Biography of Kate Ross 
Katherine (Kate) Ross was the author of the successful Julian Kestrel mystery series, a graduate of Wellesley College and the Yale law school, and was a trial lawyer for the Boston law firm of Sullivan & Worcester. After a long battle with cancer, Kate passed away on March 12, 1998.

Ross had always enjoyed working with words. And she had always loved to read, which is a hallmark of a budding writer. Research is extremely important to a period piece. Ross found that, no matter how much material she gather about 1820s England, each book requires in-depth research on particular topics. But research should never be the tail wagging the dog.

Her books are mysteries, which means that plot and character are always paramount. Ross did exhaustive research for a particular novel, but then she only use about 10% of it. She love period detail, so there's always the temptation to splash it in all directions. All the same, Ross ruthlessly cut out any description that doesn't further her story-telling but merely shows how much research she did. Readers surely do not want to hear exhaustive descriptions of the characters' curtains.