Muddle in the Middle

Thanksgiving means so much more to me this year. Why? FINAL JUROR, the mystery novel I'm working on, is set during that time frame. So I'm very cognizant of the sights, sounds and smells of the season.

My detective, Brad Frame, is serving on a jury in a murder trial. It's lasting weeks, and as might be the case in real life the trial happens to span the Thanksgiving holiday. In fiction, grounding events in places and circumstances with which the reader can identify helps make it more believable. As part of my research, I visited the courthouse where the trial would take place. I determined that, in fact, trials take place nearly every working day of the year except holidays.

While I can give my protagonist a respite from the trial, I can't afford to let the reader get too far away from the plot of the mystery, which brings me to what I call the "muddle in the middle."Every book has a beginning, middle and end--and each of those story aspects creates its own set of challenges. For me, the beginning of a mystery novel is all about setting up the premise of the story. Usually a murder has taken place and the reason is established as to why Brad Frame is going to take on the case. My objective is to raise lots of questions that will draw the reader into the story. In the final 50 - 75 pages I try to wrap up the plot in a satisfying way. Hopefully, the solution won't come "out of left field" even though the reader may be surprised by the ending.

It's in the middle of the story that I'm planting cues, laying red herrings, misdirecting the reader so s/he doesn't readily see the truth of what my detective sees. Middles are the most challenging part, in my opinion. It's important to me that all of the clue planting--as well as the misdirection--be organic to the story. So I'm plodding my way through the middle of my story, and eager to get to the wrap-up.

Muddle in the middle isn't what's stuffed inside the Thanksgiving bird, it's the framework that takes the detective (and the reader) through the puzzle and toward the ultimate solution.

Do you have any pet peeves about the middle of mystery stories that you've read? Please feel free to join the conversation.

I Could Use Your Help

I'm currently working on the fifth book in the Brad Frame series, FINAL JUROR.

Rachel Tetlow asks Brad to investigate the seventeen-year-old murder of her father while he served as a juror in a Federal racketeering case. Rachel wants answers after all these years. Brad explains that in spite of the odds of success after such a lapse in time, that they will look into the case.

But Brad gets sidetracked on helping Rachel when he is picked for a jury in a case where a man is accused of killing his wife and stuffing her body into a freezer.

Brad's assistant, Sharon Porter, tackles Rachel's case, while Brad ponders the evidence in the courtroom with the benefit of his own background as a crime solving investigator.

My story is plotted, but I'd like to hear a few "Tales from the jury box" that I could incorporate to enhance the reader's experience. Have you served on a jury in a criminal case? If so, do you have any interesting stories to share? Things like weird statements fellow jurors make, donnybrooks in the deliberation room, funny anecdotes. In the novel, to convey the sense of juror confidentiality, I've only assigned first names to the jurors in the story. YOU could be one of those names, just by sharing a good jury story. And for a really spectacular tale, I'd even be willing to name one of the characters after you.

By all means, join this conversation. I can use your input.