ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: EMBRACING THE MESS AT ANY AGE

By Korina Moss

I am very late to the party, but I’ve finally started watching Only Murders in the Building, a murder mystery series on Hulu starring Steve Martin (Charles), Martin Short (Oliver), and Selena Gomez (Mabel). I binged season 1 in two days and have started season 2. I adore the show. It’s exactly my vibe—quirky characters with a dash of humor who solve a murder mystery in a close-knit setting. It’s as close to a cozy mystery (with cursing) as you can get outside of the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

I especially appreciate watching the intergenerational friendships formed between Mabel, who is in her late twenties, and the two older men, Charles and Oliver, who are in their seventies. The difference in age provides plenty of humor—whether it be the slang they use or signing their name to a text—but they also learn some deeper things from each other. Developing these types of friendships onscreen provides a way to highlight how similar people of disparate ages can be.

In my Cheese Shop Mystery series, there are age gaps among my 33-year-old cheesemonger protagonist, Willa, and the supporting characters who work in her cheese shop and also help her solve the mysteries. There’s Archie, who started the series as a nineteen-year-old still living with his mom, and Mrs. Schultz, who is “smack dab” in her sixties, as she likes to say. Although each character is at a different stage in their lives, they’re all starting anew in some way and have things to teach each other. 

Archie’s new chapter is typical of young adults who graduate high school without a sense of what they want to do with the rest of their lives. It’s not until he starts working at Willa’s cheese shop, Curds & Whey, that he begins to consider becoming a cheesemonger like Willa. As she shares her passion for cheese with him, he inadvertently teaches her about trust.

Hoping to avoid the heartaches of her past, Willa hadn’t set down roots before moving to Yarrow Glen to open Curds & Whey. When a murder occurs right outside her shop and she’s the number one suspect, she’s forced to trust the people who offer to help her—two of them being Archie and Mrs. Schultz. Willa realizes she’s been denying herself close friendships for too long. Through solving the mysteries and running her shop, she learns not only to trust others, but to trust herself, gaining a new level of confidence. 

Confidence was never something Mrs. Schultz lacked until she unexpectedly became widowed shortly after retiring from her job as a high school drama teacher. Without her husband of almost forty years by her side, retirement looked very different than she’d envisioned it. She found herself approaching life timidly for the first time. Working at Curds & Whey was a way to test herself. The new job and becoming a part of their mystery-solving team brought back her bright personality and gave her the confidence to try other things… like possibly dating? (You’ll have to read book 3, Curds of Prey, to find out.)

Through my cozy mystery series, I have the opportunity to show that it’s not just the people Archie’s age or even Willa’s age who find themselves navigating uncharted waters. I began middle age newly single with my first novel published—certainly a new chapter for me. I think Steve Martin’s character, Charles, described it best when he said he was ready to “embrace the mess.” Yes, life can be confounding—and beautiful—at any age. No matter how old we are, we still have new things to do and to learn, even from younger folks. It’s high time we see that represented more often in our books and on our screens. 

Would you like to see more intergenerational friendships portrayed in books and tv shows/movies? Which books or shows have these types of characters?

I will be zooming in LIVE in the Cozy Mystery Crew Book Club Zoom Room today, July 9th, at 4PM eastern time. Join the Cozy Mystery Crew private FB group to access the zoom link under “Featured.” I’ll be there LIVE to talk about Cheddar Off Dead and my series, and take your questions. And those attending will be entered to win one of my Cheese Shop Mystery books of their choice. Hope to see you!