For as long as I can remember, I have loved a good mystery. As a small child I devoured the Cam Jansen series about a young sleuth with a photographic memory, before eventually transitioning to Nancy Drew. I had stacks of those beloved yellow-covered Nancy Drew books
and would stay up late, hiding under the blankets with a flashlight, to figure out whodunnit. I then turned to Sherlock Holmes, and as a pre-teen was reading Mary Higgins Clark novels. Of course, I also consumed lots of other mystery media as a child of the 80s and 90s from Scooby Doo to Murder, She Wrote to Columbo. Now shows like Ludwig, Death in Paradise, and Father Brown fill my to-be-watched lists.
Despite this lifelong love of mysteries, it somehow didn’t occur to me to write one until just a few years ago. Before then, I had written a lot of speculative short fiction and poetry, often focused on nature, another love of mine. Perhaps I was intimidated by the daunting task of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for someone else. Or perhaps it was simply I had never written a novel – the sheer length of the medium overwhelming me. But after reading a few cozy mysteries for fun, my mind followed the path out of the woods, and I started plotting. So many cozies are about crafting or knitting (something I also do for fun), but there didn’t seem to be many about my other favorite hobby: board games.
In addition to the stacks of books that fill my house, there are also piles of board games. I am not a very social person (which is to say I am a major introvert). But I do enjoy sitting around a table with a few close friends and playing a game. This is probably because, ultimately, I love a puzzle. I love figuring stuff out. Whether it’s the mystery of the hidden staircase ala Nancy Drew, or which action I should take on my next turn, I enjoy mulling over all the possibilities and coming up with a solution to try out (“Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Wrench!”). Now that I think about it, this is probably why I also liked Chemistry in high school and was on the Science Olympiad team…did I mention I was a big nerd, or had you already figured that out?
If you also like the occasional board game or other nerdy hobbies, then my new cozy mystery, Player Elimination, might be a good fit for you. Wren Winters and her friends love to get together on a Thursday evening to catch up on each others’ lives and play games. Whether it’s a complex strategy game, a zany party game, or a cooperative story-telling game, Wren and the others know there’s something out there for everyone to enjoy. How about you? Is it Scrabble with your razor-sharp grandma who always triple-word scores, or Ticket to Ride with the kids, or Mahjong with your besties? What do you like to play on a cozy game night?
About the Author
Shelly Jones is a professor by trade and a nerd by design. Woefully introverted, their pockets are full of post-it notes and their head is full of (unsaid) witty come-backs and un-won arguments from years past. When they aren’t grading papers or writing new cozy mysteries, Shelly can often be found hiking in the woods or playing a board game while their cats look on.
You can also connect with Shelly on Bluesky, Amazon, and Goodreads!
