If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ve no doubt seen some guest posts by Karen E. Olson and I’m thrilled to have her visit my blog again as she tells us about her latest mystery novel which introduces her new amateur sleuth, Brett Kavanaugh in The Missing Ink.
I never thought I’d write a mystery with an amateur sleuth. It seemed too hard. That’s why I wrote a reporter character, because there’s a legitimate reason she’s running across dead bodies and crime. It’s her job to cover them, to get involved. With an amateur sleuth, well, is there a reason?
So imagine my discomfort when I was faced with Brett Kavanaugh, tattoo shop owner, in THE MISSING INK. She’s a nice girl who live with her brother and runs her own business, which is thriving. Why on earth would she get involved in solving a crime?
I figured I should make it personal. It seemed the only way. A woman comes into her shop for a devotion tattoo with the name of her fiancé. She makes an appointment but never comes back. A few days later, a cop comes around with a picture of her, asking if anyone’s seen her. It turns out that the last person to have seen her was Brett.
That’s the basis for the story, for getting Brett immersed in the investigation. I did decide that her brother’s a Vegas police detective, although as I wrote I realized he wouldn’t want her getting involved so he’s not helpful. He’s just concerned about her safety.
A string of events made it even more personal, so I began to think that while I might not pursue a killer, Brett’s got a bit more curiosity than I do—and more than the average person. I don’t have her doing anything that would make her too stupid to live, but she does set things in motion that result in a pretty dramatic finale.
Because I had a two-book contract, I had to do this all over again, and again I made it personal. I would be hard pressed to think that anyone, even one with an overabundance of curiosity, would legitimately investigate a crime if she’s not a cop, a lawyer, a private detective—or a reporter. But those readers who like amateur sleuths might give it a pass if there’s a strong storyline.
What do you think? Are you a fan of the amateur sleuth? Do you suspend disbelief for a good story?
~ Karen
** Thank you Karen for stopping by my blog and telling us about your latest book. While I tend to read more detective fiction, I can definitely get hooked on a good amateur sleuth story. I really enjoyed The Missing Ink so stay tuned for my review!
** You can also find out more about Karen’s upcoming blog tour stops and other projects by checking out her website, www.kareneolson.com and her blog www.firstoffenders.typepad.com.
Wow! How cool! Must have really made your day 🙂
I am not sure, because I have not read a good amateur sleuth story, maybe I should start hunting for this one!
I enjoyed reading this post, Iliana! It’s great hearing Karen’s POV regarding this new series and I already fell in love with the heroine before reading the book! 🙂
I read a review of this book somewhere (was it here? My mind is going…) and it sounded great. It certainly is a different twist, and I like that. As far as whether I like amateur sleuths, the first thing I thought of was Stephanie Plum. She is a bond enforcer, not a PI, so she shouldn’t naturally get involved in crimes. But she does, she is hopelessly bad at it, and there are millions of us that love to get away from our heavier literature and indulge. On the other hand, there are other crime series where I question, for example, how on earth these people are inserting themselves in murder cases. It always seems way too unlikely. I know I’m rambling, but I guess my point is that I think the key to amatuer sleuthing is that the author doesn’t take it too seriously. The investigators, cops, lawyers (which is a stretch) can take themselves seriously!
I don’t read too many mysteries, but when I do, it doesn’t matter if it’s an amateur sleuth or a detective, as long as it’s good. And I can suspend disbelief…after all, it’s fiction.
Thanks for introducing me to this author. Sounds like an interesting book.
I like mysteries and have already placed this on my tbr list after your review, but it’s great to see the behind the scenes “action” for a novel.
Pop by my blog — I’ve given you an award.
Veens – It’s been great getting to know Karen through blog posts and via her books. Her Annie Seymour series is really good and this one is off to a great start so if you are new to amateur sleuths you can’t go wrong with these.
Melody – I really think you’ll like Brett a lot! She’s spunky too but quite different from Annie. Plus, in this one I think there are some great sidekicks!
Sandy – I totally agree! I’ve read some amateur sleuths where the sleuth are just too incredible to even believe. I can suspend disbelief only so much! haha.. I have read quite a lot of the Plum books but sort of got tired of the same stuff after book 10 or so.
Anna – I hope you’ll keep this one on your TBR list. Good dialogue and lots of action which is something a lot of the cozier mysteries sort of seem to lack.
Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit) – Yay, so glad you’ve got this one on your list. I know, I love to read author interviews and such. Great to see how the characters come about.
avisannschild – Thank you bunches! I’ve been so swamped I haven’t been able to catch up on my blog reading but will pop over there soon 🙂
I enjoyed Karen’s guest post. Thanks, Karen and Iliana! I understand the author’s hesitation in writing about an amateur sleuth. It does seem a bit odd that some characters out there seem to come across crimes that need solving so often. It really can test my ability to suspend my disbelief. It’s not hard to get past that though if its done right–and if I am really enjoying the series. In The Missing Ink, Brett is so naturally pulled into the mystery that the the doubts never crept in.
Great post 🙂 I do enjoy a good mystery and I dont mind if its a amateur sleuth or seasoned detective trying to solve it. ‘Amateur sleuth’ right away reminds me of Nancy Drew, which are such fun books. I’ll have to add Brett Kavanaugh to my TBR list 🙂
Thanks for having me over here, Iliana! And I’ve started reading more amateur sleuth mysteries. Some handle the suspension of disbelief very well. I think the secret is to making it more personal, although then we can run into what we call the Jessica Fletcher syndrome, where you just might want to stay away from her because she just keeps finding all those bodies all over the place!
I don’t think I’d mind an amateur sleuth as long as she wasn’t too good at sleuthing. Sometimes I find that a little unbelievable. Maybe is she got lucky a few times.
Literary Feline – I agree, Brett really did have reason to get involved in the mystery and I really liked that her brother is a detective. Sort of gives everything a bit more credence you know. I can’t wait for the next one!
bookworm – Ah, good point about amateur sleuth! I do like amateur sleuths but I think I got a bit burnt out on them so had sort of started reading more intense mysteries. It’s so nice to read a cozier kind of mystery though!
Karen Olson – Thank you for stopping in! I loved reading Brett’s story and am looking forward to what she gets up to next time around 🙂
Book Escape – That is a good point!