Dave Prentiss and Leta Parker sit down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can learn more about them. Let’s get to know Dave and Leta.
What is your full name?
Dave: David Prentiss. I’m a New Yorker who traded Manhattan for the English countryside—and wouldn’t change a thing. This is my wife, Leta Parker. She’ll tell you she’s from Atlanta, but I suspect she’s been English at heart all along.
How old are you?
Leta: Let’s just say life gets much more interesting after fifty.
What is your profession?
Dave: Leta retired after a successful corporate career in Atlanta. I’m a freelance literary journalist who writes about authors, books, and literary festivals. I also wrote Barrie & Friends, a nonfiction book about J.M. Barrie and the literary friendships that shaped his life.
I usually ask whether there’s a significant other in the picture, but . . .
Leta: I’m blushing already. Dave and I are newlyweds, and I still can’t quite believe I found love again at this stage in my life. We met by chance at a cocktail party in the Cotswolds and somehow turned a transatlantic romance into a very happy marriage.
Do you have any children?
Dave: No. Had Leta and I found each other thirty years earlier, I think we’d have made wonderful parents. But by the time we met, that chapter of life had already passed. We don’t see it as something we missed—only something that isn’t meant to be part of our story.
Who is Your Best friend?
Leta: No offense to my girlfriends, but you’re looking at him. Marrying your best friend is every bit as wonderful as everyone says. He also remembers where I put my reading glasses more often than I do, so perhaps it’s no surprise he knows me better than I know myself.
Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
Dave: Absolutely. Dickens, our somewhat undersized Great Pyrenees, has perfected the art of convincing me he deserves one more treat—a talent Leta says I encourage. And then, there’s Christie, our black cat, who made it clear that she wanted to accompany us on our walks. When Leta bought a backpack for the demanding little thing, I became the designated cat chauffeur.
What town do you live in?
Leta: We live in the Cotswolds village of Astonbury, though we rarely stay put for long. This week, we’re celebrating our first holiday as newlyweds in Cornwall while attending the Fowey Literary Festival.
What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Dave: A cozy stone cottage that was once the village schoolhouse and still boasts its original school bell. My wife—I do love saying that word—added a garden writing shed so I’d have a quiet place to work.
Do you have any hobbies?
Leta: We’re both avid readers, especially of Golden Age mysteries, and love long walks together. I also enjoy weekly yoga, while Dave has made it his mission to find England’s best ice cream.
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Leta: Dave and I actually compared notes on this one. We both came up with the same title: Second Chances, Good Friends & One More Book.
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Dave: Entirely amateur. Leta has a gift for putting people at ease, while I prefer libraries and archives. Between us—and with the occasional indulgence of a friendly detective—we usually uncover the truth.
LEGACIES, LIES & MURDER
Series: A Prentiss & Parker Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: September 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
An author blurring the line between fiction and reality. A pair of mature newlyweds sniffing for the truth. And a past some would rather keep dead.
Leta Parker and Dave Prentiss are keeping their wits about them. Settling into married life with a delightful Cornish holiday and visit to a literary festival, the capable fifty-somethings are eager to start fresh together. But their casual observations of the town’s small tensions and big egos seem less carefree when they try to help a local friend … and walk in on a murder scene.
Though neither wants to trade charming coastal rambles for meddling in the mystery, their knack for noticing oddities soon pulls them deep into the investigation into an elderly writer’s death. And though the couple and their devoted pets pick their path carefully, Leta’s sharp eye for details and Dave’s savvy questions unfortunately unearth hints that the community’s complex history isn’t all charm and fetes.
Can they find their balance and co-author a solution before the killer writes a cliffhanger ending?
Legacy, Lies & Murder is the witty first book in the Prentiss & Parker Cozy Mysteries Series and a spin-off of Kathy Manos Penn’s beloved Dickens & Christie series. If you like deep emotional stakes, chatty four-legged sidekicks, and quaint seaside settings, then you’ll love watching this detecting duo navigate murder, marriage, and Cornish secrets together.
About the author
Kathy Manos Penn (kathymanospenn.com) is the author of the twelve-book Dickens & Christie Mystery Series and the Prentiss & Parker Mysteries. After a 32-year banking career, she retired expecting to spend more time reading, traveling, and writing the occasional newspaper column. Then someone suggested she write a cozy mystery. Twelve books later, she still wakes up grateful for the unexpected second career she never saw coming. Kathy lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and the real-life dog and cat who inspired Dickens and Christie.