Hank Phillippi Ryan Comes to Marlborough April 16

Special Guest Author and longtime Investigative Reporter on WHDH-TV Channel 7 Hank Phillippi Ryan will be appearing on Wednesday, April 16, at 7 PM at the Marlborough Public Library for The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library’s  “MetroWest Daily News/Marlborough Enterprise 2014 McConnell Author/Celebrity Series No. 31,” Hosted by Alyson Cox. 

Hank will be the second of four blockbuster timely authors scheduled for this 31st year series in the Bigelow Auditorium, Marlborough Public Library, 35 West Main St. in Marlborough. Admission is free, open to the public and the auditorium is full handicapped accessible. She will autograph her new bestselling book “The Wrong Girl“ for you. Her book will be on sale the evening of the program.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is well known as the longtime on-camera investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate, WHDH-TV, where she has won 30 EMMYs and 12 Edward R. Murrow awards. But now, she has gained countless new fans for her award-winning and critically-acclaimed bestselling mystery/thriller novels, including 2012’s The Other Woman, which recently won the Mary Higgins Clark Award (Mystery Writers of America) as well as being nominated for the Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, Daphne and Shamus Awards. Now she is back with another chilling and heart-wrenching novel of suspense--a thrilling tale of dark secrets and frightening betrayal that strikes at the heart of every family: THE WRONG GIRL. (Forge Hardcover, On-sale: September 10, 2013).

Praised by many bestselling fellow authors including Robert B. Parker, Lisa Scottoline, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, and more, Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books are skillfully told tales inspired by experiences in real-life journalism,that have broad appeal and will keep readers rapt. As a journalist, she is uniquely qualified to tell fascinating stories as heart-stopping page-turners.

Last seen in The Other Woman trying to overcome her disgrace after being discredited as a journalist, investigative reporter Jane Ryland now returns in THE WRONG GIRL--and this time she's on the trail of a frightening story that could rip families apart. Does a respected adoption agency have a frightening secret? Tipped off by a determined ex-colleague on a desperate quest to find her birth mother, Boston newspaper reporter Ryland begins to suspect that the agency is engaging in the ultimate betrayal--are they reuniting birth parents with the wrong children? For detective Jake Brogan and his partner, a young woman’s brutal murder seems a sadly predictable case of domestic violence, one that results in two toddlers being shuttled into the foster care system. Then Jake finds an empty cradle at the murder scene. Where is the baby who should have been sleeping there? Jane and Jake are soon on a trail full of twists and turns that takes them deep into the heart of a foster care system in crisis and threatens to blow the lid off an adoption agency scandal. When the threatening phone calls start, Jane knows she is on the right track…but with both a killer at large and an infant missing, time is running out….

THE WRONG GIRL is a riveting novel of family connections—both known and unknown—vile greed, senseless murder, and the ultimate in deception. What if you didn’t know the truth about your own family?  A television reporter since 1975, her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for victims.

She began her TV career in 1975, anchoring and reporting the news for TV stations in Indianapolis and then Atlanta. She’s battled her way through hurricanes, floods and blizzards, wired herself with hidden cameras, chased criminals and confronted corrupt politicians. With ground-breaking reports including revealing mistakes in the 911 system that sent emergency responders to the wrong addresses, a failing jury selection system, firefighters given outmoded and failing equipment, corruption in the mortgage industry and unfair practices by powerful contractors, her hard-hitting journalism has changed laws and changed lives. She has also covered national political conventions, the NBA playoffs and the Super Bowl, and has interviewed newsmakers from Prince Charles to President Carter to Muhammad Ali.  She grew up in the Indianapolis area and went to Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, where she majored in Shakespeare (and “minored” in “independent reading and listening to rock and roll records”). She also studied abroad at the International School in Hamburg, Germany.

Outside Channel 7, she’s on the national Board of Directors of Mystery Writers of America (one of the creators of MWA-U, and a teacher on the MWA-U faculty). She’s also the 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime, which promotes the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry. She’s also on the advisory board of the Lyric Stage of Boston, a professional theater company. There, she founded the Lyric’s “First Curtain” program, which provides the full theater experience for underprivileged students with free tickets and theater education scholarships.  She lives in the Boston area with her husband, a nationally renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorney

Alyson Cox holds a Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University. She has worked in children’s and teen ser­vices in Massachusetts libraries including the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead, and the Northbor­ough Free Library. Most recently, she held the position of Teen Services Librarian in Marlborough.

Alyson’s experience interviewing authors began when she fearlessly cold-called her idol, teen literature pioneer Robert Cormier, in 1997. What ensued was a lively discussion of The Chocolate War for her teen book group with the author himself. She was hooked!

Since then, she has been sharing the talents of various children’s performers with church and library audiences. Along the way, she has hosted writers such as Deborah Savage, Alex Packer, and Newbury Honor winner Alan Armstrong.

The Author Series programs are funded and sponsored in part by grants from the Ezra Cutting Trust-- Bank of American Trustee; the Marlborough Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; The Friends Memorial Fund established by an anonymous donor of $25,000; A Gift from Cummings Properties in Honor of Ginger Ryan and the Brigham Family Trust and Major Media Sponsor MetroWest Daily News and the Marlborough Enterprise.  Thanks to Richard Lodge, Editor-in-Chief of the Marlborough Enterprise and Kristen Mello for their assistance in making the Series possible.  Also thanks to the Tatnuck Bookseller of Westborough, Charlie Napoleon, Manager, for his assistance also. Thanks to Dan Guindon, General Manager, and Mike Lawton of WMCT-TV Channel 8-Marlborough for the taping of the Series and airing the programs on Channel 8.

The remaining two blockbuster authors to appear for The Friends Author Series are Ben Bradlee, Jr., author of “The Kid—The Immortal Life of Ted Williams” on Wed., May 14th at 7 PM and William Martin, author of “The Lincoln Letter” on the rescheduled date of Wed., June 4th at 7 PM.

For further information on the Author Series, please call 413-648-9663 or email: rajohnson736@gmail.com or go on-line to:  mpl-riends.org.

Submitted by Ray Johnson, The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library.