Can You Guess Whodunnit?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  The scene: The couch, in front of the TV

The TV movie: a thriller

The characters: Hank and Jonathan

The actual dialogue:

HANK: Ooh. Someone’s gonna drown.

JONATHAN: How do you know that?

HANK: They have a swimming pool, for gosh sake.

JONATHAN: Is that the sister?

HANK:  Yeah. She’s bad.

JONATHAN:  How do you know?

HANK: Her fingernails are too long, and her skirt is too short.

JONATHAN:  Who’s that guy?

HANK: Nobody. Red herring.

JONATHAN: How do you know?

HANK: He looks too guilty.

JONATHAN: Can’t you just watch the movie? And not keep guessing?

HANK: What’s the fun of that?

Oh, Reds, you get the picture.  We are a species unto ourselves—as the wonderful Elizabeth Heiter explains.

(And here’s my prediction for the brand new Elizabeth Heiter novel STALKED: yet ANOTHER wonderful bestselling and buzzable novel of suspense!)

Following the Clues 

By Elizabeth Heiter

I’ve always loved puzzles.  Figuring out exactly how each piece fits to form the full picture.  Being the first one to announce, “It was Mrs. Peacock in the Study with the Candlestick!”  

When I was younger, my mom (a math teacher) would give her high school students extra credit in the form of mind teasers – you’d have to use the clues to put Xs in a grid until you figured out the answers.  To her students, they were a series of challenges throughout the year to help push them from an A- to an A.  For me, they were just fun.  I read Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys by the hundreds (if only I still had those huge rows of books, because now my niece is reading the chapter-book versions…).  

So, it probably came as no surprise to anyone in my family when I began writing mysteries.  Because I love to create the puzzle as much as I love to solve it.

In my latest book, STALKED, there is no Study and no Candlestick.  Instead, popular high school student Haley Cooke disappears from inside her high school.  No one knows if she’s dead or alive, but she’s left a note behind foretelling her own death.  And when FBI profiler Evelyn Baine gets involved, there’s no shortage of suspects:

Linda Varner: Haley’s mom appears to be the devastated parent of a missing child.  She’s quit her job and spends every waking hour searching for ways to get attention on Haley’s case.  But her ex-husband claims Haley ran away, and Evelyn has seen cases before where a supposedly grieving family member wanted to extend their fifteen minutes of fame…

Bill Cooke: Haley’s father seems completely unconcerned that his daughter is missing.  Does he have proof of claims that she ran away from an abusive home that he won’t share because he really thinks she’s safer on her own?  Or is he calm because he knows exactly where Haley is for a much darker reason?

Pete Varner: Haley’s friends claim she didn’t like her new step-father.  Could the feeling be mutual?

Jordan Biltmore: Haley’s older, college-age boyfriend was the last one to see her.  Other students at Haley’s school watched him drop Haley off and drive away, but could he have snuck back around and grabbed her?

Marissa Anderson: Haley’s best friend seems frantic for the police to find Haley.  But a closer look shows she’s jealous of Haley’s life – and her boyfriend.  Could she have been involved in Haley’s disappearance?

The deeper Evelyn digs into Haley’s life, the more possibilities arise, including a connection to fellow agent – and her new boyfriend – Kyle McKenzie’s case.  The only thing certain is that if Evelyn doesn’t find out what happened to Haley fast, she may follow Haley’s fate.

So, readers, how do you feel about puzzles?  Do you like them complicated and twisty; do you like to guess “whodunit” before the end?  Or do you prefer to sit back and enjoy the journey and the surprise?

HANK: Cannot wait to hear! You know I'm firmly in the figure-it-out camp!

About STALKED:

If you’re reading this, I’m already dead…

That’s the note seventeen-year-old Haley Cooke leaves behind when she disappears from inside her high school. FBI profiler Evelyn Baine is called in to figure out who had reason to hurt her. On the surface, the popular cheerleader has no enemies, but as Evelyn digs deeper, she discovers that everyone close to Haley has something to hide. Everyone from estranged parents to an older boyfriend with questionable connections to a best friend who envies Haley’s life.

Secrets can be deadly…

One of those secrets may have gotten Haley killed. If she’s still alive, Evelyn knows that the more the investigation ramps up, the more pressure they could be putting on her kidnapper to make her disappear for good. It’s also possible that Haley isn’t in danger at all, but has skillfully manipulated everyone and staged her own disappearance. Only one thing is certain: uncovering Haley’s fate could be dangerous—even deadly—to Evelyn herself.

About Elizabeth Heiter:

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author ELIZABETH HEITER  likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages; they've also been shortlisted for the Daphne Du Maurier award, the National Readers' Choice award and the Booksellers' Best award and won the RT Reviewers' Choice award.

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The Profiler Series: Hunted | Vanished | Avenged | Seized | Stalked

The Lawmen Series: Disarming Detective | Seduced by the Sniper | SWAT Secret Admirer

Get a Clue — Board Games in the Video Age

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: We’ve recently decided that Friday is pizza and board game night (no electronics of any sort allowed). The Kiddo is just the right age for one of my favorites, Clue. (Does anyone remember it? It was created in 1949 and has just kept on going…) Anyway, I went to our local game store to buy it— and was delighted to hear the owner say sales of board games are up. 

Huzzah! Are we turning back to actual games, played by actual people, with actual snacks? 

(The last part is of utmost importance here…)

As a mystery writer, I love Clue — a grand British manor house, lots of questionable characters (I’m always suspicious of Professor Plum), and
a murder to be solved. 

Last night, it started to rain as we played and the Kiddo declared, “This is perfect! ‘It was a dark and stormy
night…’" 

And so I ask my fellow
Reds — do you remember Clue? 

What were your favorite
board games as a child? 

And do you ever play board
games now?





RHYS BOWEN: My family has always loved board games. TABOO has been a favorite for a long while (you have to 

describe something without using a list of words. The grandkids are really good at it). 

But we used to love Clue when the kids were growing up. Scrabble, Boggle... anything with words these days.

I also belong to a board games group at my local AAUW chapter. Very therapeutic with lots of laughter. Our favorite is Cranium (see, we're brainy ladies) and also a card game called Quiddler.

HANK (MISS SCARLETT) PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, CLUE! 

Kidding me? We loved Clue and we played it ALL the time, with much delight, and I attribute my entire career to it.

Well, not really, but I am still enchanted, seriously, thinking about how it made us all think, and how it was different every time, and every time I hear the word "conservatory" I wonder if there's a secret passage.

I used to look back at the used score sheets, and remember how the stories turned out.

I scarfed up Miss Scarlett, wouldn't  play, I fear, if I wasn't her.  Funnily, now, I would pick to be Colonel Mustard, because he's the iconic one, right? Mrs. White, boring. Who was blue and black? Trying to remember...

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Dear Hank, er, Miss Scarlett — Blue is Mrs. Peacock and then there's Mr. Green. No black. (Or anyone Black, as Noel and Miss Edna would say.) So funny you loved Miss Scarlett (who doesn't?) and are now a Jungle Red! Did you all do funny voices? We do. Our Miss Scarlett sounds like Marilyn Monroe.



JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I love, love, love CLUE, although it's a bit of  hard sell sometimes with my family - I tend to win a lot (okay, almost always) and they say I have an unfair advantage. I always play Mrs. White, my son is Mr. Green (apparently Rev. Green in the recent updated game) the Smithie is Prof. Plum and Youngest is Miss Scarlett. The movie is an absolute hoot as well, if you haven't seen it.

We also love Monopoly. I don't think we've ever actually finished a game, but we always dissolve into shrieks of laughter and in-jokes during play.

Ross and the kids challenge each other to chess (which I am hopeless at.) Ross's favorite game is RISK, which is a bit too much like history class homework for me. The one game we two can agree on is Scrabble. He trounces me.

My favorite board game as a kid? THE GAME OF LIFE. Who didn't love getting assigned a career, collecting a spouse and children, and driving the tiny plastic car up hill and down on your way to retire in either Millionaire Acres or a refrigerator box?



DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Oh, I love board games! So does my daughter, but hubby HATES them, so daughter and I only play occasionally. Not sure about son-in-law--will have to find out. I loved Clue, and Monopoly, and Risk, and Scrabble. But my all-time favorite was Trivial Pursuit. Does that count as a real board game? I'm always tempted by the new updated versions, but don't know anyone except my daughter who will play with me.

Hank, of COURSE you were Miss Scarlet! 



SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Debs, we have the Disney Trivial Pursuit game! Love it!

Lovely readers, do you remember Clue? 

What were your favorite board games as a child? 

And do you ever play board games now?

PERHAPS.....MAYBE...PROBABLY

ROSEMARY: One day I will do a "find and replace" search in one of my books for the words maybe, perhaps and probably. I've weaned myself from a little, some and a few, but no matter how hard I try probably, perhaps and maybe keep cropping up on the pages.

I tell myself that because I write an amateur sleuth and the situations and crimes are not related to weapons of mass destruction (although a couple of maybes in that area probably wouldn't have been out of line..) or global destruction, and my characters are not law enforcement professionals - THEY'RE NOT SURE. THEY'RE AMATEURS FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Sometimes it's unavoidable. You don't especially want to telegraph a clue, but an amateur sleuth has to have the occasional lightbulb moment otherwise she's clairvoyant (not necessarily a bad thing, just not the character I'm writing these days.)
"OMG, perhaps Colonel Mustard wasn't really in the kitchen with a knife. Maybe it was. . ." I don't remember any other names from Clue so you fill in the blanks.

Does anyone else feel the pull of these qualifying words? Any other words or phrases you'd like to eliminate but can't? (No fair saying things like "baby bump" - most of us would like to see that go away.)

HANK: Miss Scarlet. That's who I always was. I always do an edit-find for "just." Just asking, just saying, just do it, just thought of, just wondering, just a little, AHHHHHH!!! I just use it so--ah, I mean, I use it so often.

I also edit-find for really, nodded and shrugged.

Maybe, perhaps and probably. Huh. You know, I never thought about overusing those words. Thinking back over my new ms, I just bet that--I mean, I bet that maybe is there pretty often. Hmm. I'll give you a full report.

HALLIE: Hank took my word. Just.

I agree, qualifying words are all suspect. Like really and very. (As in "he was really loud very often.") They're really waffle words. They add to your word count but otherwise contribute little.

And most -ly adverbs, she said sagely, do not survive my sniff test.

And just (oooh, it's hard not to do it) about any verb used in place of 'said' or 'asked' with dialogue has to go.

JULIA: I heartily agree with Hallie's stand on speedily eliminating adverbs. I've done an 'ly' search when my last two books were in manuscript form to check on all my adverbs. It took forever! But it enabled me to make sure if I used an adverb, it was intentional.

My other word problem? I tend to fall in love with one word and use it way too many times. In my first book, people were CONSTANTLY 'levering' themselves out of chairs. In one of my more recent ones (memory mercifully clouds) I used 'eviscerate' at least three times. And I'm not writing about Hannibal Lecter!

ROSEMARY: I'm pretty good (qualifying?) about said but I have been known to have someone whisper. C'mon...if they're hiding..?

RHYS: I have to stop my characters from smiling, grinning, chuckling and laughing. They keep wanting to do it and I have to keep reminding them that they must stay somber at all times! Oh and also guilty of adding qualifiers to the word said (sharply, sweetly, abruptly, angrily etc etc).
Not guilty about the use of maybe. My characters are somewhat cocky and believe in themselves,however misguided this is!

ROSEMARY: I feel better about maybe if Rhys says it's okay.

ROBERTA: I was always Miss Scarlet too, Hank. Not maybe or probably. And ditto, "just" is my downfall. "Just as she reached for the doorknob..." "Just as she crossed over the bridge..." For some reason, it seems like the perfect, perfect transition. If I went through and cut them all out, I'd be in danger of losing half my manuscript. Sigh...

JULIA: I'm always Mrs. White, just like I'm always the thimble in Monopoly. Typecast by my children.

DEB: I, too, suffer from just disease. And what about suddenly? I can USUALLY find something to replace just, but there doesn't seem to be anything that quite does the job of suddenly. "In that instant"? Oh, and that last sentence reminds me--I have a bad "quite" habit, too. Or as well . . . And my characters say bloody much too often. But it's JUST such a good expressive curse. I think it would be worth being British just to say bloody on a regular basis.

ROSEMARY: Any words you write or read a little too often for comfort?