Leslie Wheeler Books In Order

Publication Order of Berkshire Hilltown Mystery Books

Publication Order of Miranda Lewis Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Leslie Wheeler is a bestselling author of historical thriller mysteries best known for the “Miranda Lewis Mysteries” and the “Berkshire Hilltown Mystery” series. She started her writing journey with “Murder at Plimoth Plantation” in 2001 and has never looked back since as she currently has more than five titles in her two series. “Rattlesnake Hill” was the first novel of the “Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries” that was first published in 2017. She has also written short fiction that has been published in several anthologies such as “Stories of Eclipse,” “Day of the Dark,” and “The Best New England Crime Stories.” She also got some of her stories published by Level Best Books, a company where she worked as publisher/coeditor for more than six years. Leslie is active in writing communities and is a member of the Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She also serves as the Coordinator of the Speakers Bureau New England Chapter. She currently splits her time between the Berkshires, where she does much of her writing and Cambridge, Massachusetts. When she is not writing, she loves to hang out with friends, read, take hikes, go for long walks, cook, garden, and do home improvement projects. Wheeler also holds workshops and gives talks on creative writing from time to time.

Wheeler always wanted to be an author except for several months in elementary school when she dreamt of becoming a ballerina. The dream was crushed by her lack of coordination even though writing came so naturally to her. Nonetheless, just like many other authors, she had to deal with the many ups and downs of publishing. After she graduated from college and was done with her masters, she got a job working as an adult education teacher and later on found a job as an educational editor and writer. She finally specialized as a freelance writer specialized in biography and history. Her award-winning biography “Loving Warriors” was a story of the life and times of Lucy Stone, the feminist activities and Henry B. Blackwell. Her other nonfiction works include the biography of Jimmy Carter the former American president titled “Jimmy Who?” and the biographies of Rachel Carson and Jane Addams targeted to a young adult audience.

While Leslie Wheeler had a lot of success writing nonfiction, it was with non-fiction that she came into her own, writing the “Miranda Lewis” series. The series is set in the contemporary world though the action takes place in historical sites where much of history is woven into the stories. It was while she was writing the series that she stumbled upon the idea for another mystery series. She thought Kathy Stinson of her debut series was a very interesting character and she gradually built her up and debuted her new series, “Berkshire Hilltown Mystery,” with “Rattlesnake Hill” that was first published in 2017. Wheeler has asserted that the series is a dark ode to the Berkshires, which was her home for several years. While she loved the tranquility and beauty of the place, she is also aware of the shadowy lives of the locals. It is that duality beyond the well-trodden tourist paths that she intends to document in her series. Some of it is also inspired by her New England roots as she had a progenitor that was on the Mayflower and another that fought in the Civil War.

“Murder at Plimoth Plantation” by Leslie Wheeler introduces the lead of the “Miranda Lewis Mystery” series. Miranda called to check on her niece Caroline and found her down in the dumps though she refuses to tell her why. After a brief period of sobbing, she had hung up without warning forcing Miranda to go see what was wrong. Caroline has a job as a recreator and interpreter to a resident of a plantation in the seventeenth century. When Miranda arrives at the plantation to talk to her niece, Caroline asserts that she will be free during her lunch break but goes missing before they can talk. Miranda’s senses are now perked up and she now just wants to talk to her to find out more about what is going on. Unfortunately, before she can talk to her, one of Caroline’s colleagues is found killed by some vicious killer and police believe the evidence point to Caroline. Miranda is certain that her niece is innocent but she needs to find out the true story if she is to prove her hypothesis. To do so, she may have to walk down some shadowy paths and deal with dark events from the past to find some answers.

Leslie Wheeler’s “Murder at Spouters Point” opens to Miranda Lewis looking forward to a get together with old friends in Rhode Island. They intend to spend a weekend in Rhode Island and while at it, they will visit some casinos and also take part in Native American cultural ceremonies. But tensions and terror mount when one of her friends’ fiancé goes missing only to turn up dead washed up on the beach. He had been brutally killed with some metal tool of some kind. Miranda’s romantic partner who is a Native American activist is suddenly in the thick of things when one of his best friends goes missing soon after the discovery of the body. Miranda wants to help her partner clear his friend’s name as she suspects there is something they are not being told. Her keen eye spots several clues that point to a deeper plot. What she learns about the victim makes her start to think that maybe the killer is the brother to his girlfriend. But then a second body turns up and Miranda discovers that she may have gotten herself into a very dangerous situation as she is now targeted by an unhinged killer.

Wheeler’s “Murder at Gettysburg” opens to Miranda Lewis preparing to attend a reenactment of Gettysburg. She had been invited to the ceremony by Ginny her old college roommate and she accepted because she yearned to see her old friend and this was also an opportunity to meet with her friend’s father who is an amateur historian and retired judge. She had been crushing on the man for more than two decades ever since he had taken her on a tour of the Gettysburg field when she was a child. Things get complicated when Wiley who is her friend’s estranged husband turns up unexpectedly. He is a veteran confederate Civil War reenactor though he has a penchant to go to the extreme just to make his reenactments authentic. He had been missing from the reenactor world for a while as he traveled all over the US not even bothering to check on his family. Further complicating things is the reappearance of Ginny’s college boyfriend she had cut ties with years ago. But the kicker is when Wiley is shot while reenacting Pickett’s Charge and succumbs to a heart attack.

2 Responses to “Leslie Wheeler”

1. Arlene Sorrentino: 2 years ago

   I bought and read my first book by Leslie Wheeler while spending a week in The Berkshires. I loved it! It was Rattlesnake Hill. I now would like to read the two books that follow. Am I right that they would be Shuntill Road and then Wolf Bog? Thanks in advance!

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     That is correct 🙂

     Reply