Dear Reader,

Perhaps the only sign that I would eventually become a writer is that I was a voracious reader as a kid. I remember riding my bike to the public library in my town and trying to fit all the books I’d borrowed into my bike basket. On the way home, I had to watch out for all the bumps in the road so the books wouldn’t bounce out onto the street.

Back then, I couldn’t imagine ever becoming an author. It seemed like such an exotic, out-of-reach job, like being a movie star. And I couldn’t imagine sitting by myself for hours, days, weeks, months, years, or however long it took professional authors to write books. I had enough trouble doing my homework. 

But I was always writing or editing something. After college, I got a job as an editorial assistant for a children’s magazine called Cricket. It was loads of fun and I thought I would go to New York and become a trade book editor, but fate took me in another direction, and I ended up being a technical editor for, among other things, a periodical called the Swine Report (yes, it was about pigs). After that I wrote marketing material, ad copy, whatever came my way. Then in grad school, it was scholarly essays (Cinderella, fairy tale heroines, Walt Whitman).

In my thirties, I was raising kids and working as an adjunct professor teaching English. It was a busy life, but I was restless. I needed a challenge, something to keep my mind humming and growing, so one Sunday morning, almost on a whim, I wrote the first draft of a short story.

I’ve been writing fiction ever since. First a lot of short stories published in various literary journals; then, finally, my first novel, a comedy called SAVE YOUR OWN (an Indie Next Pick) published under the name Elisabeth Brink by then Houghton Mifflin. From there, under the name Elisabeth Elo, I wrote a suspense novel called NORTH OF BOSTON (Viking 2014) that Booklist named as one of the best debut crime novels of 2014. That was followed by FINDING KATARINA M (Polis 2019) which Publisher’s Weekly called “a tense and illuminating journey” and Elizabeth George called “an amazing accomplishment.”

Which brings me to where I am now, with my Merritt and Blunt mystery series written under the name Liza Tully. These books combine my love of crime with my love of humor in a way that I hope says something true about human nature. The first book in the series, THE WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE AND HER JUST OKAY ASSISTANT, was an NPR “Book of the Day” and the Seattle Times called it “a savvy, layered mystery with real narrative charm.” The second book in the series, THE FORTY YEAR GRUDGE will be published in June 2026.

I really enjoy writing these Merritt and Blunt mysteries, and I hope you will enjoy reading them. (You don’t have to read them in order as each is a self-contained mystery.) There are clues, red herrings, a motley cast of characters, unexpected developments, and, of course, the evolving relationship between an experienced, rather stern professional investigator and a rookie detective who’s determined to succeed. Not to mention a surprising (I hope) ending.

If you decide to give Merritt and Blunt a try, let me know what you think. You can reach me using the form on the Contact page, on Instagram @Lizatullywrites, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/epbrink. I hope to hear from you!

With warm wishes,

Liza Tully