In the Accidental Detective Series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Something Shady at Sunshine Haven, the first book in the series, debuts April 7th.
When patients are dying at an Alzheimer's unit, a former war correspondent must use her journalism skills to uncover the killer and save her mother. Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world, but can she survive going home?
What inspired the series?
For my Accidental Detective mysteries, I started with a character who is trying to reinvent her life as she turns fifty. She spent thirty years as a war correspondent, so she’s pretty fearless, but that doesn’t always help her with the challenges of aging. She’s dealing with elderly parents who have health problems, a resentful sister, her own lack of retirement planning, and a body that doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to. These challenges provide humor as she narrates her attempts to solve local mysteries and build a new life.
Why did you set the series in the Southwest?
I love New Mexico, but I wanted to set the mystery series in a big city. In Arizona, I could create a fictional city within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. That allows me to use this fictional city government for political issues, and make the mayor an old friend of Kate’s, without stepping on any real toes.
Arizona also provides tons of mystery opportunities. The large senior population attracts scams and abuse. You have the potential for arguments over inheritance (or even murders to get that inheritance sooner). The border with Mexico creates anxiety over immigration and various kinds of trafficking. Plus, you have all the usual potential crimes in any large population. I’ll be able to keep Kate busy for years.
How did your writing journey get you here?
Twenty years ago, I started writing for children, using the name Chris Eboch. I have eight middle grade novels (for ages 9 to 12) published under that name and I’ve been a ghostwriter for some popular children’s mystery series. I also write a lot of educational nonfiction and fiction.
Around 2008, I was starting to feel restless and wanted a change. I had mostly been reading adult romantic suspense novels, so I started writing those under the name Kris Bock. Desert Gold follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found was inspired by finding the body of a murder victim while hiking in the woods. (Read about the whole experience of finding a dead body here.)
More recently, I started a sweet romance series set in and around a cat café. These cafés are a relatively recent trend, but you can now find several hundred all around the world. Typically, they partner with a shelter, so all the cats you can visit are available for adoption. In each of my Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series books, a couple falls in love and in addition one or more cats find their permanent homes.
So I have over 100 published books now, but that includes fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. The variety keeps me interested! I have four Accidental Detective novels written and scheduled for publication, and in the meantime, I'm writing a romance series about a ranch family that wins the lottery. It's a lot of fun.
Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
The Accidental Detective, Book 1
She’s pursued the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?
Injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age of nearly fifty despite living like a teenager again: staying in her childhood bedroom with only a cat for company, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still refer to her as Kitty. The hardest part? Seeing her once-sharp and witty mother stuck in an Alzheimer’s unit.
When an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at the nursing home, Kate limps into action. Is a self-appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit.
If Kate can’t uncover the truth quickly, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.
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Thanks so much, Lois!
ReplyDeleteAlways happy to have you visit, Kris!
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