Cynthia E. Hurst is the author of the R&P Labs Mysteries series, featuring Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia and Mitch -- five scientists with a talent for solving murders matched only by their ability to stumble across them in the first place. The Zukie Merlino mysteries are a spin-off of these, with the main character first appearing in the R&P Labs short story "Halfbaked". Like her characters, Cynthia grew up in Seattle, and then graduated from the University of Oregon with a journalism degree. She has been a reporter, copy editor and columnist at various newspapers, and also spent five years as a housing officer for British military families. She and her husband George have two sons and divide their time between Seattle and the English Cotswolds. The R&P Labs mysteries were inspired by the time spent at the small research lab in Seattle where her parents, a research chemist and a bacteriologist, both worked, and many of the R&P staff's projects were ones actually undertaken by the lab. The inspiration for Zukie and Lou came from her Italian relatives. In both cases, the murders remain entirely fictional. "Northwest noir with a twist of wit and an intriguing cast of characters." -- Mary Daheim, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the B&B and Alpine/Emma Lord mystery series