Celia Anne Constable Wakefield 1943-2026

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Dear readers, this is a post I never wanted to write. After a valiant 17-month fight with a particularly aggressive form of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, our dear Celia passed away. Her family had been with her, and friends had been visiting up until the last, sudden five days.

I'm a professional writer, but I can't find the words to say all that her friendship meant to me. I can say during the pandemic and the years afterwards, when she was unable to get out much because she was caring for her beloved Victor, this community was a Godsend. She felt she knew you, and that you knew her, and that broadened her world.  

The fact she was unable to do all the traveling (and mystery conferences) she had planned after Victor's passing leaves me more than a little bitter, and I know we don't swear on this blog, but Fuck. Cancer. It's taken far too many of the best of us.

She did make an appearance at last year's Crime Bake, and I thank everyone who helped plan her get-together, who stopped by, who hugged her and who gave her books or ARCs. (She loved getting ARCs - it made her feel like a mystery insider.) I leave you with her obituary, which I've annotated with links to some of her wonderful blog posts. Pick a recipe, invite friends over, and enjoy a meal together. That was the Celia Wakefield way.

 

 

 Celia Wakefield, of Limerick, Maine, died peacefully on June 27, 2026, at the age of 82. Born in 1943 in London, England, she was the daughter of Douglas and Patricia Constable. 

Celia led an adventurous early life. At six, she left London with her parents for Trinidad, where her father worked as an agronomist. After her sister and brother were born in 1950 and 1951, the family relocated to Ceylon. Celia returned to boarding school in the UK at 12. She rejoined her family in Ghana three years later. At 18, she moved back to London, lived on a houseboat on the Thames, and worked as a secretary at IBM, where she met Victor, her husband of 55 years. 

They married on May 23, 1969, and soon moved to New York City. They relocated to Chappaqua after their daughter, Olivia, was born in 1970 and they became U.S. citizens in 1993. 

Celia was a gifted costume maker, beginning with Olivia’s school productions and later bringing her creative talents to the Revels. She was also an accomplished cook and entrepreneur, founding The British Butler, a catering business, in the 1980s. Her smoked trout pâté was especially beloved. She loved music and dancing, spent happy summer weeks at Pinewoods Camp, and actively supported the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS). 

In 1999, Celia and Victor retired to their home on Lake Arrowhead in Maine, where they enjoyed entertaining friends and life by the lake.
She is survived by her daughter, Olivia, and son-in-law, Ken Wechsler; grandsons, Aidan and Connor Lee; her sister, Ros Constable, and Ros’ partner, Sandra Jenner. She was predeceased by her brother, Andrew, and is survived by his wife, Tina Redge Constable, and their children, Ella and Luke Constable. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Revels, Pinewoods Camp, Inc., or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  

What's On Your MInd?

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hi everyone! To paraphrase Taylor Swift, hi, it's me, I'm the technical difficulties, it's me. Everyone loved Hank's prompt - bless you, Hank, for leaping to my rescue - so I'm just going to add a few things and throw the question, What's on your mind?, back to you all!

 

The whole Lionel Messi giving a baby bath to Spain's Lamine Yamal event. Is it just me, or does it seem like something out of an ancient Greek drama to you, too? And will ambitious football parents be lining up, begging the soccer superstar to give their kids a wash-up?

 

Heat domes, or whatever they're calling them these days. Right now, it's literally perfect weather in Maine: high of 80°/27°, nights cool enough that I pulled out my duvet again. But then every couple of weeks, it feels like we've been put inside God's E-Z Bake Oven. 

 

I'm going to complain about the wildfire smoke. C'mon, Canadians. We KNOW you have Giant Atmospheric Shield Technology, why aren't you using it to protect us here in the US?!? It's because we beat you in hockey this past winter, isn't it. 

 

I've got to get a cat bubbler because 1) my vet suggests it to encourage my older cat to drink more for her kidney health and 2) the $15,000 cat won't drink until he's tossed enough water around to splatter all over my wooden kitchen floor. Any brand recommendations?

 

 I had a birthday last month, and now I'm enrolled in Medicare. On one hand, ugh, I'm officially a senior citizen. On the other, that sweet, sweet socialized health care! This is why we need Medicare for All in the US, so no one has to experience the moment as "Congratulations! One year closer to death! Here's your new insurance!"

 

This has been a weirdly tick-free summer in my neighborhood. Anyone else getting this?

 

Finally, a call to have a new type of celebration: the Friendaversary. This September will be the 50th anniversary of my high-school friend and I meeting. We've been through boyfriends, marriages, raising kids, widowhood, empty nesting and the above senior citizen thing, and we've decided we're going to do something fancy to celebrate US. What do you think? Do you have any friendaversary candidates in your life?

Kincaid/James Book Report

DEBORAH CROMBIE: You may have notice that I've been very mum about the progress of the latest Duncan and Gemma book (Kincaid/James#20) recently. But I do have NEWS!!

I finally, finally turned in the manuscript on the 2nd of June (a Tuesday--it's marked in huge red letters on my calendar.) I was jublilant, and giddy, and consumed with fingernail-gnawing nerves. Would my editor like it? This book is the first time we've worked together, and although she'd been enthusastic and supportive throughout, would she like the end? Did it all work?

And, yes, she did like it! Not only that, she made a lot of really helpful and insightful suggestions. All of you fellow writers will know how important it is to trust your editor and to have that sort of feedback. 

So I went back to work for another couple of weeks of revision, and then a break before a few last minute tweaks, and now the book has been sent off to production and I am waiting for the copy edit to land in my in-box any day.

Meanwhile, Book #20 has a title, A LONG COLD SLEEP (I got to keep my working title!) and a release date, 4/13/27, and a gorgeous cover.

I'm so thrilled with this!

I'm also happy to announce that the wonderful illustrator Laura Maestro will once again be doing the endpaper map, and that Gerard Doyle will be reading the audio version!

About the book:

When the shocking discovery of a body in the Regent’s Canal interrupts a riverboat tour, Metropolitan Police detectives Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid are called to investigate in the next twisty mystery from New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie.

A few months after his beloved wife’s death from cancer, Miles Deering wonders if he’ll ever get used to her absence. Then he discovers papers among her belongings that make him wonder if he ever really knew her at all…

The next day, Detective Inspector Gemma James is called to investigate a body that surfaced during a boat tour on the Regent’s Canal. It’s none other than Miles Deering, and it doesn’t look like he went into the water of his own accord. Still adjusting to her new station after a recent transfer, and mistrustful of her colleagues given the station’s reputation for discriminating against outsiders, Gemma calls on Duncan Kincaid for assistance.

Along with Gemma’s former partner, Melody Talbot, and Duncan’s sergeant, Doug Cullen, they begin to unravel the details of Miles Deering’s life. According to his friends and family, he was a well-off property developer with no obvious enemies. But Gemma can’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t a random killing—which means one of Miles’s nearest and dearest is lying.

Someone is hiding a secret worth killing for, and the detectives are determined to discover who. But as the team gets closer to a real answer, another attack puts the pressure on. To make matters more complicated, Gemma’s new boss seems intent on stymying her investigation. But Gemma, Kincaid, and their colleagues are willing to risk everything, including their careers, if it means catching a killer.

A LONG COLD SLEEP is now up for pre-order at all your favorite booksellers!

And of course I hope that everyone will pre-order, as it makes such a difference to the book's success.

Thanks to everyone--and especially my fellow Reds--for bearing with me over the loooooong making of this book. I hope you will find it worth the wait!!