Cartoon of the Day: Halloween Group Therapy!

Cartoon of the Day: Halloween

Extended Deadline (11/15): Call for Articles: Mysteries set in London: Mystery Readers Journal (40:4)

EXTENDED DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 15, 2024

We have extended the deadline for Articles, Reviews, and Author essays for the London issue of Mystery Readers Journal (40:4) until November 15, 2024. Please let us know if you intend to send an article. janet @ mysteryreaders. org

Mystery Readers Journal is looking for Articles, Reviews, and Author essays about Mysteries set in London. 

Author Essays: First person, about yourself, your books, and the "London" connection. Reviews and articles can include books both in and out of print that are set in London. 500-1000 words. Treat this as if you're chatting with friends and other writers in the bar or cafe (or on zoom) about your work and the London setting in your mysteries. Be sure and cite specific titles, as well as how you use the London setting in your books. Add title and 2-3 sentence bio. 

Reviews: 50-250 words/each. 

Articles: 500-1000 words.

Deadline for Mysteries in London (40:4) articles, reviews, author essays: November 15, 2024: Send to: Janet Rudolph, Editor.  janet @ mysteryreaders . org

Please let us know if you're planning to send an article, review, or author essay! Subject Line: London Mysteries

SUBSCRIBE TO MYSTERY READERS JOURNAL for 2024: Mysteries set in Southern California; Murder Takes a Holiday (Mysteries that take place while on vacation); Partners in Crime; London.

2025 Themes: Retail Mysteries; Northern California; Thrillers; one more theme TBA.

Many back issues of Mystery Readers Journal are available as single copies in hardcopy or PDF. 

Historical Mysteries I: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Murder in Wartime: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Animals in Mysteries I: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Animals in Mysteries II: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Private Eyes I & Private Eyes II : Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Extreme Weather Mysteries: Available as PDF or Hardcopy

Italian Mysteries:  Available as PDF or Hardcopy

Senior Sleuths: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Gardening Mysteries: Available as PDF or Hardcopy.

Have titles, articles, or suggestions for upcoming issues? Want to write an Author! Author! essay? contact:   janet @ mysteryreaders . org

BLOGS
Mystery Fanfare
Dying for Chocolate

Cartoon of the Day: Cats

 

HALLOWEEN NON-FICTION

I always post my Halloween Mystery List, but this year I thought I'd add a short-list of Halloween Non-Fiction. 

Halloween Non-Fiction

Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration Of Fun, Food, And Frolics From Halloweens Past by Diane C. Arkins
Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History; Halloween Nation: Behind the Scene's of America's Fright Night by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne
Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth, Illustrated by Ursula Arndt

Sundays with Vlad: From Pennsylvania to Transylvania, One Man’s Quest to Live in the World of the Undead by Paul Bibeau
October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween edited by Richard Chizmar and Robert Moorish
The Pagan Book of Halloween by Gerina Dunwich
Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
The Book of Halloween by Ruth E. Kelley

The True History of Halloween by Kurt LeRoy
The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year by Jean Markale
The Halloween Handbook by Ed Morrow
The Halloween Encyclopedia; Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween  by Lisa Morton
The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula by Eric Nuzum
Halloween: Customs, Recipes & Spells by Silver RavenWolf
Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers
Death Makes a Holiday by David J. Skal

The Better Days Books Vintage Halloween Reader by Various Authors: 

And don't forget to check out my Halloween Mystery List! 

Cartoon of the Day: Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween!! 

PARTNERS IN CRIME: MYSTERY READERS JOURNAL (40:3)

 

Mystery Readers Journal: Partners in Crime (40:3) is now available as a PDF and Hardcopy. In this issue you’ll find essays, reviews, and articles for both Partners in Crime (a Surfeit of Sleuths) and Partners in Crime (Writers Who Write Together). 

If you're a PDF subscriber, you should have received download instructions. Hard copy subscription copies should be received by the end of the week. International subscribers will receive their issues within two weeks. PDF Contributor copies will go out in the next few days. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this amazing issue.

***

In 2001, we had two separate issues on Partners in Crime.  

Partners in Crime I (a Surfeit of Sleuths) Volume 17:2 (2001) 

 and 

Partners in Crime II (Writers who Write Together) Volume 17:3 (2001) 

These issues are available as PDFs. The past issues complement this Partners in Crime 2024 issue (Volume 40:3). I know you’ll enjoy them all and find new books and authors to expand your reading! 

Partners in Crime
Volume 40, No. 3, Fall 2024

Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• Unforgettable Duos: Fictional Partners in Crime by Ayoola Onatade

• If You’re Ever in a Jam, Here I Am by Margot Kinberg

• Morse & Lewis—The Perfect Partners in Crime by Paul Charles

• Those Loveable “Sidekicks!” Who’s Your Favorite? by Lou Armagno

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• An Author and Her Characters Team Up by Annamaria Alfieri

• Partners Balance Crime Fighting by Saffron Amatti

• A Study in Contrasts by Paul A. Barra

• Why Two by Two? by Albert Bell

• A Partnership—Not that I Wanted One by J. F. Benedetto

• Two Voices Morph into a Third by Cordelia Biddle and Steve Zettler

• Collaborators Continue the Molly Murphy Series by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

• Partners in Crime: The Pear Mystery Series by Robin Castle

• Partners in Magic and Murder by Ron Cook

• The Working Group by Susan Courtwright

• You Can’t Do It Alone by J. Salvatore Domino

• Double Doubles: Two Sets of Partners in Crime by Martin Edwards

• Partners Write Partners by Lee Elder

• Cronies, Chums, and Colleagues by Kate Fellowes

• The Unique Partnership in The Nest by Hal Glatzer

• When Two Are Not Enough by Bradley Harper

• The Birth of “Ticket to Ride” by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski

• The Partner Sleuths in My Mysteries by Adrian Magson

• (Life) Partners in Crime by Ron Katz

• One Plus One Makes It More Fun by Tim Maleeny

• The Equalizer by Jeanne Matthews

• The Conjuror and the Copper by Tom Mead

• Why I Write with Partner Sleuths, Sort Of by Mike Orenduff

• Father/Daughter Detective Duo by Marcy McCreary

• Multiple Accomplices by Josh Pachter

• Writing Together Can Be Murder, But That’s Not All Bad by Larry and Rosemary Mild

• In It Together by Priscilla Paton

• Bop City Swing—or How I Fell in Step with a Dancing Partner by M.E. Proctor

• A Partnership with Heart—and Fur by Neil Plakcy

• Life Partners/Partners in Crime by Lev Raphael

• Detecting Partners, Writing Partners by SJ Rozan

• He Said, She Said: On Writing Devils Island by Midge Raymond & John Yunker

• Partners in Small-Town Crime: Samuel Craddock and Loretta Singletary by Terry Shames

• Finishing Each Other’s Sentences by Jennifer Slee and Jessica Slee

• Brainstorms & Nuclear Bombs: Writing with Your Spouse by Alexandra Sokoloff & Craig Robertson

• Partners in Crime—Michael and Stanley by Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip

• My Mother, My Partner by Charles Todd

• Parasols and Poisons: Gilded Age Partners in Crime by N. S. Wikarski

• Detection in the Harem by Elizabeth Zelvin

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Aubrey Hamilton, Claire Hart-Palumbo, Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love, LJ Roberts, and Jonathan Woods

• Children’s Hour: Partners in Crime by Gay Toltl Kinman

• Unexpected Partners in Real Crime by Cathy Pickens

• Crime Seen: Assorted Ampersands by Kate Derie

• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph

Embattled Truthseekers: the Persecuted Protagonist: Guest Post by Eliot Pattison

Character over plot is a mantra often heard in writing seminars, emphasizing the point that it is characters, not plot, that drive a novel‘s success. Ray Bradbury even suggested that “Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by.” Engaging novels require engaging characters, but the novelist uses plot to thrust tension onto those characters, developing them by besieging them. Plot should never be considered a gimmick or mere tool. The well-done plot and its backdrop become intrinsic, vital to the metamorphosis of character that lies at the heart of the tale. A plot’s unique tension may derive from micro, intimate dilemmas or range through macro social and ideological forces, driving vastly different takeaways for the reader. Orwell’s 1984 would have been a dramatically different novel if the protagonist Winston Smith had been suffering from being spurned by a lover instead of his resistance to a soulless totalitarian state. Few tension builders are as gripping as this dynamic of a character being persecuted by ruthless, omnipotent adversaries. 

I chose persecuted protagonists for both my fictional series. In the Skull Mantra novels my main character is a disgraced Beijing investigator exiled to Tibet who finds justice for oppressed Tibetans despite being battered by authorities whose job it is to destroy the Tibetan identity. In my Bone Rattler series the lead character is a Scottish doctor exiled to the American colonies for his connections with Jacobite rebels. Burdened by a forced servitude that denies him any rights, he resists his own bondage while seeking justice for native tribesmen, slaves and other orphaned people of the colonies. The ongoing persecution of these characters steadily increases the stakes as they stalk the trails of murderers. Corrupt judges, spiteful army officers, oppressive party commissars, vengeful tribal warriors, ruthless policemen, and sadistic aristocrats ambush these characters as they seek answers that those in power conceal. Importantly, the ordeals that shape them are not simply caused by barriers to their quest. They are targeted with dire personal jeopardy, often being arrested, even tortured, and must defy government to discover the truth. Adding to the tension is the recurring possibility, sometimes a direct suggestion, that the physical and mental cruelty they endure will sap their humanity. That omnipresent threat and the self-doubt it precipitates present new layers of stress, driving both plot and character. How, the novels ask, can these bludgeoned characters preserve their courage and integrity when faced with such suffering? As Nietzsche poignantly reminded us, “whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster.” These protagonists are constantly dancing with monsters. 

A less obvious but potentially profound aspect of the persecuted protagonist novel is the platform it provides for illuminating the persecution itself. Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a well-known example, exposing the horrors of the Soviet gulag system while following a tormented protagonist who has been wrongly sentenced to forced labor. Stephen King’s novel Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption reveals penal system corruption as it tracks a wrongly accused prisoner who overcomes years of adversity inflicted by the authorities to find a makeshift resolution. Readers may be driven by empathy to join the protagonist’s journey but along the way they will learn much about the forces that cause the suffering. My own Skull Mantra series casts a spotlight on the abject human rights abuses underway in western China. No one picks up such a novel in search of a human rights chronicle, but the reader absorbs bitter lessons about those abuses by walking alongside my lead character. More than once I’ve had readers tell me that although they had previously read reports on human rights conditions in Tibet, they had never really understood that oppression until they read these novels. 

Mystery fiction lends itself well to such tales, for it can take the reader inside the head of the oppressed, a perspective seldom available in traditional factual reporting since most victims are silenced by their oppressors. These are the truths that are hard to come by—and often readers don’t otherwise know the questions to ask to reach those truths. Ultimately these characters cannot be separated from their persecution—and that is the real power of these books. The novels set the hook early by describing the protagonist’s suffering then pull their readers into deeper waters, prodding them to think about the human condition in unfamiliar ways. This is what Francis Bacon meant when he told us long ago that “Truth is hard to tell. It sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.” The persecuted protagonist invites the reader to become a truthseeker. 

***

Eliot Pattison’s nineteen novels include the award-winning Skull Mantra series and the Bone Rattler series, which explores the complex people and events leading to the founding of the United States. For more info, visit eliotpattison.com.

Bloody Cocktails & Deadly Wines: Halloween!

Bloody Cocktails and Deadly Wine! Perfect for your Halloween Celebration!

DEADLY WINES

Chateau Du Vampire Wines Bordeaux Style Cabernet Blend (Vampire Vineyards – Paso Robles, California): blend of cabernet sauvignon (60%) with cabernet franc (30%), and 10% malbec to finish it off.

Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon (Vampire vineyards – Paso Robles, California): Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from several small-berry clones of this traditional Bordeaux varietal, grown in the Paso Robles region of California’s Central Coast.

Dracula Wines: Zinfandel and Syrah (originally the grapes for this wine were grown on the Transylvanian plateau, now they're made from California grapes).

Trueblood Napa Valley Syrah: This wine will "bruise your soul" with its palate crushing cherry, plum smoke and spice.

Ghost Block: 100% cabernet from Rock Cairn Vineyard in Oakville, next to Yountville's Pioneer Cemetery.

Twisted Oak 2011 River of Skulls in Calaveras County. Limited production vineyard mouvedre (red wine grape). Label has a bright red skull. English translation of calaveras is "skulls."

Ghostly White Chardonnay and Bone Dry Red Cabernet Sauvignon. Elk Creek Vineyards in Kentucky

Poizin from Armida Winery in Healdsburg is a 'wine to die for..". This Zinfandel sold in little wooden coffins

Big Red Monster  Red wine made from Syrah, Zinfandel and Petite Syrah.

Spellbound 2012 Merlot. Full Moon on the label. 

Ravenswood 2013 Besieged Red Blend. Ravens on the label.

Michael David 2012 Freakshow Cab.

Other Wines, Beers and Ales: Witches Brew, Evil (upside down and backwards label), Sinister Hand, Toad Hollow Eye of the Toad, Zeller Schwarz Katz.

Want to give the personal touch to your Halloween wines? Add ghoulish labels or rebottle in cool jars with apothecary labels from Pottery Barn (or make them yourself). For a great article, go to Spooky Halloween Bottle & Glass Labels.

BLOODY COCKTAILS

And what about an awesome cocktail? Make Nick and Nora proud! They always loved a good party. Throw in some rubber spiders or eyeballs as garnish. Want to make your own Halloween Cocktail Garnish--some eyeballs and fingers?  Click HERE.

Blood Bath
1 Part Tequila Silver
1 Part Strawberry Liqueur

Shake with ice, and strain into shot glass.

Blood Test
1 Part Tequila Reposado
1 Part Grenadine

Shake with ice and strain into shot glass

Blood Shot
1 part Iceberg Vodka
1 part peach schnapps
1 part Jagermeister
1 part cranberry juice

Chill all ingredients. Combine in shaker with ice. Strain into shot glass. shoot!

Bloody-Tini
2 oz VeeV Acai Spirit
1 oz acai juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
Top with fresh champagne
lime wedge for garnish

Combine VeeV, Acai juice and fresh lime with fresh ice in a cocktail shaker and shake.
Strain into chilled martini glass and top with champagne.
Serve with fresh lime wedge.

Blood and Sand
3/4 ounce Scotch
3/4 ounce cherry liqueur
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce orange juice
1 thin strip orange zest

In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the liquids. Strain into martini glass, then garnish with the strip of zest. (recipe from Bank Cafe & Bar in Napa)

Corpse Reviver
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Lillet (blanc)
1 ounce triple sec
Juice of half a lemon
5 drops of absinthe
1 thin slice orange

In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the liquids. Strain into martini glass, then garnish with the orange slice.
(Recipe from Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco)
 
Vampire Blood Punch
4 cups cranberry raspberry juice (or cranberry juice cocktail)
2 cups natural pineapple juice (100% juice)
2 cups raspberry-flavored seltzer water
wormy ice cubes (optional)

Mix all ingredients together, and pour into large, decorative punch bowl.
Serve punch with wormy ice cubes, if desired

Corzo Bite
1-1/2 parts Corzo Silver Tequila
1/2 parts Campari
1 part fresh blood orange juice
1/4 parts blood (aka home-made grenadine) **
2 parts Jarritos Tamarindo Soda

Build all ingredients into highball glass filled with ice. Add “blood” at the end.
Garnish: Blood orange wheel and strawberry syrup

** Home-made grenadine: Add equal parts white sugar and POM pomegranate juice together and dissolve sugar over high on stove-top

Midori Eye-Tini (from Rob Husted of Florida)
1-1⁄4 parts Midori Melon liqueur
3⁄4 parts SKYY Infusions Citrus
1⁄2 part Finest Call Agave Syrup
2 parts of Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale
2 parts Finest Call Sweet & Sour Mix
3 Orange Wedges
2 Fresh Ripped Basil Leaves
Strawberry Sundae Syrup

In shaker glass combine Midori Melon liqueur, SKYY infusions Citrus, Finest Call Agave Syrup, 3 Orange Wedges and 2 Fresh Ripped Basil Leaves.
Muddle ingredients together. Add ice and Finest Call Sweet & Sour Mix.
Shake for 10 seconds.
Add Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale and roll drink back and forth between your mixing tin and shaker glass.
Strain into a chilled martini glass drizzled with Strawberry Sundae Syrup to give an effect of a bloodshot eye.

Garnish: Chilled red seedless grape at bottom of glass (to look like an eyeball) and bruised basil leaf floated on top of cocktail for aroma.

Black Martini

The Black Martini replaces vermouth with either blackberry brandy or black raspberry liqueur.

3 1/2 oz gin or vodka
1/2 oz blackberry brandy or black raspberry liqueur
lemon twist or black olive for garnish or gold flakes

Pour the ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake vigorously.
Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist or black olive or sprinkle in gold flakes.

Cartoon of the Day: Dogs

 REIGN!!! 

Cartoon of the Day: Medieval Tech Support

 

The Secret War of Julia Child, Or Julia Child and Me: Guest Post by Diana R. Chambers

Full disclosure: I’m not a cook. Not a Julia Child fangirl. 

I felt a certain connection to her, though—France, no doubt. The feeling we’d walked the same Paris streets, maybe shopped the same outdoor markets, marveled at the silvery light, strolled across the bridges and along the Seine. 

Then, about ten years ago, I learned that during World War Two, she’d served with America’s first espionage agency, the Office of Strategic Services—OSS. In India, Ceylon, and China. 

The Julia Child? Really? In the OSS? 

Imagine. The matronly “French Chef” with the twinkle in her eye had lived an entirely other life. Having to protect the secrets, think on her feet, determine whom she could trust. On the Asian front lines! 

My brain took flight. I’d studied and explored India for-practically-ever, with many visits to China and Southeast Asia. And my earlier novels had espionage subplots, so I was intrigued to pull back the curtains on those classified years. 

My other projects and ideas fell to the wayside. May I say, I love research. 

I began collecting an extensive range of old, often out-of-print books relating to the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater of WWII—memoirs, biographies, novels, military accounts, histories of espionage and cryptography. Cultural and political analyses, including studies on imperialism and colonialism from a non-Western perspective. I would learn this conflict is known as the “Forgotten War of Asia” for good reason. As Western attention has usually focused on Europe and the Pacific, I had to dig deep and read far around my central story. I came away with a profound awareness of the suffering and sacrifices of the various peoples of Asia. The Indians postponed their hard-fought independence struggle for the global good. Without China’s ten-year resistance against the Imperial Japanese Army, the invaders might have swept across Central Asia to come to Germany’s aid. We owe them all an enormous debt. 

The other part of research for me is always boots on the ground. Travel loomed. 

I’d never visited Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. Here the Yanks and Brits had their clandestine bases outside the British hill station, Kandy, where Julia met Paul—short, balding, pretentious, and almost-forty, as she first judged him. Later they were posted to Kunming on the perilous front lines of southwest China where their relationship took hold amid bombs and black market intrigue. As I learned more of their moving love affair, my heart opened to them both. (Despite his own talent and healthy ego, Paul was a firm feminist who supported Julia’s dreams and successes his whole life.) 

Her Asian journey began in Bombay where her troopship docked in April 1944. The deadly explosion of a cargo ship bearing cotton, gold bullion, and TNT was Julia’s initiation to war. The horrors would continue, death and destruction, treachery and deceit. But also loyalty, friendship—and love. As I followed Julia’s path, she helped me discover her story. And mine. 

While we both grew up in southern California, Julia McWilliams was a Mayflower descendant. We were both raised on meat and potatoes, though. And we both had big dreams. Both our mothers took us to the library, where I first discovered the world. Like Julia, I grew up with Nancy Drew and, like her, moved on to mysteries and spy fiction. I would spin my world globe to the faraway places I read about. Maybe it was A Tale of Two Cities, but I was soon wandering the cobblestones of Paris...and who knows? Maybe A Little Princess sent me to the bazaars and backstreets of India. There, I began an export business that led to Hollywood costuming, then scriptwriting. 

Julia came to France later in life, but the locales in her wartime journey were also my own touchstones. Now my research took me to new sites, new adventures—narrow-gauge steam trains, an ashram’s icy, cavernous baths, Hindu and Buddhist temples dense with worshippers and art. Stirring elephant reserves. Melancholy ruins of a long-lost civilization. The veggie-based curries and dosas of southern India and Sri Lanka. I also revisited Kunming in China’s southwest Yunnan Province—terminus of the Burma Road with its lakes, birds, and lotus blossoms. We explored Lijiang, a World Heritage river town surrounded by the jagged, snowy peaks Julia flies over from India, and, downhill, Dali’s Old Town, whose mushrooms flavor the sautéed, hand-pulled noodles Julia tastes in Kunming. We took a bus up to the thunderous waterfalls marking the border between southeast China and Vietnam. It was 100% humidity, everything with a scrim of mist, dream-like. 

Julia must have experienced a similar bombardment of the senses. How had it felt, finding herself in this distant corner of the world, this crossroads of place and time, this dramatic moment in history? References to Casablanca are apt. 

I’d never heard the thunder of bombs, but we’d both known monsoons, mud, and dust, dripping humidity and frizzing hair, sweat dripping down our legs. Also naan, mangoes, spicy curries, fragrant rice, and warm beer. Spice markets, their burlap sacks bursting with color and fragrance. My sense of connection with her grew. 

I could have been that adventurous young Californian who hadn’t yet found her way when Pearl Harbor struck. I might have bid farewell to that faithful beau who didn’t make my heart go pitter-patter and hopped a train to Washington. And got a job—in the spy trade! Then itched to serve in the field. Some distant post...India! 

Like Julia, I’d bounced about through in my twenties, from LA to NY and back. I’d also spent two years in Paris, which was still in her future. But around age thirty, we were both called to India; for both of us these were formative years. Her story felt so personal! 

The Secret War of Julia Child was a novel I had to write. 

***

Diana R. Chambers was born with a book in one hand and a passport in the other. Her first explorations were in the library, plotting adventures on her world globe. She went on to study Asian art history at university, work at a Paris translation agency, and begin an export business in India. Then somehow she found herself in Hollywood writing scripts—until her characters demanded their own novels. Her latest is The Secret War of Julia Child, a People magazine Best Book of Fall 2024, Must-Read! Diana lives in Northern California and Aix-en-Provence, France, with her fellow-traveler husband, artist daughter, and cat, Marco Polo. She is still following her stories around the world. Still looking for the perfect suitcase. dianarchambers.com, Instagram @dianarc1, Twitter @DianaRChambers, Facebook DianaRChambersAuthor.

This One is Special: Guest Post by Erica Miner

When I started writing my first murder mystery, I thought it was a one-off. It was based on a screenplay I was writing in the same genre, and I was having one heck of a time making it work. Even though it took place in familiar territory, the Metropolitan Opera, where I played violin for 21 years, I was learning the hard way that the mystery genre was the most difficult to write. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle: 

All the pieces have to fit together perfectly or it falls apart.

 

Then it occurred to me that if I wrote the story as a novel, I could include details that I couldn’t use in the very restrictive screenplay format. Implementing that plan would help me put together the pieces 

to the tricky brain teaser that is the mystery genre. I wrote both of them in tandem and ended up completing them at about the same time. It worked! Aria for Murder was born and my Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series along with it. My protagonist, gifted young misadventure-prone violinist Julia Kogan, admittedly is my alter ego: based on myself when I first started out at the Met, but far more courageous than I ever could be.

 

It never occurred to me that Aria for Murder would serve as the first in a series. I was just happy I had managed to write, by most accounts, a successful tale in this challenging genre. I never had considered penning new adventures for Julia until a rabid fan (don’t you just love those?), one of the most opera-savvy people I know, requested a sequel and virtually insisted that I set it at the Santa Fe Opera. Santa Fe is unique among opera companies, with its performance venue an outdoor theatre that’s one of the most awe-inspiring theatres in the opera world of. The city of Santa Fe, the second oldest in the US, is unlike any other. Et voilà: enter Prelude to Murder, where Julia finds oodles more trouble.

 

As I was researching in Santa Fe, I met with a friend from San Francisco Opera who suggested I continue my series with a mystery taking place there. He would provide me with access to the entire War Memorial Opera House and its archives. Book 3, Overture to Murder, was on its way.

 

Overture to Murder is special to me for several reasons. I have a history and personal connection with San Francisco Opera. Over the last several decades, I paid numerous visits to this amazing city and to 

its War Memorial Opera House to visit  family members who both lived in the Bay Area and worked at the opera. San Francisco and its opera are in my blood.

 

When I started exploring the opera house with John Boatwright, who had been House Head there 30+ years, I was blown away by the theatre’s history, its traditions, and the level of its prestige. After the Met, this company is the most highly regarded in the US. But I wasn’t prepared for the eccentricities 

of its theatre.

 

The War Memorial Opera House is by far the creepiest I had ever seen. Built in 1932, it is older than 

the theatres of the Met and Santa Fe. As I toured the place, I found myself cringing at some of the ancient-looking equipment, from the eerie basement to the rafters, where I shuddered at the 100 foot height of the catwalk over the stage: the very location of some of Goldie Hawn’s most frightening moments in her famous film Foul Play. 

 

That was a mere trifle to what I experienced in a far-off corner of the upper reaches of the theatre. One of the stagehands who was there during my visit told me the story of a previous stagehand who, after a performance, was responsible for waiting for the stage lights to cool off before he could close the theatre. He knew he was the only one left in the theatre, but he thought he saw someone lurking in the shadows. When he approached the guy, intending to question him as to why he was still there, he found that he could walk right through him! He fled the scene and subsequently searched for every excuse he could think of never to return. It turns out this was not the only ghost in the theatre. John told me the stagehands place a “Ghost Light” onstage after performances so that the resident spirits would not be frightened when the theatre was empty at night!

 

How could I not write about this? It was just too good to pass up. Many other creepy details made this the perfect atmosphere for mischief and mayhem. Opera houses in general are ripe for that, but this opera house outdid them all.

 

Ghosts, creaky equipment that makes noises in the night; a grisly murder (or two); and the determination of a protagonist who does not hesitate to place herself in jeopardy to find the perpetrator. Julia outdoes herself in this book, which is dear to my heart. With a cover that already has gotten multiple kudos on Facebook, combined with a slew of opera-related mishaps, Overture to Murder is now ready for its closeup. 

 

Enjoy.

***

Award-winning Seattle-based author, lecturer, screenwriter and arts journalist Erica Miner believes opera theatres are perfect places for creating fictional mischief! Drawing on her 21 years as a violinist 

at the famed Metropolitan Opera, Erica balances her reviews and interviews of real-world musical artists with fanciful plot fabrications that reveal the dark side of the fascinating world of opera, guiding readers through a dramatized version of the opera world in her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series.

Erica’s young violinist sleuth, Julia Kogan, investigates high-profile murder and mayhem behind the Met’s “Golden Curtain” in Book 1, Aria for Murder (2022), finalist in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards and Chanticleer Independent Book Awards. In Book 2, Prelude to Murder (2023) (‘A skillfully written whodunit of operatic proportions’—Kirkus Reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/erica-miner/prelude-to-murder/, Distinguished Favorite, 2024 NYC Big Book Awards, further operatic chaos and ghostly apparitions plague Julia at the Santa Fe Opera. In Overture to Murder, releasing today, October 22, 2024, Julia finds herself in jeopardy once again at the San Francisco Opera. 

 

Erica’s debut novel, Travels with My Lovers, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Her screenplays have won awards in the Writer’s Digest, Santa Fe, and WinFemme competitions. When she isn't plumbing the depths of opera houses for murderous mayhem, Erica frequently contributes reviews and interviews for the well-known arts websites www.BroadwayWorld.com, www.bachtrack.com, and www.LAOpus.com.

 

AUTHOR WEBSITE:

https://www.ericaminer.com

SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES:

https://www.facebook.com/erica.miner1              

https://twitter.com/EmwrtrErica          

https://www.instagram.com/emwriter3/

HALLOWEEN CRIME FICTION: A LIST

Happy Halloween! Halloween so lends itself to crime fiction! Here's my updated  List of Halloween Mysteries (mysteries that take place on or around Halloween). Let me know if I've missed any titles/authors. I'll have a separate Day of the Dead list later this month.

HALLOWEEN CRIME FICTION

Behind Chocolate Bars by Kathie Aarons
The Root of All Evil by Ellery Adams
The Pumpkin Killer by Stacey Alabaster
Green Water Ghost by Glynn Marsh Alam
Witches Bane by Susan Wittig Albert
Antiques Maul by Barbara Allan
The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander
In Charm's Way by Madelyn Alt
Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews
Strange Brew by Mary Kay Andrews
A Roux of Revenge by Connie Archer

Double Jinx by Gretchen Archer

Killing Time by Amy Beth Arkaway
Far to Go by May Louise Aswell
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun, Calamity Jayne and the Haunted Homecoming by Kathleen Bacus 
A Haunting Homicide: Halloween Cozy by Kathy Bacus and Sally J. Smith

Closely Harbored Secrets by Bree Baker  
Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher
The Ghost and Mrs Fletcher by Donald Bain, Renee Paley-Bain, & "Jessica Fletcher"
Punked by the Pumpkin by Constance Barker
Last Licks by Cynthia Baxter
Scary Sweets by Jessica Beck
In the Spirit of Murder by Laura Belgrave 
The Long Good Boy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley 
Watchdog; Howloween Murder by Laurien Berenson
The Ginseng Conspiracy by Susan Bernhardt
The Halloween Pumpkin Spell by Morgana Best
A Haunting is Brewing by Juliet Blackwell
Dial Meow for Murder by Bethany Blake
Ghost of a Potion by Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber)
The Scent of Murder by Barbara Block
Under an English Heaven by Alice K. Boatwright
Witches of Floxglove Corners by Dorothy Bodoin 

Death of a Wolfman by Susan Boles

Night of the Living Thread by Janet Bolin
Boston Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton 
Death of a Trickster by Kate Borden 
Post-Mortem Effects by Thomas Boyle
A Graveyard for Lunatics; The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Rebel without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher
Death Overdue by Allison Brook
The Hunt Ball; The Litter of the Law by Rita Mae Brown
Death on All Hallowe'en by Leo Bruce

Dessert is the Bomb by Catherine Bruns
Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Bryan
The Big Chili by Julia Buckley
Killer Takeout by Lucy Burdette

Halloween by Leslie Burgess
Wycliffe and the Scapegoat by W.J. Burley
Death Goes Shopping by Jessica Burton
Murder on All Hallows by Beth Byers

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, French Quarter Fright Night by Ellen Byron 
A Deadly Brew by Lynn Cahoon
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Ann Campbell
The Wizard of La-La Land by R. Wright Campbell
The Charm Stone by Lillian Stewart Carl
The Murders at Astaire Castle by Lauren Carr

Dark Loch by Sarah L. Carter
The Halloween Murders by John Newton Chance 
Bad Neighbors by Maia Chance
Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles 
Frill Kill, Tragic Magic, Photo Finished, Bedeviled Eggs The Jasmine Moon Murder, Fiber and Brimstone, Bedeviled Eggs, Frill Kill, Gossamer Ghost, Ming Tea Murder by Laura Childs

Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow
Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
Jam Up and Jelly Tight by Donna Walo Clancy

Hazelnuts and Halloween by Leena Clover
Fudge Bites by Nancy Coco
Haunted Hair Nights by Nancy J. Cohen
Poison Buried Punch; Boo Buried Cupcakes by Lyndsey Cole 
A Holiday Sampler by Christine E. Collier
Lost Souls by Michael Collins
A Gala Event; Search for the Dead by Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell)
Under the Hill by Sheila Connolly
Witch Hunt: A Full Moon Mystery by Cate Conte

Not in My Backyard by Susan Rogers Cooper
Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman 
Crypt Suzette by Maya Corrigan

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure; Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle
Deadly Magic by Elisabeth Crabtree
Trick or Treat by Caroline Crane

Pumpkins are Murder by Kathy Cranson
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford
Spooky Business: Spooky Spider by Addison Creek
Newly Crimsoned Reliquary by Donna Fletcher Crow

Haunted House Ghost by James J. Cudney
Silver Scream, Bantam of the Opera, The Alpine Uproar by Mary Daheim
Halloween Hijinks, Pumpkins in Paradise, Haunted Hamlet, Legend of Tabby Hallow, Ghostly Graveyard, Costume Catastrope, Count Catula; Trick or Treason, Deja Diva by Kathi Daley
The Dracula Murders by Philip Daniels

Cake Popped Off by Kim Davis
The Diva Haunts the House, The Ghost and Mrs Mewer; Murder Outside the Lines by Krista Davis
Fatal Undertaking by Mark de Castrique

And Murder for Dessert by Kathleen Delaney
Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon
No Gravestone Unturned by Debbie De Louise

Murder on Halloween by Steve Demaree
Farmcall Fatality by Abby Deuel
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
Trick or Treat, The Halloween Murder by Doris Miles Disney
A Map of the Dark by John Dixon
Ghostly Murders by P. C. Doherty
Died to Match by Deborah Donnelly
Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas
Cupcakes, Bats, and Scare-dy Cats by Pamela DuMond
Not Exactly a Brahmin by Susan Dunlap 
Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones by Kaitlyn Dunnett 
A Ghost to Die For by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
Be Careful What You Witch For; Do No Harm by Dawn Eastman 
Mischief, Murder, and Merlot by J.C. Eaton

The Bowl of Night by Rosemary Edghill 
The Frozen Shroud by Martin Edwards
Knit of the Living Dead by Peggy Ehrhart

Ghost Story by K.J. Emrick
Death by Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson
Door of Death by John Esteven 
The Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman 
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Dark Tides by Chris Ewan 

Dead Pig in the Sunshine by Penny Burwell Ewing
Dead Ends by Anne C. Fallon 
Sympathy For The Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer
Five Dog Voodoo by Lia Farrell
Mulberry Mischief by Sharon Farrow
Dead in the Pumpkin Patch by Connie Feddersen 
It's Your Party Die if You Want To by Vickie Fee  
Blackwork, Hanging by a Thread, Blackwork by Monica Ferris
The Black Cat Sees his Shadow by Kay Finch

Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
The Lawyer Who Died Trying by Honora Finkelstein 
Trick or Treachery by "Jessica Fletcher" and Donald Bain

Halloween by D.M. Flexer
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Halloween Murder, Foul Play at the Fair, Trick or Deceit by Shelley Freydont
A Harvest of Bones by Yasmine Galenorn
The Spook in the Stacks by Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany)
Broke by Kaye George
Stirring the Plot by Daryl Wood Gerber
Trouble Brewing by Heather Day Gilbert

Trick or Treat by Leslie Glaister
Mommy and the Murder by Nancy Gladstone
Haunted by Jeanne Glidewell 
Blood & Broomsticks by Jean G. Goodhind (aka J.G. Goodhind)  
A Few Dying Words by Paula Gosling
The Black Heart Crypt; Hell for the Holidays by Chris Grabenstein
Monster in Miniature by Margaret Grace 

Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham 
Pumpkin Ridge by Pamela Grandstaff  
Nail Biter by Sarah Graves
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood 
Halloween by Ben Greer 

A Waffle Lot of Murder by Lena Gregory
The Snafued Snatch by Jackie Griffey
Quoth the Raven; Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam
A Crime of Poison by Nancy Haddock
Hallowed Bones; Bone to Be Wild; Clacking Bones by Carolyn Haines
Muffin but Murder by Victoria Hamilton
Black Light by Elizabeth Hand
Delicious Mischief by Marianne Harden
Southern Ghost, Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart 
Sweet Poison by Ellen Hart
Hide in the Dark by Frances Noyes Hart 
Revenge of the Cootie Girls by Sparkle Hayter

Town in a Pumpkin Bash by B.B. Haywood
Digging Up the Remains by Julia Henry
A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren

Samhain Secrets by Jennifer David Hesse
Dead Pirates of Cawsand by Steve Higgs
Asking for the Moon by Reginald Hill  (SS)
The Fallen Man, The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman 
Death of a Pumpkin Carver; Death by Haunted House; Death of a Wicked Witch by Lee Hollis
Delicious Mischief by Marianne Horden
The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes
A Vintage Death by Mary Ellen Hughes
Halloween Waffle Murder by Carolyn Q Hunter 
Murder on the Ghost Walk by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter 
From Bad to Wurst by Maddie Hunter  
Already Dead by Charlie Huston
Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs
Murder on Old Main Street; Dirty Tricks;Dying Wishes by Judith K. Ivie
The Pumpkin Thief, The Great Pumpkin Caper by Melanie Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs
A Murder Made in Stitches by Pamela James
The Widow's Walk League by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Designed for Haunting by Sybil Johnson
The Devil's Cat, Cat's Eye, Cat's Cradle, The Devil's Kiss, The Devil's Heart, The Devil's Touch by William W. Johnstone  
The Violet Hour by Daniel Judson
Muffins & Murder by Heather Justesen

A Stew to Kill by Jenny Kales
A Charming Voodoo; Decaffeinated Scandal by Tonya Kappes
The Sacrifice by Karin Kaufman
The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice by Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell
Death by Chance by Abigail Keam

Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman
Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry by Harry Kemelman
Wed and Buried, The Skeleton Haunts a House by Toni L.P. Kelner
Verse of the Vampyre by Diana Killian
Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack 
The Animal Hour by Andrew Klavan 
Mischief Nights are Murder by Libby Klein

Paws for Murder by Annie Knox
The Spirit in Question by Cynthia Kuhn
Mean Girl Murder by Leslie Langtry

Murder in the Neighborhood by Janis Lane 
Ghastly Glass by Joyce and Jim Lavene 
The Stitching Hour by Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent)  
Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine 
Death Knocks Twice by James H. Lilley
The Legend of Sleepy Harlow by Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels)

All Saints' Secrets by Nicole Loughan
Picked Off by Linda Lovely
The Clock Strikes Nun by Alice Loweecey
The Body from the Past by Judi Lynn

Smoke Screen by Marianne MacDonald
Pumpkin Pied; Deadly Brew by Karen MacInerney 
Poisoned by Elaine Macko 
Bear Witness to Murder by Meg Macy
Halloween Flight 77 by Debbie Madison
The Haunted Season by G.M. Malliet  
Baby Doll Games by Margaret Maron
A Halloween Hookup by Jennie Marts
Satan's Silence by Alex Matthews 
Tricks: an 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain 
Poisoned Tarts by G.A. McKevett 
Dark Chocolate Demise; The Plot and the Pendulum by Jenn McKinlay
Death on All Hallows by Allen Campbell McLean
A Sparrow Falls Holiday by Donna McLean
Witch of the Palo Duro by Mardi Oakley Medawar  
Trick or Treat Murder, Wicked Witch Murder, Candy Corn Murder by Leslie Meier 
Dancing Floor, Prince of Darkness by Barbara Michaels
The October Boys by Adam Millard

Monster in Miniature by Camille Minichino 
The Violet Hour by Richard Montanari
Bobbing for Bodies by Addison Moore
Death by Jack O'Lantern by Alexis Morgan

Stakes and Spells by Lynn Morrison
Cat Among the Pumpkins by Mandy Morton

A Biscuit, a Casket by Liz Mugavero
Send in the Clowns by Julie Mulhern
Bread of the Dead by Ann Myers 
Dead End by Helen R. Myers
Nightmare in Shining Armor by Tamar Myers 
Hatchet Job by J.E. Neighbors
Oink by Judith Newton
What Doesn't Kill Here by Carla Norton
Retribution by Patrick J. O'Brien
Halloween Cupcake Murder by Carlene O'Connor

Deadly Places by Terry Odell
Halloween House by Ed Okonowicz
Curried Away by Gail Oust
The Body in the Moonlight by Katherine Hall Page 
Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
The Witch Who Hated Halloween by Katie Penryn

Caught Dead Handed; Grave Errors; Be My Ghost by Carol J. Perry
The Skeleton Haunts a House by Leigh Perry
Flight of a Witch by Ellis Peters 
Twilight by Nancy Pickard
Strange Halloween by Horace Poulin
Pumpkin Spice Murder by Summer Prescott
Charmed Again by Rose Pressey

Drawn & Butter by Shari Randall
Murder at Witches Bluff by Silver Ravenwolf
No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly
Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson 

Death Notice by Todd Ritter 

Spook Night by David Robbins 

A Hole in Juan by Gillian Roberts

Murder in a Nice Neighborhood by Lora Roberts

Magnolias, Moonlight, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Scared Stiff by Annelise Ryan
Death of Halloween by Kim Sauke
Mighty Old Bones by Mary Saums 
Murder Ole! by Corinne Holt Sawyer
Tracking Magic by Maria E. Schneider
The Tenor Wore Tapshoes by Mark Schweizer
Trick or Treat or Murder by Kendall Scott

Devil's Day by Kyle M. Scott
Phantoms Can be Murder by Connie Shelton
A Killer Maize by Paige Shelton
Booked for Murder by Morgan W. Silver

Dance of the Scarecrows by Ray Sipherd
The Sterling Inheritance by Michael Siverling
Halloween in Cherry Hills by Paige Sleuth
The Lawyer Who Died Trying by Susan Smily
Recipe for Murder by Janet Elaine Smith
Halloween Season by Lucy A. Snyder

The Egypt Game by Zilch Neatly Snyder (YA)
Town Haunts by Cathy Spencer
Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley

Black Cats, Corpses and the Pumpkin Pantry by Rachael Stapleton
In the Blink of an Eye, Halloween Party by Wendy Corsi Staub
Halloween Party by R.L. Stine (YA)

Tiaras & Terror by Anne Marie Stoddard
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
Ripping Abigail by Barbara Sullivan
Candy Coated Murder by Kathleen Suzette

Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson
Halloween Parade Peril by Victoria Tait
Mourning Shift by Kathleen Taylor

The Darkness Deepens by S.D. Thames
Halloween Homicide by Lee Thayer
Inked Up; Inked Up by Terri Thayer

Sharpe Point by Lisa B. Thomas
Charlie's Web by L.L. Thrasher
Gods of the Nowhere by James Tipper
Death in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
A Room with a Brew by Joyce Tremel
A Dash of Murder by Teresa Trent
Strange Brew by Kathy Hogan Trochek
Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson
Masking for Trouble by Diane Vallere
Pineapple Mystery Box by Amy Vansant
I Will Fear No Evil by Debbie Viguié
Dangling by a Thread by Lea Wait
Haunted Hayride with Murder; In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace
How to Party with a Killer Vampire by Penny Warner
Murder by the Slice, Trick or Deadly Treat by Livia J. Washburn 

Five-Minute Halloween Mysteries by Ken Weber
The Scarecrow Murders by Mary V. Welk
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
Gourd to Death; Never Say Chai by Kirsten Weiss 

Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
Ghoul of My Dreams by Richard F. West 
Sweet Fire & Stone by J.A. Whiting
Blood Moon by J.A. Whiting and Nell McCarthy  
All Hallow's Eve by Charles Williams
Mayhem, Marriage, and Murderous Mystery Manuscripts by J.L. Wilson

Mrs Morris and the Witch by Traci Wilton
A Stitch to Die For by Lois Winston
Killer See, Killer Do by Jonathan Wolfe
All Hallow's Evil by Valerie Wolzien
Trick or Murder?: Reading Between the Crimes by Debbie Young

Halloween Mystery Short Story Anthologies

Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley
Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic and Mayhem, Edited by Anne Frasier 
Trick and Treats edited by Joe Gores & Bill Pronzini
Asking for the Moon (includes "Pascoe's Ghost" and "Dalziel's Ghost") by Reginald Hill
Murder for Halloween by Cynthia Manson
The Haunted Hour, edited by Cynthia Manson & Constance Scarborough
Murder for Halloween: Tales of Suspense, edited by Michele Slung & Roland Hartman.
Mystery for Halloween (an anthology), edited by Donald Westlake
Halloween Horrors, edited by Alan Ryan
All Hallows' Evil, edited by Sarah E. Glenn
Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman and Marcia Talley
Halloween Thirteen-a Collection of Mysteriously Macabre Tales, by Bobbi Chukran

Happy Homicides 4: Falling into Crime, edited by Joanna Campbell Slan et al.
A Very Cozy Halloween, Summer Prescott & 7 others
Midnight Mysteries: Nine Cozy Tales,  Ritter Ames and others
Murder on Halloween by Steve Demaree

Want some Halloween Chocolate Treats to accompany your reading? Head over to my Chocolate Blog  DyingforChocolate.com.

And here's a great article about Halloween, Cozies, and Fall Foodie Mysteries by Raquel V. Reyes: Pumpkins and Peril: Halloween Mysteries for US Scaredy Cats