Holly West (she/her) is the author of the Mistress of Fortune series, set in late 17th century London and featuring amateur sleuth Isabel Wilde, a mistress to King Charles II who secretly makes her living as a fortuneteller. The first in the series, Mistress of Fortune, was nominated for the Left Coast Crime Rosebud Award for Best First Novel.

Holly’s short stories appear online and in numerous anthologies, including The Big Book of Jack the Ripper, Florida Happens, and, most recently, The Eviction of Hope. Her short fiction has been honored with Anthony Award nominations four times, and her novella, The Money Block, about a pair of grifters who set up a cryptocurrency con, is out now.

Holly edited Murder-A-Go-Go’s: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of the Go-Go’s, an Anthony Award-nominated crime fiction anthology inspired by the music of The Go-Go’s. Net proceeds from the collection benefit Planned Parenthood of America. In 2024, she won the Anthony Award for Best Anthology for editing Killin’ Time in San Diego, the 2023 Anthony Award-winning Bouchercon anthology.

Before devoting herself to writing fiction full-time, Holly was an accomplished goldsmith and jewelry designer. Prior to that, she worked as a foreign credentials analyst and published several nonfiction monographs on international educational systems throughout the world.

Holly lives in Northern California with her husband and dog.