by Cynthia Chow

This week we have a review of the first book in a fun new mystery series, Board to Death: A Board Game Shop Mystery by C.J. Connor, along with an interesting interview with C.J. KRL tries to feature queer authors as much as possible so we are excited to be featuring C.J. today–C.J. identifies as transmasculine and their main character is gay. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

Board to Death: A Board Game Shop Mystery by C.J. Connor
Review by Cynthia Chow

Ben Rosencrantz never planned on spending his 30th birthday back in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, and he especially didn’t envision having to take over his father’s Of Dice and Decks board game store. Growing up as the only out person in his school and being an unabashed fantasy and sci-fi nerd in the largely Mormon population always made Ben feel like an outsider, so he was happy to escape to graduate school and become an adjunct professor of English in Seattle. An emotionally devastating divorce and his father’s ill health are reasons enough to cause Ben to return home, as he will be able to recover from his emotional wounds while helping his father deal with his physical ones.

The store specializing in nostalgic tabletop games is unsurprisingly struggling, but even Ben isn’t naïve enough to be sucked into the offer to buy a $100,000 game for only $10,000. Clive Newton is offering a bargain basement price for a first edition of The Landlord’s Game, the anti-corporation board game that was ironically twisted by the Parker Brothers into the world-renowned game of Monopoly. Ben knows it’s just too good to be true, but while he dodges that scheme, he isn’t able to avoid finding Clive at the shop doorstep with a knife sticking out of his chest.

While Ben would prefer to roll into a ball and just hope that the police will figure everything out, his father insists that they must clear their names and track down the killer. Similarly encouraging action is neighboring flower business owner Ezra McCaslin, whom Ben finds undeniably attractive and nice despite Ben’s declaration that he is not ready to date. A bag filled with $10,000 in cash left on the shop doorstep looks just a bit incriminating though, so Ben reluctantly joins Ezra in tracking down Clive’s past business contacts and fellow game collectors. This at least allows Ben and Ezra to attend Salty Con, a Utah gaming convention filled with geeky fans of fantasy and board games. As someone who wrote his dissertation on the history of fantasy genre and taught courses in Tolkien and Portal Fantasy metaphysics, Ben is able to seek out information from fellow nerds and even share his passions with someone he could grow to be passionate about.

This first in the series introduces a very likable lead character who truly would prefer to do anything but investigate. Ben grows throughout this novel as he moves out of his comfort zones while still engaging with the academic world, but it’s tabletop gaming that takes center stage by proving to be more than just games. Ben and his father’s board game store is a welcome community space for players to share life stories, memories, and find a common bond. The history of board games is as fascinating as the town community, with rules of different games as fun as they are often complicated. The solitaire-like game of Nertz may go over the heads of many, so detailed rules are helpfully included in the end. This unique board game shop delights readers who may be overwhelmed with the prevalence of today’s computer and online gaming and takes them back to a time of face-to-face meetings and personal connections. Ben and his friends are similarly engaging, and fans of mysteries, sci-fi, and board games will look forward to the next appearance by this fantasy loving, introverted, bookish new hero.

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Interview with C.J. Connor:

KRL: How long have you been writing?

CJ: I wrote my first manuscript when I was fifteen years old during NaNoWriMo more than ten years ago. Board to Death is my first published novel.

KRL: I understand that this is your first cozy mystery, would you tell us a little about it?

CJ: Board to Death is the first in the Board Game Shop Mystery series starring Ben Rosencrantz, a thirty-year-old adjunct English professor taking a hiatus from his career to help run his dad’s board game shop in Salt Lake City. While adjusting to life back in his hometown – and on the heels of a painful divorce – he runs into a shady toy and game collector named Clive Newton, who is murdered shortly after he and Ben had a public argument about the legitimacy of Clive’s items for sale.

Not only must Ben keep his dad’s shop afloat, but now he must clear his name of murder by conducting an amateur investigation. Something that does not come easy for Ben. He is a shy and absent-minded professor type, though enlisting the help of extroverted florist, Ezra McCaslin, makes up for his fledgling sleuthing skills and revives his lost hope in romance.

C.J. Connor

KRL: Have you always written mysteries, and if not, what else have you written?

CJ: I’m a reader of most every genre. One of my favorite pastimes is browsing my library’s new release shelves and borrowing whatever catches my eye, and so I’ve written a variety as well. Mainly I write queer romance and mystery, though I’d love to dabble in cozy fantasy one day as well. It makes me very happy that other genres are starting to build their own cozy niches!

KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters for your book and will it be a series?

CJ: My husband is an avid board game fan, so I spend a lot of time in local shops across Utah. I love the community that forms around them and how welcoming they are, especially for people who might struggle in social situations or who often feel alienated in mainstream Utah culture, e.g. board game shops, for example, tend to be LGBTQ-friendly. I love cozy mysteries that are set around an intriguing subculture and that feature a charming small business. The board game store setting allowed me to have fun with both.

It is indeed a series! I’m currently working on the second called Killer Cube, which dives into the competitive world of Rubik’s Cube speed-solving.

KRL: How fun! Are you a fan of board games? If so, what is your favorite one?

CJ: I love board games. My mom’s side of the family has game nights on the holidays, family reunions, and pretty much any time we get together. It is not an easy feat, as my mom has six siblings and I have more cousins than I can count. My favorites are tile placement games, especially Kingdomino, Azul, and Rummikub. I also like games with a mystery or world-building element like Betrayal at the House on the Hill or Gloomhaven.

KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to experience from your work?

CJ: I write for two reasons, mainly. One takes its inspiration from a quote by J.R.R. Tolkien on the value of escapism in fiction: “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? … If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”

In my hardest moments, it’s the stories I’ve read that have helped me get through. Some have characters that inspired bravery in me as I faced my own challenges. Others let me escape from my problems for a while. Both were valuable in different ways. I want the books I write to bring light to people’s lives as they get through their own hardships, whether that’s inspiring them in some way or providing them with escapism.

The other reason I write is to foster a sense of belonging and empathy for queer people. Growing up, I had access to hardly any books about queer people – let alone ones that ended happily and none at all set in Utah. It was very lonely, and I don’t want any reader to feel the way I did back then. I believe that stories can be comforting for readers to help them know they are not alone and that they belong. Every person needs that. I also think stories about queer people can open the minds of straight or cisgender readers to realizing that queer people are human beings, just like them, and inspiring more empathy in the real world.

KRL: Amen to all of that! Do you have a schedule for your writing or just work whenever you can?

CJ: The older I get, the more I love having a schedule. I’m too tired to just “wing it” like I could in high school or college and wait until the last minute to rush everything. I try to get a little done every day so that as a deadline approaches, I don’t have to scramble as much.

KRL: What is your ideal time to write?

CJ: I prefer to work in the mornings, around five or six if I can manage it. That’s how it’s always been for me, ever since I was a teenager. It tends to be when my brain is at its most creative and willing to work. Plus, it lets me continue the rest of my day without the guilt for having not yet written burdening me, and it lets me spend the evenings with my husband.

KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

CJ: Definitely! Especially for mysteries. I like to build out story outlines and scene descriptions before I start drafting to keep the narrative focused and make revisions a little easier.

KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning? Did being a queer writer make that any more difficult?

CJ: That’s a good question. I think if I had tried to query a gay cozy mystery even five years ago, it would have been very challenging. Part of the reason why I began writing cozy mysteries in 2020 came from my interest in reading more and being unable to find a lot. Thankfully, the genre has come a long way in the past few years. I’m grateful to authors like Rob Osler, Zac Bissonnette, Frank Anthony Polito, Hannah Hendy, and Mark Waddell whose “quozy” mysteries helped open the door and I hope for even more growth in the subgenre.

KRL: Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d like to share?

CJ: I queried my agent Jessica Faust specifically because she put out a call for cozy mysteries by under-represented voices in the genre. To me, that speaks on how important it is for publishing industry professionals to welcome and make space for voices who are often left out of genres.

KRL: What are your future writing goals?

CJ: In the near future, I’d love to try my hand at a romantic comedy. I have an idea for one involving a marriage of convenience starring two graduate students and set in the town where I went to college that I’d love to find a home for someday.

KRL: Who are your writing heroes?

CJ: Douglas Adams is one of my biggest inspirations. I love how he responded to the vastness and uncertainty of the universe with humor and awe.

Meeting Eoin Colfer when I was 15 at a Provo Library signing was also a milestone moment in my life. Being able to meet an author in person and ask questions about the inspirations and process was the coolest thing! I remember my dad asked him to sign his book “to Squilliam” as a joke, and he looked at my dad, paused, and said, “I’m not gonna get sued for this, am I?” So, when Board to Death came out and my dad asked me to sign a copy “to Squilliam” for him, it was a surprisingly touching thing to me for such a silly ask.

KRL: What kind of research do you do?

CJ: For the Board Game Shop series, I try to read and watch a variety of nonfiction about the gaming subcultures I’m portraying or any historical context for the games mentioned. Research for Board to Death, for example, involved learning a lot about the history of Monopoly. For its sequel Killer Cube, I’ve been watching documentaries about Rubik’s Cube speed solvers.

KRL: What do you like to read?

CJ: Anything I can get my hands on, really. The only genre I don’t read much of is horror as it doesn’t mix well with my obsessive-compulsive disorder, though I read some gothic fiction. Other than that, I love any book that introduces me to compelling characters or teaches me something new about a subject I didn’t know much about.

KRL: What are your favorite TV shows or movies?

CJ: I grew up watching a lot of Psych and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Those will always be comfort watches to me. I also love Community, Good Omens, and Midnight Diner. As far as movies go, my favorites are the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (couldn’t pick a favorite between them) and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.

KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

CJ: I have a small Star Trek book collection and of them, I am most proud of finding a first edition of Killing Time by Della Van Hise. Yes, that one! One day, I would love to find a copy of Andrew Robinson’s A Stitch in Time. That one is much harder to find, though I’ve heard an audiobook is coming out soon.

KRL: Do you have any pets?

CJ: I have one Chihuahua, who was the inspiration for Ben’s dog in Board to Death. Her name is Yoda, and she is my best friend. She loves sun basking, sniffing the air outside on a nice day, and burrowing in piles of blankets.

KRL: Is there anything you would like to add?

CJ: Thanks for having me! I love reading your cozy mystery author interviews and am excited to have my own feature.

KRL: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us and for the kind words!
Website? Twitter? Facebook? Instagram?

CJ: I’m on Instagram at @cjconnorwrites and my website is cjconnorwrites.com!

Check out this month’s Queer Mystery Coming Attractions in KRL this week as well!

To enter to win a copy of Board to Death, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “board” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 30, 2023. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode goes up next week.

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