What a wonderful honor! My Jazz Age historical mystery Relative Fortunes recently headed the list of the year’s ten best traditional mysteries as selected by the editors of CrimeReads.Sharing the spotlight with such terrific writers as Lynne Truss, Martin Edwards, Rachel Howzell Hall, Jacqueline Winspear, Naomi Hirahara, Louise Penny, and Alan Bradley is perhaps the highlight so far of my fledgling career as a novelist.
Mine was the only debut novel chosen, which makes me feel like I hit a home run on my first trip to the plate. (As soon as I wrote that giddy metaphor, a sober voice in my head demurred that there’s no such thing as instant success. Before any home run there must come endless strike-outs, infield dribblers, and pop fly balls. The same is true in writing. Every published author knows that real success comes only after countless hours of writing, revising, doubting, more rewriting, and on and on.)
While every positive review is a most welcome thing, I especially appreciated what the CrimeReads editors wrote in support of their selection. They noted the “terribly amusing” aspects of Relative Fortunes, recognizing the humor I wanted to include as a counterbalance to the very serious and troubling themes my reluctant amateur sleuth, Julia Kydd, must grapple with. In writing Julia and Philip’s lively repartees and their droll views of much of the moneyed Manhattan of the 1920s they witness, I was inspired by the voice and spirit of the legendary P.G. Wodehouse. If only I could channel his inimitable wit and eye for the merrily absurd.
Best of all, the CrimeReads editors captured the heart of my novel: “Relative Fortunes is a love letter to an era of sweeping changes in both women’s roles and the publishing industry.”
A love letter indeed. Thank you, CrimeReads. I’m thrilled to see Relative Fortunes included among the year’s best traditional mysteries.
