Award-Winning Teen Mystery Writer Speaking at Barnes & Noble Thursday

Shelly Dickson Carr was 10 years old when she read He Wouldn't Kill Patience, the classic mystery by her grandfather, John Dickson Carr. 

Since then she's been hooked on the genre and thinking about the mystery she'd one day write. 

Ripped is her first novel and it has been receiving critical praise and awards.

Thursday night, Dec. 12, Carr will read from her novel Ripped, talk about the writing process and sign copies of her Benjamin Franklin Award Winning Book at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Shoppers World in Framingham. The public is invited to the free event, which should start about 6:30 p.m.

Prior to Carr speaking at the Framingham bookstore, will be student performances from the Christa McAuliffe Regional Public Charter School in Framingham

The idea for RIPPED came while on a scouting trip, said Carr.

As a board member for the Huntington Theater in Boston, she has traveled
frequently to London with theater members in search of interesting new plays. While in London, the author began researching the mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper, one of the greatest unsolved murder cases in history. Carr tethers her fantastic fiction to meticulously researched facts, everything from fashion to architecture to 1888 police practices.

Her fascination with the 19th century started as a young girl, in a rambling Victorian house in Mamaroneck, New York. Her British mother, an author and bibliophile, filled every room in the house with floor-to-ceiling book shelves. Leather-bound classics abounded. Her friends called it the library house. 

In third grade, Carr read all the Just So Stories by Kipling, because she could reach them on the lower shelves.

The Boston Globe said "Shelly Dickson Carr totally rocks the world of smart young-adult fiction. Smart she is, with a wicked eye and an understanding of human nature. You will hear a lot from Carr in the future. Her star shines through the London fog in RIPPED, a winner all the way," in its review of Ripped.

A founding member of The Masterpiece Trust that enabled Downton Abbey to be aired on PBS, and a supporter of Masterpiece Mystery's Sherlock, the author has a deep love of all things British.

"You’ll be torn by the need to race through the pages of RIPPED to discover what horror happens next, and the desire to slow down and savor the fascinating details of Victorian London. A ripping-good novel," said Rubber Houses author Ellen Yeomans.

In Ripped, Boston teen Katie Lennox, a fan of CSI-type shows, travels back in time to solve the Jack the Ripper murders. 

RIPPED received three Ben Franklin Awards at the 2013 Independent Book Publishers Association's Awards Ceremony in New York City. Gold: The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book. Silver: Best New Voice. Silver: Best Mystery/Suspense. 

Carr has three daughters and lives with her husband, their youngest daughter, and their bulldog Becket on Beacon Hill in Boston. She has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College, and an undergraduate degree in education.