Small Towns, The Perfect Mystery Setting - by Judy L. Murray

“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.” Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches by Arthur Conan Doyle

The English may think they have the corner on dangerous villages, but we prolific American writers also create lots of small-town settings that affect our characters’ lives and charm our readers. We know small towns make for perfect incidents of murrrr-der whether we choose the Chesapeake Bay, the Midwest, or the Colorado mountains.

Cabot Cove, the beloved hometown of Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote, will always be one of the most famous mystery series locations, proving that cozies belong in villages. With boats in the harbor, a country doctor, and a small-time sheriff, Jessica’s travails became a genre theme. Over the years small towns as a location evolved into private jokes among authors. After all, how many murders can any one town handle?

What makes small towns the perfect cozy setting? Being from a small town in Pennsylvania, I think of local shops, teachers who taught generations, three-person sheriff departments, and two traffic lights. The anonymity a killer might count as an advantage in a big city is far less likely in a small town. Local killers have a harder time dreaming up alibis because everyone knows each other’s business, for good and for bad. If he’s new to the community, he’ll stand out like a red Maserati parked next to an old pickup truck.

Readers enjoy a small-town sense of community. They get emotionally involved with a book’s familiar cast of characters, even the annoying ones. Parks, shops, and libraries where characters meet to discuss the latest news are endearing. It adds to the shock and concern of a murder just discovered. Who did it? Why? Is the killer one of us? Gossip and accusations fly. Townspeople are less likely to set bad news aside and continue their lives untouched. Some will circle the wagons. Some will spill the beans. Someone decides to do some sleuthing.

The bakery, the church, and the hardware store all form an even smaller microcosm within the town setting. It’s here where co-workers become family even when not related. They are dependable and close-knit. They either welcome a newcomer or regard the newcomer with suspicion.

A crime in a small village provides a different element of fear, unlike a crime in a big city of strangers. The person killed isn’t a stranger. They know the victim personally. And the killer is highly likely to be someone they know. Secrets are closely guarded and loyalties are long, even when misguided. The town buzz is fodder for useless clues and valuable insight.

Amateur sleuths in small towns tend to nosey into solving crimes and step on the law’s toes. They’re good at talking among the locals to flush out clues. The small police force with limited resources may initially discount our sleuths’ abilities but grudgingly come around to their intrusions and deductions.

Although we might joke about the frequency of small-town crimes like in Cabot Cove, as readers we’re perfectly happy to set those doubts aside. We fall in love with the odd mix of characters. We stay up at night turning pages while we sort through the drama, the danger, the clues and the missteps. We hope we can ferret out the killer before the sleuth. Much like the all-too-famous line about Vegas, what happens in small towns stays in small towns. Until the next dead body. And that’s part of the fun.

Seven Mistakes Every Author Makes by Judy L. Murray

Whether you are working on your first novel or your tenth, you cannot help but wonder what elements strengthen your storyline, attract a publisher, and grow your readership. If I’m not writing or reading, I often tap into different courses, YouTubes, newsletters, and blogs like our fabulous Writers Who Kill to help me improve.

Writing coach and professional editor Patrick Walsh offers YouTube posts with succinct advice that even the most experienced could use. He reminds us that good intentions don’t make good books. Good writing decisions do.

What are those good decisions? Patrick names seven mistakes often invisible to writers until someone else points them out. Let’s review. 1) Explanation Addiction: The propensity to explain something the reader already knows. “She slammed the door behind her. She was angry.” Explanation addiction is apparent every time we explain something the reader already knows. Each time you describe an emotion, stop, and ask yourself if you have already demonstrated it.

2) Overly Elaborate Dialogue: Patrick reminds us that real life dialogue is messy. When we talk, we hesitate, we stumble. If your dialogue is too neat, too smooth, too proper, it probably needs revision. Messy dialogue is far more interesting, more believable.

3) Point of View Slips: It takes a lot of practice to avoid POV slips. My first agent was an expert at correcting me until the concept jelled. His head then her head then his head. Stay within character.

4) Stakes do not Land: Patrick reminds us that often a book’s failure is because the protagonist(s) stakes are not high enough. What is the human cost? In my latest, Villain in the Vineyard, Helen Morrisey is harassed by a hoodlum who is graffitiing her clients’ homes. It is frustrating and even embarrassing. Or are these escalating attacks a targeted attempt to devastate her family, ruin her reputation, and drive her out of town. Keep readers turning your pages by elevating the stakes within every scene.

5) Pacing at the same Speed: When you write and revise ask yourself if every sentence is the same length. Every writer has their own style of writing. But fragmented sentences can help you vary the pace.

6) Starting Late: Is your story starting too late? The start of a story is a moment that changes everything. The start is not when your character begins their day. A detective’s story does not begin while he’s shaving. Not when he pours himself a cup of coffee. His story starts the moment he arrives at a crime scene.

7) Overwriting: This reminds me of Explanation Addiction. It’s human to feel compelled to elaborate, like the person in a conversation who repeats their story a second time. We can be so enamored with our perfect, beautiful phrases, we can forget the storyline. Patrick advises us to let your readers fill in the gaps. Their imagination is stronger than your elaborate descriptions which might bog down the pace and the dialogue. Don’t let overwriting for your personal pleasure dilute the stakes.

I’ll be reviewing Patrick’s checkpoints in 2026 as I work on my next book. I am curious. Which of these mistakes do you tend to make as you work?

You can find more of Patrick Harris’ advice at https://www.youtube.com/@publishingpushofficial

Find out more about me at Https://www.judylmurraymysteries.com

Do You Believe in Serendipity? - By Judy L. Murray

…In good karma? Or is it just coincidence? Jane Marple considers coincidence suspect, often deliberate. Yet I’ve decided as writers we experience ‘accidental’ moments quite often.

Last week my husband and I took a quick two-night trip. We were hungry for a bit of adventure before a big surgery. I picked a large historic B&B in Connecticut. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Charming, immaculate, and with delightful touches. But within hours he was under the weather. I was left to myself while he slept through the two days.

Restless and alone, I tucked into a tiny side room on the B&B’s first floor when a small dark-haired woman looked in. “I’m sorry, I was curious about this spot. I didn’t mean to intrude.” She smiled. I smiled back. “Of course not,” I replied. “My husband is sleeping. I’m returning a few calls.” The woman lifted two wine glasses in her hand. “My friends and I are in the fireplace room. Do you want to join us?” I began to protest, then stopped. “That’s so nice of you. I think I will.”

Which leads me to the subject of ‘community’ and how karma can pull us together at just the right time. The definition is ‘a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society’.

In mysteries, authors tend to place their protagonist within their own imagined community. It might be Port Anne, a small Maryland town on the Chesapeake in my series. Perhaps a community is like the famous Jane Marple’s St. Mary Mead or Jessica Fletcher’s Cabot Cove. It’s not just geography. Community incorporates characters’ work, personal hobbies, the styles and ages of their houses, even the weather. It becomes a shared commonality that binds residents together or perhaps drives them apart.

The term community is an important means for building reader attachment. Good writers inspire their readers to feel emotionally connected to their characters. Certainly in a series, fans anticipate the next book because of their evolving affection for a circle of characters. We laugh at the silly ones, root for those fighting crime, and cheer at the conclusion.

Writing can feel lonely. Yet we also know our characters become our special community of friends while we create their story. And the real people we meet when we’re out and about can provide us encouragement. Readers send me photos of my books on coffee tables, book shelves, beach chairs, and tote bags. They drive an hour and a half from home to purchase their signed copy at a signing. Their efforts to reach out touches my heart. It leaves me grateful. They become a vast community that keeps me writing.

Do you have an incident where karma or coincidence evolved into building your readership community? I wonder if our readers know how important they are to us or influence our stories.

Judy

Author, The Chesapeake Bay Mysteries Series