Welcome to Paradise, and the Perfect Setting for Suspense

If you’ve ever felt a warm gulf breeze wrap around your shoulders like a promise, you understand why I choose to call Key West both my muse and my second home. I’m Evelyn Harper, mystery author and full-time sunset chaser, and I’m thrilled you’ve found your way to my little slice of literary paradise.

I have a love affair with the Conch Republic.

My very first trip south on U.S. 1 was meant to be a long weekend escape. One technicolor sunset, and one slice of Key lime pie later, I knew I’d return again and again. There’s a quirky vibrancy here that seeps into your bones: pastel cottages framed by hibiscus, roosters crowing in the streets, the salty tang of the Atlantic flirting with Cuban coffee from tiny walk-up cafés. Key West feels like the world’s last grand frontier for dreamers and, occasionally, for killers on the page.

Island edges make terrific story edges. On a four-by-two-mile rock, secrets can’t hide forever. I love weaving that delicious tension into my Isla Marlow Mysteries, from Death at Sunset Pier to The Conch Republic Conspiracy. Each book begins with a real sensation I’ve had here: the hush that falls over Mallory Square right after the street performers pack up, or the way moonlight turns the water ink-black on an otherwise jubilant night.

Mornings find me journaling on the porch of my conch-style cottage, Cuban espresso in hand and chickens scratching underfoot. By midday I’m cycling to the library on Fleming Street or people-watching at Blue Heaven with a notebook. Nights belong to the rhythm of the sea: I revise to the sound of waves, letting their cadence sharpen my dialogue.

One quirky habit? I keep a “shell of twists”—a giant conch shell where I drop scraps of paper, each scribbled with a surprise clue or red herring. When my plot stalls, I shake the shell and pull a prompt. Key West taught me that ideas should feel as tactile and unexpected as the coral beneath our toes.

Whether you’re here for the cocktails or the coastlines, my goal is to wrap you in the same warm-salt suspense that first captured me. Expect fearless heroines, morally gray villains, and plenty of whispered secrets carried on gulf breezes.

Grab a sunhat and a highlighter (trust me, you’ll want to mark those clues), and join me on this island-bright, shadow-tinged adventure. Together we’ll prove what every Conch local already knows:

Even paradise has a dark side, and that’s what makes it irresistible.

Thank you for stopping by. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes peeks, Key West travel tips, and, of course, the next Isla Marlow mystery. Until then, keep reading between the tides!