We chat with author Tamara Berry about Murder Runs In The Family, which is perfect for fans of mysteries with a dash of budding, banter-filled romance a la Dial A for Aunties and a healthy dose of family drama by way of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
Hi, Tamara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thanks so much for having me! In real life, I’m basically a cozy mystery sleuth in the making. I’m a homebody who likes to read, listen to audiobooks, obsess over my cats, and walk my dogs. All I need is a random dead body to show up on the side of the road, and I’m set up as the ideal plucky heroine who thinks she knows what she’s doing but really, really doesn’t.
Even my locale is the ideal cozy mystery setting. I live in a city that’s big enough for multiple bodies to start piling up but small enough to keep the suspect pool close. Series franchise, anyone?
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Growing up, I always had a book in hand. I remember being in the 6th grade when my English teacher, recognizing the bibliophile in me, asked my parents if they’d be willing to sign a permission slip that allowed him to assign me books that were well above my age level but that would basically change my life.
They did. And it did.
I like to think that’s where my official author journey began.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: James and the Giant Peach
- The one that made you want to become an author: Jane Eyre
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Count of Monte Cristo
Your latest novel, Murder Runs in the Family, is out April 29th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Retirement community shenanigans…with murder.
What can readers expect?
I’ve always loved the idea that certain personality traits and quirks skip a generation, meaning grandparents and their grandchildren have more in common than parents and their children do. Murder Runs in the Family is my attempt at capturing that phenomenon. Amber, our heroine, is a hot mess of a Millennial trying to figure out her life. Her grandmother, Jade, is an equally hot mess of a Boomer who’s already got the hard bits figured out.
They make for a very fun, very irreverent pair of sleuths. With a bonus hundred-year-old tortoise and quirky Arizona vibes.
Where did the inspiration for Murder Runs in the Family come from?
When I first pitched this idea to my editors, I called it “Only Murders in the Retirement Community.” It’s got the intergenerational fun and murder podcast elements of Only Murders in the Building but the retirement community setting of A Man on the Inside and the Thursday Murder Club.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I had the most fun with Ethan Adler, mysterious young resident of the Seven Ponds Retirement Community and thorn in Amber’s side.
I got the inspiration for him from an online friend of mine who, despite being in her thirties, has undergone two separate hip replacement surgeries. Because of the level and intensity of recovery required, she moved to a nursing home for several months after each surgery to get the care she needed. She jokingly invited the hot grandchildren of the other residents to come fall in love with her in what would have been the most adorable meet-cute of all time.
I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind and asked if I could steal it for a book I was working on. She said yes, and here we are!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I’m fairly unique in the cozy mystery world because I don’t plot my books in advance. I take an idea and a handful of characters, mix them together and let events unfold from there.
There’s always a challenge, about 60 percent of the way in, where I have about two dozen loose threads that need to be knitted together into a coherent storyline. So far, I’ve always been able to find a way to make it work, but I live in constant fear that I’ll eventually hit a tangle that even I can’t undo.
What’s next for you?
The follow-up book to Murder Runs in the Family is already completed and in my editor’s capable hands. It doesn’t have a title or cover yet, but it finds Amber and the Seven Ponds residents solving yet another murder at Christmastime.
I’m not saying my editor sent me a picture of a tortoise in a tiny Santa hat and said “I basically want you to write this” but, well, who can resist a tortoise in a tiny Santa hat?
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Ooh, good question! A few mystery/thrillers I’m looking forward to are L.S. Stratton’s In Deadly Company and Victoria Helen Stone’s Bald-Faced Liar. (I started reading both authors back when they primarily did romance and am loving their transition to the dark side.) I also just recently picked up Mark ONeill’s To Catch a Spy and am eager to dive in.
