Why This One Is Special

I love all the books I’ve written. I really do. My characters and their stories live forever in my heart. But I felt a unique surge of joy when Billie Johnson, my publisher at Oak Tree Press, sent me my finished cover and told me that Murder a la Christie was ready for the printers.

I write my mysteries, well aware of the history of the genre and of the Golden Age of Mystery, which took place here and in England, loosely between the two World Wars. My sleuth, Lexie Driscoll, is an English professor. But more importantly for my series, she leads a Golden Age of Mystery book club where murder and mayhem abound.

I decided that the first book in my series would be a tribute to Agatha Christie. By far the most
popular author of her time, Dame Agatha’s books are as enjoyable today as when they were written almost one hundred years ago. My characters discuss some of Dame Agatha’s novels. In ways, the arc of the novel follows an Agatha Christie novel. The setting is an insular village whose residents know each other almost took well. And Lexie exposes the murderer at the end of a book club meeting when all the suspects are present. There are also many differences. Murder a la Christie is a mystery novel of the twenty-first century, with its own twists and turns, secrets and romance.

Murder a la Christie was a Malice Domestic finalist the year no winner was declared. An agent sent it around to the big houses. No takers. Eventually I signed on with a small press, and the book was scheduled to come out this past summer. It was edited and ready for a cover, when one of the two publishers died and the other decided to close shop.

I was delighted with Oak Tree Press offered to publish the book. By then I was beginning to sense a buzz. I’d already received some wonderful reviews. When I put out a call for more, I was astonished by the number of people who offered to read and review Murder a la Christie. More wonderful comments and reviews made me start to think that this book was special! And when I saw the finished cover, my spirits soared. Maybe this was the one. The book that people noticed and wanted to read for the mere fun of it.

For the first time I’ll be having a real launch party. And I’ll be doing web radio interviews, guest blogs, and a blog tour. I’m hoping many people will read Murder a la Christie. And when they finish it, tell me that they can’t read its sequel, Murder the Tey Way, my tribute to Josephine Tey.

Talking About My New Mystery

My mystery, Murder a la Christie, a Malice Domestic finalist, is coming out in a few months. Forty-eight-year-old Lexie is an English professor at a Long Island university. She’s beautiful and brainy, but has no smarts when it comes to men. Her first husband left her twenty-six years ago, when she was pregnant. It irks her that her ex, an absentee father during the years she raised Jesse, now enjoys a good relationship with their son, probably because they’re both musicians living in California. Three years ago, Lexie married a colleague who turned out to be a nutcase. When she told him she was leaving him, he burned down her house with himself inside. Now she's homeless, so to speak, and short on funds.

Lexie's best friend, Rosie, asks her to lead the Golden Age of Mystery book club she has created. The first meeting, a discussion of Agatha Christie novels, is held in Rosie and Hal’s mansion in the upscale village of Old Cadfield. Lexie muses that she could have lived the elegant life--if she hadn’t broken up with Hal when they were in college. If only she hadn't found him boring.

Before the meeting, Lexie overhears Sylvia, an old friend of hers, arguing with a neighbor. “Write that book if you dare, but you won’t live to see it in print!” Gerda tells Sylvia. An hour later, Sylvia is dead.

Lexie agrees to house sit Sylvia’s Old Cadfield home for the duration of the summer. While she appreciates her lovely surroundings and enjoys having a private pool at her disposal, she doesn’t feel  comfortable with the Old Cadfield crowd. As she investigates Sylvia’s death and gets to know the book club members better, Lexie learns that money doesn’t necessarily make for happiness. Each member harbors a secret. The murderer strikes again, and Lexie begins to feel she’s living an Old Cadfield version of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians.

Lexie is drawn to two very appealing, sexy men: the renown architect who built Sylvia’s home and the homicide detective in charge of the murder investigation. Will she make the "right" choice this time?

And then an "accident" occurs, and Lexie barely escapes with her life. The murderer is losing control. Lexie employs Poirot’s power of deduction and Miss Marple’s cleverness to find the murderer before he/she kills again.