The Mystery of the Free Christies
In 2020, mystery readers around the globe celebrated the 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s first published work, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. In 1916, Christie’s sister and fellow author, Margaret Frary (Madge) Miller dared her to write a mystery. Inspired by the Belgian refugees of the Great War who had settled near her in Torquay, […]
A Clever Game of Murder
Driving to Nashville last week, a friend asked me, “Why a mystery? Why choose to start your writing career with a cozy?” Simple. There’s something viscerally satisfying about a mystery novel. We encounter murder, intrigue and misdirection. As in life, we face problems that seem to have no answers. Unlike in life, each death or […]
A Murder? The Horror!
A delicate thread weaves together the spirit of horror and murder mysteries, even the quaintest of cozies. Daily life in the village turns upside down when the vicar is found bludgeoned in the belfry. The dread of the dead body—the finality of it all—pulls the characters and the reader out of their routine. The author […]
First in the Series Mysteries
Pick up a mystery title by an unknown author and you don’t know where you’re joining the story. If you’d like to start at the beginning, I thought it might be fun to look at the books that launched legendary series of murder mysteries. Most readers know about Poirot’s debut in The Mysterious Affair at […]