Thu 11 Jan 2007
Checklist: Real estate agents as detectives
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists[11] Comments
I recently read and reviewed an obscure one-shot mystery from the 1950s in which the amateur detective was also newly hired as a real estate seller. In fact the murder occurred during a open house she was holding. The book was Held Open for Death, by Evelyn Payne (Arcadia House, 1958), in case you were wondering, and if you’d like to read the review, here is where you may.
What I wondered out loud when I wrote the review was how many other real estate agents can you think of who’ve been called upon to solve mysteries over the years, either as a series character or as a one-shot deal?
I also asked the question on DorothyL, and while some of answers were obvious ones, the people who hang out there know their stuff. Several of the responses were of authors and characters I’d never have come up with on my own, no matter how long you’d left me to do so, nor how many reference books I had access to.
The first reply was from Debbie Bogenschutz:
Two-Story Frame
Closing Statement
A Killing in Real Estate
Heir Condition
Charlaine Harris had a series featuring a librarian Aurora Teagarden whose mother (a regular character) was a real estate agent. The Julius House and Three Bedrooms, One Corpse had more real estate aspects, as I remember.
The realtor-detective in the McClellan books was Schuyler Ridgeway, described online, where I immediately went to look her up, as “feisty” and “spunky.”
From the plot outlines of the Teagarden books, of which there are seven, Three Bedrooms, One Corpse appears to be the one most closely related to the real estate business: “Basking in an inheritance that makes her financially independent, Roe’s looking for a new occupation. Her days as a librarian are over. Real estate might be fun, she thinks. And who better to teach her the tricks of the trade than her Lauren Bacall look-alike mother, Aida Brattle Teagarden Queensland, who happens to own one of the major real estate firms in town?”
Go here for plot summaries of all of Aurora�s adventures in solving murders.
The next email was from John McFetridge:
I saw your post on DorothyL. I can’t think of any real estate agent sleuths, but my first novel was published in 2006 and the main character is a real estate agent named Roxanne Keyes. She witnesses a murder, doesn’t tell the cops she recognized the killer and tries to blackmail him. Still, I don’t see her as the bad guy.
The book’s called Dirty Sweet. You can get more info here: www.johnmcfetridge.ca
Good luck,
John
The book doesn’t exactly fit the “cozy” profile I had in mind for the category, but I certainly agree that it fits the category. Thanks, John, and good luck with the book.
John’s reply:
I had fun doing the real estate research for my book. I got to use phrases like “shadow vacancies” and “off-market deals.”
John
From Diana Vickery, an email brief and to the point:
Ben Abbott is described online as a small town Connecticut real estate agent and private investigator. There are four in the series, including McMansion, which came out only last month. The three earlier ones are:
StoneDust
FrostLine
I know of these books, and I haven’t read any of them. What with the private eye aspect of the character and the small town Connecticut setting, I don’t know why. I will make it a point to definitely do something about that. (And more about Justin Scott in an upcoming post, if all goes well.)
PS. Check out Diana’s Cozy Library website. It is what it says and more. The reviews, most if not all of them written by Diana, are both informed and informative.
Posted on DorothyL was this response from Bente Gallagher:
The first line of Maggie Sefton’s Dying to Sell reads this way: “In Fort Collins, Colorado Shamrock Realty realtor Kate Doyle detests having to sell the home of friends, attorney Mark and Amanda Schuster, who have filed for divorce.”
When Mark is murdered, Amanda is suspected. While Maggie Sefton has written three “Knitting Mysteries,” this is the only “Real Estate Mystery” listed on her website. Beth Groundwater mentioned the same book.
A description of Nina Wright’s books: “The humorous Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series is set in the scenic Lake Michigan resort town of Magnet Springs. Suddenly widowed at age 33, realtor Whiskey Mattimoe finds herself saddled with her late husband’s diva dog, Abra the Afghan hound, who has the unfortunate and felonious habit of stealing purses. That’s bad for business but not as bad as having clients die on site. A string of deaths at properties that she manages forces Whiskey to solve murders in order to stay solvent.” At present (or soon), there are (will be) three books in the series, with one more on the way:
Whiskey Straight Up
Whiskey and Tonic (June 2007)
Whiskey and Water (in progress)
Check out the author’s website for more information.
Today on DorothyL, the following message was posted by Caroline Craig:
Absolutely. From the author’s website, there are four books in the Belle Palmer series:
Black Flies Are Murder
Bush Poodles Are Murder
Murder, Eh?
The “middle-aged” Belle is a realtor who lives in northern Ontario, which helps to explain the titles. Based on online descriptions, it is difficult to say how much of the real estate business is involved in each one of the books, but a realtor is what she is.
And as of today, this is where the checklist stands. Thanks to all who’ve contributed, and if you can come up with any that I’ve missed, then by all means, let me know.
UPDATE: Later the same day. I am not sure how or why things like this happen, but they do. My monthly shipment of Worldwide Mysteries arrived from Harlequin today, and one of the three was … Maggie Sefton’s Dying to Sell. Maybe that means I am destined to read it, and I think I shall. By the way, you can only get the Worldwide books by subscription and through the mail now, is that so? You can’t buy them in stores? This paperback edition isn’t even listed on Amazon.com.
January 14th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
My realtor sleuth Belle Palmer lives in the Nickel Capital, Sudbury, Ontario, and specializes in cottage properties, which lets her roam around the bush at will. As mentioned earlier, there are four books in the series, Murder, Eh? being the latest. In that novel, I finally got around to letting Belle find a body at a house showing. For that, I earned a mention on a strange website called “Bathtub murders in Toronto.” The next entry in the series may be titled Dial Belle for Murder. Selling houses is an ideal job for an amateur sleuth because she’s always coming in contact with new people…often with secrets to hide.
January 14th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Hi Lou. It’s good to hear from you. It’s also good news that Belle will soon have another case to solve. I don’t fully understand the premise of the website you mention, but you’re right, there you are at http://torontoseeker.com/torontobathtubmurderers.htm
January 15th, 2007 at 12:36 am
Hi, Steve. Thanks for mentioning Whiskey Mattimoe, my Realtor turned amateur sleuth. I agree with Lou Allin; a career in real estate offers our protagonists access to the private lives of many fascinating strangers. Moreover, since choosing a place to live is an expensive and emotional decision, high stakes are already in place.
My humorous series is set in Magnet Springs, Michigan, a fictional tourist town across the Lake from Chicago. In addition to a cast of artistic and eccentric regulars, Whiskey encounters affluent vacationers who pack their dark sides when they leave home.
Another perk of the Realtor protagonist is her legitimate excuse to snoop (a little). Since I’m personally fascinated by architecture and home design, one of the promises I make to my readers is that Whiskey will find herself inside at least one uniquely fascinating property per book. I enjoy concocting those details as much as the gourmet mystery writers probably savor their recipes.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:35 am
To both Lou and Nina,
I believe that you’ve pointed out something essential in each of your posts. The biggest problem in maintaining an amateur detective as a continuing character is how do you (believably) make sure that your detective keeps coming across murders to solve?
At first I was surprised at the large number of realtor-sleuths that turned up. Now I’m wondering why there aren’t more of them!
>>> Lou’s email reply to me:
Hi, Steve
One cliche I avoid (selective memory privilege) is having people comment to the sleuth, “Oh so you’re the one who keeps finding bodies. Any luck lately?” or some such. We all know that even police detectives don’t normally work on murder after murder (well, maybe in New Orleans or LA).
If readers want amateur sleuth mysteries, they’ll agree with the willing suspension of disbelief.
Lou
March 29th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Another Realtor detective
Valerie Bradstreet writing as Elisabeth Welles, main character is Real Estate Agency Owner Jannine Austin. Titles in series are:
Fahnsworth Manor – 1976
(Fahnworth Manor)
Captain’s Walk – 1976
Waterview Manor – 1976
Seagull Crag – 1977
Spaniard’s Gift – 1977
Mountainside Acres – 1977
-Randy
March 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Randy
Thanks for the information — that Janine Austin was a realtor in those books is new to me.
May I ask a few followup questions.
Al Hubin in CRIME FICTION IV states that Elizabeth Welles was a “house name” and credits Mary Linn Roby as the author of only one of them, SEAGULL CRAG.
On various websites Valerie Bradstreet is said to have been a pen name of Mary Linn Roby. So far as I’ve been able to tell, she wrote only a couple of Regency romances under that name.
Do you know whether or not Roby wrote ALL of the Welles books?
Hubin gives the character’s name as Janine in most places, but Jannine in one other. Which is correct?
The (unmarried) character is known as Jannine Austin in CRAG, but as Janine West in some or all of the others. Apparently she was married at some point in the series. If this is correct, do you know when? In which books was she Austin and in which was she West?
I don’t know if you can answer all of these questions, but I hope that maybe you can for some.
— Steve
April 16th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I never wrote any books by someone named Welles.
September 20th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I wasn’t writing when this blog was posted, but I am now. May I suggest you take a look at the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series that I write. Titles are:
The Death Contingency
Backyard Bones
Buying Murder
As far as I know, I’m the only real estate agent who writes with a Realtor protagonist. Please feel free to read first chapters at my website, http://www.goodreadmysteries.com
November 10th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Interesting post… As a Realtor, I’ve never dreamed of writing a book in my “spare” time. Good to see there are those of us out there that have a passion that they can work on the side like that!
-Jeff
October 18th, 2016 at 7:26 am
I think the spelling of the series character’s first name should be Jannine in all cases. And at least three of the titles were copyrighted in the name of book developer Lyle Kenyon Engel, 1915-1986.
October 18th, 2016 at 12:58 pm
Thanks, Al. Jannine it is.