Tag: mysteries

Guest Author- Zanna MacKenzie

~ patyjag ~ 3 Comments

Please Welcome British mystery author, Zanna MacKenzie.

I never thought the way I spent some of my school holidays as a child would be the inspiration for a crime scene in a novel.

When the summer rolled around and school broke up for six wonderful weeks I’d eagerly await the occasional days when I would get to accompany my dad to work. Before he retired, my dad was a contract haulier for a local quarry. He drove a 32 tonne truck. It was a monster of a vehicle. I had to be lifted up to clamber onto the edge of the wheel arch and into the cab. In the days before seatbelts and health and safety I was allowed to sit on the 2 seats on the passenger side of the cab unencumbered or even perch on the centre console (the engine manifold) next to the driver’s seat.

We would pick up and deliver huge quantities of sand and various types of stone and gravel for road building and construction. Being something of a tomboy as a child I loved all the noise and dust. I’d watch in awe and excitement as huge dumper trucks cruised past, so large they dwarfed my dad’s lorry. I can still remember sitting in the lorry as tonnes of stone cascaded into the back of it from the imposing-looking grey metal buildings where the stone whizzed around on conveyor belts. There was also a scarily (but aptly) named crusher which took the big-as-a-car sized chunks of rock and reduced them to gravel size.

At the end of the day I would dash up the steep bank which bordered the quarry as my dad and I walked home. It was just a ten minute stroll if we cut across the woods, through the meadow and hopped over the stepping stones in the stream. I would arrive home scruffy, exhausted but happy.

As a child it never occurred to me how dangerous an environment quarries were. As an adult when I felt the urge to switch from writing romantic comedies to cozy mysteries, I knew straight away where the first crime investigation was going to take place – a quarry!

In book one of my Amber Reed Mystery series, Amber – a barmaid and newspaper admin assistant who makes up horoscopes for the local paper – finds herself in a quarry in the middle of the night with handsome special agent Charlie as they try to find out just what is going on at Set In Stone. Amber gets caught up in the murder investigation because the victim is the brother of her ex- boyfriend Ennis. Now a movie star, Ennis pleads with Amber to help out by keeping an eye on special agent Charlie Huxton, sent by the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency to catch the killer. Ennis, harassed by paparazzi, is paranoid Charlie might be feeding news on the story to the media so he wants Amber to keep a close eye on the CCIA agent.  Whilst trying to help out her ex Amber’s life gets very complicated indeed…

CCIAOne (2)And The Earth Moved (Amber Reed Mystery Book One)

A new cozy mystery series with oodles of fun, romance and the smart, sassy special agents of the CCIA – otherwise known as the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency.

BOOK BLURB:

Amber wished her life was more exciting – then, with one phone call, her world turned upside down.

Now she’s got to cope with:

Her ex-boyfriend from university (who’s now a heartthrob movie star) desperately needing her help.

Getting herself caught up in the middle of a celebrity murder investigation.

Having to try and keep tabs on hunky special agent Charlie who’s in town to catch the killer – and convince him she can help him with the case.

Maybe her life just got too exciting….

Find this book on Amazon: http://getbook.at/AndTheEarthMoved

Extract:

“What kind of excitement are Gemini’s going to have this week?” I ponder, tapping my fingers against the keyboard.

I’m a third of the way through making up the horoscopes for this week’s local paper. Aries are going to get news of a fantastic job opportunity. Capricorns will receive some kind of windfall. But what about Gemini? I always like to give my Madam Zamber horoscope column an upbeat feel – after all, nobody reads their star signs to get depressed right?

My fingers hover over the computer keys as I debate on Gemini’s fate. I’m a Gemini so this one better be especially good; it’s been a rough week.

My phone, nestled somewhere in the depths of my bag, starts playing a chart tune at full volume. When I eventually find it I check the caller display and see Ennis’ name.

Ennis and I haven’t spoken for a while but I know he came home last week after he’d finished working on his latest movie, he sent me a text. He probably wants to meet for a coffee and a catch up. It’s strange; to me Ennis is, well, just Ennis. I don’t think of him as a heartthrob actor, just my ex, my university boyfriend, who I meet up with for a chat whenever he’s in Palstone.

Time for a little break from the horoscopes. I hit the answer button.

“Hi, how’s things?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.

There’s nothing but silence on the other end of the line.

“Ennis?” I sit up, instantly concerned. “Are you there? Is something wrong?”

His voice is so quiet I can barely hear him. “Joel’s dead,” he says.

“What?” I shout, leaping to my feet and earning myself a look of curiosity from the other two members of staff at The Palstone Courier.  I lower my voice. “How? What happened?”

“We don’t know yet,” he replies, his voice heavy with emotion. “But the police are saying he died in suspicious circumstances.”

I gulp. “You mean murder?”

“Look, Amber can you please come over?” Ennis says. “Now? Please? I need to ask you a huge favour.”

I grab my jacket and bag. “On my way.”

 Author bio:

Zanna Mackenzie lives in the UK on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read.

Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working on. She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot!

Find out more about Zanna on her blog http://www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk, on Twitter via @ZannaMacKenzie or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/zanna.mackenzie

 Find out more about Zanna at:

www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter:    https://twitter.com/ZannaMacKenzie

Facebook: www.facebook.com/zanna.mackenzie

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10703273-zanna-mackenzie

Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zanna-Mackenzie/e/B00BKY1A18/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Pinterest: http://uk.pinterest.com/zannamac/

Clues, Clues Everywhere, or The Truth Hiding in Plain Sight

~ janispattersonmysteries ~ 14 Comments

by Janis Patterson

What is a clue? I can hear all of you now saying “Duh! A clue is something the sleuth notices that helps solve the crime.”

Okay, that’s right – as far as it goes. The problem is, how do we make a series of clues that will help solve the crime that is neither so blatant that the story is over on page 19 or is so esoteric that the reader doesn’t understand it even after the crime has been solved and the clues explained?

I remember reading an Ellery Queen mystery (sorry I don’t remember the title – I was only seven or so) where the deciding clue was based on a particular letter of the Phoenician alphabet. The murder was cleverly done, as I recall, but the idea that both the killer and the sleuth (Mr. Queen) would be in the same rather mundane place at the same time and both know the Phoenician alphabet so jarred on my infant sensibilities that I remember it to this day. As I recall the setting was a house party at a rich man’s mansion, but I might be wrong about that.

Adding in clues is sort of like adding garlic to a casserole; too little and it is flat and uninteresting, but too many and it is unappetizing or perhaps even unswallowable.

In my opinion, the best clues are the ones that grow out of the characters and the storyline in an almost organic process. The truly best clues are the ones that sometimes even you don’t know are there.

An example. Years ago, when I was writing my first Janis Patterson mystery THE HOLLOW HOUSE I knew from the beginning who the murderer was going to be, but as I am a pantser, not much else. The story was ticking along quite well until about five chapters from the end, when I suddenly realized that my pre-determined murderer could not have done it. I floundered around for a while, then all of a sudden ‘Wow! Of course! So-and-so did it.’ And I wrote on, for another half chapter or so before once again it came to me that my new murderer couldn’t have done it. Truth is, from that first realization to the climax I changed the murderer some five times. Finally, as I was desperately trying to decide who did it, I suddenly realized who it was – someone I had never considered.

I don’t know why I had never considered this person, but it was perfect. The only bad thing was I knew I’d have to go back through the whole book and put in clues pointing to this person. Sigh. However… when I did start through the book, the clues implicating this person were all there already. I think I added two.

So – clues not only have to be there, they have to be subtle. How did I do it? I don’t know. The creation of a book, in case you hadn’t noticed, is very much akin to magic.

One way, I believe, was put forward by some famous mystery writer years ago – sorry, but I don’t remember which one. He said that the best way was to make everyone capable of being the murderer, then exonerate them one by one, just like your sleuth. I know there are those mystery writers who pre-plot every clue, and there are some who do it very well. Joy go with them. I can’t do that – I would be so bored that the book would never be written. I guess I have to be as much of a sleuth uncovering the truth as my detective.

Commercial : For those of you in the Denver area and those of you going there to attend the Historical Novel Society conference, I will be there both at the booksigning and presenting a paper on Egyptology and Elizabeth Peters. Ms. Peters (aka Barbara Michaels and Dr. Barbara Mertz) was an incredible author and a friend. She is very much missed.

Life Would Be Boring Without Mystery by Paty Jager #mystery #cozymystery

~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

The creaking door, missing papers, an unusual scent hanging in the air…Mystery is all paty shadow (1)around us every day of our lives. It could be the phone call you answered to find no one there. The new cat hanging out in your back yard. Or something that’s gone missing at work. Mystery is what keeps life interesting and always testing our brain.

Life would be boring without mystery.

Growing up I was an avid reader and my favorite books were those that had a bit of mystery to them. In junior high I devoured the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. Even the Walter Farley books I read had mystery to them even though I initially picked up the books for the horses.

When I first started writing historical westerns I couldn’t keep the mystery out of the stories. It was building the mystery in the story rather than the romance that made the plotting interesting to me. I recently had a conversation with the editor who published my first westerns. When I told her I was writing mysteries and loving it, she said, “I always thought your voice leaned toward mysteries.”  That kind of validated my decision to write mysteries.

My other interest is Native American cultures, specifically, the Nez Perce. I grew up in Wallowa County, the area where the Chief Joseph band or Lake Nimiipuu as they call themselves, summered and wintered. Of course this was way before I lived in Wallowa County, but they were always on my mind growing up. I found it unfortunate that the only time the Nez Perce were allowed in the county was during Chief Joeseph Days a rodeo weekend where the locals benefited from the history of the county yet the people who lived there before them it was the only weekend they were allowed to return.

A lot has changed in the thirty years since I moved away. The Nez Perce have purchased land in the county. They have a yearly powwow, Tamkaliks, the weekend before Chief Joseph Days, and they have put up interpretive centers as well as are now monitoring the salmon runs in the county. I’m happy they are having voices into how the county is moving forward.

My interest in the Nez Perce and my love of mystery is combined into the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. Shandra Higheagle is a half Nez Perce artistic potter. Her father was a rodeo bareback bronc rider. He was killed in a rodeo accident when she was four. Her mother remarried and Shandra was told to keep her Native American heritage a secret. However, her paternal grandmother a shaman in the Nez Perce Seven Drums society made sure Shandra was drawn back to her roots.

The first book, Double Duplicity, starts with Shandra returning from her grandmother’s funeral. Shandra finds a murdered art gallery owner after seeing her best friend, also an art gallery owner, hurrying across the street. When Shandra is dropped as a suspect, she begins digging to find the real killer before her friend becomes the scapegoat. Her grandmother comes to her in dreams, directing her to clues that help Shandra and a detective find the real murderer.

Double Duplicity (652x1024)Double Duplicity: A Shandra Higheagle Mystery

Book one of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Dreams…Visions…Murder

On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth.

Detective Ryan Greer prides himself on solving crimes and refuses to ignore a single clue, including Shandra Higheagle’s visions. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Ryan believes in them and believes in her.

Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?

Buy Links:

Windtree Press http://windtreepress.com/portfolio/double-duplicity/

Amazon  http://authl.it/2ng

Kobo  http://store.kobobooks.com/search?Query=Double+Duplicity

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/double-duplicity-paty-jager/1120790322

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id942249867

Paty’s contacts:

www.patyjager.net

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The Strongest “Link” in the Chain

~ sandyfairfax ~ 8 Comments

By Sally Carpenter

A seasoned writer knows how to roll with the punches when obstacles arise. William Link, co-creator of what many consider the finest TV mystery series ever, said, “Columbo would probably never been created if there hadn’t been a writers’ strike.”

In 1960, shortly after Link and his long-time collaborator, Richard Levinson, had started writing for TV, a strike prevented them from working on filmed programs. But instead of biding their time beside a Hollywood pool, they shifted gears and penned a spec script for live TV, which wasn’t covered under the strike.

Their story, “Enough Rope,” had a quirky cop named Lt. Columbo. “The Chevy Mystery Show” produced the script in a one-time airing, with Bert Freed playing Columbo. The cop kept stealing the show from the murderer, the central character, so much so that the director made Freed tone down his acting.

Link was unhappy with the production but he and Levinson were undaunted. They felt “Enough Rope” would make a good stage play, so they left TV to revise the script into “Prescription: Murder.” The play toured America with Thomas Mitchell as Columbo and Joseph Cotton as the killer. During curtain calls Mitchell received more applause than Cotton, the star.

The producers wanted to put the show on Broadway but Link and Levinson refused because they were not allowed to make needed changes to the script. It seemed that Columbo might not live to solve another case until Universal Studios announced it was interested in TV movie projects.

The duo adapted “Prescription: Murder” into a teleplay. But Mitchell had since died; who would play the detective? According to Link, Peter Falk, who was not on the list of actors under consideration, called and said he would “kill to play that cop.” And TV history was made.

Often the death of one-half of a writing team will end the other’s career, but Levinson’s passing in 1987 did not stop Link from working. He continued writing for TV and stage.

And Columbo lived on as well.

The original series ended in 1978 but new “Columbo” TV movies ran sporadically from 1989 to 2003. According to Link, a new script had been under development, a mystery set in a “Big Brother”- type house, but Falk’s ill health and the network’s perception that an audience no longer existed for the show ended the detective’s TV run.

But that didn’t stop Link from writing about the cop.

Columbo returned first circle to the stage with Link’s script “Columbo Takes the Rap,” which premiered at the 2007 International Mystery Writers Festival in Kentucky.

In 2010, he published a book of short stories, “The Columbo Collection.” I had the honor of meeting the author at a book signing held at a tiny, indy mystery bookstore (since closed) in Thousand Oaks, Calf. Link was soft spoken and getting on in years, but polite and charming. He was impressed at my knowledge of the “Columbo” show (I’ve watched the episodes numerous times).

I asked how he and Levinson wrote together. He said Dick sat at the typewriter and put down the ideas as they talked. Levinson typed with his two index fingers only and pounded the keys (I used this quirk for a character in one of my books). Link said Dick’s death was probably timely because he didn’t believe his friend would adapt to writing with a computer.

Oh, and one more thing. I just learned that Link and I share the same birthday! How mysterious . . .

Factual information is from: “The Columbo Phile” by Mark Dawidziak (1989, Mysterious Press). Quotes are cited from the forward of “The Columbo Collection” by William Link (2010, Crippen & Landru Publishers).