Widows and Orphans: A Quill & Packet Mystery

In Port Ellis, there's no off-season for murder.

Journalist Cat Conway is looking forward to an easy assignment covering a major wellness and self-actualization summit at the Pinerock Resort, featuring Bliss Bondar and Bree Guthrie, creators of the Welcome, Goddess empire and widows with attitude. Cat's mother, Marian Conway, bestselling author and defiantly mediocre parent, is on the agenda--and so is murder.

When one of the influencers turns up dead, suspicion falls on the high-profile guests. Could the killer be a jealous business partner? Or the Instagram-famous poet? The empowerment guru whose wife hates him? Or Cat's mother, who has a reputation to protect and a shocking secret to hide?

Cat's pulled into investigating another celebrity death, but this time while facing the possible demise of her livelihood: The Quill & Packet is struggling financially, and may be headed toward its final edition. A convoy of protesters, angry at Cat's reporting, has besieged the Quill's newsroom. Can Cat rescue her mother and her newspaper, or will the killer stalking Port Ellis beat her to the deadline?

ELIZABETH RENZETTI is a bestselling Canadian author and journalist. She has worked for the Globe and Mail as a reporter, editor, and columnist. In 2020, she won the Landsberg Award for her reporting on gender equality. She is the author of the essay collection Shrewed: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women and Girls and the novel Based on a True Story. Her book What She Said: Conversations about Equality will be published in 2024. She lives in Toronto with her family.

KATE HILTON is a bestselling Canadian writer. She is the co-author of the Quill & Packet mystery series; the most recent title, Widows and Orphans, was published in 2025. Her fiction includes the forthcoming City of the Muse (2026), as well as The Hole in the Middle, Just Like Family, and Better Luck Next Time. When not writing, Kate maintains an active psychotherapy practice, with a particular focus on personal reinvention and life transitions. She lives with her family in Toronto.