Penguin Debut Author Writes Fatal fixer-upper
NASHVILLE, TN.–Jennie Bentley is a promising new author writing a new genre fiction they call Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation Mysteries.
Bentley will introduce herself to the crime fiction-reading public in early November when Penguin Berkley Prime Crime releases Fatal fixer-upper in bookstores.
It’s the first of a three-book series released in mass market paperback. This Nashville-based author seems a natural fit for the genre. Bentley—her real name is Bente Gallagher—is a realtor and has owned and renovated seven houses in the past decade. So she understands the setting for Fatal fixer-upper:
New York City textile designer Avery Baker has inherited her Aunt Inga’s Second Empire Victorian Cottage in Waterfield Maine. Leaving behind her career and an unfaithful boyfriend, she tackles the job of renovating the old home place. The renovating project takes a turn when Avery discovers the business card of missing history professor Martin Wentworth in Aunt Inga’s desk.
“The book has a little bit of everything,” said Gallagher. “The main character inherits a house, gets involved with the handyman and there’s murder and mystery, both in the present and the past. The publish er wanted a series of renovation mysteries set in New England and they were looking for someone to write this.” Enter Gallagher, with her real estate/renovation background, an uncanny gift for writing fiction and her pseudonym Jennie Bentley.
“I wanted to write like Elizabeth Peters,” she said with a smile. “It didn’t work out. I kind of look at it as Elizabeth Peters meets Janet Evanovich. Now I hope people will enjoy it. As a debut author that’s always a curious thing to see…how people react to your writing. I hope they find it entertaining to read. It’s a mystery and it would also appeal to those who like cozy fiction or even a little romance.” The back pages of the book even features renovation tips. “I think it will appeal to the HGTV audience as well,” she said.
Gallagher speaks in her native Norwegian accent. She was born and raised in Oslo and moved to New York City at age 20. Today she resides with her husband and children in Nashville, TN.
