Jeannette de Beauvoir

News

Updates

Recent publications, appearances, events, and notes from Jeannette.

Trafficking in Murder by Jeannette de Beauvoir

Reviews · July 7, 2026

Praise for Trafficking in Murder

Reviewers praise Trafficking in Murder for its fast-paced mystery, vivid Provincetown setting, suspenseful twists, memorable characters, and thoughtful exploration of deeper themes.

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Interviews · February 18, 2026

Jeannette de Beauvoir on the Art Colony

I was delighted to be Gaston’s guest on this wonderful show that explores the riches of Provincetown as an art colony! Here’s what Gaston said: “This week I meet mystery novel author and Provincetown legend Jeannette de Beauvoir! Learn all about her writings and her monthly event “Making Light” at the Provincetown Commons.

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Events · August 19, 2025

Making Light: August 2025

In times of darkness, artists make light. August’s Making Light gathering brought artists together at Provincetown Commons for a conversation about sustaining creativity, courage, and connection in difficult times.

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Events · April 7, 2025

We’re Not Making This

I joined fellow Sisters in Crime in Walpole for a panel discussion about how real events—historical and otherwise—find their way into our fiction and help shape the stories we tell.

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Events · October 3, 2024

Voices of Poetry: Chatham

I had a lovely evening reading alongside poets Robert Carr and Neil Silberblatt, with music from Paul Kehoe, as part of the Voices of Poetry series in Chatham.

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Interviews · June 27, 2024

Why I Write Mysteries

We like to see justice done, especially when we perceive that the real world isn’t playing fair with us. If the guilty party is caught and punished in the fiction we read, then perhaps we regain the sense of order that’s lost whenever we hear the news. Every day, we see situations that have us baffled, and our minds seek to cope with them: it often feels that everything is getting way too far out of control. Reading about Inspector Whatever arresting the culprit restores a little harmony, a little control, a little of a feeling of safety.

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Articles · June 27, 2024

Mysteryrat’s Maze on King’s River Life

We’ve all probably read police procedurals that leave us exhausted, depleted, sad, feeling that the darkness has truly won, that the world is a bleak place. Certainly, it’s easy to feel that way if we keep our attention too much on the news. But cozy mysteries offer some respite from that darkness: they give us loveable, quirky characters in unlikely situations who bring humanity, humor, and humility to life’s most difficult moments, and allow us, at the end of the day, to see that the good can outweigh the bad in the world.

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Events · June 19, 2024

The Honeymoon Homicides Book Launch

The Honeymoon Homicides launch nearly went sideways when the wrong books arrived—but Provincetown’s librarians and booksellers came to the rescue and made sure the celebration could go ahead.

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Interviews · June 16, 2024

Cozy Up with Kathy Interview

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries? JDB: I have to go back in history to G.K. Chesterton. When crime novels were first finding their footing, they were all about clues and alibis and so on… but when Chesterton introduced Father Brown as detective, he made crime investigation human. Father Brown imagined how both the victim and the killer experienced life and what drove both to their fatal encounter. He understood people.

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Interviews · June 13, 2024

Exclusive Interview by Paul Semel

What will someone get out of The Honeymoon Homicides if they’ve already read all of the other books? I think the strength of a series (and the reason I enjoy writing them) is in the development of the characters. No one is the same person year after year; we grow, we change, we experience things, we have new thoughts. And the same thing happens to fictional characters.

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Articles · May 25, 2024

Food and the Mystery Protagonist

Food is more than background detail in a mystery. I look at how meals, restaurants, and favorite dishes help bring characters and settings to life—and give Sydney Riley’s darker adventures a little magic and love.

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Interviews · September 21, 2023

The Lowdown

I joined Ira Wood on WOMR’s The Lowdown to talk about mystery writing, my books, and the stories and ideas behind them.

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Events · March 11, 2023

Poetry Reading at Bread & Roses

Poetry and music came together in support of Independence House, which provides practical and emotional support to people affected by domestic and sexual violence on Cape Cod.

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Articles · June 23, 2021

A Tale of Two Women

I reflect on mothers and daughters, the complicated relationships that shape us, and how that enduring connection finds its way into fiction—including Sydney Riley’s evolving relationship with her mother.

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Events · February 24, 2021

Eldredge Library, Chatham, Massachusetts

Death came to Chatham as a team of brand-new mystery creators deduced who killed investigative reporter Sandy Sands, why Oscar Hammersmith made the best red herring, whether the Squire restaurant’s clam chowder was poisoned, and why the body was left in the geneaology room of the Eldredge Library! Lots of fun concocting a new local tale.

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Events · January 31, 2021

Annual Book Party, National Writers’ Union, Boston Chapter

Annual Book Party is where we celebrate all members’ publications from the past year. I was invited to read from one of my two books published in 2020. I chose a passage from The Matinée Murders. Oddly enough, even though it involves people getting killed, I thought it was pretty lightweight next to some of the other titles. I think mine was the only reading that made the Zoom audience laugh! The keynote speaker was Allissa Richardson, assistant professor of journalism at USC Annenberg, who discussed how African Americans use mobile and social media to produce innovative forms of journalism, especially in times of crisis.

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Articles · June 28, 2020

Coincidences Do Exist!

Coincidences happen—even in fiction. I look at some strange real-life connections I stumbled across while naming characters and researching my novels, and why our brains are so eager to find patterns in randomness.

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Events · June 24, 2020

Discussion, Sunday Author Series

South Yarmouth Library Association Sunday Author Series welcomes Jeannette de Beauvoir, author of Our Lady of the Dunes. Please join us for a discussion of writing a sense of place by Cape Cod author Jeannette de Beauvoir. Part of the South Yarmouth Library Sunday Author Series, this is a popular program.

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Articles · June 16, 2020

Murder Most Ladylike

Why are women so drawn to murder mysteries? I look at fear, safety, justice, and the appeal of female sleuths who confront danger, speak for victims, and restore a little order to the world.

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Articles · June 6, 2020

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Diamonds may sparkle, but their history is full of theft, danger, and intrigue. I look at some remarkable real-life jewel heists and the fascination with gems that helped inspire Deadly Jewels.

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Articles · June 1, 2020

What If It Never Happens?

What happens when you write mysteries around real Provincetown festivals—and suddenly those festivals stop happening? I reflect on writing The Matinée Murders amid cancellations, uncertainty, and a rapidly changing world.

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Events · May 29, 2020

Launch for the Matinée Murders, Zoom

Sponsored by East End Books on Zoom. East End Books is donating 50% of proceeds to the Provincetown International Film Society, to benefit The Waters Edge Cinema . This beautiful two-screen Art Cinema is in danger of closing permanently! You can support the cinema by buying a cinema membership. There are many membership types. The higher cost memberships come with many goodies, including private film screenings—where you can maintain social distancing with your friends!

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Events · May 21, 2020

Library Book Chat, Zoom

A chat with Provincetown Library director Amy Raff and Homeport Press publisher Arthur Mahoney. We’ll talk about the mystery series, plans for Sydney’s future, and more!

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Articles · April 10, 2020

What If You Held a Murder and No One Came

What happens when your new mystery revolves around a real film festival—and the festival itself is cancelled? I reflect on the strange experience of launching The Matinée Murders during the early days of the pandemic.

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Articles · February 8, 2020

Did She Fall or Was She Pushed?

History is full of mysteries. From Montréal’s Duplessis Orphans to Cape Cod’s pirate past, I look at the real stories that inspire my fiction—and the unresolved death of Mayflower passenger Dorothy May Bradford.

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Events · January 21, 2020

Improv Mystery Creation Event, Provincetown Public Library

Become Agatha Christie for a night! Ever wonder how mystery authors come up with their plots, characters, red herrings? Wonder no more: this is your chance to participate in the making of a mystery! Local mystery author Jeannette de Beauvoir will take audience suggestions for weapons, venues, suspects, and together you’ll weave together a plausible (and often very funny) story! Provincetown Public Library, Provincetown, MA.

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Articles · August 19, 2019

The Ghosts in the Layers

Every place contains layers of memory. Walking through Provincetown, I reflect on the people, buildings, histories, and personal ghosts that shape how we experience a place—and how fiction can help keep some of them alive.

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Articles · August 24, 2018

Globe-Trotting

How important is setting to a story? I look at the places that have shaped my mysteries—from Montréal to Provincetown—and why the right setting can become as important as any character.

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Articles · February 4, 2016

Taken! 10 Great Heist Movies

What makes a great heist irresistible? I take a look at ten memorable films built around elaborate robberies, audacious plans, clever criminals, and the thrill of trying to pull off the impossible.

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Reviews · August 17, 2015

Review of Asylum, Miki’s Hope

Miki’s Hope praises Asylum as a gripping page-turner, highlighting its chilling mystery, historical roots, emotional impact, and haunting exploration of Montréal’s past.

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Articles · May 27, 2015

There Are Places I Remember

Some places stay with us long after we leave them. I reflect on the connection between memory and place, and the ways the locations we know and love can find their way into our writing.

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Words That Breathe

Letters from Jeannette.

A monthly newsletter featuring useful articles, short stories, writing tips, book reviews, practical takeaways, and occasional surprises.