Author Cathy Pepe

Cathy Pepe (1943–2023), author of the Grandma Gang book series, was a retired lawyer, mother of two and sister to three – including the real-life Donny. Cathy began writing Mary Grace and Donny: A Grandma Gang Mystery during the COVID-19 pandemic, wanting to share stories inspired by her brother. She grew up in Long Beach, California, one of four children. While the Grandma Gang Mysteries are fiction, many of the characters and incidents were inspired by living with Donny and the rest of Cathy’s amazing family.

Prior to writing the Grandma Gang Mysteries, Cathy was an accomplished lawyer at a prestigious international law firm and became the first woman partner in the Labor and Employment Law practice group. She attended law school after being at home with her two sons for 11 years, paying her tuition by winning two TV game shows. She graduated summa cum laude – and number two in a class of 400. Cathy hopes that after reading the Grandma Gang Mysteries you, too, will shout with Donny, “Today is the best day of my life!”