Photo Courtesy of Linda Nickell. http://lindanickell.com
Welcome!
When I set out to write the Kate Atherton Mysteries, I had one thing in mind: write the kind of mystery I enjoy reading when I’m not in the mood for hard-hitting crime fiction or a full-blown police procedural. That meant keeping things light—almost tongue-in-cheek—avoiding the kinds of things one (sadly) reads in a day’s news headlines and eschewing strictly authentic police procedure for something warmer and more fluid. I wanted to give readers a mystery for a rainy day or a day at the beach, engaging, mildly challenging to the “little gray cells,” and liberally sprinkled with humor.
Most of all, I wanted my main characters (Kate and her friends) to be mature women with full lives, varied relationships, and interesting life experiences. There are plenty of mysteries—cozies in particular—out there with young, single moms who encounter male characters destined to become their love interests while they lightly trip through the solving of a murder or two. Those books have their place, but I wanted to give readers like me someone with a life they might find more relatable—if you could say Kate’s life would be relatable to ANYONE, that is!
This isn’t to say that the Kate Atherton books are, or will be, devoid of romance; it just means that romance is unlikely ever to take center stage. Nor does it mean an absence of younger characters. I am a firm believer in cross-generational friendships. Contact with those younger and older than ourselves enriches our lives. Like Kate, I find that friendships sustain us through life, and friendships come in many forms. I try to explore some of those in the novels.
I hope you enjoy reading about Kate Atherton’s friends and their adventures. Please let me know your thoughts on the books, and remember to post those Amazon reviews!
Thanks for reading,
Jo Cassie McRae
Author Jo Cassie McRae 