About Peter Benario
Telling stories of the past and the ways
it continues to shape the present.
The author today
A Lifelong Love of Stories
Peter Benario is an author whose work explores the lasting influence of history, family, memory, and place.
After a long and successful business career, Peter turned his attention to a story that had been part of his family for generations. His first book, Yesterday Was Not So Long Ago, grew from the handwritten diaries of his mother, Ruth Pein Benario, who came of age in Germany during World War II.
Ruth was a Protestant German teenager whose life was transformed by war, loss, and two extraordinary relationships: one with a German naval officer and another with Ernest Benario, a German-Jewish counterintelligence officer who later became her husband and Peter’s father. Drawing on Ruth’s diaries, personal recollections, photographs, and historical research, Peter created a deeply personal account of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.
Peter is now writing the Captiva Tides mystery trilogy, a work of fiction set amid the beauty, wealth, and carefully guarded secrets of Florida’s Captiva Island. The series combines atmospheric suspense, family history, romance, and murder, reflecting Peter’s fascination with the secrets people keep—and the consequences when the past refuses to stay buried.
A graduate of American University, Peter lives in Florida with his wife, Karen. When he is not writing, he enjoys tennis, golf, travel, and connecting with readers through book clubs, author events, and conversations about the stories that shape families across generations.
At home now
Home in Florida
Peter lives in West Palm Beach with his wife, Karen. Together they have five children and eight grandchildren. Between tennis, golf, travel, the Ibis Authors Club—where Peter serves as President—and an acting group, he remains close to the conversations that bring readers together: book clubs, author events, and the stories that connect families across generations.