Author Anne-Marie Sutton has lived in Newport, Rhode Island and used her knowledge of the city and its fabulous Gilded Age mansions to craft her mystery novels, Murder Stalks A Mansion and Gilded Death.

"I love walking on the Cliff Walk, and it truly was my inspiration for both of the stories in my Newport Mystery Series. The Cliff Walk, for those who don't know Newport, is a three mile stretch of pathways and steps along the high rocky sea wall of the Atlantic Ocean. It begins at Easton's Beach, a broad sandy ocean beach, and travels toward the area behind the south end of Bellevue Avenue, the avenue of the mansions. I don't know what first put the idea of murder in my head. I love reading mysteries and started thinking how pleasant it would be to read something set in Newport, particularly near the Cliff Walk which is where I placed the stories' fictional mansion/turned inn Kenwood Court. I enjoy the classic British mystery books, especially what are referred to as country house mysteries. Of course, the wealthy residents of Newport have always called their homes summer cottages, so I guess you could say what I've really written is a summer cottage mystery."

A journalist and marketing/communications consultant, Anne-Marie Sutton has lectured on mass communications at the college level. She was born in Baltimore and graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in English. Now residing in Connecticut with her family, she continues to spend time in Newport and write stories set there. She is currently working on a third book in the series, Keep My Secret.