Elizabeth Buhmann

I have written three standalone mysteries: Cinderella, Frankenstein, and The Chill (Ross Macdonald’s masterpiece)—guess which is which!—but now I have settled in to emulate the authors that give me the greatest pleasure, the writers of traditional murder mysteries. Not thrillers, not shockers. Puzzles. Whodunnits. Mysteries!

I wanted my crimes set in small towns or rural areas. Big city police procedure is so complicated, and I am daunted by all the books and shows like NCIS. But I can never really buy into a series where a quiet little village is the scene of multiple shocking murders. To me, that’s treating murder like a joke.

I find it similarly unbelievable when an ordinary person, someone who is not in law enforcement or a related profession, repeatedly stumbles on spectacular murders and participates in solving them. I cannot suspend my disbelief.

So my detective, Gil Tillier, an ex-homicide detective, travels to a different small town setting in each book, working as a law enforcement consultant. This is a marginally realistic premise– law enforcement consultants are most often called in on administrative or technical matters, not as investigators– but it’s not such a long stretch, and it’s not without precedent in the genre.

Tillier first appears in Accidents of Life (Murder in the Making), and the crime in that book still haunts him. Three characters from that book are regulars in the series: Henrietta Wagram, Tillier’s Chief, Al Carey, who succeeded him as Lieutenant of CID, and Shelley Darbey, who was caught in the web of the crime.

“Accidents of Life is a nearly perfect novel: intriguing and unforgettable characters, an atmospheric setting, and a mystery that remains buried until the last possible moment. The whodunnit is surprising, the twists are unpredictable, and the entire premise is unique. Highly recommend!” –reader review

Read it!