following his graduation, Edwin moved to San Francisco for work. A few years later, he came back to Boston and joined the Emerson College to earn an MFA. Subsequently, he switched jobs and began working in the department of educational publishing. As of now, he is the acting editorial director and vice president of Bedford/St Martins, which is a Macmilan Learning division. Currently, Edwin resides in Roslindale, Massachusetts. His first and most trusted reviewer is his partner named Michael. Edwin is fond of pet animals and has a Labrador at his house whom he has named Edith Ann. He is a believer in returning favors. Many people have helped him in creating the book series and he has each one of them in his sight to pay them back when the time comes.

In addition to writing mystery novels, Edwin has written a number of literary magazines and journals such as Publisher’s Weekly, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, LA Review, and The Life Sentence. In the Hester Thursby book series, Edwin has introduced Hester Thursby as a librarian, who likes to take up investigations to find missing people. She makes use of her research skills to carry out the investigations. Even though Hester seems effective in detective work, she only does it on the side. Her primary job is working on the post of librarian. Hester’s side work makes her deal with false identities, family secrets, murder suspects, etc. One of the important aspects of Hester’s story is the relationship between past and present. Edwin has shown that each of the 3 primary characters, Hester, Gabe DiPursio, and Sam, are haunted by several things that have happened in their pasts. But, they chose to move on in their present lives and this is what defines them. Edwin has said that as he is new to the world of writing, he had to take up a lot of reading to come up with his characters and plot sequences.

A few influences for writing his first book include The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny, and Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Ms Jean Brodie. Edwin was also influenced by the mixture of mystery and humor genres in the Jackson Brodie novels. Edwin believes that writer’s block becomes a great challenge sometimes for writers. He has a few activities that he uses to prevent writer’s block from troubling him. Some of those activities include making story outlines, developing character sketches, and doing free writes. Also, he likes to set goals that he can manage. And more importantly, Edwin keeps scope for improvement in his work and welcomes suggestions from one and all. When Edwin was involved in reviewing, he used to be very critical of the work of writers. But later, he realized that writers already face a lot of negativity and so, he started rating only those books that he liked. And after becoming a writer himself, he sensed that his feeling about writers is true.

The Hester Thursby Mystery series written by Edwin Hill is comprised of a total of 2 books, one of which has been released in 2018 and the 2nd one is going to come out in August 2019. The books of this series depict Hester Thursby as the chief protagonist. She is seen as a dedicated, relatably flawed, cerebral, and tough sleuth. Hester watches too many horror movies and often indulges in chasing serial killers. The list of essential characters mentioned in the series other than Hester Thursby includes Sam Blaine, Gabe DiPursio, Wendy Richards, etc. The debut book of the series is known as ‘Little Comfort’. It was released by the Kensington publication in 2018. Initially, Hester Thursby is introduced as a Harvard librarian. She is aware that even in the time of digital advancements, people require help to find things. With the use of her research skills, she runs a small side business for tracking down missing persons. Mostly, Hester is hired to reunite birth parents and adopted children or to look for long-separated prom dates.

A new case comes her way in which she is asked to find a charismatic and handsome man named Sam Blaine. Sam doesn’t want to be found. He ran away from his hometown in New Hampshire when he was a teenager after experiencing a haunting incident. Sam’s friend Gabe also accompanied him. Together, they traveled across the country for more than a dozen years and reinvented themselves while changing places. In the years that he has been on the run, Sam Blaine has learned how to manipulate wealthy people, mainly the lonely ones, and make them trust him. The most recent person he comes across is the beautiful and fabulously rich Wendy Richards. She is the daughter of one of the most influential families of Boston. Through her, Sam has managed to live the glamorous life of wealthy people. As Hester is about to reveal their truth, the friendship bond between Gabe and Sam is tested. Unknowingly, Hester Thursby jeopardizes her safety. Gabe wishes to return to his normal life and seeks Hester’s help in this regard. But, Sam doesn’t wish to return to his previous life and thinks of removing Hester from his way. In the end, Hester succeeds in getting the two men back to families and in the process forms a good friendship with them.