As an author who started her career by writing romantic comedies, the transition to weaving mysteries and thrillers is as difficult as it’s interesting. I won’t lie to you, my research into crime psychology took me to some very dark places, but it’s both fascinating and horrifying to see what makes people tick.
Of course, I do it from the safety of my own home, unlike real-life detectives.
Since I have no background as a crime-fighter, when I created my fictional world of crime-solving heroes in The Irish Garda Files, I wanted to offer my readers a unique but accurate experience. I talked to detectives at An Garda Síochána (Ireland’s police force), I found myself a hell of a crime consultant in retired detective turned author, Simon McLean, and started reading books about true crime.
The most recent one was Elizabeth Kendall’s memoir, The Phantom Prince, where she portrays her boyfriend, Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in history. I have to confess this book left me with a bittersweet taste, as I couldn’t muster up any sympathy for the drunken, irresponsible, immature Kendall, who I suppose redeemed herself in the end by helping the police bring Bundy to justice. All in all, it was an interesting read, as were other books like Val McDermid’s Forensics, Daniel Simone and Nick Sacco’s The Pierre Hotel Affair, or Captive, the shattering true story told by Catherine Oxenberg describing her crusade to save her daughter from the notorious cult, NXIVM.
All in all, reality beats fiction, but these high-profile cases are—thankfully—exceptions. According to my crime consultant, a good part of crime cases are solved within twenty-four hours, and a real detective’s life can get pretty boring at times. That’s where fiction comes in, where a skilled author needs to create a plot intricate enough to be entertaining, and plausible enough to be possible. This is what I tried to do with my new series, and I hope all the behind-the-scenes work shows within the pages. The best way I can describe these books is that they are thrilling but not dark, suspenseful but not gory, exciting but not explicit. In style, they are similar with books by J.D. Robb, Alisson Brennan, Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, Melinda Leigh, David Baldacci, etc.
I very much hope you will give me a chance as a crime writer, and let me know what you think of my books!
Fondly,
Melinda Colt 