DANIEL WOODRELL: R.I.P.

Sad news. American novelist and short story writer  Daniel Woodrell passed away Friday (11/28), at his home in West Plains, MO. Woodrell coined the phrase "country noir."

My heart and sympathy go out to his family and friends. He was an amazing writer, and a valued member of the mystery community. He will be missed. 

From the NYT obituary: 

Mr. Woodrell was best known for his 2006 novel, “Winter’s Bone,”which became an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated movie four years later. A teenage Jennifer Lawrence starred as Ree Dolly, a girl in rural Missouri whose family home will be seized unless she finds her father, a meth cook on the lam.
Two more of Mr. Woodrell’s novels were adapted as films: “Woe to Live On” (1987), which became “Ride With the Devil” (1999), directed by Ang Lee, and “Tomato Red” (1998), which in 2017 became a movie of the same title starring Julia Garner.

Despite the attention from Hollywood, Mr. Woodrell did not become a public figure himself. Instead, he was an artist admired by close observers of contemporary fiction as a master storyteller of rural America.

Read more here.

NY Post obituary 

More to come. 

Getting Serious about Writing a Series: Guest Post by donalee Moulton

I have a new book out—and with the publication of Melt, I officially have something else. My first series: the Lotus Detective Agency. Melt is the second book to feature Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo, three women who meet in a yoga studio and go on to discover they have a penchant for more than downward dogs.
 
When I wrote Bind, the first book that brought these women together, I knew it would be a series. I do not know why I knew that, but it was a feeling I didn’t question. That feeling also shaped how the first book unfolded, knowing a second would soon be in the works. I could give some things away; I couldn’t give everything away. What happened in the first book had to be the reality on which the second book would be founded.
 
While each book must stand on its own, they are indelibly interconnected. The women grow as detectives. They refine their skills, and their collaboration. Their friendship also deepens. There’s also a romance that blossoms in the pages of Bind and is more firmly rooted in Melt. There is also a dog whom I’ve become quite fond of.
 
I realized that the style and tone of the first book, my voice, must also be the same in book two. Readers expect consistency, within reason. What resonated with them in the first book should be found in the second, third and subsequent books. Personalities do not abruptly change unless this is part of the plot and clearly spelled out. Lighthearted stories do not suddenly become dark without buildup and explanation. 
 
That said, sequels cannot be mere reproductions of the original. There must be growth, there must be new challenges, there must be hiccups, stumbles, and imperfections that will further be explored in future books.
 
Logic must also prevail. My three women are not in law enforcement and have no background in crime solving. As I result, I didn’t feel they could realistically help to solve a murder in book one, or book two. Their credibility and expertise had to develop over several hundreds of pages. Now they’re ready. 
 
The real question is: Am I? I’ve discovered the joy of writing a series also comes with angst. I feel an obligation to get it “right” for readers who have embraced Bind and Melt. I also feel an obligation to Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo.
 
And, of course, I’ll need another one-word title that reflects what goes on inside a yoga studio and what happens outside that studio when a crime has been committed. 
 
About Melt
 
At its heart, Melt is a puzzle. Luke Castle is arrested for transporting narcotics in the back of a food truck. He confesses. Everyone knows the teenager is not the mastermind behind the $6 million in cocaine nestled among 150 sacks of flour. The lead prosecutor, the defence attorney, and the reluctant detective first class hauled into the judge’s office all admit the kid is innocent. The problem is his professed guilt – a confession he refuses to recant. The legal eagles are at a loss. First question that must be answered: Why is Luke Castle lying?
 
At its heart, Melt is about friendship. Three women met at a yoga studio. They’re now part owners of that studio – after helping to catch a thief. Now, they’re asked to help figure out what is going on with Luke Castle, bringing new approaches and new ways of ingratiating themselves with the likely suspects: drug lord, drug lord’s sons, bitter daughter-in-law, rebellious younger brother. Lending a helping hand brings them together in unexpected and ultimately profound ways. We root just as much for these women as we do for the dealer (or dealers) to be unveiled. There is a cast of regulars, including the police detective and the yoga instructor. Each a three-dimensional, likeable, and flawed human being. (Madoff, a Westie, makes periodic appearances.)
 
At its heart, Melt is funny and fun to read. It’s like coming home to a steaming bowl of tomato soup on a cold winter day. Comfortable and delicious. Like a perfect downward dog.

***

 
donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published and won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first two books in the Lotus Detective Agency series.

 

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada.  
 
donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. 
 
As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.
 

Cartoon of the Day: Doodle

 Love this!

Black Friday: Death in Department Stores By Aubrey Nye Hamilton

Department Stores: perfect for murder, and Aubrey Nye Hamilton's Death in Department Stores is the perfect article to post for Black Friday. Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving when millions of people in the U.S. start their holiday shopping. Aubrey Nye Hamilton's Death in Department Stores appeared in Mystery Readers Journal: Retail Sales (41:2) Summer 2025. 

Death in Department Stores by Aubrey Nye Hamilton 

The History of Retail: a Timeline by Matt Portnoy, https://metrobi.com/blog/the-history-of-retail-a-timeline/, states that initially the exchange of goods was a barter system since currency did not exist. Once a universal currency was established, trade commenced in the form of bazaars and marketplaces, where goods and buyers met in a central location. Then sellers became itinerant, seeking out their customers. When trade routes became more well-known, merchants set up storefronts near the river ports and train stops where their goods arrived, and the buyers had to come to the seller. These vendors focused on a narrow range of products, creating the requirement for multiple stores to meet a growing community’s demands.

The introduction of the department store, where many kinds of merchandise are sold under one roof, was revolutionary. The first department store, Bon Marché, opened in Paris in 1838, pioneering the concept of fixed-price shopping. Macy’s was founded in 1858. Others soon followed. The department store catered to the emerging middle class, which had more leisure and money than earlier generations due to the economic impacts of industrialization. The department store became the equivalent of the marketplace of ancient times, where people met to shop, eat, and socialize. And as the following list of crime fiction titles shows, they also came to kill.

One of the earliest instances of fictional murder in a department store is The French Powder Mystery(Frederick A. Stokes, 1930), the second Ellery Queen mystery. A model demonstrating furniture in the display window pushes a button to unfold the bed and the murdered body of the owner’s wife falls out. The case comes to Inspector Richard Queen of the New York Homicide Department and his son Ellery Queen. 

Killers seem to be fond of the large plate glass display windows in department stores. Inspector Devenish of Scotland Yard encounters one in The Shop Window Murders (Collins, 1930) by Vernon Loder. Both the owner and a shop assistant are found murdered in the display window of Mander’s Stores, the newest department store to grace Oxford Street in London.

Murder in the French Room (Mystery League, 1931) by Joan Hultman is set in a Midwestern department store near the Indiana-Ohio border. A customer is found dead in the designer clothing section of the store and the detective in charge tries to trace everyone who was in the vicinity on a busy Saturday. 

Dead Man Inside (Doubleday, Doran & Company Crime Club, 1931) by Vincent Sterrett is the second book about amateur sleuth Walter Ghost. Chicago haberdashery clerk Rufus Ker finds a sign on the door to Bluefield, Inc. that says “Dead Man Inside”. Once inside Ker realizes the mannequin in the window is the body of the store owner Amos Bluefield. Ghost, who is in Chicago for business, becomes involved in the investigation.

The Case of the Shoplifter’s Shoe (William Morrow, 1938) by Erle Stanley Gardener starts with Perry Mason and Della Street entering a department store to avoid a sudden rainfall. After lunch they see an elderly lady being accused of shoplifting by the store detectives and Mason intervenes. Of course murder soon ensues.

Zelda Popkin wrote five books about investigator Mary Carner beginning in 1938. Carner was on the security staff in a large department store in New York City and a forerunner of the female detectives of the late 20^thcentury.

Minna Bardon used her advertising agency experience to describe murder in the back office of a large department store in the Midwest during its annual store-wide sale. The Case of the Advertised Murders was first published in 1939 by Hillman-Curl.

In Death Demands an Audience (Doubleday Crime Club, 1940) by Helen Reilly, the 10^th of her 31-book series about Inspector Christopher McKee of New York Police Homicide, the browsers along Fifth Avenue are used to seeing elaborate presentations in the windows of Garth & Campbell but not a bloody body in an evening dress. 

Another author with an advertising background Eleanore Kelly Sellars wrote a mystery surrounding the fashion show planned by an exclusive Fifth Avenue department store. Murder a la Mode seems to be her sole contribution to the genre. It won the Dodd, Mead Red Badge prize for best new mystery by a new author in 1941.

The Red Carnelian (Ziff-Davis, 1943) by Phyllis A. Whitney was originally published as Red Is for Murder. It is set in Cunningham’s, a gigantic Chicago department store. When store sign-writer Linell Wynn’s ex-boyfriend Michael Montgomery is found dead in a display window, she’s immediately a prime suspect. However, Montgomery had plenty of enemies. 

File for Record (W.W. Norton, 1943) by Alice Tilton was retired academic Leonidas Witherall’s sixth case. Deficient customer service at Haymaker's Department Store moves him to call on Mr. Haymaker to complain, only to find Haymaker stabbed with a samurai sword. Witherall enlists the assistance of an ill-assorted group to track down the murderer.

Stolen Goods (Harper, 1949) by Clarence Budington Kelland has advertising copywriter Sherry Madigan in Prothero’s, the colossal metropolitan department store, on the scene when a body is discovered in the fitting room. And she’s around when the next one is discovered so she takes an interest in investigating the crimes.

In Everybody Always Tells by E.R. Punshon (Gollancz, 1950) Bobby Owen of Scotland Yard and his wife Olive are busy bargain-hunting in a famous London department store. Olive discovers a necklace stuffed in her handbag which turns out to have been placed there by one Lord Newdagonby, whose stout denial of the act is swiftly followed by a fatal knife blow to a prominent scientist in a locked-room mystery. 

The Knife Behind You (Harper & Brothers, 1950) by James Benet is an inside look at the skullduggery of a large department store. California lawyer Allen Tinker works to save truck driver Bill Olmstead who was framed in the murder of Spargo, Rand Department Store’s detective. Another murder soon follows. 

Private investigator Carney Wilde is hired by a large department store in Philadelphia to discover who is stealing its merchandise in The Golden Door (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1951; Collins Crime Club, 1951), the fourth title in a series of seven by Bart Spicer.

Spencer Dean wrote nine books about Don Cadee, Chief of Store Protection at Ambletts, the high-end Fifth Avenue department store. They were published between 1954 and 1961, first by Washburn and then by Doubleday. Shoplifting, disappearing merchandise shipments, and murdered buyers are some of the crimes Cadee dealt with.

Death Department (John Long, 1959) by Bill Knox, the second Thane and Moss case, is set in a large Glasgow department store, where shoplifting is common. But when the losses increase sharply, the managing director decides the theft is organized and demands action from the police. Then the head buyer disappears and murder follows. 

“Evening Primrose” by John Collier is a much-reprinted short story about a poet who decides to live in a local department store. He discovers the department store is inhabited by a society of human-like individuals. It was first published in 1940, then in Presenting Moonshine (Viking Press, 1941) and again in Fancies and Goodnights (Doubleday, 1951; Bantam 1953). Adapted for radio three times and by Stephen Sondheim for the ninth episode of ABC Stage 67 which aired on November 16, 1966. 

Line Up for Murder by Marian Babson (Collins, 1980) describes Dorrie Wilson’s experience with the famous New Year's sale at Bonnard's department store which starts out great. But things begin to go south by the fourth day, and Dorrie realizes that something is rotten in the line for the Sale of the Century.

Murder in Store (Walker, 1989) by D.C. Brod is the first Quint McCauley book. Preston Hauser, owner of a famous department store, asks McCauley to investigate some threatening letters he received. Soon after Preston is poisoned and suspicion falls on Hauser’s wife, but McCauley quickly learns she’s not the only one to benefit from the millionaire’s death.

Death in Store by Jennifer Rowe (Allen & Unwin, 1993) is a collection of short stories about Australian researcher turned sleuth Verity Birdwood. The final story is a tale about Christmas in the Fredericks' department store, whose seasonal lavish decorations are famous. Verity Birdwood is assigned to gather information about Christmas in a big store for a TV program and instead investigates the murder of the store Santa Claus and his photographer. 

In The Steel Kiss (Grand Central Publishing, 2016) by Jeffrey Deaver, Amelia Sachs chases an anti-consumerist killer through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. One man is badly injured and Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she helps the victim. Forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme is working on a civil case involving a wrongful death suit against an escalator manufacturer. They eventually find the two cases intersect.

In the sixth Junior Bender case Fields Where They Lay (Soho Crime, 2016) by Tim Hallinan, Junior has been hired to find a shoplifter but instead he finds a murder victim on the upper floor of an abandoned department store in a failing shopping mall. The fading shopping mall phenomenon is thoroughly explored while Junior finds a killer.

Psycho by the Sea (Raven Books, 2021) by Lynne Truss is the fourth Constable Twitten mystery. Constable Twitten, Sergeant Brunswick, and Inspector Steine of the 1950s Brighton police force deal with the death of a U.S. researcher in the music section of Gosling’s department store as well as a missing gang member and an escaped criminally violent prisoner.

The Devil’s Draper (Fly on the Wall Press, 2025) by Donna Moore is set in 1920s Glasgow. Three story lines include one about Beatrice Price, owner of an employment agency, who discovers that the young women she places in the drapery section of Hector Arrol and Sons department store are victimized by the owner. She goes undercover to investigate.  

Children’s fiction has not escaped the concept of crime in department stores. The Crimson Thread (Reilly & Lee, 1925) by Roy J. Snell is the fifth book in his “An Adventure Story for Girls” series. Lucile Tucker is working at the Marshall Fields in Chicago before Christmas in the book department. A best-selling author disappears, Lucile’s worn coat is taken and an expensive fur is left in its place, coworkers leave the store via the package chute, and other puzzles occupy Lucile’s attention. 

The Clue in Blue (Grossett & Dunlap, 1948) by Betsy Allen is the first of 12 books about Connie Blair. Connie models high-end clothes at Campion's in Philadelphia, where her aunt works. Expensive clothing disappears and then reappears days later. Connie explores the back-end mechanics of the store to learn why.

Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse (Grossett & Dunlap, 1956) is one of 27 titles in the Cherry Ames Nurse Stories by Helen Wells and Julie Tatham. Cherry investigates missing jewelry and antiques in between dealing with lost children and handing out aspirin to employees of a large department store.

British author Katherine Woodfine has written four books so far about Sinclair’s Department Store, an Edwardian emporium in London. Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose are the juvenile detectives. The first book in the series, The Clockwork Sparrow (Egmont Books, 2015), was nominated for multiple awards including the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016.

The publication dates of these books illustrate the importance of department stores to society at the time they were written. That department stores are not common as a scene of crime now shows the focus of commerce has shifted to other settings.

_______________________________

Lifelong reader Aubrey Nye Hamilton works as a systems engineer in R&D. In her other life she review newish books on Kevin’s Corner kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com, review olders mysteries on Happiness Is a Book happinessisabook.com, and writes occasional pieces for Mystery Readers Journal, mysteryreaders.org.

Cartoon of the Day: Thanksgiving

Still one of my favorite cartoons! Happy Thanksgiving!

Cartoon of the Day: English Villages

 

Cartoon of the Day: Thanksgiving Double Standard

My Not So Secret Love Affair: Guest Post by Jeffrey Siger

Thank you, Janet Rudolph, for inviting me to share with your Mystery Fanfare readers the essence of what’s driven me to set my fourteen-volume Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series amid the beauty, history, and wiles of Greece. 

It isn’t fame, it isn’t fortune. It is an irrepressible desire on my part to express through my novels why I, a non-Greek by birth, am so intensely drawn to share with the world the majesty of Greece as if it were my homeland, and the spirit of the Greek people as if they are my family.

Anyone who knows me understands that my heart and soul are Greek—even though my tongue can’t quite make the language transition…so much so that as I’ve often said, and many can attest, whenever I try to speak Greek, my friends rush into English to save their mother tongue. Thankfully, my inability to voice the words, has not held me back from chronicling the wonders and beauty of Greece and the ways and resilience of its people.

Without all I’ve learned from Greeks and fellow grecophiles I never would have discovered the true character of my protagonist, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, nor that of his vibrant supporting cast of good guys, bad guys, rich folk and poor, high society and not.

I owe sincere thanks to many for their candid contributions to the success of my series. They and their tales of customs, secrets, and intrigues inspired me in one way or another to reach this point in my career.

By now I think it’s obvious how much I appreciate the support Greeks have shown my novels, and the reciprocal obligation I feel to fairly present Greece and its resilient, creative, hardworking people to the world. Indeed, despite the many accolades my work has received, the greatest honor I ever received was when The New York Times Book Review selected me as Greece’s thriller-writer of record.

I say that because my overall goal as a writer has always been the same.  To explore issues confronting modern day Greece in a way that touches upon its ancient roots. And to do so honestly and with love for the land and its people.

The fourteen books I’ve written in my Kaldis series are not a record, but in retrospect they certainly validate the depth of desire that lingered within me for at least half a century. It was with me when as a child I found myself making up stories every night as I fell off to sleep.

And it was there with me in high school when as a freshman I thought I could make it as a writer … until I realized how unlikely I was to earn a living as a writer––leading me to become a lawyer.

That decision to practice law played a huge, unexpected role in my emergence as a creative writer. And by that I don’t mean that my many years as a lawyer taught me to be creative with the facts.  Rather, those years and experiences developed my style, my voice, taught me how to write clearly, concisely and convincingly – and to do so quickly.

The practice of law also taught me how to graciously accept and channel criticism, a vital skill for one to develop if as a writer you wish to survive critical analyses of your work by your editors, critics and reviewers.

Having said all that, I never imagined I’d find something that’s brought as much fun and joy to my life as does the time I spend with the Chief Inspector and his crew seeking to further entertain all the wonderful friends my wife Barbara and I have made through the writing life. 

I’ve come to accept that whatever honors have come my way do so in large measure because of one person…my protagonist Andreas Kaldis.  He and I have been through fourteen adventures together, all the while battling with each other over who gets to write them. It’s Andreas who insists on writing about life on the edge of societal change, then drags me into exploring family dynamics, ancient practices, political intrigues, the military, Orthodoxy, refugees, corruption, wild nightlife, vendettas, the business of bomba, preservationists versus developers, the impact of Artificial Intelligence, and on and on. 

The one thing we agree upon is no matter what the story line, the setting for each novel is always presented in keeping with the series’ longstanding international reputation for sharing Greece’s breathtaking beauty and unique lifestyles with the reader. 

So, here I am, more than 20 years into my writing gig, celebrating the series that’s brought plaudits for my work from so many I deeply respect in the mystery writing world.  All of that truly has me feeling blessed that the dream of the young boy I once was to someday become a writer came true.

But where to now, one might ask. Allow me to assure you that this is not a retirement speech…though with the latest title being NOT DEAD YET, it’s understandable how one might get that impression.  

Not only am I working on Kaldis #15, but I have a new book in an entirely different series coming out on February 3, 2026 ––A Study in Secrets, the debut novel in my The Redacted Man series. Plus, the folks with an option on TV/film rights to my Kaldis series say they’re close to making it all come together.
And did I mention that my entire Kaldis backlist, fitted with brand new B-2 format covers has just been re-released by my publisher Severn House and is available here:  https://jeffreysiger.com/books/

In other words, I’m still happily strolling along the road that’s led me from the Pittsburgh of my roots to a Manhattan legal career, and onto an ever-evolving love affair with Greece. 

Yiasas, y’all.

––Jeff

***

Jeffrey Siger fled his position as a name partner in his own NYC law firm to write Greece-based mystery thrillers on Mykonos. The New York Times picked him as Greece’s thriller novelist of record, Reader’s Digest Select Editions described him as among its “new favorite authors,” and the Greek National Tourism Organization recently honored him as “one of our country’s shining ambassadors to the world.” He’s received Lefty and Barry “Best Novel” nominations for his fourteen-book Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, been Chair of Bouchercon, and served as an adjunct college professor teaching mystery writing.  www.jeffreysiger.com
 
 

Library Poster of the Day: Book Mark

 I love these WPA Library posters!

TRISS STEIN: R.I.P.

Sad news: Mystery author Triss Stein passed away yesterday. R.I.P., Triss. You will be missed.

She was the author of the Erica Donato mysteries set in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bones (2013) 

Brooklyn Graves (2014) 

Brooklyn Secrets (2015) 

Brooklyn Wars (2017) 

Brooklyn Legacies (2019)

She was also the author of the Kay Engels mystery Murder at the Class Reunion (1993)

Mystery Readers Journal was honored to have an author essay from Triss for the New York City Mysteries I issue of Mystery Readers Journal (32:1) Spring 2016. 

I'm reprinting the essay here:

Tres Brooklyn by Triss Stein

New York, New York. So nice they named it twice. I think I always felt that way. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my hometown, a small city in northernmost upstate New York, near the beautiful Thousand Islands and a real foreign border (exotic Canada). However, it was a place where nearby Syracuse represented quite as much excitement as most people wanted. I didn’t know anyone else who thought his or her future was in the big city. Or any big city. 
 
When I was a child, right after the dinosaurs, it was still perfectly all right for a little girl to say, “I want to be a wife and mother when I grow up.” Not me. I wanted to be Doris Day, a career girl with a cute apartment in New York. 
 
The surprise is that I did become a New Yorker, though it was almost by accident. I came from Boston for graduate school, owed New York state two years for a fellowship, and then I was going back to Boston. But I found a job. Fell in love. Had a family. Bought a house in Brooklyn that shouted old New York. I loved the old, I loved New York.
 
The moment I knew I was never leaving was when I was on the subway and two subway preachers were trying to out sing each other, shouting hymns across the aisle.
 
My first job was working as a children’s librarian in the Brooklyn Public Library system. I worked in nine different neighborhoods, and I was fascinated to see how different they were.  Our patrons did not say they were from “New York”, or even “Brooklyn,” but “Mill Basin.” Or “Van Dyke Houses.” Or “Cypress Hills.” Many of them only ventured into Manhattan once a year. In other words, it was a lot more like small towns than most of them knew.
 
The history fascinated me too. How can you not love a place that sent a parade of elephants to prove the safety of that soon-to-be-famous, brand new bridge? 
 
I didn’t know it then, but I was getting ready to write a mystery series about Brooklyn. Acting like a librarian, I was filing all those memories and oddball facts away for when I needed them. 
 
I have lived in Brooklyn now for most of my adult life. We started out in a neighborhood that was still touch and go. The playground was dangerous late at night and we had two children’s car seats stolen from our parked car. It is called Park Slope and it has evolved into the quintessential gentrified, quaint, very chic urban neighborhood. It is tres Brooklyn, as they now say even in Paris. Could there be lots of tension around these changes? That long downhill slide and the controversial revival? And does tension create plot? How about a body discovered in a house undergoing renovation? Houses here are always undergoing renovation. That became Brooklyn Bones.
 
The second series book, Brooklyn Graves, is about a beautiful, historic, art-filled cemetery and a lost Tiffany window, but also about a deteriorating neighborhood saved by a flood of Russian immigrants. Saved? Or was it ruined? It all depends on who you ask.
 
Brooklyn Secrets, released in December, 2015, is about Brownsville, a decidedly unrenovated neighborhood where young people now struggle with many of the same pressures as young people did generations ago when it was the breeding ground of the notorious branch of the mob called Murder Inc.
 
I know I will never run out of Brooklyn stories to tell. The next one will be about the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which ran 24/7 during World War 11, employed 70,000 people including women, built the battleship Missouri and then died a slow, painful death. After that? I have few ideas cooking.
 
I haven’t yet worked out how to write about the flock of bright green tropical parrots that live on the Brooklyn College campus, or the house where Winston Churchill’s mother was born – no one is sure exactly which house it was – but they may yet find their way into a story. 
 
And those elephants on the Brooklyn Bridge?  I don’t know where they came from – was the circus in town? – but maybe I should find out. 
 
 
 

MIDSOMER MURDERS, Series 25, Premiere

Midsomer Murders, Series 25 premieres Monday, December 8th on Acorn TV.

From a mudlarking murder to a bowling club killing and a grammar school homicide, DCI Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and DS Winter (Nick Hendrix) solve perplexing crimes whilst also exploring the quirks of their delightfully picturesque yet deadly shire. will feature four new, feature-length episodes 

And, yes, Midsomer Murders has been renewed for a 26th Season. The new season will feature four new cases and will continue to star Neil Dudgeon as DCI Barnaby. 

THANKSGIVING MYSTERIES // Thanksgiving Crime Fiction

Thanksgiving is next week, so you'll want to get reading these Thanksgiving crime novels and short stories. This is an updated Thanksgiving Crime Fiction list, but let me know if I've missed any titles. It's a great mix of cozy, noir, thriller, and whodunit.  

As Thanksgiving approaches, I give thanks for my family, my friends, and the wonderful mystery community.

I'm posting daily recipes for Chocolate Thanksgiving desserts, sides, and main courses (Chocolate Turkey Rub!) on DyingforChocolate.com.

Thanksgiving Mysteries

Victoria Abbott The Wolfe Widow
Susan Wittig Albert Bittersweet

Laura Alden Foul Play at the PTA
Dianne Ascroft Thanksgiving and Theft
Deb Baker Murder Talks Turkey
S.H. Baker The Colonel's Tale
Mignon Ballard, Miss Dimple Disappears
Sandra Balzo Hit and Run
Richard Bausch Thanksgiving Night 

Cindy Bell Fatal Festivities; Friends, Family and Fugitives.

Kate Bell, Kathleen Suzette Thankfully Dead

Bennett, Virginia, A Thanksgiving to Pie For; Casserole Over in Your Grave
Bob Berger The Risk of Fortune
William Bernhardt, Editor, Natural Suspect
Kate Borden Death of a Turkey
Amy Boyles Southern Magic Thanksgiving
Ali Brandon Twice Told Tail

JJ Brass The Turkey Wore Satin
Lilian Jackson Braun The Cat Who Went into the Closet, The Cat Who Talked Turkey
Lizbie Brown Turkey Tracks
Catherine Bruns In the Blink of a Pie
Carole Bugge Who Killed Mona Lisa?

Lucy Burdette A Deadly Feast
Lynn Cahoon A Very Mummy Holiday
Sammi Carter Goody Goody Gunshots
Lowell Cauffiel Dark Rage
Jillian Chance The Fall of the Sharp Sisters
Joelle Charbonneau Skating Under the Wire

George C. Chesbro Bleeding in the eye of a Brainstorm
Jennifer Chiaverini A Quilter's Holiday 

Laura Childs Scones & Bones 
Bobbi A. Chukran Short mystery stores in her Nameless, Texas series
Leena Clover Turkeys and Thanksgiving
Christine E. Collier A Holiday Sampler
Kate Collins: Kick the Bouquet

Sheila Connolly A Killer Crop
Cleo Coyle Murder by Mocha
Isis Crawford A Catered Thanksgiving
Bill Crider with Willard Scott Murder under Blue Skies
Jessie Crockett Drizzled with Death
Amanda Cross A Trap for Fools
Barbara D'Amato Hard Tack, Hard Christmas
Mary Daheim Alpine Fury, Fowl Prey, The Alpine Vengeance
Kathi Daley Turkeys, Tuxes and Tabbies; The Trouble with Turkeys; The Thanksgiving Trip: The Inn at Holiday Bay, Pilgrim in the Parlor; Thanksgiving in Paradise; The Catsgiving Feast; Cottage on Gooseberry Bay: Thanksgiving Past; Thanksgiving in Paradise
Jeanne Dams Sins Out of School
Claire Daniels Final Intuition
Evelyn David Murder Takes the Cake
Mary Janice Davidson Undead and Unfinished
Krista Davis The Diva Runs Out of Thyme; A Good Dog's Guide to Murder

Robert Davis Stuffed
Devon Delaney Double Chocolate Cookie Murder
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates) Silent Night, Deadly Night
Jana Deleon Cajun Fried Felony
Wende and Harry Devlin Cranberry Thanksgiving
Michael Dibdin Thanksgiving
Leighann Dobbs Thanksgiving Dinner Death; Turkey Tragedy 

Joanne Dobson Raven and the Nightingale

Alice Duncan Thanksgiving Angels
Christine Duncan Safe House
Susan Dunlap No Footprints
Kaitlyn Dunnett Overkilt
Lauren Elliott To the Tome of Murder

Alex Erickson Death by Hot Apple Cider
Janet Evanovich Thanksgiving (technically a romance)*
Nancy Fairbanks Turkey Flambe
Christy Fifield Murder Ties the Knot
Maureen Fisher Deadly Thanksgiving 
Courtney Flagg Criminally Ungrateful

Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain Murder She Wrote: A Fatal Feast
Amanda Flower Peanut Butter Panic; Natural Barn Killer
Joanne Fluke Raspberry Danish Murder
Katherine V. Forrest The Beverly Malibu
Shelley Freydont Cold Turkey
Heather Day Gilbert Cold Drip 

Noreen Gilpatrick The Piano Man
Martin H. Greenberg (editor) Cat Crimes for the Holidays
Jane Haddam Feast of Murder
Janice Hamrick Death Rides Again
Susannah Hardy A Killer Kebab
Lee Harris The Thanksgiving Day Murder
Ellen Hart The Grave Soul
J. Alan Hartman, editor, The Killer Wore Cranberry; The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping; The Killer Wore Cranberry: Room for Thirds; The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem; The Perp Wore Pumpkin 
Robin Hathaway The Doctor Makes a Dollhouse Call
Richard Hawke Speak of the Devil
Victoria Houston Dead Hot Shot
Dorothy Howell Fanny Packs and Foul Play
Linda Joffe Hull Black Thursday
Carolyn Q. Hunter Killer Thanksgiving Pie

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter Murder on the ICW
Melanie Jackson Death in a Turkey Town; Cornucopia
Sue Ann Jaffarian Cornucopia, Secondhand Stiff
J. A. Jance Shoot Don't Shoot

Madison Johns The Great Turkey Caper
Gin Jones & Elizabeth Ashby Deadly Thanksgiving Sampler

Tonya Kappes Trapping, Turkeys, & Thanksgiving 
Karin Kaufman At Death's Door
Alex Kava Black Friday
Marvin Kaye My Son, the Druggist
Faye Kellerman Serpent's Tooth
Harry Kemelman That Day the Rabbi Left Town
Leslie Langtry, Mashed Potato Murder

 John Lescroat The Keeper
Clyde Linsley Death of a Mill Girl
Georgette Livingston Telltale Turkey Caper
M. Louisa Locke Pilfered Promises
Nial Magill Thanksgiving Murder in the Mountains
G.M. Malliet Wicked Autumn
Margaret Maron Up Jumps the Devil
Evan Marshall Stabbing Stefanie
K. L. McCluskey Three for Pumpkin Pie
Robert McDavis: Stuffed

Shawn McGuire Silent Secrets

Ralph McInerny Celt and Pepper
Catriona McPherson Scot in a Trap

Leslie Meier Turkey Day Murder; Turkey Trot Murder; Gobble, Gobble Murder
Wendy Meadows Turkey, Pies and Alibis
Addison Moore Thanksgiving Day Murder

Deborah Morgan The Marriage Casket
Meg Muldoon Roasted in Christmas River

Julie Mulhern, Somewhere in the Night 

Sandra Murphy, Editor, The Perp Wore Pumpkin II

Carla Norton The Edge of Normal
Carol O'Connell Shell Game
Diana Orgain, Pumpkin Pie Prison

Jack Pachuta Gobble, Gobble, Death and Trouble
Nancy J Parra Murder Gone A-Rye
Louise Penny Still Life

Cathy Pickens Southern Fried
Michael Poore Up Jumps the Devil 
Craig Rice The Thursday Turkey Murders
Cherie Richey, Dressing Up a Corpse; Stuffing the Morgue

Ann Ripley Harvest of Murder
J.D. Robb Thankless in Death
Delia Rosen One Foot in the Gravy
M.L. Rowland Zero Degree Murder
Ilene Schneider Chanukah Guilt
Maria E. Schneider Executive Retention
Willard Scott and Bill Crider Murder under Blue Skies
Sarah R. Shaber Snipe Hunt
Sharon Gwyn Short, Hung Out to Die
Paullina Simons, Red Leaves

Page Sleuth Thanksgiving in Cherry Hills
Alexandra Sokoloff The Harrowing
Rex Stout Too Many Cooks
Denise Swanson Murder of a Barbie and Ken; Murder of a Botoxed Blonde

Kathleen Suzette Roast Turkey and a Murder; Pumpkin Pie Peril
Marcia Talley Occasion of Revenge
Sharon Burch Toner Maggie's Brujo
Teresa Trent Burnout
Lisa Unger In the Blood
Jennifer Vanderbes Strangers at the Feast
Debbie Viguie I Shall Not Want
Auralee Wallace Haunted Hayride with Murder
Livia J. Washburn The Pumpkin Muffin Murder

Kirsten Weiss, Darjeeling Dead
Leslie Wheeler Murder at Plimoth Plantation
J.A. Whiting Sweet Thanksgiving
Rachel Wood Gobble, Gobble Murder
Angela Zeman The Witch and the Borscht Pearl

***

For the Younger Set:

Thanksgiving Thief: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew
Ron Roy and John Steven Gurney: November Night

Joan Lowery Nixon The Thanksgiving Mystery
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Sharmat Nate the Great Talks Turkey

Julie Campbell: Trixie Belden and the Mystery Off Glen Road  (Trixie Belden #5)

***

Let me know if I've forgotten any authors and titles!

Cartoon of the Day: Writer's Life

 From Tom Gauld

VINTAGE BOOK WEEK POSTERS

Vintage Book Week Posters: Every Week is Book Week! What are you reading?

 

Cartoon of the Day: Writer

 

COOPER & FRY: New detective series based on Stephen Booth's mysteries

Cooper & Fry is the brand new drama from Channel 5 (U.K.). The series is based on the bestselling novels by Stephen Booth and sees two mismatched detectives, DC Ben Cooper and DC Diane Fry, work together on a series of unusual cases to get results.

Unfortunately, this series has not been picked up -- yet-- for broadcasts in the U.S. Hopefully it will--and soon. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, read Stephen Booth's Cooper & Fry series. 

Here's what we know so far about the Cooper & Fry TV series.: 

Set in the mystery-shrouded Peak District, DC Ben Cooper (Robert James-Collier), an affable local, is thrown together with guarded newcomer DC Diane Fry (Mandip Gill), to investigate a string of mysterious deaths.

Based on the bestselling novels by Stephen Booth, the two mismatched detectives must work together on a series of unusual cases to get results. Despite Fry’s scepticism of local folklore, they’ll need to navigate not only the twisted paths of the cases before them, but also the shadowy beliefs that still hold sway in the hills.

As their personal lives begin to intertwine and past scars look to be healed, a unique friendship is formed. While Cooper and Fry unearth old rituals and beliefs, they must rely on each other to not only bring justice, but to survive.

Pushing the Keyboard Past Ninety: Guest Post by Larry and Rosemary Mild

Is there any limit to when an author’s creativity declines or even shuts down? The fully alert writing team of Larry and Rosemary Mild is still cranking out fiction, even though they have become young nonagenarians. He’s ninety-three and she’s ninety, and yet together they have just published their fourth Paco and Molly Mystery, The Moaning Lisa (Five stars according to Readers’ Favorite). And that’s not all. Since they married in 1967, they have published eight mysteries, three adventure-thrillers, one historical thriller, a spy novel, four short-story collections, and one sci-fi novella (plus four memoirs). Many of their books have received five-star reviews plus awards.

Are they done yet? Of course not. While Rosemary puts her finishing touches on their second spy novel, Kauai Spies and Other Lies, Larry is busy writing stories for a fifth collection. Larry insists that he will stick with writing short stories from now on. “I like to complete what I start,” he says, “and who knows what the future in my nineties holds?” Larry is wheelchair-bound, tied to a permanent catheter, and sees out of one eye—but he remains optimistic. Rosemary is his loving caregiver. They wake up every morning knowing they have their writing to do. But she also takes time to do her Jazzercise classes on Zoom: “They satisfy my suppressed desire to be a Rockette.”

Larry says he’s more devious than Rosemary, so he generally comes up with the story ideas and plots. When a “Hey-that’s-neat-idea” strikes, he mulls over it for a day or two, then sits down and writes a five- to ten-page statement of work for a novel. He discusses it with her and then commits to writing the first and sometimes the second draft. Then he hands the manuscript over to Rosemary, who fleshes out the characters and streamlines passages to increase suspense. She calls it “judicious pruning,” an expression she learned as an assistant editor at Harper’s Magazine. Originally, Larry would reply, “It’s slash and burn—I worked hours on those paragraphs!” Rosemary would remind him what Stephen King once said: “To write is human, to edit is divine.”

 
The Milds use their personal experience as a touchstone for much of their fiction. In Cry Ohana, Adventure and Suspense in Hawai‘i, they have the killer chasing young Kekoa in Chinatown on Chinese New Year—where they themselves used to slog through the spent firecracker papers. In Copper and Goldie, 13 Tails of Mystery and Suspense in Hawai‘i, Sam Nahoe is a disabled ex-cop-turned-cabbie and private eye. Larry gave him his own disability. Sam has to ski walk with two canes. His Auntie Momi asks him, “You still walkin’ wit’ dem giant chopsticks?” Goldie is based on a friend’s golden retriever. She rides shotgun and chases down villains. Death Steals a Holy Book is based on a rare Yiddish volume that Larry inherited. Hot Grudge Sunday is a tour the Milds took through the national parks out West. They injected a harrowing event at each site and reversed their itinerary to have the heart-stopping climax at the Grand Canyon. 

***

Larry and Rosemary Mild have recently been named recipients of the 2024 Elliot Cades Award for Literature, the state of Hawai‘i’s most prestigious literary honor. They were named co-recipients of the award for established writers. A second award was given for emerging writer at the November 1^st, 2025 ceremony held at the Hawai‘i State Library.

VETERANS DAY CRIME FICTION

Veterans Day, November 11, was originally known as Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day). Veterans Day commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, that took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. The U.S.  Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. The 11th of November is"a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'." It was later changed to Veterans Day.

I love to read mysteries that reflect regions and holidays, so I'm reposting my Veterans Day list with some new additions. 

Julia Spencer-Fleming's Once Was a Soldier,  Jacqueline Winspear, Renie Airth, and Charles Todd's mystery series are at the top of my list of Veterans Day Mysteries. There's also the Joe Sandilands series by Barbara Cleverly. And Bulldog Drummond is a WWI veteran in the Sapper/H.C. McNeile books. Add to that Walter Mosley's WWII Vet Easy Rawlins. Don't miss Marcia Talley's All Things Undying in which Hannah Ives helps to locate the grave of a WWII serviceman. James Lee Burke is another great mystery author whose Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux is a Vietnam Veteran. And, of course, the Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers.

BV Lawson's 2007 post of Veteran's Day Mysteries is great. No need to duplicate her efforts. Be sure and read her blog, as well as all the comments. 

 

I also did a Memorial Day post here on Mystery Fanfare that covers some of the same territory. It is  a good resource, as many of the books overlap.

You'll want to read J. Kingston's Pierce's article 9 Mysteries Set in the Immediate Aftermath of WWI on CrimeReads.

Wikipedia has an entry about Veterans Day Mysteries. Several hardboiled heroes have been war veterans. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and many others from World War II, and John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee from the Korean War. "The frequent exposure to death and hardship often leads to a cynical and callous attitude as well as a character trait known today as post-traumatic stress characterizes many hardboiled protagonists."

ADDITIONAL VETERANS DAY MYSTERIES with Veteran Protagonists

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Billy Boyle series by James R. Benn

Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Veterans' Day by James Buckner

Nick Petrie novels by James Lee Burke

Tom Clancy Oath of Office by Marc Cameron

The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly

Quarry; The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins

Long Shot by Jack Coughlin

Foul Trade by B.K. Duncan

One Killer Force by Dalton Fury
Young Blood by Matt Gallagher

The Man Who Won the Medal of Honor by Len Giovannitti

The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Direct Hit by Mike Hollow

A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang

Operation Burning Candle by Blyden Jackson

Berlin Noir: March Violets, The Pale Criminal, A German Requiem by Philip Kerr

Lone Jack Trail by Owen Laukkanen

After the Rain by Chuck Logan

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Hystopia by David Means

First Blood by David Morrell

Veterans Day by Mary Jane Morris

Devil in a Blue Dress, and other novels by Walter Mosley

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle

The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

The Given World by Marian Palaia

The Drifter by Nick Petrie (and others in the Peter Ash series)

Underbelly by Gary Phillips

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Whose Body?; The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers

Dog Day Afternoon by Vern E. Smith

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Veterans Day by Jack Stewart

Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone

All Things Undying by Marcia Talley

A Test of Wills and others; A Duty to the Dead and others by Charles Todd

Dragonfish by Vu Tran

Soldier's Heart by Vance Voyles

Maisie Dobbs; Messenger of Truth; The Mapping of Love and Death; and others by Jacqueline Winspear

For the young set, one of the first Veteran-related mysteries: 
Cherry Ames: Veterans' Nurse by Helen Wells. 

Have a look, too, at StopYou'reKillingMe.com, Military Mysteries for more titles.

As always, let me know any Veterans Crime Fiction that you recommend.

Read a Veterans Day mystery and remember the men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your service.

In Memory of Veteran - Major Joseph Rudolph, M.D., WWII

Cartoon of the Day: The Case