The Ladies' Killing Circle

Sure, they look harmless enough, but the six writers who make up this group have a lot of explaining to do. Joan Boswell, Vicki Cameron, Barbara Fradkin, Sue Pike, Linda Wiken, and Mary Jane Maffini are more than just friends: We have murder on our minds.

Our crimes include the six Ladies Killing Circle anthologies: The Ladies Killing Circle, Cottage Country Killers, Menopause is Murder, Fit to Die, Bone Dance, and When Boomers Go Bad, all featuring light and dark mystery short stories from Canadian women authors.

Fit to Die, Bone Dance, and When Boomers Go Bad are published by RendezVous Crime, a division of Napoleon and Company in Toronto, This highly successful series of anthologies has netted 10 nominations for the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story, scooping up three Arthurs. A new anthology, Going Out with a Bang, is scheduled for fall 2008 from RendezVous Crime.

When not plotting or discussing new methods of dispatch, our group of co-conspirators can be heard laughing or sometimes spotted shopping. If all else fails, try the dog park. Or even Florida, where life's a beach.

No matter what we're doing, the memory of the wit and wisdom of our friend Audrey Jessup will never leave us. Audrey died in 2003 but is still with us in spirit.