Quincy in Fiction & Memoir with Authors Emily Ross & Brett Peruzzi

Celebrate Quincy, Massachusetts with two local authors: Emily Ross () and Brett Peruzzi (). Both authors will discuss their books and how they depict Quincy, read passages that describe aspects of Quincy, and talk about differences and similarities in writing fiction and memoir about Quincy.

About Swallowtail

In the gritty seaside town of Quincy, Massachusetts, the killing of a teenager on her daughter’s dance team plunges Detective Samantha Star into the trauma of her abduction twenty years before. As clues point to a serial killer obsessed with Surrealism and Greek myth, Sam must unravel the mystery of her own kidnapping to solve the crime–before her daughter is next. At stake are not just the teenagers’ lives, but also Sam’s identity as a detective and an artist, and a community’s chance at healing.

About Emily Ross:

Emily Ross is the author of the mystery thriller, Swallowtail (from Galiot press), and of the International Thriller Writers Awards finalist, Half in Love with Death. She won the Al Blanchard best story award for her short story, “Let the Chips Fall,” which appeared in Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024. Swallowtail is set in Quincy, MA, where she lives her husband. Learn more at emilyrosswrites.com.

About Quincy Boy:

Part coming-of-age story, part family mystery, and a tribute to the author's hometown, Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir captures the people, places, and culture that shaped a generation in this historic Massachusetts city. Through vivid storytelling and emotional honesty, Peruzzi explores how hometowns—and the people we lose—continue to define us. Through scenes of a complicated family life, teenage misadventures, cliff jumping in the city’s granite quarries, and the cultural upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s, Brett Peruzzi captures the universal experience of growing up and finding one’s place in the world.

About Brett Peruzzi:

Brett Peruzzi grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, during the 1960s and 1970s—the time and place that inspired his book Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in The Boston Globe, Ovunque Siamo, Modern Haiku, Exquisite Corpse, and other publications. A graduate of Bridgewater State College and Northeastern University, where he later taught writing, Brett spent many years in the financial services industry before becoming an independent writer, editor, and educator. He lives in Framingham, Massachusetts.

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Host or Publisher Thomas Crane Public Library