Claremary P. Sweeney
Author of the South County Mystery Series.
About
Claremary Sweeney is a writer/photographer from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. She spent her earlier years in the field of education and now, retired, she uses her imagination to create stories that can be enjoyed by children of all ages and the young at heart.
Within her first book, A Berkshire Tale, are the original ten ZuZu Stories about the adventures of a kitten born on a farm in the Berkshire Hills. It's filled with settings that make this area an historic as well as a cultural center in western Massachusetts.Written in verse, Carnivore Conundrum concerns Adonis, a little pitcher plant. He decides one morning, after a traumatic incident with a fly flailing around in his digestive juices, that he will be swearing off meat. His mother and all the plants and creatures in the garden must find a way to coax this stubborn baby to eat again.
Last Train to Kingston first introduced South Kingstown Detective Kara Langley and her friends, recurring characters developed throughout all of the books. This was soon followed by Last Rose on the Vine, Last Carol of the Season, and Last Sermon for a Sinner. Last Castle in the Sand is the fifth addition to Sweeney's South County Mystery Series. As in the previous four books, it incorporates local history and settings with familiar coastal scenes from Matunuck, Moonstone, and Narragansett - places that have long enticed visitors to the shores of our Ocean State. Last Walk in the Park, set in Westerly, the southernmost town in Rhode Island, is the latest in the series.
Dedication: Last Castle in the Sand
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go - so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, "There is no memory of him here!"
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.from "Time Does Not Bring Relief" (Sonnet II) by Edna St. Vincent MillayCharle, To hold your hand, touch your face, and see your smile once more.
News & Events
News
My completed project for the Rhode Island PBS Our Town Series is available to view on PBS at Our Town, South Kingstown. My contribution to the production is a segment on the historic places I use as settings within the South County Mystery Series. It involved writing a story script, videotaping the settings, and interviewing some of the locals who helped me with my background research for the books.As a member of the Wakefield Village Association which promotes businesses in the area, I coordinated fellow authors to participate in the Thursday Night Summer RiverFire events along the Saugatucket River. I had lots of cooperation and it was a fun time for families and the many visitors who flock to the area during the summer months.The Association of RI Authors (ARIA) accepted my poetry submission entitled “Amid Dark Hearts”. It is included with the writings of other RI authors in its 2023 Anthology In a Dark Time.In doing research for my next book, I’ve become involved in a group from the Media Education Lab at the University of RI. The project, Courageous Conversations, is funded by a Homeland Security Grant and studies media and its effects on our thought processes. Its primary goal is “to reduce the hate that leads to violence by building a coalition of empowered people who recognize, analyze, and resist harmful forms of expression and communication”. It’s an open forum and welcomes new people (you don’t have to be from RI) anytime. Visit the website. It’s filled with great resources on this topic.My next installment in the South County Mystery Series is still in the research stages. Along with Kara and her family and friends, Last Step Beyond the Pale will introduce a new character, Clementine Melville. She just happens to be a woman author in her 70’s who lives in a Victorian House with red roses blooming along a black wrought iron fence; a large, inviting front porch; a backyard greenhouse filled with lovely, lethal plants; and a secret bookcase door leading into a dark cellar. So many of my readers ask if I identify with any of my characters, and in the future, I’ll be able to tell them “Yes!”
Events
Upcoming news for 2024:
I have completed a Two-Act Play entitled Ambush and plan a future reading with actors at the Contemporary Theater Company in Wakefield.On March 4, 2024, at the Cranston Public Library, I will be joining Professor Dennis Hilliard in a podcast moderated by Tayla Cardillo. Professor Hilliard is in charge of the RI State Forensics Laboratory where I do some of the research for the SC Mystery Series. I modeled the character of Professor Hill after Dennis in my books.I have planned a series of classes around my SC Mystery Books to be offered during the Summer and Fall sessions at URI's OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). More information to follow as dates are set.I am working with a local artist, Susan Sward, to create a hardcover, illustrated book from the Christmas story included in my children's book, A Berkshire Tale. In the future, I'll be sharing some of those illustrations with you on this site.I continue to speak at book clubs, libraries, book stores, and events.Please email me at [email protected], if you would like to invite me to spend some time discussing my books with your group.
Thanks to all of the people who give me valuable feedback which helps to make this series so popular.
Mystery Books
Last Train To Kingston
On a chill November night, Thea Lorimar arrives on the last train to the small village of Kingston, Rhode Island.She patiently waits, unaware of her killer lurking in the darkness.South Kingstown's Detective Lieutenant Kara Langley is charged with unraveling the clues left behind to discover what brought the victim to this picturesque New England Village. Who would have reason to murder this gentle recluse?Langley and her team are determined to find answers and catch the person responsible for this disquieting death in a town once affectionately known as Little Rest.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 1
Last Rose On The Vine
The tranquility of an early Sunday morning abruptly ends for University of Rhode Island master gardener, Miriam Carnavale, when she discovers the body of Professor Paul Waddington in the college’s rose garden.His throat is slashed, a RI red rose boutonniere tucked into his tuxedo.South Kingstown Detective Kara Langley soon realizes there are more than enough suspects among the disgruntled graduate students working for the Waddingtons’ program. But, investigating further, she finds the unpopular couple has left behind allegations of harrassment and embezzlement at the previous colleges where they worked. Has their past finally caught up with them in the peaceful Kingston village? Paul’s pretentious wife, Stephanie, knows more than she’s telling, leaving Kara to piece together the clues before the murderer strikes again.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 2
Last Carol Of The Season
Last Carol of the Season is filled with local settings and holiday traditions.Detective Kara Langley and her friends are preparing for the Annual Winter Wonderland Festivities on Wakefield’s Main Street. Their Black Friday shopping spree is suddenly interrupted when Sophia discovers the body of Sherman Pruitt in the lady’s dressing room of Kenyon’s Department Store. Kara is on leave from the department and dealing with questions regarding her future, but she agrees to help Detective Carl Sullivan investigate Pruitt’s death.Together, they find an intriguing array of suspects with the means, opportunity, and motive to kill this odious man in the third book of the South County Mystery Series.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 3
Last Sermon For A Sinner
Spring is a hopeful season in South County, Rhode Island.It's springtime in South County, Rhode Island. The last of the snow has melted. Villagers are venturing outside after the cold winter months. Gardens are awakening. But this March, along with the feeling of rebirth, comes a sense of foreboding when Gilbert Cheevers overhears a confession one Friday night in Saint Bibiana's Church. His eavesdropping could lead to solving the mystery of young Anthony Tucker who went missing on his way home from church school six years ago. Detectives Carl Sullivan and Kara Langley are called upon to revisit the Tucker case when Father John Erlich suddenly vanishes along with the church's money. The investigation helps connect the people and their ties to both disappearances but in the process it also puts Kara in imminent danger.Meanwhile, on the stage of the Peace Dale Library, the local thespians are rehearsing for their latest play - a murder mystery. Sophia Carnavale has enlisted the help of her family and friends to get the show produced. But a series of unfortunate events cause the cast and crew to question whether they will survive to opening night in this once peaceful little village.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 4
Last Castle in the Sand
Dr. Morgan Duckworth embarks from her oceanfront estate to begin her nightly run around Narraganset Pier.As she nears Druid’s Circle, an engine revs. Headlights beam from out of the darkness. She is suddenly overcome with a sense of imminent danger. The car passes only to turn and run her down. The driver steps out and bends to deliver a final message. “You deserve to die.” The list of suspects is long and includes Duckworth’s old patients, family, and past friends who have good reason to wish the doctor ill. Detective Kara Langley is called upon to assist the Narraganset Police with the case. A conflict of interest arises when their investigation leads to the arrest of Kara's friend. She must find a way to prove him innocent although the evidence points squarely in his direction.The 5th installment in the South County Mystery Series finds Kara and her friends enjoying the close of the tourist season when beaches, once again, are returned to the locals. This brief respite soon ends with a murder, an arrest, and an impending storm all combining to threaten the tranquil seaside resorts which have made the Ocean State famous.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 5
Last Walk in the Park
Someone wants Dr. Ruth Eddleman to stay away from the Westerly Library where she's been mentoring a group of local mystery writers.Her workshops have progressed innocently enough until one of the authors, Bartleby Schnelling, goes missing, but not before leaving the professor a cryptic warning. Ruth asks her friend, Detective Kara Langley, to investigate Schnelling's disappearance.When his body is discovered under the ice in Wilcox Park's skating pond, Kara must uncover the reasons for his murder. She becomes convinced someone did not want to see his spy novel published. But was this enough motive to kill? Members of the workshop become prime suspects as she delves into their private lives and the backgrounds of the murder plots they are hatching between the covers of their books.As the killer becomes more desperate, Kara realizes she must unravel the clues before Ruth becomes the next victim.
The South County Mystery Series: Book 6
Children's books
A Berkshire Tale
Surrounded by the beauty of the changing seasons, ZuZu, a little tabby, and her best friend Nick explore the many wonders of their home in the Berkshire Hills.From famous people and places, to playful alpacas, flying horses, industrious worms and endangered butterflies, this is their story - a magical tale of their new friendship and the adventures and experiences, ups and downs, and happy endings they share on their Tanglewood farm.Books may be purchased on request from author
The Pacas Are Coming!
ZuZu and the Crias
Up in the Berkshires, it’s been snowing forever and ZuZu hasn’t been able to go on adventures.But suddenly there’s the promise of some excitement. The farmer is bringing new animals to the barn and ZuZu can hardly wait to make friends with these gentle creatures that hum and, according to ZuZu, "have fleas". The pacas are coming!
Carnivore Conundrum
Adonis, a carnivorous plant, awakes one morning to find a fly trapped in his digestive juices.The fly pleads to be set free and Adonis spits it out declaring, "I'm swearing off meat!" His mother, Dee, fearing her baby will "wither and wane”, enlists the aid of the Koi and plants in the Botanical Center to save the little pitcher plant from starvation. They all have ingenious solutions, especially Aladosha the wise, old toad.
Contact Claremary
Please email Claremary Sweeney if you have questions about her books or would like to invite her to your event.