Congrats to hometowner Ridley Pearson (pictured above) on his new novel, White Bone, a thriller set in Kenya. Pearson, a New York Times bestselling author and Fulbright fellow, traveled to Kenya to experience firsthand animal poaching, government corruption and terrorism, all of which appear in the book, the latest in his series featuring operative John Knox and forensic expert Grace Chu. Pearson lives in Town & Country and has written more than four dozen novels.
St. Louis Rowing Club has, well, a boatload of talent. Members of the Junior Team recently competed in the USRowing Youth National Championship at Mercer Lake in New Jersey, and guess what? The Men’s Youth Pair Will Lerwick and Hunter Wallace placed first in the country! Several of the other club’s boats placed, as well, with two ranking fifth and one in ninth (in the nation!). Pictured: Coach Andrew Black with first-place winners Hunter Wallace and Will Lerwick
St. Louisan Amy Leigh Simpson has published her second romantic mystery, From Winter’s Ashes. The Crestwood mom gained kudos for her inaugural book, When Fall Fades, which USA Today’s reviewer called a ‘must read romance of 2015.’
Our young people have brains and brawn. Webster University students swept the World Open Chess Championship competition in Philadelphia. Of the 222 competing players, seven tied for first place, including Webster U’s Illia Nyzhnyk, Aleksandr Shimanov and Vasif Durarbayli. They came to Webster U. for its Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence, which has dominated college and professional competitions since it launched in 2012. Pictured: Shimanov, Susan Polgar, Durarbayli and Nyzhnyk
