Trouble is brewing at Whitman’s Port Choral Society as choir members drop dead and Detective Jonathan Storm raises more questions than answers in his investigation. When Stefan, the choir’s soloist, gets weaker by the day, Meg and her friends take matters into their own hands. And if a murder investigation was not enough to elevate anyone’s blood pressure, Meg finds herself in danger tied to her past that she’s struggling to understand.Will Meg and her friends stop the killer before Stefan becomes the next victim—and before Meg’s past catches up with her?
Join these golden-age sleuths as they follow the clues, protect their own, and prove that friendship is the strongest weapon against a killer.
Then one of my sleuths falls in love.
Shouldn’t she be concentrating on finding the killer, preferably without becoming the next victim because she took her eye off the ball?
Most definitely.
When I begin writing a mystery, I know that someone is going to die and my sleuths are going to stick their noses where those noses emphatically do not belong. There will be suspects, secrets, clues, and several perfectly reasonable explanations that happen to be completely wrong..
Except…my sleuth wasn’t in the mood to listen to me. I can’t blame her either. That quirky smile of her love interest would have had me on my knees as well.
Life Doesn’t Stop for Murder
Life happens…even when the sky is falling. We meet up with friends, hang out at the corner bakery shop, take walks in the park and, sometimes, if we’re incredibly lucky, fall in love.
And that’s how romance has to feel in a murder mystery. It belongs in the character’s life—not something squeezed in.
My sleuth wants the killer caught. She’s out for justice and she’s thinking about the case far more than is good for her. She’s even putting her life on the line on occasion if it means upping the chances of finding the killer.
But she still has a life.
And attraction—that indefinable spark that brings color to an otherwise dull and dreary day—will not wait politely to smack you in the face until the murderer is safely behind bars.
That doesn’t mean she’s going to forget there’s a killer on the loose because someone’s smile is to die for. At least I hope not. I need her alive for the next book.
Instead, the romance happens alongside everything else.
They meet while my sleuths are working the case. He doesn’t belong yet. But he offers to help. He stays connected to the group. Then the sleuths do something dangerous, and he goes ballistic. And it turns personal, an argument that isn’t entirely about the danger.
The relationship grows in the spaces the mystery leaves open.
Gazing into Each Other’s Eyes is a No-No
My sleuth can’t afford to lose herself in anyone’s eyes, no matter how deep and enthralling they may be. Not while there’s a murderer waiting in the wings for such a distraction.
There’s a difference between allowing attraction to develop and having the characters behave as if the murder is an annoying interruption to their dating schedule. Romance feels real when characters react appropriately to what’s happening around them.
So if my sleuth forgets herself for a moment and notices how the wind ruffles his hair, then she needs to refocus and concentrate on the body in front of her. Sometimes, she has to forget him entirely, and he disappears for a chapter or two.
And that’s okay. He’ll still be there when she looks up from the corpse.
Nothing Says Romance Like an Argument
Mixing romance and mystery creates conflict naturally.
My sleuth is investigating something sensibly left to the police.
Her love interest cares about her and has strong opinions about the risks she’s taking.
She thinks she’s following a clue. He thinks she’s about to do something spectacularly stupid. She resents being told what to do. He resents finding out after the fact that she’s hurt or, worse, almost died!
Nobody is wrong. This push and pull is natural for any couple. It’s relatable.
And their reactions tell us something about them. Can they survive as a couple? Will he respect her independence or try to stifle it? Is he worth taking a chance?
The murder isn’t interrupting the romance anymore.
No Rescue for the Sleuth
No one, and absolutely no one, swoops in to rescue my sleuth. She might look like a rosy-cheeked, cardigan-wearing, cookie-baking grandma who always has a warm hug waiting, but she’s lethal when roused. A knight in shining armor is not what she needs. She needs him to stay out of her way while she slays the dragon herself.
He can worry, even help. If he happens to spot something she missed, she’s not too proud to listen. He can certainly tell her afterward how insane she was in setting herself up as bait.
But she’s the sleuth.
He gets to carry the flashlight.
Love Takes Time
A murder investigation wraps up over days or weeks.
Love takes longer.
That’s one reason romance works well as a secondary plot in a mystery series. The romance can stew, simmer, even braise for a while. Falling hopelessly in love, overcoming every obstacle, and riding into the sunset before the murderer is arrested? Not in my cozy mysteries.
The romance happens slowly. The delicious will she-won’t she can stretch across several books.
The attraction becomes a friendship, then something she’s not quite ready to name. She moves forward, stumbles backward, and eventually figures out what he means to her.
Murder Solved. How About the Romance?
By the end of the book, I owe readers the Who, Why and How.
The twists in the plot straighten out, the clues come together and the murderer is exposed. Readers might want to flip back and hunt down the real clues, but that just adds to the fun.
Romance is different. I only have to make sure that something has changed.
Maybe this is the book when she finally admits what her friends know. Maybe she goes on a date. Or a sort-of date. Maybe they kiss. Maybe not.
However the romance unfolds, the murder is wrapped up tight. The killer doesn’t get to escape into the next book.
The love interest does.
What does Meg, a retired kindergarten teacher, do when the killer of her husband and only child still walks free a year after dirt had covered their graves? Go rogue, of course!When the detective responsible for Meg’s nightmares takes over the murder investigation of her former student, Meg hunts the killer down with help from her friends. Their cozy lunches at Sweet Buns Café turn into tactical meetings while these retired grade school teachers get themselves in trouble better suited to those in their twenties. And to put the icing on their cream scones, someone is after Meg. Is it the killer? Or has Meg uncovered secrets better left buried with her loved ones?
A retired CPA and lawyer, GG Calpo now writes cozy mysteries and urban fantasies. She blends her experiences as a Filipino American immigrant with the everyday stories of life around her. She spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She resides in Central New Jersey, with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget. Visit her at www.ggcalpo.com
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