Barbara Taylor Sissel writes issue-oriented, upmarket women’s fiction threaded with elements of suspense and defined by an emphasis on how crime affects family. She is the author of ten novels: The Last Innocent Hour, The Ninth Step, The Volunteer, Evidence of Life, Safe Keeping, Crooked Little Lies, Faultlines, The Truth We Bury, What Lies Below, and Tell No One. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sissel was raised in various locations across the Midwest. She once lived on the grounds of a first offender prison facility, where her husband was a deputy warden. Interacting with the inmates, their families, and the people who worked with them made a profound impression on her. The experience gave her unique insight into the circumstances of the crimes and the often-surprising ways the justice system moved to deal with them. An avid gardener, Sissel has two sons and lives on a farm outside Austin in the Texas Hill Country.