by Ellen Byerrum

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.

For me. A book usually starts with an idea, a character, a line of dialog. I always love the idea for a new story or another in the Crime of Fashion Mysteries but the execution is difficult. Writing is a balancing act, juggling characters, plot lines, and clues. And it’s always easier to write in my mind than at my desk.

However, with my latest book, Crook Tales for Two, which starts a brand-new series set right after Prohibition ends, the story came to me a dream. Literally.

Do you know the feeling when you have a dream that makes perfect sense and engages you, proceeds in a logical manner, and is so immediate and startling that you can’t forget, and you can’t let go? You hear the sounds, see the colors, sense the perfume, and follow the story step by step.

That happened to me with Crook Tales. When I woke from the dream, I knew the two main characters, the person who dies, and that it all happened in New York City in 1934, as it turns out on Columbus Day. When that happens, it’s no use saying it was just a dream. It was a gift from the dream world.

For months after the dream, and even now, I keep running into that particular year, in pre-code movies, magazines, and books, and finding dates when certain businesses were established, when restaurants first opened, like the Rainbow Room and Tavern on the Green.

My latest book combines a variety of my interests. Main character Esmé de LaForet is a fledgling playwright and former reporter, who loves costumes and mystery and possibly a certain private investigator. And she winds up in trouble for trying to do the right thing. As she tells us:

It occurred to me that if I hadn’t tried to do a good deed and return the gold watch Mr. Scavullo left at the lunch counter, a strange man wouldn’t be holding me at gunpoint.

That was the problem with good deeds, Unintended consequences.

This book is about ambition and detours along the way to success, whether they might be gangster, theatre people, and romantic mystery men.

The dress that helped inspire my writing

On the other hand, the research was altogether too tempting. For instance, I could read the New York Times online archives, and find out what was happening every day in which the book takes place. The Lindbergh kidnapping and Bruno Hauptmann trial were at top of the news, as were various crimes, including several bootleggers who were gunned down. That’s always helpful when you’re writing a mystery.

The Depression left its mark in many ways. There were an awful lot of kidnappings across the country, bootleggers meeting their fates, and stories of fortunes hidden in the homes of wealthy recluses. When one elderly woman died, her relations found she had hidden a half million dollars in her house, in cash, stocks and bonds. Some of it was buried under the floorboards. There were breadlines for the starving, but wealthy socialites people were kicking up their heels at the Cotton Club.

Perusing the newspapers and magazines of the period makes it way too easy to stop and say, “Scotch was two dollars a bottle!” The advertisements for clothes and apartments are also fascinating as well as the options for hotels for women.

Let’s not forget the clothes

In my Crime of Fashion mystery series I dwell on clothes and fashion clues. I don’t use clothes in the same way, but I have not forgotten the clothes in this book because the 1930s were all about glamour, and champagne and elaborate costumes inside and out of the theatre.

There is a particular a1930s gold lamé gown in my own collection of vintage garments that inspired me throughout the book. It is a one-of-a-kind couture dress that I took to a book signing to show how an item can offer a real feel for the period. My book signing was held at a vintage clothing store, Wear It Again, Sam, in Fort Collins and I was delighted that one of the women there tried it on so we could all see it and imagine dancing the night away at a stylish nightclub where everyone dressed up to “Put on the Ritz.”

I recommend enjoying Crook Tales for Two with a cocktail or beverage of your choice and some soft tunes from the 1930s playing in the background. Cheers!

You can click here to purchase this book.

To enter to win a signed copy of Crook Tales for Two, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “crook” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 6, 2024. 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.

Mystery and thriller writer Ellen Byerrum is a former journalist in Washington, D.C., as well as a produced and published playwright. She is the author of the Crime of Fashion Mysteries. Her latest book, Crook Tales for Two, is a departure from her previous books in terms of setting and time, but it is still screwball noir, incorporating mystery, comedy, and romance. Ellen has also written a middle grade mystery, short stories, and a children’s picture book, Sherlocktopus Holmes: Eight Arms of the Law.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.