What Happens When a Journalist and a Psychotherapist Write a Mystery Together?

Kate Hilton, a practicing psychotherapist, and Elizabeth Renzetti, a career journalist, are the authors of the Quill & Packet mystery series. The first book, Bury the Lead, became a bestseller in Canada when it was published in early 2024. On May 1, Widows and Orphans continues the adventures of Cat Conway, a journalist for a cottage-country newspaper, as she investigates the murder of a wellness influencer and dodges attacks by misinformation-sowing locals.

On the eve of publication, the authors sat down for a conversation about their writing collaboration.

KH: It’s so great to be at a point where we’re launching the second book in the Quill & Packet series and writing the third one! It still feels kind of surreal to me.

ER: Especially as the world catches up to our fiction. In an earlier century we might have been burned as witches, because the mystery in Widows and Orphans is so timely: We’ve got the wellness industry, anti-vaccine protests, and a disinformation dumpster fire. As a journalist I’m used to being treated like a witch, though.

KH: I know what you mean. There’s some of that in the therapy room, too. One thing I love about this book is how we’ve captured some of the malign effects of living in an era of massive stress and uncertainty. People want to feel better; they want more control over their lives and more answers. It makes them vulnerable to bad actors selling snake oil – whether that’s in the form of products or “information”.

To read the full article on crimereads.com, click here