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Bernadette Calonego

Goodreads Author

Born

Switzerland

Website

http://www.bernadettecalonego.com

Genre

Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Influences

Mystery writers like Minette Walters, Tami Hoag, Joy Fielding, Anne Ru ...more

Member Since

May 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/bernadettecalonego

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I was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, on Lake Lucerne, a very picturesque area with mountains and lakes. I grew up in a house full of book lovers. As a child, I sneaked in my brothers' rooms to read their adventure books like "Ivanhoe", "The Leatherstocking Tales", "Treasure Island", "Robinson Crusoe", "Huckleberry Finn". Or I persuaded my mother that I was old enough to read romances (they were really harmless!). To make me happy, I wanted nothing more than read a good book while eating an apple, and to be left alone!

My mother, a poet, encouraged me to try my hand at writing at an early age. My first publication was a fairytale, which appeared in a Swiss newspaper when I was eleven years old.

But I did not turn i I was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, on Lake Lucerne, a very picturesque area with mountains and lakes. I grew up in a house full of book lovers. As a child, I sneaked in my brothers' rooms to read their adventure books like "Ivanhoe", "The Leatherstocking Tales", "Treasure Island", "Robinson Crusoe", "Huckleberry Finn". Or I persuaded my mother that I was old enough to read romances (they were really harmless!). To make me happy, I wanted nothing more than read a good book while eating an apple, and to be left alone!

My mother, a poet, encouraged me to try my hand at writing at an early age. My first publication was a fairytale, which appeared in a Swiss newspaper when I was eleven years old.

But I did not turn into a writer right away. I became a teacher, then a reporter and a foreign correspondent.

My career has included working as a reporter/editor for Reuters newsagency in Zurich. My time covering financial news for Reuters inspired my book "The Zurich Conspiracy".

From 1990 to 2000, I was the foreign correspondent for “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the largest circulation daily newspaper in Germany, reporting from Switzerland. After I had emigrated to Canada, I wrote regularly for newspapers and magazines in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

I now reside and work as a crime novelist near Vancouver, Canada, on the beautiful Sunshine Coast (okay, in winter, it is raining a lot). Visitors in my backyard include black bears, racoons, coyotes and bold eagles. You can also find me often in northern Newfoundland on Canada's east coast which is moose, polar bear and humpback whale territory.
My popular mystery thriller series with intrepid RCMP detective sergeant Calista Gates is set in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Come and read my English blog on my website www.bernadettecalonego.com
You can also contact me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernadetteCa...
Or Instagram @bernadettecalonegoauthor
Or Tiktok @bernadettecalonego.author

I would love to hear from you!

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Combine Editions
Bernadette Calonego’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 3,250 ratings · 340 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	Stormy Cove 3.85 avg rating — 1,385 ratings — published 2015 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Under Dark Waters 3.80 avg rating — 399 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cries from the Cold (Detective Calista Gates, #1) by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 4.20 avg rating — 236 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Zurich Conspiracy by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 3.20 avg rating — 262 ratings — published 2012 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Stranger on the Ice by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 3.90 avg rating — 213 ratings — published 2016 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dark Chill (Detective Calista Gates #2) by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 4.37 avg rating — 156 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bay of Evil (Detective Calista Gates #3) by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 4.24 avg rating — 144 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murderous Morning by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Peter and Rosa Stenberg (Translator) 4.21 avg rating — 142 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Missing in the Dark (Detective Calista Gates #4) by Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author), Gerald Chapple (Translator) 4.38 avg rating — 94 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oh, wie schön ist Kanada! Leben unterm Ahornblatt. 3.29 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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47 posts
Bernadette Calonego's Blog: Eventful

Crime in a Cold Climate

After a long and cold winter in a fishing village in northern Newfoundland, Canada, I left for Central Europe in May, hoping for some warmth and sun. I got it all, but not in the way I thought.
First, I flew with a friend to the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca, the neighboring island of Mallorca, to hike there. We both thought the island was beautiful, but it was so hot that we had to limit our Read more of this blog post »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 16, 2026 12:41 • Tags: arctic, calista-gates, canada, danger, death, drift-ice, fishing-village, ice, labrador, newfoundland, snow, snow-storm, snowmobilesfreezing, winter

View all 47 posts »

Series by Bernadette Calonego

Calista Gates (6 books)
by

Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author)

4.29 avg rating — 659 ratings

Bernadette is Currently Reading

Bernadette Calonego is currently reading

Under a Dark Sky

by Lori Rader-Day (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jul 16, 2026 12:48PM

Bernadette Calonego is currently reading

The Monogram Murders (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries, #1)

by Sophie Hannah (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, crime, crime-novel, fiction-novel, mystery, novel, suspense

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Jul 16, 2026 12:46PM

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Bernadette Calonego wants to read Sorry Not Sorry by Alyssa Milano	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bernadette Calonego is currently reading The Monogram Murders (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries, #1) by Sophie Hannah (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bernadette Calonego finished reading The Wolf Hunt by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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An absolutely fantastic, gripping, well researched and well paced book. Probably my favourite in the last year.
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An absolutely fantastic, gripping, well researched and well paced book. Probably my favourite in the last year.
May 11, 2026 04:26AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Vanished Beyond the Map by Adam Shoalts. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Vanished Beyond the Map by Adam Shoalts <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Bernadette Calonego (?)

“laughed. “No, no, it says you took pictures of Justin Timberlake”
― Bernadette Calonego, Stormy Cove

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“We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal.”
― Bernadette Calonego, The Zurich Conspiracy

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“Lori folded her arms. “More of a documentary.”
― Bernadette Calonego, Stormy Cove

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Bernadette’s Quotes

“I`ve had a very difficult life. Fortunately, most of it didn`t happen.”
― Mark Twain

tags: humor

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