Helen Binney first appeared in A Dose of Death and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Helen.

What is your name?
Helen Binney.

How old are you?
I’m in my forties, but because of the lupus-related fatigue and joint damage, and the hovering of my worried nieces, I sometimes feel like I’m in my sixties

What is your profession?
I used to be the First Lady of Massachusetts, supporting the work of my husband, the governor. I had to quit that due to my lupus (and my divorce), so I’m looking for a new vocation. Nothing I’ve tried has really appealed to me except solving murders, and that’s not exactly a solid career path for anyone outside law enforcement, especially for someone who walks with a cane and can’t even manage to hit a punching bag without hurting herself.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes.

What is his/her name and profession?
Ambrose Tate (but no one uses his first name, so just call him Tate). He’s a retired lawyer and passionate wood turner.

Any children?
No.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
Yes, one brother whose two adult daughters tend to act as if they’re the responsible aunts and I’m the rebellious niece who needs looking after.

Does your parents live near you?
My parents are no longer living.

Who is your best friend?
Two women, Betty Seese and Josie Todd, who are seldom seen apart. They’re residents of the municipal nursing home, where I go for craft lessons (Betty knits, and Josie crochets) and the latest town gossip.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I have a pet now, but I didn’t in the Governor’s Mansion or when my sleuthing adventures began. You can get the details in A Draw of Death.

What town do you live in?
Wharton, a small town in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, not too far from Tanglewood.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I own a little cottage on a wooded lot. It was a vacation home during my marriage, and now I live there full-time.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
I don’t really have one. It’s very small, just large enough for one or two people.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Tate and I generally have lunch together in his woodworking studio (in my garage), and we take turns providing the lunch. I’m not a picky eater or a foodie (perhaps because of all the years eating rubber chicken on the political circuit), so whatever Tate chooses is fine with me. I do have a sweet tooth, although again, as long as dessert has a lot of sugar in it and comes from the local bakery, I’m happy.

Favorite hobby? Favorite color?
I recently learned to crochet caps for people who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, although I’m not very good at it. My favorite color tends to vary, depending on the context. At the cottage, I love the fall colors of the trees in my yard. When I’m getting yarn for a chemo cap, I defer to the local yarn shop’s clerk who always manages to show me in a color I didn’t even know existed but then as soon as I see it, I can’t live without it. I think I single-handedly keep the shop in business, although I donate most of my purchases to Betty and Josie for their Charity Caps days at the nursing home.

Favorite vacation spot?
My current home used to be my favorite vacation spot, so now it feels like I’m always on vacation.

Favorite author?
I’m particularly proud of my niece, Lily Binney, who’s written a book that’s used in business school.

Favorite sports team?
I’m not much of a sports fan, so all I can think of, although it’s a bit of a stretch, is the Lupus Lupine League. It competes, not in traditional sports, but in science competitions. It was started by a pair of teen-aged brothers, who invented the team as a way to be positive about the younger brother’s lupus diagnosis.

Movies or Broadway?
Television series, especially British mysteries like Midsomer Murders or Sherlock. I like the way the characters evolve over time, rather than being limited to a single, two-hour event.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I used to be able to burn the candle at both ends, as both an early riser and a night owl, but now I’m neither. I need to be careful to get enough rest or I’ll experience a lupus flare. So I’m always early to bed but seldom early to rise.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
I have a number of people I can turn to for their expertise, like Tate and the women in the nursing home. Lately, a junior member of the homicide department, Eleanor Almeida, has been helping by keeping her annoyingly condescending boss from arresting me, but she has to be careful not to get herself fired.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I’m still adjusting to not having the crazy, round-the-clock schedule I kept for more than a decade as the state’s First Lady. It took a while to recuperate from the lupus flare that ended my marriage and career, when I mostly just got caught up on a decade of sleep-deprivation, but my days started to fill up right after my first visiting nurse was murdered. I now have monthly meetings as a volunteer for the friends of the library, Sunday brunches with my nieces, twice-weekly visits from a nurse (I’m fine, but it keeps my nieces from worrying), daily lunches with Tate, almost daily visits with my friends at the nursing home, and as-needed sessions with a Tai Chi instructor. Of course, all bets are off once I find a body, and then my days get really interesting in ways it’s better if my nieces never hear about.

Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a digital copy (Kindle or Nook) of one of the books in the “Helen Binney” series. The giveaway will end January 17, 2019. Good luck everyone!

You can read about Helen in A Display of Death, the sixth book in the “Helen Binney” mystery series, released January 15, 2019.

From USA Today bestselling author Gin Jones comes the latest Helen Binney adventure about a feisty woman in a murderous situation. . .

Determined to live her best life, Helen Binney heads to a patient conference to learn more about overcoming the challenges of lupus. But instead of medical answers, what she finds is a dead body! The murdered doctor was killed beneath a poster display promoting a newly developed treatment—one that has both grateful patients and outspoken critics.

Luckily Helen’s handsome ex-lawyer boyfriend, Tate, is along for the ride—and what was supposed to be a romantic weekend getaway after the conference ended. With romance on hold, and Helen under suspicion by the police, it’s up to her and Tate to ferret out a killer among a slew of likely suspects who had an axe to grind with the doctor, including an intrusive photographer, a rival doctor, and a lawyer who was working to get the victim’s medical license revoked. With everyone a suspect and no one safe, Helen is in danger of becoming part of another display of death!

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About the author
Gin Jones became a USA TODAY bestselling author after too many years of being a lawyer who specialized in ghostwriting for other lawyers. She much prefers writing fiction, since she isn’t bound by boring facts and she can indulge her sense of humor without any risk of getting thrown into jail for contempt of court. In her spare time, Gin makes quilts, grows garlic, and advocates for rare disease patients.

All comments are welcomed.