Lauren Henderson aka Rebecca Chance: R.I.P.

Well, this really is sad news. Lauren Henderson aka Rebecca Chance passed away this week. She was way too young. I first met Lauren at a long past Bouchercon. She certainly was the life of that party--and every party after. Thank you, Judy Bobalik, for the introduction. Lauren was funny, witty, and sharp! She was also extremely talented and prolific. She will be missed.

Lauren Milne Henderson (born 1966), was also known by her pen name Rebecca Chance. She was an English freelance journalist and novelist. Her books include thrillers, bonkbusters, chick lit, mysteries,Tart Noir, romantic comedies, and young adult. Between 1996 and 2011 Henderson published 17 books under her own name. She began writing as Rebecca Chance in 2009, and later wrote novels exclusively as Rebecca Chance.

My memories of Lauren include all the above, but especially her founding of Tart Noir, the website, with Sparkle Hayter and Katy Munger. She later edited Tart Noir, the anthology, with Stella Duffy. Lauren, though, will be remembered for founding the style -Tart Noir. 

Lauren has been described in the press as both the Dorothy Parker and the Betty Boop of the British crime novel. Well said. 

As Lauren Henderson: 

Dead White Female 

Too Many Blondes 

Black Rubber Dress 

Freeze My Margarita

The Strawberry Tattoo

Chained!

Pretty Boy 

The Scarlett Wakefield Young Adult mystery series: 

Kiss Me Kill Me 

Kisses and Lies 

Kiss in the Dark 

Kiss of Death 

The 2-book Violet Routledge Young Adult mystery series 

Flirting in Italian 

Kissing in Italian 

Under the name Rebecca Chance, Lauren wrote 27 thrillers. 

This bio on GoodReads gives you some real insights into Lauren's vivacious personality. Such a fun wild woman and excellent writer! 

Rebecca Chance was born in Hampstead to international art dealer parents, and grew up in the exclusive millionaire’s row surroundings of London’s St John’s Wood. Tiring of her cushioned, privileged existence, she ran away to Tuscany to live a wild bohemian life on a wine-making estate, where she lived in a 14th century villa in a Chianti vineyard, partying with artists, learning Italian, and picking grapes. But big city life was calling her, and after staying in Rome and Porto Ercole, she moved to Manhattan, lured by the glamorous single-girl existence and nonstop nightlife. She spent a decade living the Sex and The City dream in SoHo, equally at home in an uptown penthouse on Fifth Avenue overlooking the Metropolitan Museum, or downtown dancing on the bar of the Coyote Ugly for kicks. Eventually, a handsome American husband in tow, she moved back to London to settle down (as much as she can) and finally fictionalize some of her most exciting and glamorous experiences into her bestselling blockbuster novels.
Rebecca’s interests include trapeze, pole-dancing, watching "America’s Next Top Model", and cocktail-drinking.

Cartoon of the Day: Books

From the amazing Tom Gauld:

 

DEATH IN PARADISE, SEASON 15 release date

Death in Paradise, Season 15, will be released in the US March 24, 2026, on BritBox. The new season already began in the UK on BBC One. Remember that Episode 1 is the Christmas Special that released in December 2025. Episode 2 will be released on 3/24/26. There will be 8 episodes, and I believe they will be dropped weekly. More on that when Britbox posts more information. Scroll down for Trailer.

DI Mervin Wilson is played by Don Gilet. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, portrayed by Don Warrington, returns (Yay!) alongside DS Naomi Thomas and Catherine Bordey. There's also a new officer, Sergeant Mattie Fletcher, who joins the team, and Mervin’s half-brother Solomon appears, which could make things more personal this season. 

Cartoon of the Day: Library

Poster of the Month: March

 

Purim: A Carnival of Secrets, Masks — and Murder? Guest Post by Neil Plakcy

Every mystery fan knows that intrigue often hides in unexpected cultural corners. One holiday that begs for its own whodunit — yet remains under-explored in crime fiction — is Purim, the Jewish festival of deliverance and disguise.

Celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (usually in February or March), Purim commemorates the dramatic events recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. According to tradition, the Jewish people were marked for annihilation in ancient Persia until Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai exposed the villainous plot of Haman and secured their community’s survival. The holiday takes its name from the word pur, meaning “lots,” referring to the method Haman used to select the date of his planned atrocity.

What makes Purim especially intriguing is the way it’s celebrated. It’s one of the most joyful and theatrical holidays on the Jewish calendar: people don elaborate costumes and masks, parades and carnivals fill synagogues and community centers, and public readings of the Esther story are punctuated by raucous noisemakers whenever the villain’s name is mentioned.

At first glance, Purim may seem lighthearted. But look closer, and you’ll find a story tailor-made for mystery writers.

Masks and Hidden Identities

Purim’s central figure, Esther, hides her Jewish identity until the pivotal moment when revelation becomes her greatest weapon. The costumes worn during the holiday echo that theme of concealment. Mystery thrives on secrecy, and Purim’s embrace of hidden identities creates a perfect backdrop for plots in which characters are not who they appear to be.

Reversals and Irony
Purim celebrates a stunning reversal of fortune — from impending genocide to triumphant deliverance. In detective fiction, reversals are the engine of suspense: the trusted ally becomes the culprit, the overlooked clue shifts everything, power dynamics flip at the last possible moment.

Noise, Confusion … and Lawlessness?
Now imagine a Purim carnival: music, groggers, crowds in costume, streets pulsing with chaotic fun. In that environment, would anyone notice a single gunshot?

That image — violence swallowed by celebration — became the spark for my novel Dog of Deliverance.

In my story, the din of a Purim street fair masks something far darker. A key clue lies buried in a moment when everyone’s attention is fixed on revelry. Purim’s inherent contradiction — joyous noise overshadowing existential threat — became the structural heart of the mystery.

In the Book of Esther, the heroine has two names. Esther is her Persian name, used in the royal court. Her Hebrew name is Hadassah. She conceals her identity until revelation becomes an act of courage.
That duality inspired the young woman at the center of my novel.

My Hadassah has grown up in a highly restrictive Orthodox Jewish enclave, where an aging rabbi presides and his ambitious second-in-command keeps the community — especially its young women — on a tight leash. Like her biblical namesake, she lives within a system that limits her choices. When she refuses a marriage arranged for her and escapes, she flees to Stewart’s Crossing to stay with a cousin whose Orthodoxy is observant but less rigid, more open to the modern world.

But secrecy has consequences.

The man she refuses to marry follows her — and during the chaos of a Purim carnival, he is murdered. Amid costumes, music, and noisemakers, violence hides in plain sight. With so much joyful noise, who would hear a single gunshot?

Enter Steve Levitan and his resourceful golden retriever, Rochester. Steve may be the detective, but Hadassah is the true heroine of her story. Like Queen Esther, she must decide whether to remain silent or reveal the truth about the conditions she fled — exposing not only a killer, but the power structures that shaped her life.

Despite Purim’s narrative richness, few mainstream mysteries have placed their plots squarely within the holiday. One exception is The Purim Murder, a little-known book by Canadian Jewish educator Shulamis Yelin. Other writers of Jewish crime fiction — such as Harry Kemelman (the Rabbi Small series), Richard Bookbinder (the Rabbi Ilan series), and Rabbi Ilene Schneider (the Rabbi Aviva Cohen mysteries) — have incorporated Jewish life and other holidays into their work, but Purim itself remains surprisingly underused.

That gap highlights a larger truth: great mysteries don’t just require crimes; they need context — a setting where mood, ritual, and belief heighten tension. Purim delivers exactly that. Its traditions — reading the Megillah, exchanging gifts, giving charity — blend celebration with remembrance of a near-catastrophe.
In that blend lies narrative gold.

Purim reminds us that the line between joy and threat is thinner than we often think — and that sometimes the loudest celebrations conceal the darkest secrets.

Dog of Deliverance is currently available in Kindle Unlimited and free on Amazon through March 7.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FCD4DRD2

***

Neil Plakcy creates engaging mysteries and romances with humor and heart, celebrating love, identity, and found family (often with a loyal dog). Join my newsletter for free stuff! https://plakcy.substack.com/subscribe