Wicked Wednesday: Five Mysteries

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Edith/Maddie here, writing from north of Boston as your July blog wrangler.

I was casting about for a Wicked Wednesdays theme for the month of July. I knew the name was associated with Julius Caesar but I needed more, so I went where one sometimes does – to Wikipedia. I learned that before they reworked the calendar AND before Julius ruled, this was the fifth month and was called Quintilus. I already knew there are five Wednesdays in the month this year, so let’s riff on the number five (ignoring the fact that July is now the seventh month).

People (and most mammals and amphibians) have five fingers and toes. Five is a special odd number. Most children learn to count by five. Pentagons and some stars have five points. There are five Pillars in Islam, five elements of nature, five senses, five…well, you get it.

Wickeds, let’s start by talking about the fifth book in your series (or one of them). Is that an important point for your protagonist? She’s been sleuthing for a while – does she start to gain confidence and skills, or does she question what she’s doing? Also, was it the last book in your contract and did that affect how you wrote it?

Julie: The fifth book, and sadly the last, in my Garden Squad series was The Plot Thickets. It takes place a year after the first book. Lilly’s life is completely changed. She’s rentered life, solved several crimes, has a handsome next door neighbor, two roommates, two cats and a wonderful life. I love the path she was on after five books–she was on the road to happiness. And the Garden Squad were cleaning things up.

Edith/Maddie: I miss that series, Julie! Mulch Ado About Murder was the fifth Local Foods mystery and the last book in that contract. Protagonist Cam Flaherty was just hitting her stride as a newbie farmer – and as an amateur sleuth. While I was writing the story, I suspected Kensington wouldn’t renew the series, but I didn’t know for sure. I ended the book with most of the core characters at the farm with Cam. I could have written more books, but I left everybody in a good place in case it was the last book – and it was. (I wrote that series as Edith, but the ebooks have been rereleased as authored by Maddie Day.)

Liz: The fifth book in the Cat Cafe series, Claws for Alarm, was in interesting one for Maddie. She had to take care of her sister, who found the body of an outsider, and hold it together for the rest of the family. She’s also been around the block a few times with this murder thing, so now the cops are getting used to her and she’s able to have more of a rapport with them. Which is helpful because there are many more murders in her future!

Barb: Ah! The fifth book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series is Iced Under. It’s one of the highest rated and bestselling in the series and the one I cite most often when people ask which is my favorite. Oddly for a Maine Clambake Mystery, it takes place in winter, mostly in Boston and you don’t know for sure there’s been a murder until 60% of the way through. It introduces my protagonist Julia to her mother’s extended family and explains how they made and lost their fortune and how their mansion, Windsholme, was abandoned. Plus I got to do some really fun research on the frozen water trade.

Jessie: I loved hearing about your frozen water research, Barb! And Julie, I think of your Garden Squad so often as I walk through my neighborhoods and spot the outrageous flourishing of bittersweet! Quel horror! Murder in an English Glade was the fifth book in my Beryl and Edwina series. I loved writing this entry in the series with its WWI echoes and an artistic subplot. I also had the opportunity to ramp up a romance and also to allow Beryl to grow in ways she would not have expected. Fun all round!

Sherry: Beryl and Edwina are so fun, Jessie! The fifth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries was I Know What You Bid Last Summer. Sarah unwittingly gets involved in local politics with the school board when she runs an athletic equipment swap at the high school gym and, gasp, someone dies! Plus I had Sarah run a very high-end sale for a demanding client. It was so much fun to picture and write about!

Readers: Have you hung with an author up to book five and beyond?

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Published by Edith Maxwell

Agatha Award -winning author Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Beyond the Page) and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Dot and Amelia Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries (all from Kensington Publishing). She lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and cat Martin, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook.

28 Thoughts

  1. My favorite series is the Miss Fortune Mysteries by Jana DeLeon, which I am currently reading again for the second time. But there are several that I’ve read five books and beyond, including Sherry’s Garage Sale Mysteries. I’m working my way through the Charlie Parker, Samantha Sweet and Kat Latimer series and there are others. The more books in a series the better. I get sad when a favorite ends.

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  2. Yes, it is interesting how some publishers these days consider 5 books as the suitable cut-off point to end a series.

    But I am a loyal reader of many series. I am happy that some of these traditional mystery series are still going strong for over 30 years:
    Katherine Hall Page’s Faith Fairchild mysteries (26 books and counting)
    Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow mysteries (36 books, and she is now publishing 2 books/year)

    And on the more gritty side, I am a faithful reader for over 40 years of long-running PI series such as
    Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski books (Pay Dirt, book #22 is on my library hold TBR list)
    Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books (20 series books & 5 stand-alones)

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  3. Assuming I like a series, five books is NOT enough regardless of what publishers think. I only got into Julie’s Garden Squad series in what turned out to be the final book. Of course, I have four books that I get to go back and discover but knowing there’s not going to be any more is a real bummer because I liked The Plot Thickets so much.

    As for the question: Yes, I have held on to many a series and author for five books and in a lot of cases WELL beyond that. I held on to one series long after it became mostly copy-and-paste with a few bits of original plot/dialogue thrown in between the repeated stuff from book to book. And I’ve continued with book series that have gone on after the original author has passed away. I’m doggedly loyal to a series that way. Which is why a certain Country Store series best have many more books in its future so I don’t have to deal with a crippling sense of bookish depression. LOL!

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  4. Do love a series (5 or beyond) when the author keeps the stories fresh and blended while at the same time making each book so they can be read as a standalone book. It’s always sad to see a series end, but as long as there are no cliff hangers or leaving you wondering what happened to them, it’s all good. The series that stands out the most to me has to be Edith’s Local Foods mystery series because it’s what got me hooked on cozies. ❤
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  5. If I like a series. the more books the merrier! I have read and enjoyed many series that went well beyond 5 books. Authors usually do an amazing job keeping the characters fresh and moving forward in their lives. In an ideal world all series would end when the author chose, and not when the publisher dictated.

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    2. I definitely keep going with series I like. I’m currently on book 8 of TE Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series and Sarah Burr’s Court of Mystery series. I’ve also read all of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels.

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  6. I’ve stuck with many series to five books and beyond. As long as the author keeps things fresh and doesn’t start phoning it in.

    For myself, both my series have gone past five books. Book five in the Laurel Highlands series is LIE DOWN WITH DOGS, which sees Jim Duncan embarking on a new position in the PSP – and Sally has gone into private practice. Book five in the Homefront series is this year’s THE SECRETS WE KEEP. Betty has her official P.I. license from New York – now to get an office!

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  7. This was such an interesting read! I always relish learning about other authors’ writing and the thought processes behind their books, and I’m hoping I manage to work my way up to my fifth book, too. With so many of my friends and acquaintances already at five and beyond, I definitely have lots to look up to!

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  8. Yes I have. I build a relationship with the characters and by book 5, I consider them part of the family that I get to visit sooner rather than later.

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    1. Exactly, Dru. I build a relationship with them, to. This morning I wrote a scene in a new book (Murder at Cape Costumers) with a character I know you’re fond of – Cokey!

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  10. Oh yes, I have any number of series where I’ve read 5 or more and will continue. The characters become like best friends or family by then. I look forward to their next adventure. Series like Maine Clambake (thanks, Barb!), the Country Kitchen series (YAY, keep ’em coming, Maddie/Edith), probably the longest running for me is the grittier Death series by JD Robb, yes all 58 and counting are some of my favorites.

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  12. If I enjoy a series, I will keep reading for #5 and beyond. I just finished the 20th Jaine Austen Mystery from Laura Levine. And Donna Andrews is up to 30+ at this point.

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  13. I’m most certainly have hung in there in all the Wickeds’ book series and miss the ones that have ended. There are a few other authors that I follow. I’m always looking for more really good ones.

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