When I was eight, I read a book that would dictate the course of my life.
That book was Harriet the Spy.
As a kid in suburban California, I was endlessly curious. About ancient Egypt, about animals, and about my neighbors. Suburbia, as we’ve read in countless domestic thrillers, is a place of secrets. I didn’t know this explicitly when I was a child, of course. But I think I sensed it.
Which is why when I picked up Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, it made total sense. I could spy on my neighbors, just like Harriet, and find out All The Things! It was easy to believe that adults were concealing some choice secrets.
I didn’t find out anything interesting, but I did get to know my neighborhood and the act of scribbling on paper fostered my love of journals and notebooks.
(I need to issue a blanket apology here to the folks who lived in Rincon Valley in Santa Rosa, California, in the mid-70s. Sorry for skulking around your yards.)
But while I was traipsing around my street, poking around for anything amiss, I was unknowingly preparing for my dual adult careers: journalist and novelist.
Harriet taught me to observe, and to write. She taught me to think critically and ask questions. Most of all, she taught me to be skeptical of authority (although in fairness, my hippie father did that too. Hey, it was the seventies!)
I think about Harriet a lot while writing cozy mysteries. Creating a character whose sole mission is to snoop around when they’re not law enforcement isn’t easy.
Let’s face it: one of the main things that’s charming about cozy mysteries is also the genre’s Achilles Heel. How does an everyday person turn into an amateur sleuth? In real life, someone who did that would be considered dangerous, or very, very odd.
This is a frequent criticism of the genre. The idea of a baker/librarian/florist learning of a homicide (and possibly even is a suspect themselves) then becoming so moved that they launch their own investigation is, at its core, bonkers.
It’s also what cozy fans adore.
Harriet the Spy laid the groundwork for this. It wasn’t just about snooping; it was about curiosity, about seeing beyond what’s under the surface.
I think that’s why reporters in cozy mysteries are so satisfying to me and why my first cozy series (The Coffee Lover’s Mystery series) is based on a former journalist. The concept takes the DIY ethos of Harriet and merges it with a character who has a totally legitimate reason to investigate. They need to bring their readers the truth — what could be more important than that? They’re supposed to ask questions. They’re put on this earth to be pests.
True story: as a journalist, one of my sources called me a “pest.” I took it as a badge of honor.
It’s that relentless pursuit of truth that Harriet instilled in me, guiding both my fiction and real-life adventures in digging up the stories that matter.
Here are some cozy mysteries with reporter heroines:
Front Page Murder by Joyce Tremel: This is a WWII-set mystery about Irene Ingram, whose newspaper publisher father has gone to work as a war correspondent. She’s the editor-in-chief in her father’s absence, and that rankles some men in the newsroom. She also ruffles feathers when she starts asking questions about the death of the paper’s star crime reporter. While trying to keep her family’s small-town paper alive, she also stumbles upon an antisemitic crime tied to the murder. Not only did Tremel capture the era wonderfully, she also accurately portrayed the hectic routine of a small town newspaper person, too.
A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump: Laid off journalists are a staple in real life, and it was good to see Klump reflect this reality in her book. Samantha Warren lost her investigative reporting job and her fiancé — but she’s starting a new mixology company and is featuring her homemade bitters at an event. Someone turns up dead and one of Samantha’s drinks was poisoned with oleander. This book features lots of investigation and great descriptions of the Houston food scene.
Doomed by Blooms by Anna St. John: Once a reporter always a reporter, and when heroine Josie Posey retires, she finds that she longs to get back into the action. She’s asked by the local paper to do a fluff piece on a local ballerina — but then the dancer’s husband turns up dead. The story features a spirited group of friends and a sheepdog named Moe.
Live, Local and Dead by Nikki Knight: Radio DJ Jaye Jordan leaves her New York City life and buys a small town Vermont radio station. But when she’s target practicing with a snowman, she stumbles upon a dead host — that she fired. Includes a flatulent moose and a cute cat! Knight is also a real-life radio host for legendary New York City radio station 1010 WINS.
Off the Air by Christina Estes: Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments—anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo—and special projects. Jolene investigates the murder of a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long…This book comes out March 26.
A Bean to Die For by Tara Lush: Former crime reporter Lana Lewis is fully embracing her post-journalism life. Her coffee shop is thriving, her shih tzu needs a haircut, and she’s meeting her boyfriend’s family for the first time. But when an elderly environmental activist is found dead in the community garden, Lana’s snooping instincts kick into high gear — and then there’s a second murder…
