Wicked Wednesday: Five Mysteries
Edith/Maddie here, writing from north of Boston as your July blog wrangler.
I was casting about for a Wicked Wednesdays theme for the month of July. I knew the name was associated with Julius Caesar but I needed more, so I went where one sometimes does – to Wikipedia. I learned that before they reworked the calendar AND before Julius ruled, this was the fifth month and was called Quintilus. I already knew there are five Wednesdays in the month this year, so let’s riff on the number five (ignoring the fact that July is now the seventh month).
People (and most mammals and amphibians) have five fingers and toes. Five is a special odd number. Most children learn to count by five. Pentagons and some stars have five points. There are five Pillars in Islam, five elements of nature, five senses, five…well, you get it.
Wickeds, let’s start by talking about the fifth book in your series (or one of them). Is that an important point for your protagonist? She’s been sleuthing for a while – does she start to gain confidence and skills, or does she question what she’s doing? Also, was it the last book in your contract and did that affect how you wrote it?
Julie: The fifth book, and sadly the last, in my Garden Squad series was The Plot Thickets. It takes place a year after the first book. Lilly’s life is completely changed. She’s rentered life, solved several crimes, has a handsome next door neighbor, two roommates, two cats and a wonderful life. I love the path she was on after five books–she was on the road to happiness. And the Garden Squad were cleaning things up.
Edith/Maddie: I miss that series, Julie! Mulch Ado About Murder was the fifth Local Foods mystery and the last book in that contract. Protagonist Cam Flaherty was just hitting her stride as a newbie farmer – and as an amateur sleuth. While I was writing the story, I suspected Kensington wouldn’t renew the series, but I didn’t know for sure. I ended the book with most of the core characters at the farm with Cam. I could have written more books, but I left everybody in a good place in case it was the last book – and it was. (I wrote that series as Edith, but the ebooks have been rereleased as authored by Maddie Day.)
Liz: The fifth book in the Cat Cafe series, Claws for Alarm, was in interesting one for Maddie. She had to take care of her sister, who found the body of an outsider, and hold it together for the rest of the family. She’s also been around the block a few times with this murder thing, so now the cops are getting used to her and she’s able to have more of a rapport with them. Which is helpful because there are many more murders in her future!
Barb: Ah! The fifth book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series is Iced Under. It’s one of the highest rated and bestselling in the series and the one I site most often when people ask which is my favorite. Oddly for a Maine Clambake Mystery, it takes place in winter, mostly in Boston and you don’t know for sure there’s been a murder until 60% of the way through. It introduces my protagonist Julia to her mother’s extended family and explains how they made and lost their fortune and how their mansion, Windsholme, was abandoned. Plus I got to do some really fun research on the frozen water trade.
Jessie: I loved hearing about your frozen water research, Barb! And Julie, I think of your Garden Squad so often as I walk through my neighborhoods and spot the outrageous flourishing of bittersweet! Quel horror! Murder in an English Glade was the fifth book in my Beryl and Edwina series. I loved writing this entry in the series with its WWI echoes and an artistic subplot. I also had the opportunity to ramp up a romance and also to allow Beryl to grow in ways she would not have expected. Fun all round!
Sherry: Beryl and Edwina are so fun, Jessie! The fifth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries was I Know What You Bid Last Summer. Sarah unwittingly gets involved in local politics with the school board when she runs an athletic equipment swap at the high school gym and, gasp, someone dies! Plus I had Sarah run a very high-end sale for a demanding client. It was so much fun to picture and write about!
Readers: Have you hung with an author up to book five and beyond?
