Mystery Author Merry Jones Writes about Murder, Mayhem and Gal Pals

Earlier this month guest author Lesley A. Diehl wrote about sleuth sidekicks in cozy mysteries, and more specifically the "gal pal who often helps or sometimes hinders them as they snoop their way to finding the killer.

Merry Jones's latest mystery novel, The Trouble with Charlie, also features a group of female friends and in the following article (courtesy of Oceanview Publishing and reprinted with permission), she discusses "Murder, Mayhem and Gal Pals". The world changes, years pass, crimes get committed, boyfriend and husbands stay or go, nerves get frazzled, but for series characters Elle Harrison and three of her friends, Susan, Becky and Jen, these four remain central in each other's lives.

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Photo provided courtesy of
Merry Jones

• The main characters in The Trouble with Charlie and its sequel Elective Procedures are women who share a close friendship. Why did you create this female mini-community?

Mostly, I wanted the protagonist, Elle Harrison, to be part of a stable, family-like group. In CHARLIE, she has to deal with a lot — for example, the demise of her marriage, the death of her husband, the disturbing secrets she discovers about him, people trying to kill her. I didn't want her to have to go through all that alone.

But I think the deeper reason I wrote about these friends is value I put on my own female friends. In fact, I am quite jealous of the mini-community Elle enjoys; most of my best friends are spread out all over the country. I would love to have them nearby, meet them for coffee or pizza or whatever. Since I can't, I wrote about someone who could.

• Do you think the relationships/dynamics among these four women are typical in today's society?

I have no idea. These particular women are friends because they grew up together. They've always been friends. They share history and know each others' quirks and foibles. They accept each other unconditionally.

If they'd met later in life, they probably wouldn't have become friends at all. Their interests and current lives don't intersect much: Susan is a high- powered defense attorney with three kids and no free time. Jen is a childless rich housewife with not much to do. Becky is an emotionally flighty happily single kindergarten teacher. And Elle's a heartbroken almost-divorced-but-widowed-instead second grade teacher. She would have met Becky at work if she hadn't already known her, but become friends? Not likely.

The reason Elle's friendships have lasted and deepened is that they provide stability and consistency in an ever-changing and sometimes scary world. They provide support for each other, whether at fun nights out or at funerals. In that way, I think they reflect real communities. Family, neighbors or old friends all provide that stable base.

But in other ways, I don't think this group is typical. Many friendships in real life evolve from convenience and necessity. For example, moms become friends from driving carpool and hanging out during soccer/softball/swim practice. When the kids change sports, lots of moms might change "friendships."

• Are your books trying to make a statement about women's friendships? How do you avoid clichés like chickiness cattiness, rivalry, etc?

My characters are simply characters; their relationships belong to them. Writing about them, I didn't think about clichés; I thought only about each character and her role in the story. If Jen acts catty, it's because Jen's in a catty mood. It's not a statement about all women or all women's friendships.
 
In many instances, the scenes that include Elle's friends add humor and lighten the tone, breaking up dark situations. They bicker, they tease. They laugh. They drink. Jen eats a lot and curses too much. Susan tries to be controlling and Becky tries to please. Elle tries to connect.

But as to feminine friendships? The only statement I'm making is that they're important. They take many forms. We seek solace from one friend, stimulation from another. We make mischief with this one; meditate with that one. In each relationship, we take on different roles, playing at various times the shrink or the shrunk, the darer or the dared, mother or child, leader or led. I'm sure that friendships that cross genders can also be described this way, but I think there's a sisterly supportive quality that occurs naturally among women.

• What can readers take away from Elle, Susan, Jen and Becky?

For one thing, they can see that friendships involve a range of feelings, pulls and pushes, irritations and affections, conceits and concerns.  Elle and her pals are not always in harmony. They get on each other's nerves. The four are interdependent. They rely upon each other, blance each other, know each other's foibles and fears. They tease and tolerate, bicker and banter like family.

Elle, Susan, Jen and Becky tolerate each other, even when Elle is too disconnected, Becky too obsessed with men, Susan too overworked or Jen too full of curse words. These friends are there, steadfastly, through the course of their lives. Like them, real women friends share memories and inside jokes. When we're together, we feel familiar, accepted. We don't feel the need to prove ourselves. We affirm each other's worth; validate each other's identities. As we journey through life's stages, we are reassured by each others' presence in our lives. As we progress from young girls to old women, we maintain mutual territory, safe, exclusive, timeless, inhabited by nostalgia and built on bonds no one can break. I hope that sense of companionship and affection is what readers take away, reinforcing the friendships in their own lives.

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Merry Jones is the author of the Harper Jennings thrillers and the Zoe Hayes mysteries. She has also written humor and non-fiction.

A regular contributor to Glamour, her work has been printed in seven languages and numerous magazines.

For the last fifteen years, she has taught writing courses at a variety of institutions, including Temple University and Delaware County Community College. She has appeared on radio and television (local and national), and participates in panel discussions and workshops regularly.

To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website at MerryJones.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Trouble with Charlie
Merry Jones

Elle finds the body of her soon-to-be-ex husband Charlie on her sofa, stabbed to death with her kitchen knife. Elle's close friends stand by her through the difficult funeral, but Elle alone must face the loss of the man she'd loved.

Except that the loss is not total — Charlie is still around. Elle feels his presence, smells his aftershave. Hears him accuse her of killing him. And even though she doesn't believe in ghosts, she argues with him, asserting her innocence.

Oddly, Elle has a gap in her memory; she can't account for her activity during the time of his murder. As she tries to clear herself by finding out how Charlie died, she discovers that she had plenty of reason to kill him.

Charlie had secrets. Infidelity. Unsavory business associates. Involvement with an international organization of sex abusers. The more she learns, the more danger she faces.

As unscrupulous people begin to fear shell expose them, Elle races against time to avoid arrest, fight off attackers, solve the murder, and make peace with Charlie's spirit.

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