This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Mixed families often double their holidays. Which means the culinary options are rather excellent. Take Christmas. I grew up the daughter of a German mother who still makes hundreds of beautiful cookies each year. I have learned to bake some of these cookies, but I can’t hold a … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. Dollhouses have a shelf in my life. I played with dolls and miniatures for a very long time—longer even than my little sisters. Our house had a tall, narrow built-in bookcase on the second floor landing, and I set up rooms for my tiny doll family on five … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. When times are frightening, worry comes easily. It’s much harder to be the one to step forward into harm’s way. Recently, my attention was drawn back to World War II and one of its greatest heroines, aka the “Spy Princess.” I am thankful for what she did—and I … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. It seems like yesterday, but it was last summer. I was dutifully working on edits when I got a surprising email. My editor, Juliet, had informed me about a Christmas mystery short story anthology scheduled for October 2017. Soho Press authors writing mysteries set in different parts of … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I thought I was done with babies fifteen years ago. But there’s a baby in our Baltimore house again—a fur-baby. The adventure began when my college student daughter was scrolling Facebook and found a frantic post from a woman overwhelmed with four children and two dogs. The … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. One of my favorite parts of a recent India trip was staying at the City Palace in Udaipur. This is the seat of the Mewar kingdom—a dynasty of Rajput kings who were never conquered by the Moghals or British. Mewar joined with other Rajput kingdoms in northern India … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. As noted recently in The Washington Post, now is a bad time to be afraid of clowns. Because they are everywhere. Pennywise the Dancing Clown features in the film It, based on Stephen King’s famous book. And when I tuned into the FX program American Horror Story Season 7, I found more … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. I cannot call myself a native Baltimorean. However, I’ve spent almost two-thirds of my life in this so-called “Charm City,” so I call myself one by conversion. I love my town. When I arrived here fresh off the plane for college, I believed I was going to a … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. In the height of summer, a heap of imperfectly gorgeous tomatoes rest on my kitchen island. They beseech me to touch them and make something great. The obvious thing would be to make a lush sauce—but it’s 90 degrees outside, and I’m not in the mood for cozy … Read more
This post originally appeared on Murder Is Everywhere. A week ago Sunday, I sat in a crowded conference room in Bethesda and listened to a few comparison of novels to toothpaste. When you go looking for toothpaste at the drugstore, what would you think if your favorite one was missing—because Proctor & Gamble hadn’t felt inspired … Read more