READER RESOURCES The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb by Cathy Ace Interview with author Cathy Ace 1. The highly anticipated third book in the Cait Morgan mystery series, The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb, takes place in Mexico. What drew you to that setting? What sort of research did it require? Did it pose any narrative challenges? Cait Morgan loves to travel which is just as well, because wherever she goes she seems to trip over a corpse! Since I can t afford to travel to new places for settings, she s going to visit places with which I am already familiar. Mexico, especially the area around Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias, is very beautiful, and close enough to Vancouver for it to be a reasonable place for Cait to go on vacation for a week. With its rich cultural history, as well as the wonderful food and drink specific to the region, I knew it was somewhere she d be happy to visit. For this book I was able to draw upon my existing knowledge of the area and many conversations I ve had with locals and ex pats during my several visits. I also carried out a fair amount of online research into different aspects of Mexican culture, always from multiple sources to ensure accuracy. Specifically, since much of the action revolves around an ex pat owned tequila producing hacienda, I felt it my duty to carry out some guided tequila tasting. It was tough, but I felt I had to do it, because I ve promised that anything Cait ever eats or drinks will be described from my own experience. Usually that s a good thing, but Cait s quite an adventurous eater and drinker, so I ve really had to stretch myself in this area! Overall, the main narrative challenge was to hint at surroundings, rather than allow the book to become a travel guide. This was mitigated by the fact that most of the settings were fictitious, set within the real area and culture.
2. How has Cait evolved over the course of these books? Has she surprised you? These first three Cait Morgan Mysteries take place over thirteen months in Cait s life, which isn t really long enough for a personality to change. Cait s in a new relationship, and we re still following her career as a professor of criminology. She s trying to get used to having someone in her life upon whom she can rely other than herself. It s not the easiest of transitions. She s also aware that she s got quite a few bad habits that she d like to change but change is not something that Cait s very good at, especially when it comes to her indulgences, and weaknesses. Cait surprises herself, let alone me! She s more resilient than she thinks she can be, she s weaker than she believes she ought to be. She s as close to being a real person as I can make her which is, I hope, one of her most appealing aspects. I like Cait, but she s far from perfect. Like all of us she has her good points and her bad, but, also like all of us, she s a person who lives life, takes on new experiences, and sometimes learns from them. 3. When you start writing your mysteries, do you typically already know the ending ahead of time? Or does it come to you through the writing process? I am a process freak! The entire plot is set, and I know my characters inside and out. My books are very plot driven, with many clues and red herrings along the way. I couldn t start a book and hope it would all work out all right in the end. I start with knowing what really happened, work out all the different versions of what might have happened, then weave them together, hopefully in a plausible, entertaining way. 4. Your mysteries fit into the cozy genre. Can you tell me a little bit about what drew you to cozy writing, and why you prefer it to other styles? The cozy genre is a spectrum, rather than just one thing. From police procedurals (Colin Dexter, Andrea Camilleri, Donna Leon) to traditional mysteries (Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Katherine Hall Page) to very cozy stories where you might find a cat as the protagonist (Avery Aames, Tamar Myers), there s a wide range to choose from. What really defines a cozy is the lack of gratuitous on page violence, on page sex scenes, and foul language. That said, even during the Golden Age Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh used plot lines containing drug addiction, political intrigues, psychopathic serial killers, and rampant jealousy and hate not just the classic, comfortable country house murders we usually associate with them.
The Cait Morgan Mysteries lie within the traditional part of the cozy spectrum: of course there s always a dark motive at the heart of a murderous crime, but Cait s crime solving is truly puzzle solving, with the clues coming from the people, and the places, involved. I should mention that I do read outside the crime genre. Biographies, autobiographies, books on art, architecture, movies, history, archeology, psychology, philosophy, music, many of the classics you ll find them all on my bookshelves, alongside lots of cookbooks and huge tomes on plants and flowers. When I settle down to read crime, I enjoy a variety of genres, hailing from many countries police procedurals, gritty psychological dramas, hard boiled private eyes, forensics I enjoy some of all of these types of books. But I find I m always drawn to the classic, traditional mysteries. I m most at home with them, so that s what I write. In this regard, I write what I like to read. 5. If a major movie studio were to approach you today and offer you an unlimited budget, who would you cast in the various roles? Who would you like to work with? And most importantly, who would play Cait? This is difficult to answer, because readers have a very personal vision of characters, and that s what I want to encourage. Once an actor or actress is cast, our own imaginings of the people on the page disappear. However, to answer your question, maybe an unlimited budget might draw me to a particularly famous Swansea born actress (editor s note: Catherine Zeta Jones) but she s far too slim and glamorous to play Cait. Mind you, she might be prepared to gain 50 pounds and wear no make up to play the part of a woman from her own hometown, which might just give her a shot at a second Oscar! I would be terribly disappointed if the actress cast was not Welsh, as I think it s integral to Cait s personality and psyche. When it comes to Bud, there s one actor who plays a great baddie, but would, I m sure, make a good Bud. He has an Irish name, but the right look for a Swedish Canadian. In terms of bringing Cait to the big screen, I d like the current team at BBC Wales who make Sherlock to step up and go big! Using real locations would be important, and this team knows how to do that. 6. Have you ever been influenced by reader feedback? How do you navigate fan expectations while also staying true to the story? My mum is my first reader. She s spent a lifetime reading traditional mysteries which allows her to tell me what does, and doesn t, ring true, have the right pace, or seem real within the world of the narrative. I use her expertise.
I do read comments and reviews from bloggers, readers, and professional reviewers. I also visit book clubs. It s always fascinating to find out the most memorable part of a book to those who have read it sometimes it s a part of the story I thought was trivial, but made it a big impact. The truth about writing is that you cannot, sadly, please everyone, all the time. I know that, so I note comments, but will, ultimately, try to allow Cait to remain true to herself. 7. You've mentioned in previous interviews that you admire PD James. Can you tell us more about that? And how do you think your writing differs from hers? PD James writes so well that she s encouraged the world to consider the mystery genre as capable of being viewed as real literature. Her protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, has achieved the rank of commander at New Scotland Yard and tackles particularly sensitive cases. Although the books are, properly speaking, police procedurals, they read more like sleuthing novels: a relatively small, closed circle of suspects; locations that are relevant to the puzzle at hand; deaths that, whilst violent, are not dealt with in grisly detail. To that extent, I think I mirror her type of mystery. But, beyond that, I wouldn t dare compare myself to her. An author with half a century of novels under her belt, PD James excels in using the complexities and richness of the English language to her, and her readers, advantage. Few authors come close to her layered style, her ability to create people and places that haunt the reader for decades to come, and her unerring skill at setting a pace that one has to adopt when reading, in order to enjoy the majesty of her prose. That said, I think all writers should read the work of authors they admire and to whose work and skill they aspire. 8. Have you chosen the title for the next Cait Morgan Mystery yet? And how many books do you ultimately envision for this series? Every Cait Morgan Mystery will have a Corpse with a (something precious) (body part). Simple, right? Well, only after a lot of thought and planning! I have planned and plotted out a total of nine Cait Morgan Mysteries, and I hope that these first mysteries prove popular enough to allow Cait a chance to continue solving puzzles as she travels, eats, drinks, and well, we ll see. The fourth book will be published in the fall of 2014, which is appropriate as the action takes place over twelve hours on September 25. The title will be drum roll, please The Corpse with the Platinum Hair!
As with all of Cait s tales, the titular corpse will be revealed on the first page, allowing readers to dive into the mystery right away following the clues, wrapping up the red herrings, and, ultimately, unmasking the culprit. The Corpse with the Platinum Hair differs a little from Cait s previous mysteries, in that, rather than having a closed circle of suspects who all live in the same locale, this time it s a true closed room mystery, with the suspects locked into the room where a murder has been committed. Luckily for Cait the room in question is a private dining room, with a full bar, so she s able to sustain herself through a very long, fraught twelve hours! Book Club Discussion Questions 1. The book is set on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Has anyone in the group visited that region? If so, what types of horticulture did they see, and what surprised them? Margarita tends a lush rose garden not far from an arid blue agave plantation. What micro climates exist in your area? How do local gardeners make use of them? 2. Has any member of your group ever taken part in a tequila tasting? What did they think of the different types and grades of tequila? Is it something you might like to do as a group? 3. What s your favorite Mexican food? Least favorite? What about a Mexican themed evening for your group discussion? 4. Cait clearly has the Edward Lear Alice books on her mind, and parallels can be found throughout the book. Have you read the Alice books as an adult? As a child? What do you recall of them? Which parallels did you spot? 5. Cait s determination to save Bud is immediate, and relentless. How far would you go to save someone you love? 6. Cait realizes that Bud has kept facts about his professional life from her. Is secrecy within a relationship always a bad thing? Is Bud s secrecy understandable? Given Cait and Bud s personalities, do you think it s sustainable? 7. Al claims that there s a lack of awareness about, and understanding of, Mexican artistic achievement. Do you think he makes a valid point? Why do you think that is?