Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick. Let’s see what Hank has to say with his answers below.

What is your full name?
Henry Maxwell Johnson

How old are you?
I’m in my mid forties

What is your profession?
I’m the lead detective on the Wings Falls Police Force

Do you have a significant other?
Yes, I’m recently married to the love of my life, Samantha

What is their name and profession?
Samantha Davies-Johnson. Sam writes a children’s book series featuring her dachshund, Porkchop. She is also the co-owner of a funeral parlor, the Do Drop In Funeral Parlor.

Do you have any children?
Unfortunately, no but as my wife would say we have fur babies

Do you have any siblings?
I’m the oldest of seven

Are your parents nearby?
Mom lives about 45 minutes from me near Albany, New York. Dad was an Albany fireman and tragically was killed in a house fire saving a young boy when I was young. Being the oldest, it was up to me to help mom raise my younger brothers and sisters.

Who is your best friend?
I’d have to say the mayor of Wings Falls, Mark Hogan. He and I have formed a great friendship and are often in contact when a crime happens in Wings Falls. This bond is also strengthened since our wives are cousins.

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
I have a miniature bulldog named Nina who happens to be the love of Samantha’s dachshund, Porkchop.

What town do you live in?
I live in Wings Falls, a small town at the foothills of the Adirondacks in upstate New York

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Right now, I have two houses, a log cabin that I bought when I first moved here from Albany, that I rent out to my brother Aaron. The other home, where I live, is a brick rancher that was my wife’s childhood home that her parents gifted her when they retired to Florida.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
Snuggled on the living room sofa with Sam.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
I’m not a picky eater, but Sam can cook up a mean frozen pizza. Dessert—I love a slice of apple pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Do you have any hobbies?
Since moving up from Albany I’ve taken up fly fishing. The Adirondacks is filled with great trout streams to satisfy my hobby.

What music do you listen to?
I’m not really picky. I love the oldies and throw in a bit of country, too.

What is your favorite color?
I’d have to say blue. Like many people, I find it very calming.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
That’s an easy one. I live less than 15 minutes from one of the most beautiful parks in the world, Adirondack Park. People from all over the world come here to enjoy the lakes, rivers and mountains. I’m really blessed to have all this practically out my back door.

Are you a morning or night person?
Frankly I’d say that with my job as a detective I have to be an all-day person. I can be called out any time of the day or night if there is a serious crime that needs to be investigated so I have to be on my toes night and day.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Any time I spend with my wife, but I do like going to either The Smiling Pig or Momma Mia’s for a great meal and fun company.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
How I Survived The Sleuthing Adventures Of My Wife Samantha And Her Dog, Porkchop.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m a professional police officer with the Wings Falls Police Force. Much to my accumulating grey hairs, the amateur sleuths are my wife, Samantha, and her dachshund, Porkchop. She also manages to involve her Southern Belle cousin, Candie Parker-Hogan.

What is a typical day in your life like?
What is a typical day for a detective? If I’m lucky and it’s a quiet day, I get up at 6. Have breakfast, play with the dogs a bit, kiss Sam goodbye then head off to the police station to deal with what ever crimes need investigating. After work I come home, have dinner, again play with the dogs then snuggle on the sofa with Sam, hoping I won’t be called out because a murder has been committed that will need my attention. Next day, repeat.

A Pawsome Summer For Murder – A Samantha Davies Mystery, Book 7
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: May 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

It’s summer in Wings Falls, New York and Samantha Davies is geared up for the annual trout tournament sponsored by Al Gorman, owner of the Sport’s Shop. Sam, along with her Southern Belle cousin, Candie Parker-Hogan, are determined to beat the pants off their significant others, Sam’s new fiancé, Hank Johnson, a detective on Wings Falls police force and Mark Hogan, Candie’s husband. The ladies feel they have a secret weapon-they learned from the best fisherman in Hainted Hollar Tennessee, Grandpop Parker. Sam once won a trophy for the largest fish in the Fins and Tails Fishing Derby.

To Sam’s surprise instead of reeling in the day’s biggest catch, she “hooked” into the body of the town’s most vocal activist, Luna Wheeler.

Raylene Carrigan, owner of a traveling doggie daycare Sam uses for her lovable dachshund, Porkchop, becomes a prime suspect, when it becomes known Luna tried to shut down the town’s doggie park she depends on for the pets in her care. Since Sam has successfully helped solve murders in the past, Raylene begs her for help to prove her innocent.

Sam reluctantly agrees but knows her fiancé won’t be happy with her involvement in yet another murder case.

Determined to help Porkchop’s buddy, Sam starts digging for clues only to discover that Luna, with her over-zealous demands to many of the town’s businesses to recycle, upset more than a few of her friends. Can Sam land Luna’s murderer before she gets ‘hooked’ by the killer?

About the author
Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two lively dachshunds. She writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, and enjoying her family.