I Get to Investigate the History of Mystery Fiction

At this month’s meeting (on April 25) of Orange County Sisters in Crime, I’ll be talking “The History of Mystery – A Brief Look at Detective Fiction Over the Years.”

Even briefly, that covers a lot of territory — so I guess I’ll have to talk fast!

Edgar Allan Poe. Anna Katharine Green (the first female author of a detective novel). Arthur Conan Doyle (daddy of Sherlock Holmes). The Golden Age crowd, including Agatha Christie. The Black Mask-ers (that is, the hard-boiled guys, who started out writing for the pulp mag, Black Mask). Books for young fans. (Nancy Drew, anyone?) Board games devoted to crime-solving crimes. (Colonel Mustard did it in the Library with the Candlestick!)

I’ve previously spoken to the O.C. Sisters about mystery and crime writing topics including “Getting Cozy with Crime,” “Hot Stuff – Crime in the Desert,” “Bright Lights, Dark Places – Crime Fiction Set in SoCal” and “Capitol Crimes.”

For this latest talk, I look forward to revealing the genre’s historic moments.