Emily Cavanaugh first appeared in Arsenic with Austen and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Emily.

Hello! I’m Emily Cavanaugh. I’m a retired literature professor, but I’m over a decade shy of the usual retirement age. About six months ago I inherited the estate of my wealthy great aunt Beatrice and gave up my job to move to Stony Beach, Oregon, to live in her Victorian mansion, Windy Corner, which I later turned into a writers’ retreat center.

This decision wasn’t motivated entirely by the change in my financial circumstances. Stony Beach is also the home of Lieutenant Sheriff Luke Richards, who was my first love. How we lost each other and found each other again is told in the first book about me, Arsenic with Austen. Luke and I are now engaged, and we are partners in crime (solving) as well as in life.

Sadly, Luke and I lost our chance to have children together, and I was never able to have a child at all. But my young housekeeper, Katie, and her baby, Lizzie, are like adopted family; they’re very precious to me. My parents died many years ago, as did my brother, Geoff, so the only blood family I have left is my half-brother, whom I only found recently (see Cyanide with Christie).

The next most important person in my life would be my best friend, Marguerite Grenier, who teaches French at my former college. She’s a bit outrageous but lovable and oh-so-chic. I have her to thank for helping to integrate my little family of cats. I inherited Bustopher Jones, an elderly, bad-tempered tuxedo cat, along with Windy Corner, then brought my own pair of matched greys, Levin and Kitty, to live with us as well. Thanks to Marguerite, the fireworks were minimal, and the three of them are now great friends.

In the current book about me, Death with Dostoevsky, I’m back on Marguerite’s home ground, living temporarily in the little Tudor cottage I shared with my late husband Philip when we were both teaching at Bede College. But when I’m at Windy Corner, I love to curl up in my wing chair in front of the fireplace in the library. The library is the loveliest room in the world, with a huge bay window looking out to sea and all the walls covered with shelves of old, leather-bound books. It’s chilly in Stony Beach for much of the year, so there’s usually a fire in the hearth, lending my favorite colors to the room—the same colors as autumn leaves. The library hearth is the cats’ favorite place as well, and we spend many comfortable hours there. I might be knitting or reading one of my favorite classic authors, such as Austen or L. M. Montgomery; Bustopher is generally dozing while Levin and Kitty vie for space on my lap.

The library is also the spot where Katie serves tea every afternoon at four, which is far and away my favorite meal of the day. She makes the lightest, flakiest pastries and scones. The best of all is the pain au chocolat, which sometimes also appears at breakfast. Luke often joins me for tea if his work permits; otherwise I might meet him downtown at the Crab Pot, the only restaurant in town that stays open through the winter.

When I’m not investigating a murder or hosting a houseful of retreat guests, this pretty much sums up my life. But those times of peace seem increasingly rare. And of course, for the month of January, I’m back on campus researching my long-planned book on Dostoevsky—and investigating a murder in the process.

You can read more about Emily in Death with Dostoevsky, the fourth book in the “Crime with the Classics” cozy mystery series, released December 3, 2019.

Professor Emily Cavanaugh makes a horrific discovery while writing her book on Dostoevsky in the entertaining fourth Crime with the Classics cozy.

Professor Emily Cavanaugh has left Windy Corner behind and is back at Bede College on her sabbatical, determined to finish writing her book on Dostoevsky. She is soon reunited with one of her promising students, Daniel Razumov, as well as familiar faces on the teaching staff – her friend, Marguerite Grenier, her half-brother, Oscar Lansing, the abrasive division chair, Richard McClintock, and the predatory Taylor Curzon. Known for her relentless pursuit of young male students, Taylor now has Daniel firmly in her sights.

Emily knows Taylor must be stopped, but as she starts gathering evidence of Daniel’s harassment, she has a disturbing flashback, and then makes a gruesome discovery . . . Can Emily catch a dangerous campus killer while also confronting events from her own past?

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About the author
Katherine Bolger Hyde is the author of the traditional mystery series Crime with the Classics. She lives in the mountains above Santa Cruz, California, with her husband and two cats. When not reading, writing, or editing for her day job, she can generally be found knitting while watching British mystery series or singing in the choir at St. Lawrence Orthodox Church.

Follow Katherine on Facebook.

All comments are welcomed.