The Sign of the Gallows: A Conversation with Mystery Writers Susanna Calkins and Lori Rader-Day

The Book Stall is delighted to welcome mystery author Susanna Calkins back to our virtual “stage” as she celebrates the release of The Sign of the Gallows, the fifth book in her Lucy Campion Mystery series, set in 17th century London. Susanna will be joined by fellow author Lori Rader-Day to talk about writing historical fiction, crafting mysteries, and the work of writing a series.

There’s no cost to attend this event; we’d love it if you’d buy Susanna’s new book from The Book Stall. She will be happy to sign and personalize your copy! Just add your request in the “order comments” section of your online order!

About the book: London, 1667. On her way to a new market to peddle her True Accounts and Strange News, printer’s apprentice Lucy Campion quickly regrets her decision to take the northwestern road. Dark and desolate, the path leads her to the crossroads – and to the old hanging tree. She doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she’s not sure ghosts don’t believe in her. But before she even reaches the crossroads, she’s knocked off her feet by two men in a hurry. What were they running from? To her dismay, she soon discovers for herself: there, dangling from the tree, is the body of a man. Did he commit self-murder, or is there something darker afoot? The more Lucy learns, the more determined she is to uncover the truth. But this time, even the help and protection of magistrate’s son Adam, and steadfast Constable Duncan, may not be enough to keep her safe from harm.

Susanna Calkins is the author of the award-winning Lucy Campion mystery series, set in seventeenth century London, and the Speakeasy mysteries, set in Prohibition-era Chicago. She has a Ph.D. in history and works at Northwestern University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she currently lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons.

Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award-nominated and Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, The Day I Died, Little Pretty Things, and The Black Hour. She lives in Chicago, where she is co-chair of the mystery readers’ conference Murder and Mayhem in Chicago and the national president of Sisters in Crime.