Would you do some sleuthing?
Given that you’ve spent years writing about amateurs solving crimes, how do you think you’d do investigating a murder…or would you leave that to the pros?
- Terry Ambrose:
Having been a skip tracer and bill collector for years who dealt with people in some rather unsafe situations, I doubt that I would ever go full-on the way my amateur sleuths do. I suppose if I were passionate enough about the crime, I’d find it difficult not to do some investigating, but going out into the field again? Not likely. Let the guys with the badges and the guns deal with that!
- Nancy J. Cohen:
I would definitely leave it to the pros. I don’t have the guts to get involved and would prefer to observe on the sidelines, if at all. Cozy mysteries have an element of fantasy in which the sleuth doesn’t get seriously hurt and the bad guy is always caught. That doesn’t happen in real life.
- Debra H. Goldstein:
If I stumbled upon a murder, I’d leave it to the pros – at least for a few hours. Then, I’d start asking questions and nosing about for information that people refuse to give me directly.
- Cheryl Hollon:
I think I would be effective, but very irritating to the local detectives. Like most cozy sleuths, I have a keen sense of observation due to both my engineering and artistic background. I am also problem-oriented and can see solutions where others only see issues.
- Diane A.S. Stuckart:
When it comes to real-life murders, I can be a dedicated armchair detective…mostly working out how I could turn a particular crime into a mystery novel plot. But as far as actually investigating, I would definitely leave that to the pros. No way would I want to interfere and possibly do something that would allow a killer to go free.
- Maggie Toussaint:
I’m trying not to fall out of my chair laughing! I am such an armchair detective and much too clumsy for stealth. While it’s one thing to guess whodunnit in a TV show or a movie, unearthing the truth in real life is a different ball game. I would definitely leave it to the pros!
- Lois Winston
I’d definitely leave it to the pros. Even though I base all my plots in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries on actual events I’ve read about, I write fiction. In the end, the good guys always win. My amateur sleuth live to see another day in another book. That’s not always the case in real life, even with professional sleuths.
As you can see, we're split. Some would dive in and others would let the pros take over. What would you do? We'd love to hear!
I would definitely leave it to the pros.