Historical mystery author to join online discussion June 17 at Lewes History Book festival

The Lewes History Book Festival and the Lewes Public Library will present Ed Ruggero, author of the historical mystery novel “Blame the Dead,” in a live discussion via Zoom Wednesday, June 17, at 2 p.m. 

This free event is one in a popular series of History Book Discussions held on the third Wednesday of each month. To register, go to www.leweslibrary.org and click on Virtual Programs for Adults. Instructions for joining the conversation will be sent the day before the event.

“Blame the Dead,” the first book in a planned World War II series, is set in a U.S. Army field hospital in Sicily in 1943. Military Police Lieutenant Eddie Harkins, a former Philadelphia cop, is called to investigate the murder of Dr. Myers Stephenson. Harkins and nurse Kathleen Donnelly, a childhood friend who may be something more, struggle to find the killer as the battle lines push forward. 

Publisher’s Weekly calls “Blame the Dead” an “exceptional WWII mystery … Ruggero makes the carrying out of a homicide inquiry in wartime both exciting and plausible.”

A part-time resident of Lewes, Ruggero is a West Point grad and former Army officer who has written 11 books - fiction, military history, and titles on leadership. 

Copies of “Blame the Dead” are available from Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, the official bookseller of the History Book Festival. To order, call 302-226-2665 or go to www.browseaboutbooks.com for ordering information and store hours.

The History Book Discussions are presented by the History Book Festival and the Lewes Public Library, in conjunction with the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries, and sponsored by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.

The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. Led by a volunteer board and funded in part by tax-deductible contributions through the Greater Lewes Foundation, the festival’s organizers believe in the power of history, literature and civil dialogue to influence the future for the better. For additional information, visit www.historybookfestival.org.

The Lewes Public Library anticipates the needs of the community and adapts, creates and supports classes and programs for all ages that encourage a love of reading, exploration and discovery. The library provides access for a wide variety of educational, informational and recreational materials to all members of the community through traditional resources and emerging technologies. For more information, visit lewes.lib.de.us.