I'm pleased to welcome Carmen Radtke back to Cozy Up With Kathy. Carmen writes the Alyssa Chalmers Mystery series. Death at the Dock is the third book in the series and was released last month.
Kathy: Death at the Dock finds Alyssa Chalmers traveling to Portland, Oregon to help a friend. Have you ever been called upon to help a friend?
CR: I have, but luckily never to solve a murder. A good friend once needed help to move out of her emotionally abusive boyfriend’s apartment as fast as possible. Three people, two cars, and three hours made it possible.
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
CR: More like serendipity (I like that word!).
Alyssa’s movements were always restricted by history. In The Prospect of Death she’d landed in British Columbia, which was back then in its infancy. The railroad wouldn’t reach the Pacific Northwest for several more years, so boats and horse-drawn wagons or mule trains were the main mode of transportation.
Due to its location, Portland was the main shipping hub for the whole region. That gave me the logical setting. I also knew it had to be Captain Moore who needed her help, because he’d originally struggled to accept her as equal. In his defence – he was very concerned about the well-being of the women in his care. Not unusually in the Victorian era, he expected them to be meek and gentle and not take charge in the way Alyssa tends to do. It felt right to have him come to appreciate Alyssa for her mind as well as her compassion.
From there on and with a growing port city that already had prosperous and seedier parts, my story evolved.
Kathy: The Alyssa Chalmers Mystery series is set in the 1860s. Why choose this time period for this series?
CR: I used to be a journalist, which makes for a tendency to stick to factual background. The series started with a true event. A group of young women were sent in 1862 from recession-hit Melbourne in Australia to Canada, to be married to prospectors. The scheme originated with a British woman called Maria Susan Rye. The bride transport from Australia to Canada ended after the inaugural voyage because the original brides all disappeared during a stopover.
I wrote The Case of the Missing Bride because I wanted these women to be remembered. I’m saving most of them on the page. Also, this whole era in the New World is fascinating. We’ve got a gold rush, rules from Queen Victoria in Canada and again different rules across the border. The War Between The States seems far from Oregon, yet it affects so many aspects of everyday life all across the country. Among other things, prices for a gallon of whisky rose from 25 cents in 1860 to 35 dollars in 1863. That was more money than a labourer earned in a month!
Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Alyssa?
CR: If she continues with her sleuthing, the next stop would be answering a call for help from London …
Kathy: Historical mysteries require an extra special brand of research. What's your favorite method to research this time period?
CR: It hasn’t changed much from my reporter days, with the exception that due to its tendency to make up things people want to hear, AI makes it harder to verify facts, and a lot of old articles are no longer to be found that easily. My favourite way of research is trips to museums. It’s endlessly fascinating to see what emigrants took with them, from crockery and silverware to knickknacks and books. And I love to read in old newspapers and magazines. (Cue Ar Foo’s tea store and the marshal and his “door rattlers”.)
Advertising tells you so much about what people aspired to! Census reports and cost of living statistics are another research tool I use frequently.
My sleuths are usually not rich aristocrats, and they investigate in a world where it’s not always easy to make ends meet and where a few coins can make all the difference.
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?
CR: I definitely fall in between! I know my main characters with all their flaws and strengths, I know the victim, the motive, and the culprit, but I only have a loose outline and no template. The story evolves as I write it, which keeps me on my toes. There are always characters who only reveal their importance to me along the way.
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?
CR: That’s a sore point. It’s taken me years to accept that marketing is part of the job. As a reporter you know that it’s always about the story and never about you. As an author, you’re part of the story!
That said, I love interacting with readers. It’s the best way to connect with people who also love books and tropes and ideas. We live in what can be lonely, scary times. I like to think that books allow us escapism, but also help form bonds.
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
CR: My next release end of April is Blackmail & Broomsticks, a Willowmere midlife magic mystery. It’s currently with my editor.
With historical mysteries, I stay as close to the facts as I can, because history matters to me. But when it comes to contemporary cozies, I can’t think of anything better than to add a sprinkle of magic to my mysteries. That said, even with witchcraft and a talking cat, these characters could be your neighbours or your friends. I wouldn’t mind trading places for a bit (although my cat is already wonderful).
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Death at the Dock: An Alyssa Chalmers Historical Mystery by Carmen Radtke
About Death at the Dock
Historical Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - Portland, Oregon, in 1862
Independently Published
Publication Date: February 27, 2026
Print Length: 191 pages
A sharp tongue. An even sharper mind. A Victorian sleuth criminals overlook at their peril.
1862. A new home in a prospectors’ town, a new life, and two steadfast admirers: Alyssa Chalmers’ future is secure among her friends.
But when Captain Moore sends a message, begging for her help, she can’t say no. With the doctor and the First Officer by her side, she travels to Portland, Oregon. She finds a situation worse than she feared. Two of the captain’s crew have gone missing and the local marshal is adamant they simply jumped ship. Even the discovery of a body is unable to change his mind. Captain Moore knows better. He is convinced that something sinister is going on, and he needs sharp-witted Alyssa and her sleuthing partners to figure it out. But dark secrets and vices are lurking everywhere. Alyssa needs all her wits to figure out who to trust - and how to save the missing men before there’s another murder.Death at the Dock is the third mystery in this captivating series that transports readers back to the 1860s, with a heroine determined to make her own way in a society made for men. Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody.
About Carmen Radtke
Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents.
When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.
The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s. The cozy midlife witch series featuring Bex Merriweather and her cat familiar are the latest addition to her literary output.
In real life, she’s only spilled blood once, when she swatted a fly, and even that was an accident. Although she’s a devoted cat servant, her feline companion doesn’t talk. Yet.
Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family.
Author Links:
Website - https://www.carmenradtkeauthor.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/carmenradtkeauthor
Purchase Link: Amazon
