I'm pleased to welcome Kelly Oliver back to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Kelly writes the Detection Club Mystery series. THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIE CONSPIRACY is the first book in the series and was released last week.
Kathy: THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIE CONSPIRACY finds Agatha Christie a suspect in the murder of a member of the Detection Club. Why choose to work a mystery around this beloved figure?
KO: Because I love her too! And she is such an interesting character. When we think of Agatha Christie, we think of a matronly English lady, always smiling. But Agatha Christie was an adventurer. She went surfing in Hawaii, worked on archeological digs in the Middle East, and traveled the world. She suffered from depression after her first husband left her for his secretary. And in the middle of all this living, she wrote cleverly plotted mystery novels, earning her the moniker the Queen of Mystery.
She was an important member of the Detection Club. But my novel features other interesting members, too. Both Dorothy L. Sayers and Gilbert Chesterton are quite the characters with fascinating lives. And the club itself is so fun with its silly rituals and secret oaths.
Kathy: Is it easier or more of a challenge writing true historical people as characters in your books?
KO: Yes and no. I absolutely adore writing historical fiction. I love learning about figures from history, especially interesting women. My Fiona Figg Mystery series is devoted to reclaiming important women from the dustbin of history and bringing them to life in fiction. That series features women who did amazing things that we rarely hear about, like Mileva Einstein (Albert’s wife who collaborated on all his early and most important theories and publications) or the Dutch dancer Margaretha Geertruida Zelle aka Mata Hari who was falsely accused of espionage and betrayal or Lizzy Lind one of the first animal rights activists in England.
So, although they are by no means forgotten by history, it made sense for me to celebrate the Queens of Mystery in this way too.
Kathy: The Detection Club was a real club. If it were to exist today, would you want to be a member?
KO: Actually, the Detection Club does still exist today. Some of the world’s most established mystery writers are members and they still meet for supper in London. The current president is Martin Edwards.
And yeah, I would LOVE to be a member of that elite group.
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
KO: Yes. When reading about the Detection Club, I discovered that some members were very upset with Agatha Christie’s breakout novel THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD. They didn’t think it played fair with the reader.
The Detection Club made members swear an oath to play fair with the reader and not use any trick solutions. The reader had to have enough clues to solve the mystery. Some felt Agatha Christie’s unreliable narrator was not fair. A few even proposed expelling her from the club!
That is the kernel around which I built this story.
Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?
KO: I guess I’m a “plantser,” a combination of plotter and pantser, but more of a pantser. My “outlines” are often just a few lines scribbled on a napkin that get expanded into a slight page with one sentence chapter descriptions. And I never ever stick to my original plans. Lots of things change while I write. That’s why editing is one of the most important and magical parts of the writing process for me!
Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing, especially for a new release. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?
KO: I love playing on Bookbrush making graphics. It’s a fun break from writing. Doing interviews like this one and guest blog posts is also a lot of fun! Anything to talk about the books. All of my historical mysteries include characters inspired by or based on real-life people, so I love talking about the fun facts I learned while doing research.
For example, during WW1 the British declared tea a “weapon of war” and protected commodity because it was necessary to camouflage the nasty taste of petrol in the cans used to carry water to soldiers at the front.
While I do enjoy marketing, it does take A LOT of time, which means time away from writing. It’s a bit stressful to keep all the balls in the air juggling writing, promoting, editing, marketing, etc. But it is also fun and keeps me off the streets (figuratively speaking since it doesn’t pay enough to keep a roof over my head, unless maybe I moved to a chicken coop).
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
KO: The ninth book in the Fiona Figg Mystery series (historical cozies), POISON IN PICCADILLY, came out recently. It features Edith Garrud who taught the suffragettes a form of jujitsu that became known as suffrajitsu. Other important suffragettes like Sylvia Pankhurst show up too. It’s fun.
Currently, I’m finishing the second book in the Detection Club Mysteries, THE CASE OF BLACKMAIL ON THE BLUE TRAIN, which is inspired by a secret Dorothy Sayers took to her grave. I had such an intriguing trip to the Dorothy Sayer archives at the Wade Center at Wheaton College where I read her personal letters and found out more about her secret and the lengths she went to in order to keep it secret. THE CASE OF BLACKMAIL ON THE BLUE TRAIN will be out in the Fall.
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Review
The First Detection Club Mystery
Tragedy has left Eliza Baker listless and unmotivated, living and being supported by her younger sister, Jane. Forced to find a job, Eliza has an interview for the position of secretary to the secretary of The Detection Club. While Eliza thinks these crime writers are a bunch of silly people, her sister believes someone in the group is selling state secrets and wants Eliza to find out who the traitor is. All Eliza finds are a dictatorial boss in the person of Dorothy Sayers and a bunch of squabbling writers playing games. But on the night of her friend Theo's initiation to the club another member winds up dead. The next day Agatha Christie goes missing. A sign of guilt as the victim was trying to expel her from the club? Eliza is determined to not only solve the murder, but find the missing author.
I love historical mysteries and one in which Agatha Christie as a murder suspect? Yes, please. Being somewhat familiar with the Detection Club and its rituals, I was delighted seeing it and them in action...and enjoyed watching Eliza having to gather some of the rather unusual props. Eliza is a unique protagonist. She's smart with a scientific and logical mind. She finds the authors childish and their books just as bad. I like the relationship between her and Theo Sharp which could be likened to a chess match, except each player thinks they're playing a different game!
While I found activities surrounding the Detection Club and its members pretty much spot on one comment did throw me. A character was described looking just like Santa Claus. But this is England, he should be described as looking like Father Christmas! Still, I enjoyed being in England in the 1920s and am looking forward to watching Eliza evolve.
THE CASE OF THE CHRISTIE CONSPIRACY brings together some favorite authors from the golden age of detective fiction along with some memorable new characters in a devilishly clever mystery.
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The Case of the Christie Conspiracy: A Detection Club Mystery by Kelly Oliver
About The Case of the Christie Conspiracy
Historical Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - London, England
Publisher: Boldwood Books (February 16, 2025)
Paperback: 264 pages
Agatha Christie is about to embark on a new, gripping murder case. But this time, she’s not the author – she’s a suspect…1926 – Christie is a darling of the literary circuit and the most desired guest in London’s glittering social scene. She can often be found at meetings of the Detection Club – where mystery writers come together to share ideas, swap secrets and drink copiously. But then a fellow author's initiation ceremony takes a gruesome turn, and one of the group ends up dead. Now, Agatha is no longer just the creator of great mystery plots – she’s a player in one.
And when Agatha disappears the day after the murder, she’s widely assumed to be guilty. Only Eliza Baker, assistant to the Club’s enigmatic secretary, Dorothy Sayers, is interested in investigating the case. But in a world where murder is the ultimate plot device, can Eliza piece together the evidence and find the killer before it’s too late?
About Kelly Oliver
Kelly Oliver is the award-winning and bestselling author of four mystery series: The Jessica James Mysteries (7-book contemporary suspense); The Pet Detective Mysteries (3-book middle grade); The Fiona Figg Mysteries (9-book historical cozies).
The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, the first in her new series The Detection Club Mysteries just came out (February 2025). Kelly is Distinguished Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. And currently, she is the Immediate Past President of Sisters in Crime. To learn more about Kelly and her books, go to www.kellyoliverbooks.com.
Author Links:
Website https://www.kellyoliverbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kellyoliverauthor/
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelly-oliver
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Purchase Links Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Amazon UK - Barnes&Noble - Kobo
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