Susan Tancrelle’s first book
features a female main character.
BETHEL – Susan Tancrelle loves mysteries. She’s read thousands and has thousands in her bookcases. The only trouble is, virtually all are written by men, and even those written by women almost always feature a male main character.
She’s about to change that.
Tancrelle, who moved to Bethel from Massachusetts and Rhode Island a year ago, just published her first murder mystery novel, “Deadly Deception.” And she said more are to come.
“I love the twists and turns of mysteries. I loved writing it. I would wake up in the middle of the night and write things down,” she said from her spacious wraparound deck overlooking Mt. Washington and Mt. Abram.
“There aren’t nearly enough women detectives, or women characters out there, and most mystery readers are women,” she said.
The featured detective is Jenna Casey, a woman who is tough and strong enough to work as a detective for the Boston Police Department and soft enough to nurture a young daughter and husband.
“Women can identify with that,” said Tancrelle.
She loves reading mysteries that keep people guessing right up until the last page. That’s what she tries to do with her 416-page, softcover novel that features Jenna investigating the death of her father, her husband and the kidnapping of her daughter.
The story takes place in Boston and in Bar Harbor. Tancrelle is familiar with both. She has a daughter who worked at the Boston Stock Exchange and Tancrelle has visited Bar Harbor’s biking trails and restaurants many times.
She’s a self-taught mystery writer by having read so many novels and she’s always had a library card and book club memberships.
Until a few years ago, she worked in the superintendent’s office of the Woonsocket, R.I., School Department. She and her husband, Marc, a retired plumber, had been coming to Sunday River to ski for many years. So when they decided to leave a busy, crowded small town in Massachusetts, they thought of Bethel.
“We wanted the solitude and quiet. This is very beautiful,” she said.
It was just prior to the move that she started her novel. Writing it took just about a year.
“I’ve always wanted to write. In college, I took a lot of literary courses,” she said.
She’s not sure why she finally decided to start. But all the while, her husband offered lots of encouragement.
With “Deadly Deception” on sale at Books-n-Things in Bethel, and through 1stBooks.com, Amazon.com and other Web sites, she has already blocked out her second mystery, again with Jenna Casey as the heroine. This time she searches for a serial killer who kills women who abuse their children.
Her book signing debut takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, July 14, at Books-n-Things in Bethel.
eadams@sunjournal.com
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