Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Father Brown: A Guest Post from UPSTAGED BY MURDER author C.S. Challinor

We welcome C.S. Challinor, author of the new Upstaged by Murder (the ninth book in the Rex Graves Mystery Series), to Midnight Ink's blog today! Here she shares some insight into the cast of famous characters from her latest mystery.

I thought it might be fun to incorporate some big-name literary sleuths into my latest amateur-detective novel, Upstaged by Murder, which features a cast of community theater actors performing a whodunit on opening night. Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Father Brown each come under suspicion when the leading lady is murdered onstage. In other words, it is "Curtains for Cassie," as pronounced by one Rodney Snyder, aka Holmes.

Some of the actors have more difficulty than others in shedding their characters, but behind their disguises are real people: a librarian, insurance salesman, florist, publisher, and deli worker, all of whom might have a motive for actual murder, along with the rest of the cast and crew. And it is the role of my Scottish barrister and part-time detective, Rex Graves, who has been attending Peril at Pinegrove Hall in the front row with his new wife, to pull aside the curtains and peer into their all lives.

In this ninth installment of the Rex Graves Mystery Series, inspiration came through watching my neighbor's daughter star in local plays. I studied drama as an elective at university, too, and, like any writer of amateur detection, have read all the Golden Age mystery classics. I took a hiatus from writing cozy mystery to pursue another genre for which I have a passion, that of psychological suspense, and, coming back to Rex Graves, constructed Upstaged by Murder to be read as both a standalone work as well as a continuation of the series.

There are two murders to solve in this latest title: the fictional one in the play, which Miss Marple & co. have been invited to Pinegrove Hall to solve in the traditional manor house mystery tradition; and the "real" one central to the novel, where the killer could be anyone onstage at the end of Act One, or else an unsuspected stranger lurking in the wings...

***

Rex Graves and his new wife, Helen, attend the opening night of a play in which five famous literary sleuths of a bygone era are invited to Pinegrove Hall to solve the mystery of a missing heirloom. When the heroine meets with a sinister end, the audience applauds, unaware the real drama has only just begun.

Rex, a Scottish barrister and private detective, is called upon to help discover who among the cast and crew staged the death of the beautiful young actress. But this challenging mystery has many complications waiting in the wings, and Rex must use all his skills to unmask the true culprit.


Praise for Upstaged by Murder:
"Challinor, who often modernizes and repurposes golden-age mystery ploys, this time takes the further step of recruiting the stars of those classic novels to help solve the case."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Fans—and there are many—will be shouting, 'Bravo!'"
—Booklist

---

C.S. Challinor was raised and educated in Scotland and England (University of Kent, Canterbury: Joint Hons Latin & French). She also holds a diploma in Russian from the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She now lives in Southwest Florida. Christmas Is Murder, the first in the Rex Graves Mystery series, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller List. The fifth in the series, Murder of the Bride, was a Mystery Guild Book Club pick (hardcover) and a Top Five Books of 2011 Selection by Crime Fiction Lover. Challinor is a member of the Authors Guild. Her author website may be found at www.rexgraves.com.

A Tale of Two Sherlocks

by Jennifer Harlow

Full disclosure: I am not a big Sherlock Holmes fan. I liked Hound of the Baskervilles but just could never get into the short stories. I kind of felt that Sherlock had no personality, he was just a smart dude who did drugs and was observant. I couldn't really identify with him. The cases were interesting and kept me on my toes but I'd never re-read them. But for whatever reason like everyone else now I cannot seem to get enough of the sleuth, at least on TV.

Started with House. When it first came out I adored this show. At first I thought I had a crush on Hugh Laurie but then realized I didn't want to shag him, I wanted to be like him. Brilliant, doesn't care what people think about him, can get away with almost anything because he's so damn good at what he does. As the seasons continued that desire waned as the world fell around his ears and the show got too formulaic. But really that was my first into to the power of "Sherlock."

Then came BBC and La Cumberbatch.

When I was in Toronto for the film festival, one night I was in my hotel room and turned on the TV. The first thing I noticed was Tim from The Office, now Bilbo Baggins, who I liked so I decided to watch. By the end of the episode I swear my jaw was on the floor. I loved how they kept the intriquite case, a spin on the first Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet" but updated it for our time. Sherlock using the internet, modern forensic techniques yet still keeping the mystery hard enough those tools weren't enough. I also loved, as it seems every fangirl in the world did, the intensity and depth he brought to the detective. (Killer cheekbones and bright eyes didn't hurt either.) And let's not neglect Martin Freeman's Watson. Playing a straight man is hard, yet he brings humor and warmth to it. The two of them together have wonderful chemistry. You believe the friendship and love between them. I was Sherlocked.

So when I heard about CBS doing the exact same concept, like most I was a little miffed. The BBC show is still running. It's like doing a remake of Gone With the Wind while the original is still in theaters. Then, gasp!, word came that Watson would be a woman! I gave it two episodes before Watson and Holmes were making goo-goo eyes at one another. We have Bones and Castle (neither of which I watch) already. But I like Lucy Lu and Jonny Lee Miller, and I wanted to be proved right, so I watched the first episode. And you know what? It was pretty damn good. Not as good as the BBC version by any means, but by American network standards it was leaps and bounds better than say Castle (sorry Nathan. I still adore you) And thank God the producers came right out and said Watson and Holmes will not be getting jiggy with one another. Ever. Like the BBC version the friendship chemistry is there between the two stars. They play well off each other. And if the cases aren't as dynamic as the BBC version I can only blame the 22 episode format. Some cases of the week are better than others but it takes me far longer to figure out who the baddie is than on flipping Castle. And now Irene Adler and Moriarty have been introduced things will only get better.

So until Series 3 comes out at the end of the year, Jonny and Lucy will keep us Sherlockians warm until Smaug and Bilbo carry the torch to glory.

What about all of you? Who among you is a fellow Cumberbi**h? Do you like Elementary? When were you first introduced to Mr. Holmes?

And just FYI on February 8th, Friday of this week, MIND OVER MONSTERS will be one of the Kindle Daily deals. For that one day the e-book will be reduced to $1.99. Spread the word. :)