Rick Atwood, amateur sleuth in the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries, says, “There’s always something. A clue I missed. A look. It can be the smallest detail. In our last case, we were dealing with a killer who liked to write haikus. The clues were right there. But the trick is always in how we interpret the clues. If only I could have seen through what the killer was really saying, we might have gotten our killer a little sooner.

Marla Vail, amateur sleuth of the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, says, “I shouldn’t have been so headstrong or tactless in my approach to suspects. I still need to tamp my urge to interrogate people. It’s hard not to just ask the questions I want answered. I’ve learned to take a more roundabout approach and that helps to disarm the person.”

Sarah Blair, amateur sleuth of the Sarah Blair Mysteries, says, “There isn’t much I’d wish I’d done differently in any of my cases, but I wish I’d continued in college rather than dropping out after two weeks to marry the rat when I was eighteen. Finding myself divorced at twenty-eight with only RahRah the Siamese cat what I got out of the marriage was difficult. For me, the complete change in my lifestyle, coupled with no work skills and a lack of confidence, was something I had to overcome. I’ve always said I was a woman who found being in the kitchen more frightening than murder, but there were lots of things that I wish had played out differently.”

Miranda Trent, amateur sleuth of the Paint & Shine Mysteries, says, “I own the Paint & Shine cultural tourist business I established in Eastern Kentucky. I’ve got three cases behind me now. That’s a lot of thinking about crime, means, motives, and opportunities for murder. I’m still struggling with trust. All kinds of trust. Like trusting my instincts, trusting my friends and family, and trusting that justice will be served. I need more trust.”

Looking back on your adventures, is there anything you wish you had done differently in any of your cases? This is Nina Fleet from the Georgia B&B Mysteries. As I’m strictly an amateur when it comes to tracking down murderers, all I can do is my best. I suppose my one flaw is being a bit too trusting at times, which has put me in difficult or risky situations on occasion, but I can’t think of anything I would change.

Tabby Winslow, amateur sleuth of the Valona Jones (aka Maggie Toussaint) A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries, says, “They say hindsight is 20/20, and they are right. I didn’t know what I didn’t know when I was starting out. I’ve learned things along the way, but I don’t see how I could have done anything differently in the beginning. I’m an amateur sleuth. I’m not supposed to know all the ins and outs of detecting. Plus, I have my extra talents to call upon and they are indeed very helpful.”

Anastasia Pollack, reluctant amateur sleuth of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, says, “If I had used common sense and let the professionals do their job, I wouldn’t have nearly lost my life on several occasions. But I’m not convinced the guilty parties would have paid for their crimes if I hadn’t stepped in—reluctantly. Always reluctantly. I’m not someone who goes around sticking her nose into criminal activity out of curiosity or simply because I’m a busybody. I am first and foremost, a reluctant amateur sleuth.”