I'm so pleased to feature Kara Lacey as September's author of the month! Kara and I "met" on Instagram several years ago and became friends while we were both writing our first mysteries. We ended up signing with the same agent, and met face-to-face for the first time at the Malice Domestic Mystery Convention in the spring of 2023. I'm so happy to call her friend.
Kara's debut novel, Caught on Camera, released earlier this week. I was honored to be able to read an early copy and can say with complete confidence that cozy mystery readers are going to love this new series.
Here's what to expect:
Blue skies and wildflowers signal the start of summer in southern Vermont, and the Stonebridge Keep it Snappy Camera Club lenses are zoomed in on…murder.
It's been more than a year since the sudden death of her husband, and photographer Bobbie Brooks wants nothing more than to escape her grief. Fleeing her life in the city, she seeks a fresh start in the serenity of the Green Mountains. But Bobbie’s new beginning comes to a halt when she finds a member of her camera club dead beneath the village’s idyllic covered bridge. Tragic accident or something sinister? With a keen photographer’s eye, Bobbie suspects murder. As if transitioning to small-town life wasn’t challenging enough, Bobbie’s missing scarf is found at the murder scene, making her the primary focus. Scorned by local gossips, she enlists the help of her camera club and shifts her lens from photographer to amateur sleuth. Using photos found on the victim’s camera, they waste no time setting out to catch the killer—and discover no shortage of suspects. Secrets, lies, and blackmail…Danger abounds as they close in on the killer. Her camera holds the answers… But can she develop the clues in time to stop the killer?
I asked Kara if she would share her inspiration for Bobbie and her passion for photography.
Thanks so much, Paula, for you interest in Bobbie and her passion for photography. I’ve always had characters rattling around in my head in various forms. Mostly, they were little more than vague sketches in my mind—until I met Bobbie.
Twelve years ago, my husband and I, stressed out from our 12-plus hour work days, bought a weekend home in Vermont. On Friday evenings, we’d escape from the city and head straight for the Green Mountains. Inspired by Vermont’s charming farms and villages, I bought myself a camera and spent the better part of every weekend snapping photos. My talent for photography is limited, but I wasn’t about to let that dampen my enthusiasm. Before I knew it, I’d joined online photography challenges, groups, and workshops, and I became part of a supportive community of amateur photographers. Then, one weekend, I walked into my village’s country market with my ever-present camera hanging on its strap, and a man approached me, curious about the pictures I was taking. He said to me, “You should start a photography club.”
Fast-forward several years. One rainy afternoon, shortly after quitting my job and moving to Vermont full time, my cozy mystery-loving mom and I sat down to chat over a cup of tea. “I’m going to write a mystery,” I said. “My main character will be a middle-aged Bostonian who moves to Vermont and starts a photography club.” Sure, many times I’d toyed with the idea of writing a book. But to this day, I don’t know where any of that came from.
My mom sipped her tea and nodded. “I’d read that,” she said, without the slightest hint of surprise in her voice.
I never started that photography club, but Bobbie did. (She’s a much better photographer, anyway.) And I’m having so much fun bringing Bobbie and her camera club sidekicks to life!
Well, I'm glad Bobbie started the camera club, and you wrote the book about it, Kara!
Readers, you can find Caught on Camera at your favorite book retailers!
Pop over to Kara's website to learn more about her and her books, and don't forget to sign up for her newsletter! You'll get a link to download an absolutely gorgeous recipe booklet that you're going to want!
Kara Lacey is the author of the Camera Club Mysteries. Along with her husband, she lives in a tiny village nestled in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont—the inspiration for her novels. Kara is a photography enthusiast who also enjoys hiking, skiing, and getting cozy with a good book. When she’s not at her laptop creating havoc for her characters, you can find her rambling through the forest with her husband and spirited Labrador retriever, camera in hand.
Kara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime-New England, and Mystery Writers of America. She is also a co-Member at Large for Vermont SinC NE writers.