Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

For weeks (maybe even longer), people in the US have been getting ready for today – Thanksgiving, as this is posted. There’ve been all sorts of discussions about who’s coming from out of town, where all these people will sleep, what will be served, who will bring what, and so on. The bigger the group, the more the preparations, but even in small families, there’s a lot to consider.  It’s going to be like that, too, for the next six weeks or so. Grocery stores are filled with shoppers frantically tossing what they need into their carts, and both brick-and-mortar and online stores are gearing up. All of that hurried and harried preparation can add a lot of anxiety to what’s supposed to be a special time of year, whether you’ve just finished celebrating Diwali, or you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, or you’re getting ready for Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or something else (and sometimes, even when you’re not getting ready for anything!).

As unsettling as that pressure can feel in real life, it can certainly add an interesting layer of tension to a crime novel. And it’s realistic. For example, in Agatha Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly, detective story writer Ariadne Oliver has been engaged to create a Murder Hunt for an upcoming fête to be held at Nasse House, the property of Sir George Stubbs and his wife, Lady Hattie Stubbs. Every member of the household is busy planning the attractions, working on how to handle the crowd, and deciding who’s going to judge the various competitions. It’s a heavy burden on everyone, but Mrs. Oliver comes to suspect that it’s not just that anxiety that’s causing her uneasiness. She thinks something may be wrong, so she asks Hercule Poirot to come to the event under the pretext of handing out the prizes for the Murder Hunt. He agrees, and soon finds that Mrs. Oliver was right: there is something very wrong at Nasse House. Fourteen-year-old Marlene Tucker has been found murdered, and it’s going to take all of Poirot’s skills to find out who’s responsible. I hear you, Christie fans; elaborate preparations find their way into several of her stories.

The main event in Rex Stout’s Too Many Cooks is a convention of the world’s fifteen top chefs, Les Quinze Maîtres. It will take place at West Virginia’s Kanwha Resort, and the people who work there have to work with the chefs to do a great deal of planning. Travel, rooms, sufficient staff, and activities must be planned. This gathering will also require particular foods and ingredients, space to create, and logistical support. It’s quite an undertaking. Archie Goodwin, though, has an even more difficult job. He has to convince his boss, Nero Wolfe, to travel to West Virginia to take part in the convention. At first, Wolfe doesn’t want to go, but he is persuaded, and he and Archie take the train to West Virginia, only to be drawn into a case of murder when one of the chefs is killed.

Janice MacDonald’s Another Margaret is the story of Miranda ‘Randy’ Craig, a sessional lecturer for Grant McEwan University. Randy’s friend persuades her to help with the preparations for a major alumni event at the University of Alberta. It’s to coincide with Homecoming Weekend, so many dozens of different decisions must be made. The planning involves everything from where to get the invitations (and what they’ll look like) to the catering, to accommodations, to entertainment, and much more. Then Randy gets the disturbing news that Margaret Ahlers, whose work Randy studied for her master’s degree, has a new book coming out. The thing is, though, Ahlers has passed away. So, who published the book? Randy starts asking questions at the same time as she is trying to help with the preparations for the alumni activities. It all adds up to a lot of anxiety – and to disaster once Homecoming begins.

In Peter James’ Not Dead Yet, superstar Gaia Lafayette is planning to travel from Los Angeles to Brighton, which is her hometown. She and her entourage are there to film a historical drama, and everyone is gearing up for her visit. Of course, there are the preparations you might expect: private transportation, exclusive hotel accommodations, catered meals, and so on. But for Gaia, preparations are even more important. She’s had death threats, and there was an attempt on her life in Los Angeles, so Superintendent Roy Grace and his team have been instructed to take absolutely no chances with her safety. All sorts of elaborate precautions are taken, and nothing is left to chance. It’s all planned down to the last detail. But even the best preparations don’t guarantee success,,,

And then there’s Kalpana Swaminatham’s The Page Three Murders. Dr. Hilla Driver has inherited a beautiful home, and she wants to have a house party to show it to everyone. She invites a group of people, including Felix Rego, a food critic; Alif Bey, a well-known writer; Rafiz Khan, a dancer; Chili, a model; Lola Lavina, an outspoken activist; and socialite Ujwala Sane and her physician husband. Also invited are Hilla’s old friend Lalli, a former Mumbai police detective, and Lalli’s unnamed niece, who narrates the story. Hilla has also decided to combine these festivities with a party to celebrate her niece Ramona’s eighteenth birthday. Hilla’s cook, Tarok Gosh, wants to use the occasion to showcase his skills and ‘put this place on the culinary map.’ So, he makes elaborate preparations for all of the meals, especially the highlight event: a special, seven-course banquet. There are all sorts of discussions about who will be there, how everyone will get along, what the food will be and when it will be served, and other details. It’s to be a newsworthy event. It certainly becomes one when Tarok Gosh is murdered. It seems that he knew the secrets of several guests and was not afraid to use blackmail. Lalli gets to know the other guests, and she discovers who the killer is and what the motive is.

And that’s the thing about major events. They require a lot of preparation and attention to many, many details. Little wonder people get so anxious during the buildup to ‘the big day.’ Perhaps it’s safer just to do things casually…

NOTE: The title of this post is the title of a Smokey Robinson song, first made famous by the Temptations.