Author: Elaine Munsch

Bloody Scotland

It’s a coolish Friday night. You find yourself making your way slowly, very slowly, up a steep hill to the castle. A fine mist begins to fall turning the centuries old buildings into spooky shapes. You finally reach the Church of the Holy Rude, the starting place for the 2023 Bloody Scotland. A very appropriate beginning to the weekend. The church, built in the early 15th century, was the setting for the coronation of James VI. (Holy Rude being only the second church in Britain to hold a coronation; Westminster being the other.)

 

 

Outside the church is a cemetery where the tombstones have weathered over the centuries. In the misty evening one can readily imagine the residents rising to join in the festivities.

After a refreshing glass of potent punch, we, the attendees, make our way even further up the hill, over weathered cobblestones to the castle, Stirling Castle that is. There on the esplanade we gather where everyone received a torch. Yes, a real torch with flames shooting out of the top in spite of the rain. (For the safety of my fellow crime lovers, I declined to carry one.)

As the pipes and drum begin, we form a huge column and slowly start down the winding street to the village of Stirling. Occupants of the houses along the way open their doors; some are new to this event and are wondering what is going on.

We reach the bottom safely and I personally utter a huge sigh. Tonight’s main event is the prize-giving, as the Brits say. The McIvanney Prize for the best Scottish crime book of the year goes to Collum McSorley for his novel, SQUEAKY CLEAN. The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize winner is Kate Foster for THE MAIDEN.

The next day, Saturday, my daughter Kristin and I attended a few sessions. She choose a discussion with Denise Mina and Karen Smirnoff, two authors who are authorized to pick up iconic characters and create new stories for them. Mina has written a new Philip Marlowe in THE SECOND MURDERER while Smirnoff has picked up the Salander books with THE GIRL IN THE EAGLE’S TALONS.

I attended a discussion about anthologies chaired by Abir Mukherjee, author of A RISING SON, set in 1919, Calcutta, a very good book. The title of the panel was ‘HOT BLOOD, COLD BLOOD,’ the title of a new anthology published by Amazon featuring stories written by Scottish and Bengali writers. Joined by Anita Agnihotri and Doug Johnstone, the authors explored the many ties between Scotland and Bangladesh.

Then I scurried up a smallish hill to the Golden Lion Hotel where there was a panel called ‘Without a Trace,’ a discussion of books about missing persons. Alan Parks, author of the Harry McCoy series, was the person I wanted to hear having just finished his BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER. Gillian McAllister and Liz Mistry joined him; both had just published books about people who went missing. There was a lot of laughter from the audience as the writers told of bad reviews they had received and not forgotten..

For us, the festival ended with the Fun-Lovin’ Crime Writers Band doing a two-hour performance. All the songs had a crime theme: I fought the law; Bang, Bang, Watching the Detective, Delilah and many more songs. Who knew there were so many about crime, murder, etc.! The band is composed of Val McDermid (the Queen of Crime Fiction, her t-shirt says so), Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Doug Johnston, Stuart Neville and Luca Veste. They ended the evening with a rousing rendition of, fittingly, Paperback Writer. You can find them on YouTube.

Thus ended our days in Stirling. We left with a long list of new authors to try and enjoy.

Sue Spalding, Private Investigator

Sue Spalding, local private investigator, was our guest speaker for our March meeting.

She has been an investigator for seventeen years. Originally she studied Child Psychology but took a criminology course and fell in love with it.

A friend of hers hooked her up with an investigator who was looking for a female operative. He was doing surveillance at a picnic and needed a female presence so he didn’t stand out as an adult male watching children.

When Sue started in this field, the requirements were 90-130 hours of driving surveillance with an affiliated company. Now, in Kentucky, there is an exam a prospective investigator must pass to get a license. Another requirement is to have  a million dollars’ worth of insurance before you start practicing.

Sue does mainly workman’s compensation fraud and child custody cases. In the first instance, she (or her operative) watches the subject to see if they do anything that, according to their claim, they shouldn’t be able to do.

In the child custody cases, most have to do with whether the non-custodial parent is really visiting with the child or are they passing the child off to another person to care for them during these visits.

Both scenarios involve long hours of sitting and watching or tailing the subject, mostly in the car. In order to avoid the police cruising up to her car as she watches, Sue makes it a point to alert the local police of her presence. That way, when a nosy neighbor calls to report a suspicious vehicle, the police can say they are aware of the situation.

When asked what she looks for in a person she might hire to be an operative, she says good, detailed reporting and an investigator license.

Sue is also licensed to practice in Tennessee and Missouri. Other areas of her work include insurance fraud, locating people, process server, infidelity and background checks.

Musings From Munsch – Top of the Morning to You

Top of the morning to you, and top o’ the rest of the day for some good Irish reading.

Since it is the month of St. Patrick, I thought it would be a good time to muse about some Irish mystery writers and some writers who write about Ireland.

Tana French

The first name that jumps to the head of the line is Tana French, who penned the Dublin Murder Squad books. The first book in the series, IN THE WOODS, is excellent. The ensuing books in the series feature a different protagonist in each, but are tied together since this person appeared in the book previous as one of the noticeable characters, but definitely not the lead.

Ken Bruen

Many years ago, my daughter and I visited Ireland on a short trip. We dashed from Dublin to Galway on the train, which took a blink of an eye to go from one coast to the other. Ireland is, after all, about the same size as the state of Illinois. We explored Galway. After we returned home, I discovered author Ken Bruen, who is from Galway and sets his books there. The first one, THE GUARDS, introduces us to Jack Taylor, an alcoholic ex-Garda who solves problems. The books were very successful and made into movies starring Ian Glen as Taylor.

Adrian McKinty

Adrian McKinty was born in Northern Ireland, but now lives in Australia. He drew on his heritage to write a series of books featuring Sean Duffy, a Catholic cop in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Each time before Duffy gets in his car, he stoops down to study the undercarriage in case there is a bomb. This award-winning series is definitely worth your time.

Stuart Neville

Another Irish author whose books are set during the Troubles is Stuart Neville. THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST is an award-winning book worthy of your time.

Irish Cozies

The aforementioned authors do not write cozies, which have become the better selling sub-genre of mystery. Irish cozies pepper the bookstore shelves and customers devour them in stacks. A good browse and you will discover that not only do Irish authors write about Ireland, but a plethora of American authors have discovered the Emerald Isle as a setting. These authors’ protagonists live abroad, working in a variety of occupations, but always stumbling upon a body or two which dot the beautiful countryside and graveyards. At this rate, Ireland may decide to close its borders to Americans for fear the homicide rate will rise as its visitors ramble around the cities, towns and villages. Some of the authors to look out for are: Carlene O’Connor, Cathie Murphy, Sheila Connelly, and Dicey Deere among others.

Brew yourself a ‘cup o’tae’ or pour a bit of Jameson to sip as you turn the pages of any of these wonderful works. Sit back and let the leprechauns peek over your shoulder.

 

 

Musings From Munsch – Richard III

A few weeks ago, I was talking with Miki and she mentioned reading The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This stirred up long-forgotten memories of my introduction to Tey’s seminal work. I was a freshman in college (ancient history now) and my English teacher, Sister Josepha, recommended this book. We had been reading Richard III (“Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York.”) by Shakespeare.

If you have not read (and why not?) The Daughter of Time, published in 1951, it features as its protagonist Inspector Allan Grant, a bedridden patient in hospital. To cheer him up, his friends bring him a variety of books. When a friend brings him a portrait of Richard III, Grant begins his research into the hunchbacked king and his era. Long story short, he does enough research to question the long-held version of Richard, believing the ‘bad’ king could have been a ‘good’ king, had he lived.

This book sent me on my own quest to discover the real Richard. Somehow in the pre-Google age, I connected with the American branch of the Richard III Society, dedicated to clearing Richard’s name. And then, lo and behold, I joined like-minded Ricardians to form the Ohio chapter.

Most of the members lived in one of the Ohio ‘C’ cities: Cleveland, Columbus, or Cincinnati. We organized ourselves, agreeing to meet quarterly, traveling up and down I-71. We established a newsletter, all the trappings of a chapter.

I don’t remember all their names, but what an interesting group of people. Tom, a history teacher, was a culinary expert in medieval foods. He would bring ‘desserts’ to the meetings. Another was a member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). He made his own chain mail, not as easy as knitting a sweater. At every meeting one of us would present a short paper on an aspect of medieval life or the life of Richard. Very intimidating for such a dilettante as myself, but I always made a decent showing in spite of my shaky knees.

Our chapter was asked to host the Annual General Meeting. Quite the honor. Naturally, I volunteered to organize this event with the help of another member. And that we did. Held at the Marriott in Cleveland, Tom, the culinary expert, worked with the hotel to provide a medieval feast (without throwing bones on the floor). Everyone donned their costumes and we spent the weekend back in the fifteenth century. A grand night indeed.

Many years later, my daughter and I made a trip to York, England, where we visited the Richard III museum, a very moving experience.

I cannot close without mentioning a most beautiful book about Richard. The Sunne in Splendor, written by Sharon Kay Penman, is a meticulously researched book about the ‘hunchbacked king.’ Penman insisted authors who wrote of historical events and personages should adhere to the facts or acknowledge the bending of them. As well as penning volumes close to one thousand words each, she also created the Justin de Quincy mystery series set in medieval times. My recollection is that she was a Sister in Crime, one I sadly never had the opportunity to meet. Sadly, she passed away in 2021.

The Daughter of Time sent me on a mysterious journey. I became a member of the Richard III (say who?) Society and, in a roundabout way, to the Sisters in Crime (say what?). And I’ve had a roaring good time along the way.

Musings From Munsch – Remembering Agatha Christie

January 12th marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the passing of Agatha Christie. She was 86 years old. Only the Bible and the Bard outsell her books. No wonder she is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all times) in the mystery writers’ realm.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie

Christie created two of the most enduring sleuths: Hercule Poirot, he of the little gray cells, and Miss Jane Marple, she of the knitting needles and quiet observations. To say that Christie’s books, especially the Poirot or Marple books, have provided film makers with a plethora of stories is quite the understatement. The number of adaptations for both the silver screen and the little box is amazing, and providing work for so many actors portraying the two sleuths.

The American public met Christie in 1920 with the publication of THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. Monsieur Poirot, meet your adoring public.

Her last book, SLEEPING MURDER, was published in 1976, but written in the 1940’s. This was Jane Marple’s last case.

Overall, Christie wrote seventy-four novels, plus many short story collections. She penned sixteen plays. The most famous, THE MOUSETRAP, opened in London in 1952, and ran continuously until the pandemic of 2020 closed all the theatres. There is a report that the production is finally coming to Broadway in 2023, though no specific details are available.

Not only did she pen mysteries, but her life also provided one: the missing eleven days in 1926. Books and movies have taken over the speculation of this ‘hidden time’ in her life.

A fairly recent publication, THE SCIENCE OF MURDER, The forensics of Agatha Christie, by Carla Valentine, examines how the Dame and her thinking/methods predate the modern science of forensics. The chapters cover the various aspects of the science as we know it today, from fingerprints to toxicology. If you are an aficionado of Christie, this book is a nice addition to your library.

I leave you with some quotations, either from her works or in her own words:

“Every murderer is probably someone’s best friend.”

“I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest.”

“The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”

And finally, worthy of contemplation,

“Very few of us are what we seem.”

Remembering Debi Huff

It has been a year since we lost our dear friend, Debi Huff. She continues to be missed. Let’s take a minute and remember her smile and her wit.