In 2018, I wrote my first mystery novel, MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. In the months after the book launched, I took it on a whirlwind tour of ten U.S. cities, where I met with people at bookstores, libraries, museums, and private homes. One of those cities was Chicago, where I had lived for several decades.
During a book talk there, someone asked a question that took my breath away. “Why, in this crazy world, would you want to write a mystery that puts even more violence out there?”
I was taken aback by the question because I abhor violence. I can’t even stand the sight of blood. I close my eyes in graphic movies. And I would never want to be associated with providing a perpetrator with an idea for a crime.
Thinking quickly, I replied to the question by quoting the inimitable P.D. James, who said, “What the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order.” It is about the prevailing of good over evil, finding truth, serving justice, and the power of society to knit itself back together after being torn apart.
There are other reasons I love writing mysteries, though. I love playing the intellectual game, laying out clues and red herrings, twists and turns, hoping the readers will enjoy the ride as much as I do. I love delving into the secrets and dark sides of my characters, figuring out what motivates them.
I enjoy visiting with policemen, firemen, coroners, morticians, forensics specialists, and others in the field. I learn so much about human nature, its good and bad sides. I’ve learned that every case is different, interesting in its own way. The combination of factors that prompt a crime and the dynamics of interactions between suspects and detectives is infinitely varied.
Similarly, each of my mysteries is different from the rest, even if within a series. The four Detective Parrott mysteries, set in the lush Brandywine Valley, are police procedurals, each one dealing with a different group of people within the small, wealthy community. The Quinn McFarland mysteries have an amateur sleuth who works in her family business, a mortuary. A MURDER OF PRINCIPAL is a classic mystery taking place in an urban high school.
My next book, coming soon, is an historical mystery that takes place in Galveston, Texas, after the 1900 Storm, which is still the worst natural disaster of all time in the U.S. The book involves a disappearance and a murder, a bit of romance, and a city getting back on its feet, just like the three point of view characters. This is the story I’ve wanted to tell since I was fifteen years old, so I can’t wait to share it!
In each book, the spotlight is on the good people, the people who face adversity head-on and find a way to overcome it. For me, it’s always a mystery.
What are the reasons you love mysteries?
Saralyn Richard is a multiple award-winning author of seven mystery novels, a children’s book, and numerous short stories, poems, and essays published in anthologies and magazines. Her works include the Detective Parrott Mystery Series, the Quinn McFarland Mystery Series, A Murder of Principal, and Naughty Nana. Saralyn is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, and she has taught literature and creative writing to high school students and adults through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Saralyn and her husband live in Texas in the house she grew up in.
Links: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Saralyn-Richard/author/B0787F6HD4?ref
https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Saralyn+Richard&qid=6lRDYrfJCz