Tina deBellegarde
"Intelligent, touching, wise and evocative - fans of Louise Penny will adore this!
WINTER WITNESS is a wonderful book."
Hank Phillippi Ryan ~ USA Today Bestselling author of
THE FIRST TO LIE
Agatha and Anthony Award Winner
Agatha Nominated Author of WINTER WITNESS
DEAD MAN'S LEAP April 2022
DERRINGER
NOMINEE
ORDER NOW!
BOOK 2
IN THE BATAVIA-ON-HUDSON SERIES
DEAD MAN'S LEAP
DEAD MAN’S LEAP revisits Bianca St. Denis in Batavia-on-Hudson, New York
Rushing waters…dead bodies…secrets…
As Bianca St. Denis and her neighbors scour their attics for donations to the charity rummage sale, they unearth secrets as well as prized possessions. Leonard Marshall’s historic inn hosts the sale each year, but it is his basement that houses the key to his past. When an enigmatic antiques dealer arrives in town, he upends Leonard’s carefully reconstructed life with an impossible choice that harkens back to the past.
Meanwhile, when a storm forces the villagers of Batavia-on-Hudson to seek shelter, the river rises and so do tempers. Close quarters fuel simmering disputes, and Sheriff Mike Riley has his work cut out for him. When the floods wash up a corpse, Bianca once again finds herself teaming up with Sheriff Riley to solve a mystery. Are they investigating an accidental drowning or something more nefarious?
Dead Man’s Leap explores the burden of secrets, the relief of renunciation, and the danger of believing we can outpace our past.
PRAISE FOR DEAD MAN'S LEAP
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PRAISE FOR WINTER WITNESS
“…an evocative debut mystery so lush you’ll believe you’re strolling the streets of Batavia-on-Hudson, battling the brutal winter’s chill, even inhaling the aroma of the town bakery’s wares. …we gain an outsider’s perspective on the quirks and secrets of a village rife with history and deception, as well as a glimpse into her own loss and heartbreak.” - Annette Dashofy, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Agatha-nominated Zoe Chambers Mysteries
“Winter Witness is far more than a simple cozy mystery; it is also a sensitive and nuanced examination of the nature of compassion, loss, and community.” - Erica Obey, author of The Curse of the Braddock Brides and The Horseman’s Word
“Richly atmospheric, Winter Witness reminds us of the high cost of family secrets - and the even higher cost of those secrets being revealed.” - Liz Milliron, author of The Laurel Highlands Mysteries and The Home Front Mysteries
“…a sly and subtle mystery, full of nuanced observations of life in a small town… a masterful understanding of grief, of feeling stuck and lost in life, and the price of keeping secrets. You’ll want the next installment.” - Gabriel Valjan, Agatha and Anthony-nominated author of The Naming Game.
“The story grabbed me right at the beginning and kept me turning the pages all the way through to a satisfying conclusion. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series.” − Carol Pouliot, Author of The Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mysteries.
Order Your Signed Copy at Oblong Books
Artwork by Sachi Mulkey
When a beloved nun is murdered in a sleepy Catskill Mountain town, a grieving young widow finds herself at the center of the turmoil. Bianca St. Denis is searching for a job and seeking acceptance in her new home of Batavia-on-Hudson. Agatha Miller, the nun’s closest friend and the ailing local historian everyone loves to hate, shares her painful personal history and long-buried village secrets with Bianca. Armed with this knowledge, Bianca unravels the mysteries surrounding the death while dealing with the suspicions of her eccentric neighbors.
However, Bianca’s meddling complicates the sheriff’s investigation as well as his marriage. Can Sheriff Mike Riley escape his painful past in a town where murder and infighting over a new casino vie for his attention?
Danger stalks Bianca as she gets closer to the truth. Can the sheriff solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? Can the town heal its wounds once the truth has been uncovered?
"Tokyo Stranger" will be released April 20, 2021
Join Me for the Virtual Launch Event
rescheduled to Wednesday, May 5th 7pm ET
- Click here to let us know you'll be there!
Shorts
"A Good Judge of Character"
in Malice Domestic's Mystery Most Traditional
NOW AN
AGATHA AWARD FINALIST
"Tokyo Stranger"
in
Mystery Writers of America Presents
When A Stranger Comes To Town
A
DERRINGER NOMINEE
"His Brother's Keeper" in Masthead: Best New England Crime Stories
DERRINGER
NOMINEE
Flash Fiction
"Lost in America" tied for first place in the Retreat West November 2019 Microfiction Competition
"Let Them Eat Cake" won the weekly microfiction contest at Ad Hoc Fiction
"St. Michael's Day" published online at Reflex Press
"Sound Travels" won the USA prize in the Writers in Kyoto Competition
Bio
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Tina deBellegarde has been secretly writing her whole life. When she turned fifty, she decided that she no longer needed to keep it under wraps and started to write and share. As a result, her debut novel Winter Witness, the first in the Batavia-on-Hudson series, was released September 2020 by Level Best Books. The subsequent volumes of the Batavia-on-Hudson series will be released April 2022 and April 2023.
She also writes short fiction and flash fiction. Her short story “Second Chances” appears in Seascape: Best New England Crime Stories. Her flash fiction has won competitions and can be found in Palm-Sized Press, Retreat West, Ad Hoc Fiction and Reflex Press. See the links above to read or purchase.
Photo by Patrizia Tersigni
Tina lives and writes in Catskill, New York with her husband Denis, and their cat Shelby. When she isn’t writing she is helping Denis tend their beehives, harvest shiitakes from their mushroom logs, or tend their vegetable garden. She makes lampworked glass beads and contributes to her husband’s jewelry designs. For Tina, baking and cooking are meditations that allow her to plan her writing. She travels to Kyoto, Japan regularly to visit with her son, Alessandro, who has lived there for many years running his media production company.
When she isn’t writing or tending to her hobbies, Tina works at the Catskill Public Library. She is a former middle school teacher, paralegal, and exporter.
Stay tuned for the release of Winter Witness and subsequent volumes of the Batavia-on-Hudson series. Check back for news about her short stories and flash fiction.
News & Events
Come join me at these events!
MURDEROUS MARCH
2022
IS HERE!
Join the Upper Hudson Sisters in Crime on March 4 & 5, 2022 for our 6th annual conference!
Look for me on the Amateur Sleuth panel!
I will be attending Malice Domestic's Virtual
More Than Malice Conference from July 14-17, 2021.
I am eligible for an Agatha Award this year!!
Ballots are out now! Voting is open from July 6 to July 13.
Catch me at the Speed Dating event as well.
Registration is still open!
Check out the amazing collection of featured authors.
It all starts with a conversation with Louise Penny!
With many great panels to follow!
Registration makes you eligible for a ballot
to vote in this year's Agatha Awards.
A great mystery series is about more than a puzzling crime. It’s the sleuths and their sidekicks who make us fall in love with a book. Join me, Jen Collins Moore, Carol Pouliot, and Lida Sideris for a free, interactive conversation about our detectives and their sidekicks. Sign up for one, sign up for several. We can’t wait to talk with you!
Mystery Loves Company
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Thursday, January 14, 2021
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Thursday, May 20, 2021
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