Too Much of a Good Thing

From Jim
Research is a little like an iceberg. A lot of it doesn’t show. How do you decide how much research to put into your work?

I love the bite of black pepper. But, let’s face it, too much of it will ruin whatever you’re cooking. I feel the same way about historical research in books. Any research, really. Unless the subject is history itself, the fruits of research should be the spice, not the flavor, of the story.

I write the Ellie Stone mysteries, a series set in the early 1960s. That re...