Crime in the Old Dominion

Overflowing with history and charm, Virginia may be for lovers but in this collection of stories, it’s home to mayhem, mishap, and murder. From the city streets to small towns to the coast and everywhere in between, these short mysteries will take you on a criminally fun tour of the Old Dominion.

From the Central Virginia Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Book People welcomes contributors Kristin Kisska, Maggie King, Adam Meyer, K.L. Murphy, Josh Pachter, Leah St. James, and Heather Weidner.

Join us for a murderously good time as they discuss Crime in the Old Dominion. Saturday, November 22nd at 1 PM.
 
Kristin Kisska used to be a finance geek, complete with her MBA and Wall Street pedigree, but now she is a self-proclaimed #SuspenseGirl. 
She has contributed over a dozen short suspense stories to crime and mystery anthologies. Her debut novel, The Hint of Light, was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel.
Kristin is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Kristin lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family and their moody tabby cat, Boom. 

Maggie King is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries. Her short stories appear in various anthologies, including the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, Death by Cupcake, Murder by the Glass, First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder, and Crime in the Old Dominion.
Maggie graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She has worked as a software developer, retail sales manager, customer service supervisor, web designer, and non-profit administrator. She has called New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California home. 
These days she lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband Glen and mischievous cat, Olive. All these jobs, schools, and homes have gifted her with story ideas for years to come.

Adam Meyer is an award-winning fiction writer and screenwriter who’s written more than two hundred hours of television for Lifetime, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS and more.
He’s the author of the novel The Last Domino, editor of the anthology In Too Deep, and his short fiction has been published in many anthologies including Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories 2023.

K.L. Murphy is the author of The Great Forgotten (November 2025) as well as the award-nominated Her Sister’s Death, a January 2023 Once Upon a Book Club Pick. Of Her Sister’s Death, Publishers Weekly said, “Murphy keeps the tension high…” and “readers will eagerly turn the pages” and Library Journal called the book “[A] riveting tale…”
In addition, she is the author of the Detective Callie Forde Mysteries: Last Girl Missing and The Murderer’s Girl and the Detective Cancini Mystery Series featuring A Guilty Mind, Stay of Execution, and The Last Sin. Her short stories are featured in Deadly Southern Charm, Murder by the Glass, First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder and Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead. She also co-edited and is featured in Crime in the Old Dominion. 
K.L. makes her home in Richmond, VA, where she loves spending time with her family, friends, and two amazing dogs.

Josh Pachter is an author, editor, and translator of crime fiction. More than a hundred and thirty of his short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and many other places. A two-time winner of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award, he was the 2020 recipient of the SMFS’s Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement.
His novel Dutch Threat was a finalist for the Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity awards, and First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, his chapter-book mystery for younger readers, was a finalist for the Anthony and Agatha awards. 
He has edited two dozen anthologies and was the co-editor of Crime in the Old Dominion.

Leah St. James is an award-nominated author of romantic suspense, mystery, and women’s fiction. 
A member of Sisters in Crime, Central Virginia Chapter, and the Alliance of Independent Authors, Leah is a native of the Central Jersey Shore but now lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather Weidner has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. Through the years, she’s been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. 
As an author, she writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries, and her short stories have appeared in various publications.
She is also a member of Sisters in Crime: National, Central Virginia, Chessie, Guppies, and Grand Canyon Writers; International Thriller Writers; and James River Writers; and she blogs regularly with the Writers Who Kill.