What is the title of your latest release?
THE HONG KONG WIDOW
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
THE HONG KONG WIDOW is about a young woman in 1950s Hong Kong who enters a séance competition at a haunted house, a competition that eventually becomes an urban legend.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I lived for a year in Hong Kong, and had been toying with the idea of setting a book there for ages. I knew I wanted to incorporate some element of my own family history and Chinese heritage, as well, and a significant portion of the novel takes place in Shanghai.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
In the story we encounter my protagonist at three different periods in her life (as a child, as a young woman, and as an elderly grandmother), and by now I feel like I’ve lived her entire lifetime along with her. I adore her. So, yes.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
curious, determined, vulnerable.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned that I could scare myself while writing a spooky scene.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
In the past, I’ve always edited as I drafted, but I’m working on becoming the kind of writer who waits. I enjoy editing more than I enjoy coming up with the first draft, so in a way I want to save it as a treat for myself.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Maybe this doesn’t count, but I am currently addicted to oat milk lattes, and the fancier the latte art, the better; I’ve half-convinced myself that my best writing days coincide with the best coffee days!
Describe your writing space/office!
My ‘office’ is situated at the end of a hallway, upstairs in my home, that overlooks the living room below. My desk is enormous and stacked with books and notebooks, mostly research for my current project.
Who is an author you admire?
I really admire C.J. Cooke, who is also published by my US publisher (Berkley). She’s a fantastic writer, she’s prolific, she’s open on social media about her writing processes and her struggles, and she’s incredibly kind.
Is there a book that changed your life?
The 4-book fantasy series “Alanna” by Tamora Pierce changed my life. It was the series that made me want to become a writer, as a kid.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was late afternoon, it was a lovely day out, and my agent at the time preferred phone calls to email and Zoom calls, so when I first saw her name come up, I didn’t think much of it. I was absolutely floored by the news. It’s a thrilling memory now!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
This changes regularly. I’m reading a lot of literary suspense at the moment!
What’s your favorite movie?
“North & South” from the BBC, which came out in 2004, based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel of the same name.
What is your favorite season?
Winter. Mostly because I love it when it’s freezing or snowing outside and you can stay in with a cup of tea, a blanket, a great book….
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
By taking it easy!
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the SOLVED podcast from Mark Manson; it’s really motivating.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Hong Kong cuisine! (Writing about it in The Hong Kong Widow, for select scenes, made me really hungry.)
What do you do when you have free time?
I used to be a runner, took a break for over a decade, and have recently taken it up again.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a third novel in the historical gothic space, but I can’t say much about it yet! Stay tuned!
THE HONG KONG WIDOW by Kristen Loesch
Hong Kong, 1953: In a remote mansion, witnesses insist a massacre took place. The police see nothing but pristine rooms and declare it a collective hallucination. Until decades later, when one witness returns…from the Edgar®-nominated author of The Last Russian Doll.
In 1950s Hong Kong, Mei is a young refugee of the Chinese Communist revolution struggling to put her past in Shanghai behind her. When she receives a shocking invitation—to take part in a competition in one of the city’s most notorious haunted houses, pitting six spirit mediums against one another in a series of six séances over six nights, until a single winner emerges—she has every reason to refuse.
Except that the hostess, a former Shanghainese silent film star, is none other than the wife of the man who once destroyed Mei’s entire life.
It is promised the winner will receive a fortune, but there is only one prize Mei wants: revenge.
Decades later, the final night of that competition has become an infamous urban legend: The police were called to the scene of a brutal massacre but found no evidence, dismissing it as a collective hallucination. Mei knows what she saw, but now someone else is convinced they know what she did. She must uncover the truth about the last night she ever spent in that house—even if the ghosts of her past are waiting for her there. . . .
Mystery Historical | Horror [Berkley, On Sale: October 7, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593548011 / eISBN: 9780593548035]
Amy Tan + The Sixth Sense = The Hong Kong Widow
Buy THE HONG KONG WIDOW: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Kristen Loesch
Kristen Loesch grew up in San Francisco. She holds a BA in History, as well as a Master’s degree in Slavonic Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her first novel, The Last Russian Doll, was a finalist for the Edgar Award and has been published in twelve territories. She lives with her family in Switzerland.
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