Author Talk: Karen Olson, "A Defiant Woman"

Crime aficionados!  Darien Library and Barrett Bookstore are excited to welcome author, Karen E. Olson, who will discuss her new book, A Defiant Woman, an electrifying contemporary crime novel inspired by the Tudor era and the six wives of King Henry VIII. Karen will be in conversation with journalist, Joe Meyers.

A Defiant Woman is the second novel in Karen E. Olson’s genre-defying "Modern Tudor Mystery" series.  Her first book, An Inconvenient Wife, published in 2024, introduces the reader to the world of Kate Parker, her new marriage to billionaire Hank Tudor, and a headless body that is discovered near their summer home.

About A Defiant Woman

Kate Tudor’s marriage to billionaire Hank Tudor continues to fray when his ex-wife resurfaces in the wake of their daughter’s kidnapping.  Eight years ago, Nan Tudor escaped her husband, billionaire businessman Hank Tudor, afraid for her life and leaving a dead body behind—but in doing so, she abandoned her three-year-old daughter, Lizzie. Still wracked with guilt for that decision, she is living a quiet life as a restaurant cook in France with her son when she receives a mysterious text: “We have your daughter.” Lured back to the scene of the crime on Martha’s Vineyard by a threat against Lizzie’s life, Nan believes the kidnapper is exacting revenge against her, stopping at nothing to do so—and discovers that she and her daughter may not be the only targets. Kate Parker—Hank’s sixth and latest wife—is also on the island and drawn into the kidnapper’s elaborate web of retaliation.

About Karen Olson

Karen E. Olson, author of An Inconvenient Wife, is the winner of the Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award and a Shamus Award finalist. She is the author of the Annie Seymour mysteries, the Tattoo Shop mysteries, and the Black Hat thrillers. Karen was a longtime editor, both in newspapers and at Yale. She lives in North Haven, Connecticut.

About Joe Meyers

Joe Meyers is an award-winning journalist who has written features about movies, theater, and books for more than 30 years for Hearst Connecticut Media Group and other publications. He currently serves as Director of Programming for the Focus on French Cinema film festival in Connecticut and co-hosts the Spotify podcast, Now A Major Motion Picture. Meyers is the recipient of the prestigious Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his writing on crime fiction.