Award-winning author Linda Hall has written twenty
mystery novels and many short stories. She has long wanted to write a mystery
series featuring a female boat delivery captain. In 2014 she made that happen
with the release of Night
Watch, the first book in her in Em Ridge Mystery series.
Learn more about Linda and her books at her website.
How a series idea is born…
When I was a
kid, a vacation wasn't a vacation unless it included water. Whether it was waterskiing,
canoeing or swimming, it didn't matter, just as long as there was water
underneath us. Fortunately, I married a guy who loves the water as much as I
do. When we moved to a coastal province twenty years ago, he was finally able to fulfill a lifelong dream.
We bought a small sailboat.
I didn't grow up
sailing and knew nothing about it. I soon learned, happily. We both did. We
took courses. We became proficient (well, him more than me.) We now have a
sailboat big enough to live on, and we spend summers sailing in and around New
Brunswick, Canada and along the coast of Maine.
We have met some
fascinating people in our travels, including a number of female boat delivery
captains. What these people do is deliver boats—usually big ones—from port to port.
The people that own these yachts often don't want the bother of getting them
from Point A to Point B, so they hire people.
Over evening
glasses of wine with some of these captains, we listened to some incredibly fun
tales of their travels, from the absurd to the hair-raising. All of their
stories began jumbling around in my writer brain until the idea for Em Ridge
was born. She’s a bit of an alter ego of mine. She’s brave, where I’m sometimes
a scaredy-cat on the boat. She is capable and strong and can outmaneuver most
men when it comes to sailing through storms or other emergencies. Yet, she has
a soft side, a vulnerable side. She sometimes tries to appear more fearless
than she actually is.
The Em Ridge
mysteries will follow her adventures, her love life, the mysteries she gets
entangled with and her eccentric neighbors and dysfunctional family.
Night Watch
Desolate Maine shores...
Murder... And peace slipping away on the outgoing tide...
For yacht delivery captain, Em Ridge, having a billionaire's
daughter go overboard on her first captaining job is not a good beginning. The
sailboat is new, state-of-the-art; her crew on this trip include two close
sailing friends. But an unknown fourth, who can't even tie a bowline, and the
unruly owner's daughter turn the idyllic trip into an adventure not wanted.
Two years ago Em buried her husband, her soul-mate, her
sailing buddy, and with him buried a secret. As hours on the open seas slide
by, secrets are resurrected that tie Em's past to a present awash with murder
and deception.
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I just finished reading this book, and posted reviews on GR and Amazon. I loved the story! So moody. I read Linda's earlier books and am glad she has returned to her roots. It's really interesting to read where she got the idea. She had talked about the plot but I had no idea that delivery captains existed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed Night Watch! It was fun to write.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating occupation! And an absolutely brilliant backdrop for a mystery series. Congratulations, Linda!
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to tell Linda has a love of the ocean in this book. And it's wrapped in a mystery that is very thematic. This story will draw you in.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Norah and Lina. It's a backdrop that I think is sustainable throughout a series. It'll be fun to write and work on future books.
ReplyDeleteA great backdrop for a mystery. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela~
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about water and books set around water. I loved reading Linda Hall's Fog Point books. A friend gave me Night Watch for Christmas and I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDelete:)