by Grace Topping

This year marks my tenth year at Writers Who Kill, interviewing mystery writers about their books. Through these interviews, I’ve gotten to know numerous authors, and it’s been a real pleasure. I asked members of the Writers Who Kill blog who they would interview or want to have dinner with from the mystery-writing community. They had some terrific suggestions.

Kait Carson

What fun! I’d love to interview P.D. James. Her fiction fascinated me from the first book of hers that I read. It wasn’t a Dalgliesh, it was Cordelia Gray in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. I was instantly captivated by the idea of a semi-hard-boiled female sleuth. There weren’t many around in those days for adults. This was in the 1970s. James ended up writing only one other Cordelia Gray book, The Skull Beneath the Skin. I always hoped she’d add to the series, but Dalgliesh captured her attention.

Martha Reed

I would love to have dinner with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'd need to fill him in on modern day television programming, but I'd also like to ask him if he thought his character Sherlock Holmes, his super-logical unemotional thinking machine (who is now a trope), served as the inspiration for Star Trek's Mr. Spock. My favorite ACD story is The Hound of the Baskervilles. I still reread it once a year just to remind myself how exceptional it is.

Kathleen Rockwood

I'm rereading Barbara Neely's Blanche White books. I love her unapologetic portrayal of a middle-aged black domestic servant and her subtle sense of humor (as is obvious from the very name of her protagonist). It's social commentary at its most entertaining in the form of traditional mystery novels. There are only four books in the series. My favorite is the first, Blanche on the Lam. A package of all four is available on Kindle for $9.99. Neely passed away in 2020 at the age of 78.

Susan Van Kirk

I'd love to have dinner with Ariel Lawhon, author of The Frozen River. I just finished listening to this historical fiction novel set in 1790 Maine. The main character is a midwife who has no qualms about living in a man's world and making her voice be heard. And there is a murder to start it off!

Lori Roberts Herbst

I would share dinner with Michael Connelly. I love his books and characters so much. As a former journalism teacher, I would enjoy hearing stories from his days as a reporter and how they inspired his books. My favorite of his books is the first in the Harry Bosch series, The Black Echo.

Marilyn Levinson

I would love to interview Anthony Horowitz. He’s an amazing mystery writer. Besides novels, he also writes for tv—Foyle’s War and some Midsomer Murder episodes to name a few—and he writes books for kids, like I do. I love all his books, but I’d say my favorite is Magpie Murders.

Heather Weidner

There are so many I would choose from. I would want to have dinner with Margaret A. Wirt Benson, the ghostwriter of the first 23 of the 30 Nancy Drew books. I would love to talk to her about the Stratemeyer Syndicate and all her stories. I love all the Nancy Drew books. Though it’s not one of Ms. Wirt’s books, my favorite is The Crooked Bannister. I loved the hot pink cover and all the double meanings in the mystery.

Sarah Burr

If I could share a meal and interview any author, living or deceased, I would choose Terry Goodkind. While primarily known for his fantasy-themed Sword of Truth series, Goodkind masterfully incorporated mystery elements into his storytelling—layering motivations, high-stakes deception, and the pursuit of justice.

My favorite of his works, Faith of the Fallen, exemplifies his ability to explore human nature and moral dilemmas, themes essential to compelling mysteries. I would be particularly interested in discussing his approach to crafting complex characters and uncovering what makes us "human" within his narratives. Though not a traditional mystery writer, Goodkind’s work reflects the very essence of the genre: the relentless search for truth.

Grace Topping

After reading the 17 books in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series, I almost feel that I know the author. So I would be delighted to interview or share dinner with Jacqueline Winspear. My favorite book in her series is the first, Maisie Dobbs, which Winspear wrote as a standalone book. The book proved to be so popular that her publisher urged her to make it a series. Reading her books makes me want to emulate Maisie and be a better person.

Paula Benson

I would choose Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, a Cuban born author who immigrated to Miami with her family and worked as a private investigator before writing her Lupe Solano mysteries, which is about a contemporary Cuban-born, Miami-raised PI. I had a chance to meet her at a local bookstore once. When she heard I read all her books except for the one out of print, she took down my address and sent me a copy of that book. My favorite of her series is Havana Heat, where Lupe has to sneak back into Havana to investigate a unicorn tapestry. Reading her books gave me a true appreciation of Cuban food. I would love to share a Cuban meal with her (including red beans and rice and sweet coffee).

Shari Randall

Hmmm, I always have so much trouble with this one. The first author that comes to mind is Agatha Christie, of course. I'd love to have tea with the Queen of Crime herself and ask where she got the ideas for all those wonderfully devious plots. My favorite is The Mirror Crack'd.

Annette Dashofy

I would have to go with Craig Johnson. I've had the opportunity to spend some time with him, but there's always a crowd of his adoring fans swarming around. I'd love to sit down to dinner with him (and our spouses) and just shoot the breeze because I love his humor. As for my favorite book of his... eeny, meeny, miney, moe. I'll pick Kindness Goes Unpunished, although you'd get a different answer on a different day.

Mary Dutta

I would love to have dinner with Wilkie Collins, author of The Moonstone. Published as a serial in 1868, it's one of the earliest mystery novels. I'm a Victorianist by training and a mystery writer by choice, so I think we could have a fascinating conversation about how he created his influential work and how the genre he helped shape has grown and changed since his time. He was also a good friend of Charles Dickens, and undoubtedly would have some interesting stories to share.

Korina Moss

It's so hard—there are so many. I might choose Ruth Rendell, because I like the way she gets into the psychology of her characters. Terrible to say, but I rarely remember the titles of specific books I love if I've read many from an author, so I can't pick a favorite.

Debra H. Goldstein

It would definitely be Shirley Jackson. I would like to discuss her short story, “The Lottery,” as well as her other works. That story is a masterpiece.

Margaret Hamilton

It would be a pleasure to have dinner with PD James. I would like to ask her if she started with a specific setting and then added the characters and plot, or did she have the crime and characters in mind first? My favorite James novel is Devices and Desires.

James M. Jackson

I'd love to have dinner and a long chat with Edgar Allan Poe. There is so much mystery about his life and death, I would love to hear his thoughts 175+ years after his death. I've read all his works. If I had to pick only one, it would be "The Tell-Tale Heart."

Connie Berry

If I could choose one mystery author, living or dead, to interview or join for dinner, I would choose G. K. Chesterton. Not only was he a critic, theologian, and the author of the wonderful Father Brown mysteries, but he was also the first president of the famous Detection Club in the late 1920s. As long as I’m at it, I’d ask him to allow me to attend one of the club’s first “informal discussions” about the mystery genre. I’d say nothing and just listen.

Nancy Eady

I would love to share a dinner with Rex Stout, if he had access to a cook half as good as Fritz, Nero Wolfe's cook. Fritz is supposed to be one of the best chefs in the world. My favorite Nero Wolfe book by Rex Stout is The Silent Speaker, although there are a lot of close seconds for me in that series.

Molly MacRae

I would love to have a quiet meal with Scottish mystery writer Josephine Tey. Tey (the penname of Elizabeth MacKintosh, 1896-1952) wrote traditional mysteries that bridged between Golden Age mysteries and modern psychological mysteries. If I could invite a friend to join us, I’d ask Connie Berry. Her wonderful Kate Hamilton series reminds me of Tey’s Inspector Grant series. If the meal can be arranged, I’ll be happy to cook. My favorite Josephine Tey book is Brat Farrar.