Mysteries and Autism Spectrum Disorder

 By Ryan Hoffman

My name is Ryan Hoffman and l am a writer with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I place on the spectrum with what used to be known as Aspergers, but is now called high-functioning Autism. Thank you for letting me post on Writers Who Kill. I have loved mysteries since l was a kid. Encyclopedia Brown, the Hardy Boys, and Sherlock Holmes introduced me to mysteries growing up. I am convinced by Sherlock’s traits that he had a Victorian version of Asperger/high functioning autism. Following my introduction to mysteries, I graduated to Agatha Christie and cozy/traditional mysteries

The spark that Sherlock Holmes books started continued when I read the Asperger’s Mysteries by E.J. Copperman (aka Jeff Cohen). A quick description. Imagine if you crossed Sherlock Holmes with Adrian Monk but set the action in suburban New Jersey and added in an overbearing but supportive mother and a female assistant/love interest. The resulting character would be Samuel Hoenig, my first taste of an autistic male detective.

Christopher John Francis Moore in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon provided me with an amateur sleuth role model. Unlike Samuel or Molly Gray in Nita Prose’s books The Maid and The Mystery Guest, or Jo Jones in Brandy Shillace’s mystery The Framed Women of Ardmore House, Christopher is a 15-year-old boy that has autistic traits but isn’t labeled as autistic.

I didn’t think about becoming a writer until after Covid hit. Nor did I think about writing autistic characters when I started. I knew I wanted to get into cozy or detective mystery fiction somehow. Originally, since I had a criminal justice degree, I considered working as a civilian at an entry level police job, security guard, or detective.

That changed when l chose to become a mystery writer while working part time in retail. My high school English teacher, Mrs. Laura Jacobs, (Canton High School in the progressive burg of Canton, South Dakota), liked the creativity I displayed when I wrote short stories for class. She suggested l become a writer. I brushed it off until now. I’ve published four books in my Riley Morgan Mystery series, with a fifth release planned in December.

Riley has a tween/teen nephew Kyle who is also on the spectrum but not diagnosed. The book that releases on September 18, The Geek is Up, will have an autistic sleuth lead, Casey Schmitt. He has his own Watson in his best friend and college roommate turned detective partner Myle Wilson. He also has a beagle, named Scout. I took some inspiration from contemporary Sherlock Holmes sleuths like Jonny Lee Miller in Elementary and Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock. My main inspiration was Dr. Shaun Murphy, Freddie Highmore's character in The Good Doctor.

Ryan Hoffman has an interest in criminal justice and writing. He’s loved mystery novels since childhood, and hi autism gives him a creative mind. He writes mystery novels set in his home state of South Dakota. He’s a member of many groups on Facebook and the national organization Sisters in Crime. He lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

www.ryanhoffmanmysteries.com

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