Michele Pariza Wacek, author of The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive, the latest novel in the Redemption Detective Agency mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.

Welcome, Michele.

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive is Book 1 of a brand new cozy mystery series called The Redemption Detective Agency. It’s a spin-off from my first cozy mystery series, the Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, and it’s full of humour and fun, with dogs, cats, romance and a twisty mystery.

Both series take place in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin, which is a fictional town with a haunted past. In The Redemption Detective Agency, two characters we meet in the Charlie Kingsley Mysteries decide to start a detective agency and focus on cold cases. (As there are a lot of them—did I mention Redemption has a haunted, troubling past?) Mildred Schmidt is a retired teacher, who we meet in Murder Next Door and Three French Hens and a Murder, and Tilde Tillerson is a retired nurse, who we meet in Red Hot Murder and A Cornucopia of Murder.

We also meet Emily Hildebrandt, Tilde’s niece, who ends up in Redemption because her life imploded and she has nowhere else to go. She helps Tilde, Mildred and a few other quirky characters get the Redemption Detective Agency up and running.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

I’ve always enjoyed the mystery trope of helping someone convicted of a crime by finding the “true” perpetrator.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

I would say the central theme of not just this book, but the series, has to do with righting wrongs. Some of the wrongs are older than others, but regardless wrongs need to be righted, and it’s very satisfying when we get to witness it. So often in our lives we see people get away with things and it all feels very unfair, and while we know logically that karma generally catches up to everyone, we rarely see it happen, so being able to see it gives us a sense of closure.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?

My characters seem to create themselves. I’m not really sure how it works. They’ll just start talking to me, and if I mess something up about them, then they REALLY let me have it.

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?

I grew up in Wisconsin, so I’m very familiar with the location. Also, I’m old, so I remember the 1990s pretty well (some days I wish I still lived in the 1990s). Basically, I just take a moment to think back to that time and remember how life was back then, and then start writing.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?

Usually the research I do is around police procedure, even though I write cozies and not police procedurals, I want the details to at least be realistic. My brother-in-law is a cop in a small town in Wisconsin, so that helps a lot. So does the Internet. (Although I want to make it clear, if anyone finds any mistakes in my books, those are mine and mine alone.)

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?

All my books and series are connected, so if you like this book, you may find yourself wanting to dig a little deeper into Redemption.

Thank you for answering my questions, Michele, and good luck with The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive, the latest book in the Redemption Detective Agency mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Michele Pariza Wacek by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Instagram pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon – B&N 

About Michele Pariza Wacek: A USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Michele taught herself to read at 3 years old because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but now she does spend much of her time writing stories. Mystery stories, to be exact. They’re clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn’t enough, she posts lots of fun things on her blog, including short stories, puzzles, recipes, and more, at MPWNovels.com.

Michele grew up in Wisconsin, (hence why all her books take place there), and still visits regularly, but she herself escaped the cold and now lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, hanging out with her dog, or watching the Food Network and imagining she’s an awesome cook. (Spoiler alert, she’s not. Luckily for the whole family, Mr. PW is in charge of the cooking.)