I'm pleased to welcome Michelle L. Cullen to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Michelle writes the Harry & Emma Mystery series. A Field Guide to Death & Deceit is the second book in the series and will be released later this year.
Kathy: Harry Lancaster works with his Gen Z colleague Emma. What makes writing two different generations working together fun and/or difficult?
MLC: I love writing two characters who are at two different stages of life, neither of which I belong to. Harry is a Boomer and Emma is a Gen Z (or very young Millennial). In many ways, Emma’s struggles with finding her own way mirror challenges I faced in my twenties; it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. And I hope that once I retire, I follow in Harry’s shoes and stay active and engaged. For the first book, I had beta readers from each age group review my manuscript to help make sure Harry and Emma’s voices rang true to their ages.
Kathy: In A Field Guide to Death and Deceit Harry meets up with an old sweetheart. Have you ever encountered an old love again?
MLC: I have. And while I’m not one to second guess the choices I’ve made, one guy has left me wondering what if…
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
MLC: Murder, She Wrote was the first cozy mystery that pulled me in. I have great memories of watching this as a kid with my dad. Each episode took place in a setting I’d love to visit, didn’t get too dark or gory, had interesting characters, sometimes involved humor, and always involved justice. They are the perfect escape.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MLC: I’ve written an action / adventure novel based on my aid work experiences in Rwanda. It’s a saved file for now…perhaps one day it will make its way into the world.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MLC: Only Murders in the Building goes to the Ohio suburbs in the Harry & Emma Mystery series. Full of wit and warmth, these whodunits feature a cross-generational crime-solving duo with a knack for finding mayhem and murder.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MLC: I think my favorite character right now is Elizabeth Best from Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Elizabeth is a cunning, tour de force who’s afraid of nothing. She’s the kind of older woman I’d love to be.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MLC: My mom sparked the idea for my first book in the Harry and Emma series. She initially resisted the idea of moving to a condominium for years, stating that she valued her privacy and didn’t want other people sticking their noses into her business – even though it would make things easier in terms of yardwork and clearing snow. A few years later, she ended moving to a stand-alone patio home that was part of an HOA that would take care of this outside work. When I went to help her set up her new home, imagine my surprise when I found her running from window to window to watch her neighbors’ comings and goings. With that, the idea for Harry Lancaster was born.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MLC: I love finding books with characters I enjoy spending time with, and finding series that I go back to time and time again because the characters feel like old friends. I wanted to create and offer that same feeling with others who love to read.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MLC: This is a tough question because the list of authors I’d love to meet is quite long. Off the top of my head, I’d say M.C. Beaton, Ann Cleeves, Deanna Raybourn, and Jesse Q. Sutanto.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MLC: I’m reading Jess Cannon’s A Zoom with a View and Uzma Jalaluddin’s Moonlight Murder and just finished Jessa Maxwell’s The Golden Spoon. Each book is fabulous!
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MLC: When I’m not working my day job or writing, I love to read, do yoga, or get outside, whether walking, kayaking, biking, paddle boarding, or skiing.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MLC: Salsa, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and quinoa – none of which go together but are great complements or additions to the meals I make.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MLC: I’ve just finished drafting flap copy for Harry & Emma Mystery books three through five, with the hopes of getting a two to three book deal to keep the series going. Fingers crossed!
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MLC: I love chatting with readers and other authors about books and the writing process. It never gets old!
You can learn more about me and my books or connect with me on social at the links below:
Website: https://mlcullen.com/
IG: @michellelcullen
Facebook: @MichelleLCullenAuthor
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A Field Guide to Death and Deceit: A Harry & Emma Mystery - A Novel by Michelle L. Cullen
About A Field Guide to Death and Deceit
Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Ohio
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 336 pages
Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer.
This delightful sequel to A Field Guide to Murder is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.
When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm's owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.
After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.
To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray.
As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns up dead.
About Michelle L. Cullen
Michelle L. Cullen has lived and traveled all over the world, from working as a bilingual secretary in Paris to backpacking around Europe, Central America, and Southern Africa to helping rebuild communities after war throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific — where she saw the best and worst of human behavior. Her lifelong fascination with people and why they do what they do, was further fueled by her academic training. She obtained her PhD from the London School of Economics' Sociology Department and her master’s degree in anthropology from Melbourne University in Australia.
A fan of adventure, she has a black belt in Taekwondo, has summited 900 feet rock climbing, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, and hiked up an active volcano. She currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she’s either doing yoga, playing outside, or plotting murder. She’s a proud member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guide, and has been gleefully reading and watching murder mysteries since the age of ten.
Author Links- Website: https://mlcullen.com/
- Newsletters: https://michelle-l-cullen.kit.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleLCullenAuthor/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellelcullen/
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55985912.Michelle_L_Cullen
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