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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: 3.89 · 3,180 ratings · 333 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	Stormy Cove 3.85 avg rating — 1,380 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 — 392 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) 4.19 avg rating — 226 ratings — 2 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) 3.19 avg rating — 259 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) 3.89 avg rating — 211 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) 4.36 avg rating — 151 ratings — 2 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) 4.23 avg rating — 141 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) 4.22 avg rating — 139 ratings — 2 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) 4.36 avg rating — 91 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. 3.27 avg rating — 67 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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45 posts
Bernadette Calonego's Blog: Eventful

Life in the Cold

It is now late January, and in northern Newfoundland, we still have at least three winter months ahead of us. I will use the time to write the draft for a new Calista Gates mystery and plan a hiking vacation in Europe’s warmer climes. It’s not that winter in Canada doesn’t have its pleasures. If you adjust to it, it can sometimes be quite enjoyable. Our tiny fishing village is also home to an arti Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 21, 2026 07:12 • Tags: canada, cold, crime-novel, fishing-village, ice, newfoundland, small-town, winter-storm-dark-moon-island

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Series by Bernadette Calonego

Calista Gates (6 books)
by

Bernadette Calonego (Goodreads Author)

4.28 avg rating — 634 ratings

Bernadette is Currently Reading

Bernadette Calonego is currently reading

Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell

by Adam Shoalts

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Oct 09, 2025 04:37AM

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The Wolf Hunt

by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

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Sep 20, 2025 01:18PM

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Bernadette Calonego is currently reading Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell by Adam Shoalts	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 and 5 other people liked Kara Babcock's review of The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World: "Long have I regarded the economy as a fickle, fictitious construct of humanity. If we disappeared, it would disappear (although its effects on the environment would remain). However, that's a very naive view to take, and not a particularly helpful on" Read more of this review »
Jul 27, 2025 06:09AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bernadette Calonego liked Michele Hodder's review of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage:
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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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