Guest Post: The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor by Patricia Crisafulli

Hello readers, and thank you for visiting The Cozy Book Blog! I am happy to be today’s stop on the virtual book tour for The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor by Patricia Crisafulli. Many thanks to Lisa Munley at TLC Books for the invite. Enjoy the guest post below, and thanks again for stopping in. Happy reading! Diane-Lyn

Synopsis:

Amid a mountain of rain-soaked donations to the Ohnita Harbor Public Library rummage sale, Gabriela Domenici finds a small box that contains an odd-looking cross. When the carved center turns out to be ivory and a clue links the cross to Catherine of Siena, a medieval saint, Gabriela turns to her expertise as an authenticator of historic documents to lead the quest to discover the truth about this mysterious object. But the cross isn’t the only secret in town: first, a beloved Ohnita Harbor resident is found floating in the harbor and then someone else is murdered on the library lawn. As Gabriela races to solve the mystery of the cross, she discerns between infatuation and what could be the start of true love. All the while, she must stay one step ahead of the danger that slowly encircles her.

Publisher: Woodhall Press (September 6, 2022)

Paperback: 394 pages

@triciacrisafulli @woodhallpress #TheSecretsofOhnitaHarbor #AnOhnitaHarborMystery #cozymystery #mystery #literaryfiction @tlcbooktours

Guest Post:

Cozy Mystery Research: Inventing the “Treasure”
By Patricia Crisafulli
In the opening scene of The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor, which launches my Ohnita Harbor
Mystery series (Woodhall Press, September 2022), a curious-looking cross turns up in the
donations pile for the library rummage sale. Immediately, librarian Gabriela Domenici must
draw on her background in authentication to figure where the cross came from and its worth.
From the earliest drafts, I could picture Gabriela opening a small, nondescript carton and
finding a blue velvet bag cinched with a gold cord. Inside is the cross… But what does it look
like? I tried gold with jewels, silver with cabochon-cut stones. But neither struck me as right.
It would take a flight to New York, a visit to two museums, a dropped glove, and a trip to
the bathroom to find my cross. In embracing this research, I experienced the thrill of the mystery
firsthand.
My first stop on that New York trip was the Morgan Library, which had been the home of
legendary financier and medieval art enthusiast J.P. Morgan. I saw an exhibition of Emily
Dickinson’s poetry, but no medieval crosses. On my way out, I stopped in the lobby to put on my
coat, dropped my glove, and stooped to pick it up. Straightening, I came eye-to-eye with a sign:
“Abbey of Saint Michael – Siena, Italy, 14th century.”
Inside the display case sat a chalice decorated with what looked like brightly colored
tiles, each depicting a different scene. That was it! I knew my cross in the novel had to look like
that chalice. I scanned the description again and got one more clue: basse-taille enameling.

Flash forward to the next day when I had booked a before-hours tour of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. At the end of the tour, I asked the historian leading our group about examples of
basse-taille enameling. When she told me she hadn’t seen anything like that at the Met, I knew
I’d have to go somewhere else.
But first, I had to find the restroom. When I asked a guard for the closest one, I was
directed into the “Hall of Medieval Treasures.” I wandered past statues, cathedral gates,
carvings… and landed in front of a glass case filled with tiny brightly colored objects: basse-
taille enamels from the 14th and 15th century. On the wall behind that case stood a row of crosses
with the same design. There, in all their brightly colored beauty, were the prototypes for my
artifact at the heart of The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor.
Research made all the difference in bringing the artifact to life. More than that, I also
brought my own excitement for the discovery into the writing, connecting me even more closely
to my protagonist, Gabriela, as she follows one small clue to the next—to uncover the secret of
that cross.

Patricia Crisafulli is an award-winning author with a New York Times Bestseller to her credit.
Her first novel, The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor, is being published in September 2022 by
Woodhall Press.