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| Author Jacqueline Seewald |
With a Mystery Series, readers enjoy a consistency of
setting. They like knowing what to expect. The setting should be one the author
is familiar with, whether it be a city he/she has lived in, a rural community,
an exotic place visited, or an historic location that has been researched in
detail. This lends authenticity to the novel. For instance, in THE BAD WIFE, 4thnovel in my Kim Reynolds mystery series, the novel is set in Central N.J. where
I lived for forty years. Each novel in the series has a different setting,
whether it be the university or an apartment complex, but the town itself is
the same.
Readers also like a consistency in the main characters. In
THE BAD WIFE, for instance, Kim Reynolds and homicide detective Mike Gardner
return to solve another set of murders. They are joined by woman of color,
police detective Bert St. Croix. The three main characters are very different
in personality and background but each lends something unique to the novels.
In mysteries, people are not as they would appear and so
there is an element of disillusionment. I believe that plot is a crucial factor
in the mystery novel or any series. In the Kim Reynolds series, there are
connected murders that need to be solved. The main characters can become
personally involved as in THE BAD WIFE when the woman Mike believed he’d been
divorced from returns to wreak havoc in the lives of Mike and Kim. When Mike is
accused of murder, Kim and Bert work together to save him and find the real
killer.
In regard to characterization, the protagonists are like
real people with their lives changing and their characters developing. Ideally,
in a mystery series the main characters in the novels are not static but yet
remain true to their essential natures. There are more series mysteries today
than ever.
The big advantage of the
stand alone mystery is that it’s original and unique, a one of a kind book.
Many are in the romantic suspense genre. By this I mean that the romance is so
important that it may overshadow the mystery. However, my novel THE INHERITANCE
is actually a romantic mystery. By this I mean that there is a strong romance
between the two main characters. Jennifer Stoddard, a thirty-five-year-old
widow with an eight-year-old son, receives a surprising letter which will
change her life. Jennifer’s grandmother has passed away and named Jen as sole
heir to her estate. To claim her inheritance she must return to Bloomingvale,
the town in the Midwest where she grew up. Jen is informed by her grandmother’s
attorney that to inherit she must meet the condition of living in her
grandmother’s house for two years. Since the estate is substantial, she agrees.
However, there are those who will stop at nothing to make certain that Jennifer
does not inherit. Frightening things begin to happen to Jennifer. She is forced
to turn to Grant Coleman, the local police chief, for help. But Grant and Jen
have a negative past history. Nevertheless, they work to solve the mystery of
who is out to harm Jennifer.
As a reader, which type of mystery do you prefer? Series or
Stand alone? Why?
THE INHERITANCE, will be
published by Intrigue Publishing on December 1st. The novel is a
mystery that combines elements of the cozy with romance and suspense. As of
now, the novel is available as a Kindle book on Amazon for pre-order as well as
a print edition:
Also available:
and many other booksellers.
The
4th novel in the Kim Reynolds mystery series, THE BAD WIFE, was
published by Perfect Crime Books and is currently available both in print and
as an e-book from Amazon at:
A multiple
award-winning writer, Jacqueline has taught creative, expository and technical
writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked
as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. THE
INHERITANCE, a romantic mystery novel from Intrigue Publishing, is her
seventeenth books of fiction to be published. Her short stories, poems, essays,
reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous
anthologies such as THE WRITER, L.A. TIMES, PEDESTAL, SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY
MAGAZINE, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, GUMSHOE REVIEW, THE MYSTERY MEGAPACK, LIBRARY
JOURNAL, and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.
