The Mystery of Mysteries

Hi from Linda O. Johnston!  And Happy July.

I've been reading, and writing, mysteries for a long time.  I enjoy them, as do lots of other people.

I sometimes wonder why, though.  In mysteries, people get hurt and sometimes die.  In reality, too, people get hurt and sometimes die.  We all hate to see such horrible things in the news and of course it's so much worse if they happen to people we know or care about, let alone ourselves.

So why read about such things intentionally?  Why subject ourselves to fictionalized versions of such difficult reality?

Because, in fiction, there's almost always a resolution.  The good guys solve the mysteries and the bad guys get caught.  Sometimes it's even done with humor.  Yes, that's not true in all stories, but at least we can assume that's the case in many stories, and certainly in cozy mysteries.

So, for a while at least, we can immerse ourselves in fiction, whether reading it or writing it or both, and know that there will be a solution, if not a happily ever after.

That's the situation in my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries.  My protagonist Carrie Kennersly isn't a detective, but she keeps being drawn into solving murders because she or a friend is accused of the killing.  It takes her a while--the length of each book--to solve the murder, but she does it.  Plus, there are always dogs in the stories which hopefully can help cheer the reader up while getting into the story.

Yes, mysteries can deal with people and their issues.  So does living.  But it doesn't hurt to take time out of one's own life to relax with a good mystery... and wait for that satisfying ending.