Good Intentions

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We are celebrating two releases today! Murder at an English Séance by Jessie and Murder at the Rusty Anchor today! Woo-hoo, ladies! Here is my last quote on good intentions: Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.” ― T.S. Eliot. Have you written a book or character who has mucked things up with good intentions? Or have you read one?

Edith/Maddie: Thanks! I have an example from the new book. Mac Almeida’s tiny grandmother Reba is trying to get in on the sleuthing. Mac had told her the Cozy Capers were meeting for Friday happy hour at the Jimmy’s Harborside bar to discuss the case. Reba shows up a little late, delighted that she was able to tail two suspects who also walked to the restaurant. The state police detective then appears. He’d seen Reba and scolds her for doing something dangerous. Nothing got mucked up this time, but if the suspects had decided to act, Reba could have been in big trouble.

Julie: Congratulations, Edith and Jessie! Love adding to my beach reads pile! I agree with this quote. I think that even villains think they are doing things for the greater good, even if they have a skewed idea of that greater good. Or what would be the greater good in their world view. This is a great motivation for our books–someone who is trying to “clean things up” for the greater good.

Liz: Congrats, Edith and Jessie! Looking forward to both of these! I agree with this too – it’s like the quote “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I don’t believe most people start out with evil in mind, and I love the exploration of how things can go from good intent to completely sideways in a short period of time. I think that actually makes for a great character study and a super interesting book when done well.

Barb: Congratulations, Edith and Jessie! My TBR pile grows. I believe most if not all of the murderers in my Maine Clambake Mystery series had good intentions, or at least did what they thought they must. I’m much more interested in what causes someone who thinks of him or herself as a good person to do something horrible than in studying people who are purely evil.

Sherry: I can’t wait to read your latest books, Edith and Jessie! Excellent points Julie and Liz! In Absence of Alice, Sarah makes some difficult choices that puts her at odds with a lot of people. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, but is she?

Jessie: Thanks ladies! I think that most protagonists have good intentions. I know that mine do! Beryl, in particular, is awash in them. Even when she has no experience or expertise she is certain she can do something helpful or useful. Spoiler alert, she is often, but not always, correct!

Readers: Have you written or read a character who tried to do what they thought was the right thing?

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Published by Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the author of the Agatha Award nominated Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Mystery series.

20 Thoughts

  1. Yay, Edith and Jessie! I’m so pleased for you both. As for intentions, in my Linder and Donatelli series, I think my detectives’ investigations, which are not only well-intended but required, drag to light information that causes pain and disgrace for people who aren’t murderers. In fact, red herrings in many mysteries suffer from the detectives’ good intentions. Don’t you agree, mystery fans?

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  2. I can think of five or six books off the top of my head where the protagonist, with the best of intentions really bolloxes things up. But the first thing that came to mind was the book (and the musical) Wicked by Gregory McGuire. In fact, Elphaba’s final solo number in the show is “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.”

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  3. Congrats to both Jessica and Edith on their book release. And yes, I’ve read a few books where characters thought they were doing the right thing.

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  4. My copy of “Murder at the Rusty Anchor” was in yesterday’s mail. I can’t wait to start reading it.

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  5. Congratulations Jessica and Edith on two fabulous books that I’m super excited at the prospect of reading.

    Isn’t that a partial description of a cozy mystery? Other than trying to figure out whodunit, isn’t part of the fun reading about the amateur sleuth or others trying to “help” get themselves in sticky situations and then seeing how either they manage to get out of it or someone special to them has to give them a wee bit of help in order to do so? Always fun to read and makes the story more believable to me. I mean if they could do it all without any blunders or incidents, they might as well be cops. 🙂
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  6. Congratulations Edith and Jessie! I’m reading the second in Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series. Finlay is definite someone who has lots of good intentions – and nothing ever comes out the way she thinks it will.

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  7. As much fun as the pure evil villains are, the ones who think they are doing the right thing are much more realistic. And scarier. Yes, even in cozies.

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  8. Yes. I think most of us as well as all characters think that what they are doing is right. That is one thing that causes such division in our world. Not everyone’s opinion is the same. Sometimes, two people may have the best of intentions, but neither go about solving the problem the same way. Thank you for sharing. Happy book birthdays. God bless you.

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