Guest Blogger Karen Odden on AN ARTFUL DODGE

I (Donis) am so happy to host my friend Karen Odden to Type M 4 Murder today. Karen is a wonderful historical mystery author whose latest release is An Artful Dodge, about a gang of female thieves in 19th century England. Great concept, isn't it? And the best part is it's based on real people and real events. Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up.

Karen Odden

 The “wait, what?” moment that sparked the idea for An Artful Dodge, my sixth book set in 1870s London, happened in December 2021. 

My daughter Julia had just finished her semester abroad at Oxford. If you remember, there was a lull during the Covid pandemic. We rented a flat and spent a week bopping around London doing Mom/Daughter things. The gray days required umbrellas; the night winds turned our umbrellas inside out. We still had a lovely time, as my daughter is game for any number of long walks, teashops, bookstores, and museums. And Harrods. Here she is in one of my favorite cafes, inside the Victoria and Albert Museum, with a scone the size of her head.

One evening, we ducked into the Great Scotland Yard Hotel in Whitehall, not far from Big Ben. It’s built on what used to be the odd-shaped cobblestoned yard behind 4 Whitehall Place, which was the official address for the plainclothes division of the Metropolitan Police, what we now call Scotland Yard, in the 1870s. The yard served as the “public entrance,” was large enough for wagons, and usually smelled of horse dung and musty hay. 

The hotel (shown here in much better weather than we had) was built in 2019, an homage to the Victorian period. It’s run by Hyatt. 

Shivering, Julia and I entered the foyer and discovered glass cases full of Victorian crime memorabilia—mug shots, police truncheons, whistles, helmets, weapons, poison bottles, and more. (Be still my I-want-to-see-the-authentic-stuff heart.) 

Afterward Julia and I went to the restaurant to have dinner, but they said, regretfully, they were “full up.” However, we could go to the Forty Elephants bar across the way and get a drink and a bite to eat.

Forty Elephants. 

The Elephant and Castle

What an odd name, I thought. Did it have to do with the British Empire, which in the 1800s was busily expanding into India and Africa, home of real, gray, floppy-eared elephants? 

We entered to find a room with a portrait of a gorgeous woman over the fireplace. 

I was madly curious. Fortunately, on our wooden corner table, there was a QR code “For more information about the 40 Elephants.” Of course I clicked.

I discovered that the “Forty Elephants” were members of an all-women thieving gang based out of Elephant and Castle neighborhood, in Southwark (pronounced “South-uck”), in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The crime-ridden area was named for an old stagecoach inn, built in the 1700s, located at the intersection of six roads coming in from Dover, Canterbury and various parts of London. 

An all-women thieving gang, in a crime-ridden part of London! Women who went into the new department stores and tucked gloves and lace and jewelry into long thieving pockets that went down to their hemlines, and into special netting in their hair! Who wouldn’t want a mystery about that?

I was finishing my fifth book, Under a Veiled Moon, so I scribbled the idea down and set it aside. When I later pitched the idea to my publisher, he gave dubious little grimace. Clearly, no interest there. And although the Inspector Corravan series had earned out my modest advance, the publisher canceled the series.

It hurt because I really loved those books. I loved Michael Corravan. (For those of you who have seen Miss Scarlet and the Duke, which came out afterward, people were texting me: “This reminds me of your Corravan.”) 

It’s hard to have a beloved series canceled. It filled me with self-doubt. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever find another publisher. I didn’t know if anyone would want a book about women thieves, much as I loved the idea.

Fast forward to Left Coast Crime mystery conference in 2024, where I asked Juliet Grames, Editorial Director, of Soho Press, to sit down with me, so I could share the idea I had.

Wait. First, I should explain that I met Juliet Grames in 2019 at Bouchercon. It was my first mystery conference. I attended her panel, where she talked about her new novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna and how she’d spent two summers researching and mulling over the characters. I felt instant sympathy! That evening, I’d approached her at the Harper Collins party to congratulate her on her book and introduce myself. (My second and third books were with HC.) We exchanged numbers and emails. Only much later did I learn she was an editor at Soho Press.

[Moral of the tale.] Good things happen at mystery conferences. And it pays to talk to everyone. You never know what will happen years later.

OK, back to the Left Coast Crime conference. I found Juliet and asked if I could pitch her an idea for a book. She said she had twenty minutes. I told her about the 40 Elephants and their skirts and how they ran dodges in department stores. Her blue eyes got large. “I want to read that book. You should write it. I’ll buy it.”

[Moral #2: A grimace from one publisher does not mean you won’t be picked up by a different one.]

I signed the contract, put my butt in the chair, and in 8 months, I wrote the book about Kit Jimeson, my heroine and 20-year-old thief, pulling off a nearly impossible and incredibly dangerous jewel heist in London. It launched two weeks ago, and I hope if you’re in San Francisco, Bellingham WA, New York City, Columbus OH, Rochester NY, or Portland ME, you’ll come to my event, so I can share the other pictures and stories behind the book.

_____

visit Karen's website at http://karenodden.com 

Mysteries with Word Search Puzzles

 by Sybil Johnson

I like mysteries. I like word search puzzles. Until recently I had no idea there are books out there that combine those two items.

My first encounter with one of these was with a Facebook ad. (Yes, Facebook ads sometimes work.) Sounded like fun so I thought I'd give it a try. I ordered the first book in the Oakford Springs Word Search mysteries by Annabel Rogers. Then I discovered others by different authors. 

They all have the same basic structure: a one page chapter on the left side with accompanying word search puzzle on the right side. The words for the puzzle come from the text on the facing page. Depending on the author, they work slightly differently.

In the books by Annabel Rogers, each puzzle may or may not have one word from the accompanying list that isn’t in the puzzle. You jot it down and move on to the next puzzle. This is true of roughly half of the puzzles. For the final puzzle, you take those words and look for them in the final puzzle. After circling all of the words, the letters left over tell you who the culprit is. For some of the other books, you just do the puzzles and there is no final puzzle denouement. One series told you to look at a specific line of the final puzzle and the leftover letters from that line spelled out the murderer. 

I had no idea these books existed and that there were so many of them! Some are available in both print and e-book formats. For the latter, the e-book has a link to a downloadable pdf with the puzzles in it. 

My favorite type is the one where you collect the words and use them in the final puzzle. It’s more interactive. 

Of course, with any of them, you don’t have to do the puzzles at all and can just read the story.

I’m thinking maybe I should create one of these kinds of books myself. It seems like a fun project. Have any of you ever done anything like this?

Guest Blogger Anne Canadeo

Anne Canadeo

I (Donis) am delighted to welcome guest blogger Anne Canadeo to Type M 4 Murder. Anne is the  author of over forty works of fiction. She began her career as a reporter in Denver and Minnesota, and worked for many years in New York as a fiction editor before deciding to try writing her own novels. Her popular Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries were launched in 2009 with While My Pretty One Knits in 2009. Under the pseudonym Katherine Spencer, Anne ghost wrote dozens of entries in both the  Cape Light and the Inn At Angel Island series for the artist Thomas Kinkade. Her first historical mystery, More Than You Know, a suspenseful tale set against the backdrop of New York City in the dynamic post-war era, was recently published. It's wonderful. I can attest. Check out Anne's website at https://www.annecanadeo.com/

 Cooking Lesson: Low and Slow

 Anne Canadeo

A few months back, I composed the “Acknowledgments” for my recently published mystery, More Than You Know, careful to include every person and source that contributed to the work. Two notes of gratitude were missing from the list.  First, my thanks to the universe for the many obstacles tossed in my path as I tried to write and publish this book. Second, I forgot to thank myself for persisting, despite those challenges. 

Oddly—or not so odd?—the same stubborn, single-minded streak is a defining trait of the book’s main character, Grace Russo, who goes the limit to prove her brother’s innocence and save him from life in prison, or worse. Just like Grace, I moved forward step by step in uncharted territory, often doubting my effort would amount to much. Like my heroine, I was often tempted to give up. Now that the book is published and has met with enthusiasm from readers and reviewers, I’m grateful that I followed Grace’s lead, marching on with little evidence I’d ever reach the finish line.  

The tale of a long journey writing a book and finding publication is not rare.  But typically, told by a debut author. I’d published over forty books prior, most of them titles in two long running series. 

The production schedule for a book series is rigid, even brutal. I was juggling two for many years with little time for speculative projects.  But each summer there was a small window when I could write just to please myself. Unfortunately, that’s the last thing I want to do on a perfect summer day—closet myself in a stuffy office, while the temptations of our waterfront village beckon—breezy beaches, shady parks and too many ice cream shops and outdoor cafes.

Cook it low and slow

I like to think the books in both series—the Cape Light novels and The Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries—are thoughtful and well written. I certainly put effort and heart into all of them. But I was required to churn one out every four to six months. They were published at that pace, too. Delayed gratification as an author was unknown to me. I didn’t like it. But I liked the story I’d begun enough to summon up some patience.

First came the concept, a small, bare bones idea. Then, a period of fleshing out the story, creating the characters, their backstories and connections. 

Practically all my previous books are contemporary fiction. This one was set in the postwar year of 1947. I settled down to do months of research. Cruising the internet and searching piles of books for useful information. There’s a mountain of material on the WWII era, but information about the postwar years is not nearly so plentiful. I wanted firsthand accounts of life in New York City at that time, which narrowed the search even further. 

Feeling immersed in the era, I wrote an outline. This is the heavy lifting for me, imaging the story chapter by chapter, scene by scene. It’s like charting a map for a long road trip. I’ll take a short cut or scenic side trip here and there. But each time I sit down to work, I have some idea of where I’m going.

I’m not sure when I started the actual writing. I  remember the research was ongoing as I worked through the first draft. My initial idea was simple—a mystery centered on a smart but underestimated young woman, who is a secretary to a private investigator. When the investigator disappears, she’s left alone to solve a mystery. 

Why does he disappear? I had no clue. Part of creating a story, I’ve learned, is tolerating  some unknowns. What was she investigating? That one was easy. Murder, of course; the crime most interesting to me. 

  It was immediately clear that the story had to be set in the past, when it was unusual and even impossible for women to investigate violent crimes. I saw it unfolding in Manhattan and Brooklyn, like the classic films of that period I’ve watched countless times.  

If there’s one thing I learned while writing the Black Sheep, a mystery is the most powerful when the emotional stakes are high, when the investigator has an important relationship to the accused or the victim. I decided someone close to Grace would be accused of the murder she’s left alone to solve. I created her older brother, Joe, a troubled veteran and aspiring jazz musician, who knows Harry Shaw from army days. Joe is framed and only Grace believes he’s innocent. Saving her brother drives her to plunge into a dark, dangerous place. Sure, she’s afraid, but her will to protect someone she loves is stronger.  

I still had no idea why Harry goes AWOL. But I’ve also learned by now to trust in the process; the missing pieces emerge eventually and fall into place. Often when you take a break to wash the dishes or walk the dog. 

Without giving too much away, I’ll add that the book was shaping up to be an interesting mystery set in the dynamic social landscape of the postwar era. But at this point, it was pretty much a straightforward, who-done-it with likable characters. I cringe to admit it now, but in this version, Grace and Harry developed a romance early in the story. 

That single plot element, which is anticipated and enjoyed by many readers, made this story entirely different than the one it eventually turned out to be. Grace’s huge potential as a character and the chance to depict the challenges independent women of her time faced in every corner of society, were bypassed by choosing the door marked, “Boss – Secretary Trope” and proceeding down a narrow hallway of predictability. 

By that time, I’d put together a proposal of three chapters and an outline. My agent shopped it around and got an offer. It was a small offer, and I thought I might do better if I wrote the whole manuscript. 

If I had known how long it would take to complete the full manuscript and market it, would I have made the same choice? I’m not sure. At that time, I had no idea how much the story would evolve and deepen and become much more complex and interesting.  . 

Flash forwards several years, the project has transformed from a fun but familiar grilled burger to a savory stew, with a unique mix of ingredients and seasoning, cooked low and slow for...well, for years.  

Grace and Harry do not get involved early in the story. Harry has a complicated backstory, and secrets Grace can’t begin to imagine. When demons of his past pull him back, he can’t refuse and can’t offer Grace any explanation. She continues to investigate alone, not merely by looking for clues and asking questions. She goes undercover, working as a cigarette girl in the Starlight Room, a glamorous but shady night club run by a low level mobster, where all the trouble began.

The murder victim, a beautiful Black night club singer was Joe’s true love, and the mobster’s girlfriend. The multi-plotted story touches up simmering feminism and race prejudice, and the challenges all the characters face trying to find their place in a world radically altered by the war. 

When the story opens, Grace is adrift. Her fiancé was lost in battle, and she’s had to “give her job back” to a returning soldier. She yearns to make some mark on the world, beyond marrying and having children. But she doesn’t know what that might be, or how she’d ever achieve it. 

While searching for Mary Delmore’s killer, Grace finds herself. She discovers depths of  resourcefulness and courage, her talents and a sense of purpose. She emerges a different woman at the end of the book then she was in Chapter One, which I feel is essential to good storytelling.

After many revisions and much prose polishing, I sent the manuscript to my agent, eager to hear her reaction. I felt it was the best thing I’d written so far. More Than You Know seemed a leap forward from both series, a book I could proudly put my name on.

For various reasons, my agent was reluctant to represent it and even urged me to put the project aside.  The conversation ended our professional relationship. I felt blindsided but, after I got up and dusted myself off, still determined to get the book out in the world. I felt like a woman in a canoe who’d lost her paddle.  But I thought of Grace. I’d use my bare hands, if I had to. 

I knew a few editors at big house who agreed to take a look. I waited for each submission to run its course, sometimes months, with fingers crossed. All sincerely loved the book but couldn’t get it past their editorial boards. Doubtless, due to the social justice content. One advised to me find a small publisher with less decision makers, who wasn’t looking to fit round pegs into round holes. Her encouragement renewed my hope that the book would find a home.  

  Eventually, I found Level Best Books, well known for quality mysteries, especially historical mysteries. While my editor—who also wears the hat of publisher and owner—anticipated some possible “blow back,” she loved the book and believed readers would, too. 

I’ll always be very grateful to her for taking a chance on a mystery novel that is difficult to categorize. So far at least, there’s been no “blow back” about the social justice elements. Many readers and reviewers appreciate that the era hasn’t been sugar-coated. The positive reception has been gratifying and validating. It’s a relief to know I wasn’t crazy to keep believing the book has merit.

I look back at the long trek from a glimmer of a story idea to the finished book and see the challenges as blessings in disguise. A very good disguise. Like a flat tire on the way to the airport that makes you miss the plane...that ends up crashing.  Delays, that frustrated and discouraged me, caused me to work harder, to stretch my imagination and writing skills. 

Causing this story to evolve in ways I could not foresee. So yes, I thank the universe for all the roadblocks that slowed my usual speed. And I thank myself for my persistence. 

  Grace and Harry will likely have more adventures. But next time I’ll have patience. I’ll remember to cook it low and slow.