My second master’s program was mostly on-line with two one-week residencies on campus per year, but that one week was so packed with intrigue and drama and mental illness; it was like setting up and taking down a circus tent, twice a year. I’ve been thinking about writing a mystery set there, because the campus becomes like a small town, with a lot of viable suspects and a ticking clock. The characters are vivid and verbal and often jealous and unpredictable. And then there’s the irony of setting a mystery in an environment where they look down on genre writing, and mysteries in particular.
“What?”
But I struggle with mystery plots in the same way I struggled with chess as a kid. My father expected me to learn the strategy just by watching him play, and expected me to be a grand master within a few days, maybe a week. I felt stupid for not being able to think three moves ahead; I didn’t understand why one piece was more valuable than another, or why each piece had different rules; and I felt an undeniable empathy with the pawns, because they were small, like me, and easily sacrificed.
Despite reading endless mysteries, and reading endless books on how to write mysteries, I do not even know where to start. I went through a severe addiction to Rex Stout and Agatha Christie that has never really ended, I just ran out of new material to feed it. Lately I’ve been reading Deborah Crombie, Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Donna Andrews, Henning Mankell, J.K. Rowling as Robert Galbraith, Louise Penny and Charles Todd. I want to be Sherlock Holmes, with a nicer disposition. But so far, my brain has not rewired itself into puzzle-solving-mode.
My other possible mystery setting is my synagogue. I’d love for the sleuth to be an eighty-year-old woman, or a middle-aged rabbi, or both of them together. And the senior citizens in the bible study class (retired doctors, and lawyers, and teachers, and social workers) could help decipher the clues. But I worry it might seem as if I’m writing about specific people, and that could get me into trouble.
“Uh oh.”
My mystery would, of course, have to have a dog in it. Even a fictional dog calms me down, reduces my stress level, and reminds me about what’s important and what isn’t. There could be a German shepherd who is more wayward puppy than officious guard dog (I couldn’t train even a fictional dog to be well behaved. I just don’t have it in me); there could be a yapping Yorkie biting at the criminal’s ankle to slow him down; or a sweet Great Dane sitting by her dead owner’s side; or a black Lab sniffing for clues and finding the murder weapon under a pile of leaves.
This is not my picture, but I’d love to put this puppy in a novel.
Lilah the Black Lab, and my niece, is an expert sniffer!
I used to think about using Cricket as my detective and writing a children’s mystery. Cricket would make a wonderful Sherlock Holmes; she’d even look good in the hat. She has all of the characteristics of the irascible, obnoxious detective who doesn’t get along with other people, but she would be a terrible police dog, not at all reassuring to the populace.
Detective Cricket is on the job!
Detective Cricket is always looking out for danger!
Detective Cricket is, um, easily distracted.
I’d love to write a detective like Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. I’ve watched every episode of that show, at least three times. She is smart and stands her ground, but she’s had many disappointments in life, including never having children of her own, like me. She’s unassuming and uncool, and has to stand her ground against people who don’t believe her, but she doesn’t doubt herself or what she saw, or what she deduced. She’s friendly with everyone but doesn’t mind confrontations when necessary.
My detective would not be quite like that. She would need to take naps, first of all, and she’d have trouble with heights, and social anxiety. She’d have to sit down a lot, and maybe she’d need a driver. So, a female Nero Wolfe, but, again, with a nicer disposition.
Detective Cricket and deputy Butterfly, ready for anything.
rachelmankowitz 
Do it.
Go for it! Especially with dogs in it .. it will be a hit
Have you seen the TV show ‘Inspector Rex’? It’s Austrian (we get it in Australia with English subtitles) and is about an incredible crime-fighting German Shepherd, with a penchant for ham rolls, and his police officer owner. An excellent example of mystery writing with dog!
We need to get that show in the U.S.!
I was thinking of “Jessica Fletcher” type at the synagogue with the Rabbi as her confidente, that would be fun. I loved mysteries growing up, Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, Sherlock of course. I think that making Cricket the detective is a brilliant idea with Butterfly as her loyal companion. You can absolutely do it!
Cricket is ready for the job, as long as I don’t try to put her in the Sherlock hat.
I have seen quite a few dogs all dressed up yet none of my dogs would ever allow me to dress them up. Well maybe Jack but he wiggles out as quickly as he can. Too bad that Cricket won’t let you put the hat on her, she would be so adorable in a serious detecting way of course.
Your pups are so darn cute! I love them!
Me too!
You shouldn’t have any problem writing a mystery novel. Your writing is very perceptive and captures details and nuances that are perfect the mystery genre. So let’s continue to hear what you can do and not what you think you can’t do :).
Hmmmm. “Elementary my dear Butterfly, she just has to start writing.”
Butterfly would make a perfect Watson!
I would for sure buy a book with Cricket as detective. Hugs and nose kisses, Maggie
Thank you!
The caption under that last picture would be the perfect title for a children’s book–complete with that picture on the cover. I’d but it!!
NO!! I mean I’d BUY it!
You know the funny thing? I was trying to write children’s stories about Cricket a few years ago, and they weren’t working, so I decided to write a blog about her instead. Tada!
Yay! And there you have it–the perfect ending!
Sounds like you have the makings for a really good book. Your puppies are so cute, sleeping on their little beds!!!!!!
They are adorable, when they are sleeping.
I know what you mean about writing mysteries. I wrote an urban fantasy mystery story once that tried to be noir. It wasn’t any good but it gave me a real appreciation of how you really have to think things out from the beginning if you set out to write a good mystery.
I liked that you mentioned Rex Stout. When I was in college I studied in a library that had virtually no fiction, but the room I liked to study in had a comprehensive set of mysteries. I discovered Nero Wolfe there and really liked that model, with the gofer running around clueless gathering information and Nero Wolfe figuring it all out without leaving his townhouse.
Maybe your detective could be something like Nero Wolfe, but raise dogs, or run a shelter, keeping him/her tied down all of the time while other people went out and gathered the pieces of the puzzle. Heck. Maybe I should try writing that one. I love dogs:)
Good luck in whatever you do. I definitely like your prose style. It’s very smooth and readable.
I love the Rex Stout books, because he was fantastic at plotting and he did a great job with the central relationship, between Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. His take on women, on the other hand…
If Lilian Jackson Braun and Karen Anne Golden can write mysteries where the cats help them solve them (and the cats never leave the house), Cricket can get a starring role in one also.
Why don’t you start small with a novella? It might be easier for you to handle. And if it stinks, consider it part of the learning curve.
I’ve been to several book signings by Faye Kellerman (whose detectives are Jewish) and she said her friends are always wondering who she modeled her characters off of. I think no matter who your characters are, someone will always wonder if you were using them as an example. Having said that, you do want to be careful to not be obvious if you use someone as a model.
And remember, it takes hours of practice to learn a skill. So get crackin’ and start failing. And if you doubt that, browse through my 2011 blog and photos. Big big difference to 2015.
Nancy
My favorite mystery writers list has a lot in common with yours, specially Robert Galbraith, Jacqueline Winspear, and Louise Penny. I have been curious about Rhys Bowen, so I’m glad to have your recommendation. And I think your ideas are wonderful; please keep us posted on what you decide to write!
Rhys Bowen is lighter than the other three, by a lot, so be forewarned. But very readable.
Thanks, Rachel. Sometimes, though, light is just right!
I agree!
I commiserate with you regarding chess: I’m a eyes-wide-open kind of player, never plot the next move and just play for the sake of playing. I was rudely reminded that no! you have to play to win! So if you don’t have that killer instinct then perhaps your detective should not be shrew, but very very lucky 🙂 I believe you can write a good mystery if you try.
Cricket doesn’t want to be like Sherlock. I don’t think she could play the violin in a drug induced catatonic state but she may surprise me.
She could play the guitar in a chicken treat haze!
Sounds to me like you have more than enough inspiration there. I can picture the college campus as a “Murder She Wrote” episode or a Agatha Christie story, so go make it your own!
I would so love to write an episode of Murder she wrote. I especially loved the ones set in Ireland. Hmm. Maybe I will need to take a trip!
Yes, excellent idea. I think children’s books would be fun to write, easier to please a child. The idea of using your dogs, yes that sounds like a great book. Have fun.
Maybe you will
Great post Rachel. Go for it. How’s this for a title: The Canine Lead.
(here in the UK we refer to a leash as a lead) 🙂
I’ll check with Cricket. She does love her red leash!
Write a mystery. You can always edit out the obvious parts if characters start sounding like gossipy neighbors or club buddies…Or give them a hobby. Many writers say they don’t publish their first book, some say it shouldn’t be published. Write it anyway. Try to get it published. While you work on that one, write another. And to help you work the mysteries, this may sound like more work than possible, but go back and re-read some mysteries you’ve already read, just to pick up on set-up and clue dropping and their nuances. Start writing, what comes will comes. I hope many readers enjoy it.
you do have a way with words, we enjoy your posts
Thank you so much!
The world needs a good detective who just happens to be a dog!
Go for it! Just love a good mystery.
I completely relate to the part about chess. I always wanted to like it, but I guess I didn’t care enough to figure it out when it didn’t come easily. Anyway, nobody writes the perfect novel the first time. That’s what revisions…and often, even the next novel…are for. So just start, and keep trying, and you’ll figure out what works for you. Some folks like outlining. Some folks just write. There’s no right or wrong method. And there must be a dog! A mischievous dog. If it was well behaved, nobody would think it was real. 🙂
Absolutely! Thank you!
Reblogged this on Bobbi's Blog.
Thank you!
Good luck with that! Mystery’s standards are very high. Inferior fantasy and science-fiction are a dime a dozen, but not many inferior mysteries get published. Best wishes… Lee Duigon
A synagogue setting, a clue analyzing bible study group and a Yorkie-Yes please!
Detective cricket and deputy butterfly 😊👍👍👍
Very nice piece Rachel. I love older female detectives, and with the aging baby boomers who are or will be mostly women who love mysteries, you would find a large market for your books.
I loved Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. Christie wrote great plots, and like every one else, she looked at real crimes. Motive is the most difficult challenge I think. Have you read Ellis Peters Cadfael series? Also the Father Brown mysteries are favorites around here. Also read Anne Cleeves mysteries. Not many of them, but well done. Her heroes are Vera in one series, and Jimmy Perez in the Shetland mysteries. Margery Allingham wrote the Campion series. Yes, I’ve read many mysteries. These days I read mostly history, but I’m odd.
What I love about mysteries is that they can introduce an era in history, or a group of people, or an idea I would never look into on my own, and make it exciting. And then I end up looking for non-fiction on the subject.
Then you will like Cadfael. This series, by Ellis Peters, was set during the period when Queen Matilda and her cousin Stephen were struggling against each other for the English crown. P. D. James also used historical backdrops for several of her mysteries, as did Margery Allingham. Be careful or you will end up a historian like me.
I’m taking notes, and looking for room in my bookcases!
I love the idea of detective Cricket in a kids book. The mystery could be so simple that way – What is that odd smell in the backyard? After a short story worth of sniffing out the clues perhaps she finds a mouse hiding in a bush.
Cricket once confronted a mouse, a baby mouse, and was too frightened to pursue.
In stories, like dreams, she could become brave.
Chess? too much depends on the capricious move of your opponent. It is not, as I remember, entirely an offensive game. you have to defend your position as much as rout the opponent.
You are so kind to respond to all the comments. Must keep you busy the whole week!
I love all of the comments! It’s such a relief to know other people are out there, and thinking about the same things I am.
Do it. I love charles todd. His Rutledge is my fav character. And a mystery with dogs wonderful.
I’m in danger of overpopulating the world with fictional dogs!
Never 🙂 you an never have enough dogs.
I love the idea of Cricket as Sherlock Holmes 🙂
Tweeted this and two others.
Thank you so much!
I think Cricket, doggie detective, would be a wonderful production! I know I’d pick up the series for my kids. 🙂 Anything Jessica Fletcher-like would have my loyalty as well… I adore that show!
How come Jessica Fletcher never had a dog? What an oversight!
Such great ideas! I would read (especially if naps were involved – I always like someone who recognizes the importance and joy of a good nap).
Naps are the universal elixir!
Hilarious! Loved it. You have all set with the dogs in leading roles…those characters are priceless! And the campus sounds like a good set…you won’t give a hoot if you get in trouble.
I say “Go for it” too. My second book (my first shot at fiction) is all around cats and everyone is asking me when it’s coming out. When you write about animals, it’s a win/win — all good people love animals and want your book. Hey, I’ll support you and buy it! 🙂
Thank you!
Yes, create a dog detective! Splendid! Pip
Have you read M C Beaton? Easy reading and the villain is not always who you think it is going to be!
Hi Rachel
I would suggest that you decide how you want the murder to be done, then you drop the clues in the book; working backwards in a way.
Taking the Sherlock Holmes story The Speckled Band for example, the murder is carried out using a poisonous snake which is introduced to the locked bedroom via an airvent and a bellrope.
The clues are that
1 the bellrope has no bell
2 the bed is bolted to the floor so that it cannot move
3 the victim’s dying words are “the speckled band.”
It seems obvious when you know that it is a snake, but when you read the story it is not at all obvious.
JK Rowling does this very well too – if, like me, you watch the Harry Potter movies several times, the clues are all there.
Rupert
Thanks so much!
Fun post. If you write that mystery, how about an Irish Wolfhound? I’ve always wanted one of those. Peace, John
I would love to write about an Irish Wolfhound! And that would be a great excuse to do lots of research!
I, too, love mysteries! I think you’ve got some great ideas and should just write! 😀
I’m trying! Thank you!
So much fun!! You must do it!! 🙂
I totally agree, go for it!
Thank you!
We had our own little mystery the other day when Lady vanished on her walk and although Bilbo is usually quite good at finding people, he was rather bamboozled, which was quite a justified response considering Lady had gone off in pursuit of more dead rabbits by the road and had stopped traffic almost getting runover by a bus and was then picked up and driven to the local vets. It was no wonder I was embroiled in a huge, unsolvable mystery trying to find her at the beach.
If you have trouble, strategising forward, perhaps you would find it easy to write a mystery set in the past. I have been trying to retrace my Great Great Grandmother’s steps and she is the biggest mystery I’ve ever come across. I ended up setting up a blog to try and put her story together and the next step was to try to find some contacts in Ireland. The whole project stalled as I’ve spent more time on my blog and I guess I also started wondering whether chasing her was a good use of my time. I have so many warm cases and stories I’m working on that writing about nothing seemed a bit pointless, even though I really believe that we need to do our best as women in the present to uncover the lives of those faceless women in the past. I really do believe in the value of the individual.
This is why I like fiction so much; being stuck with the facts, or lack of facts, can be so frustrating!
Yes, I can appeciate that as so much of what I’ve been writing for this A-Z challenge has involved a lot of facts and research, which I do love but it can be alot everyday.
Ah, Jessica Fletcher… she did some wonderful cameo work on the old Magnum, P.I. series and despite her uncoolness she held her own with Mr.Selleck. 🙂 Dogs must always be in my writing, and I love reading about them. I actually think your synagogue idea is brilliant! Unique and charming at the same time!
Now, if only I could get myself to sit down and write some of this stuff.
Excellent post
Thank you!
I have been away from the computer for several days but had to read your post when I tuned back in. Of course, I should have known you loved mysteries since we were probably Soul Sisters in a prior life. Murder, She Wrote was one of my favorite comfort mysteries. Predictable. Happy ending (at least, for those who weren’t murdered or murderers). Angela Lansbury who has been one of my all-time favorite stars forever. Truly. Since Gaslight.
Okay: here is your starting point for your mystery.
A world-renowned grand master chess player is found dead in her library with her favorite chess pieces arranged artfully around her body. She is found by her sister who calls 911…
I’m ready!
You’ll never know until you try. The plots and charaters sound very interesting, unique and worth reading about. 🙂 Take a chance and believe yourself.
I will try. Thank you!
You are a great writer, Rachel. A real gift. Chag Sameach (or, Hug Semach!)
Thank you so much!