To calm me down, my trial partner reminded me that it was low stakes. Our client had already served 18 months in prison while awaiting trial. That was the longest he’d need to serve if the jury found him guilty. 

In other words, either way he was being released this week.

When I first learned that, I was shocked. How could that be fair? A Not Guilty meant no criminal record, so it mattered. Especially if he got arrested for something in the future. But the government couldn’t give him the 18 months back. Everything he might have done during that time was just a loss.

Why Stay In Prison?

The client stayed in prison while we prepared for trial because his mother had enough money to either pay for his lawyers or his bail. But not both. He might have qualified for a public defender. But PDs in Cook County, Illinois, often have huge caseloads. A defense lawyer who is paid typically has more time to devote to the case and that can make a big difference.

And while it was my first trial, the lead lawyer on the case had tried hundreds if not thousands of cases during his decades first as a prosecutor and then as a defense lawyer. He was the guy other lawyers sent their toughest cases to. 

The choice is one a lot of criminal defendants face. They haven’t been convicted of anything. But they’re in jail. Even if they’re innocent, they might plea bargain (meaning agree to plead guilty for a shorter sentence) just to be able to go home. Otherwise, many will lose their jobs. Their kids might have no one to take care of them. And then there’s the physical and mental toll of being incarcerated.

First Trial, No Real Answers

That first trial resulted in a Not Guilty.

But I still don’t have an answer to this dilemma. While the defendant has a right to a speedy trial, it takes time to prepare a strong defense. Rushing forward is rarely good for the client. And while it’s unfair that someone who might be innocent remains in jail, it can be dangerous to let people arrested for violent crimes go free during that time.

This balance and the pressure on someone charged with a crime inspired part of my novel The Troubled Man. I don’t write legal thrillers–I get enough law in the rest of my life. But the main character in my Q.C. Davis mystery series is both a lawyer and a private investigator. Using some legal drama as a backdrop for the crimes she solves gives me the chance to paint a somewhat realistic picture of how the law works.

What’s The Story?

In The Troubled Man, a desperate teenage girl begs Quille to help free her father, now in jail for the murder of her mother. While the plot revolves around Quille’s quest to uncover the true killer (even if that turns out to be the father), the ins and outs of the justice system are woven in throughout. If you read it, I hope you’ll enjoy the crime solving and the chance to follow along with Quille. But I’d love to hear your thoughts about how it portrays the criminal justice system, too.

The post First Trials and Time Served appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

Do I have to read the Q.C. Davis books in order, or can I pick up any title and dive right in?

You can read the books in any order. No later book spoils the mystery in any earlier one. Some readers like reading in order so they can follow the recurring characters’ lives as they unfold. (The first book is The Worried Man.) But others enjoy jumping into the series in the middle and then going back to learn more about Quille and her friends and allies.

Who is Quille C. Davis, and how does her work as a Chicago lawyer—and her surprising stage-acting past—shape the way she investigates murders?

As a child and teenager, Quille worked as a stage actress. She changed her focus in college because she enjoyed the business courses she took and because she saw many very talented friends become frustrated with the ups and downs of the acting profession. Quille’s acting experience helps her choose how to look and what parts of her life to draw on to connect with witnesses to crimes and get them talking. Quille became a lawyer a bit later in life. That work helped her become expert at analyzing facts objectively, sizing up witnesses, and persuading people to cooperate with her. These skills, too, aid her in figuring out who committed a crime and how.

Are these mysteries gritty and graphic, or are they more psychological page-turners that skip explicit violence and sex?

Other than minor run-ins, the violence all occurs “off-screen.” There are no sex scenes, though romances and relationships are key to some storylines. For those reasons, while the novels are darker in tone than cozies, many cozy readers still enjoy them. If you like detective mysteries, recurring characters you get to know and care deeply about over time, and following the clues without graphic violence or sex, the Q.C. Davis series is for you.

How much of the Chicago setting is drawn from real neighborhoods and landmarks, and which locations might readers recognize?

The neighborhoods, streets, and landmarks are real, though sometimes the names change. As do locations as the city evolves. For instance, four buildings now stand in the vast field across from the River City apartment complex featured in The Charming Man. (But you can still visit that apartment complex.) And you can check out the courtrooms in the Richard J. Daley Center and the Picasso sculpture in its plaza, and take a yellow Water Taxi down the Chicago River to RPM Seafood. Or visit Four Seasons, the mosaic wall by Marc Chagall in the heart of downtown. Quille’s favorite tapas restaurants, Café Ba-Ba-Reeba! and Tapas Valencia, are real and still serve wonderful food. The Albert, a setting in The Skeptical Man, is also worth a visit to see all the books and Albert Einstein memorabilia firsthand.

There’s mention of Quille’s sister’s cold-case murder—does that personal mystery thread through the whole series or wrap up early on?

Quille investigates the murder of the original Q.C. Davis, whose death essentially destroyed Quille’s childhood, particularly her relationship with her mother, in the sixth book in the series, The Forgotten Man. But even after that, the murder and fallout of the investigation still impact Quille’s life and her relationships with her family members.

What’s the story behind the “Man” naming pattern—The Worried Man, The Charming Man, and so on—and will every future book follow it?

When I started the series, suspense and thriller novels with Girl in the title were flooding the market. Many were gripping and well-written, but Girl grated on me. I’m sure it’s because when I entered the workplace, women from twenty to seventy in all types of jobs (including criminal prosecutors), were being called girls while men who did those jobs were called, well, men. So I couldn’t quite bring myself to use Girl when titling the books.

I wanted to veer away, too, from another common trope—stories of women being victimized, often by a stranger. Again, many of those types of books are good reads. But I wanted to write books where it wasn’t a given that the person who was murdered was female and where the crimes were based in personal relationships, which is more often the case in real life. While using Man in the title doesn’t necessarily signal all of that, I hope it suggests these aren’t books about women in peril.

I do plan to follow the naming pattern in all future novels. (Q.C. Davis short stories and novellas do not use Man in the title.)

If I’m a fan of Sara Paretsky, Jonathan Kellerman, or Louise Penny, what will I find familiar—and fresh—in the Q.C. Davis books?

Like Sara Paretsky’s and Jonathan Kellerman’s books, the Q.C. Davis novels are narrated by the person investigating crimes—here Quille C. Davis. Like Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware, though, Quille is a professional in another field who gets drawn into solving crime. Like Delaware, she is good at it partly because she connects well and empathizes with others and has experience analyzing facts and relationships. Like Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski, Quille is a woman dealing with what are still largely men’s worlds. Quille has a kinder, gentler approach than V.I., but she is just as dedicated to fighting for those who need it and seeing justice done.  Also, Quille’s friends are much more supportive than V.I.’s and they actively help Quille solve the murders she investigates. And, as in Sara Paretsky’s books, most of the books are grounded in the city of Chicago, which is almost a character in the series.

The way Louise Penny writes about the community of Three Pines inspired me to create a group of friends and allies around Quille. Though Chicago is a large city, Quille lives and works in Printers Row, a small neighborhood that serves as her home base, much like Three Pines. Her best friend lives in the same condo building as Quille. Quille is friends with the owners of the café in the building where she works—a café with lots of books, a fireplace, and plenty of dark hot chocolate. If you enjoy the camaraderie of the friends in Three Pines, wish you could visit Olivier and Gabri’s café and bed and breakfast, and like a strong sense of place as a backdrop for crime novels and mysteries, the Q.C. Davis series is for you.

Will Quille stay rooted in Chicago, or will later books take her to other intriguing spots?

The books will keep being mainly based in Chicago, highlighting what’s fascinating, fun, and intriguing about the city. But Quille’s investigations take her other places. In The Fractured Man, Quille tracks down witnesses in New York (and has a good steak dinner at New York institution Peter Lugar). In The Forgotten Man, she spends a lot of time in downstate and central Illinois as she investigates the murder of her sister, the original Quille C. Davis, which has haunted her family for years. And the plot of The Skeptical Man takes Quille to Europe, where she flies mega first class, stays at a luxury hotel and eats caviar. Future adventures will take her to other locales in and out of the United States[SL1] .

Why do the books often include (real) restaurants as settings?

When I started the Q.C. Davis crime novels I wasn’t thinking about restaurants. But they quickly became a key part of the books. Sleuths need to interview a lot of people. Scenes with just questions and answers start to feel repetitive. One way to vary those types of scenes is to set them in places readers might enjoy visiting or to feature food or drinks they want to try. Plus I enjoy dining out. It’s fun to share that part of Chicago life on the page. Many readers tell me they can’t wait to see where Quille eats when the next book comes out. 

Books In The Q.C. Davis Mystery Series

The Worried Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 1)

The Charming Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 2)

The Fractured Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 3)

No Good Plays (A Q.C. Davis Mystery Novella)

The Troubled Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 4)

The Hidden Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 5)

The Forgotten Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 6)

The Skeptical Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 7)

Box Sets

Q.C. Davis Mysteries Box Set Books 1-3

Q.C. Davis Mysteries Box Set Books 4-6

The post FAQs About The Q.C. Davis Mysteries appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

In case they might be helpful to you, too, here are a few of my favorites.

Intriguing, Upbeat Mystery To Cure Late Winter Blues

In comedy/drama A Man On The Inside, Ted Danson plays a retired professor who needs something new in his life. He answers an ad for a freelance private investigator to go under cover in a retirement community and solve a crime. I love the follow-the-clues aspect, the great characters (played by many engaging costars), and just plain fun. And it’s been green lit for a new season, which I can’t wait to see.

Find it on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81677257 

Fun Non-Fiction About Dancing, Stage, And Screen

I just finished The Third Gilmore Girl, a memoir by Tony-award winning actress, singer, and dancer Kelly Bishop. Despite Gilmore Girls in the title, the book is more about Kelly’s entire life and career. It includes her early years as a dancer, her experience as one of many who co-created and starred in the original A Chorus Line on Broadway, and her transition to screen acting, including her role in Dirty Dancing. 

If you have any interest in the world of the performing arts, this is a fun, engaging read. And while Kelly has many hard times, she strikes a note of joy overall in her career and life. 

Learn more on Goodreads by clicking here. 

Favorite Stories To Listen To

I love relistening to Pride and Prejudice in the winter. Revisiting Eliza Bennett, Mr. Darcy, Jane and Bingley, and all the Bennetts brings me so much joy. Narrator Shiromi Arserio’s voice is one I could listen to forever no matter the topic. This is also the one recommendation I have a bit of a role in — I wrote a foreword and afterword for the special edition.

Click here to listen.

Another favorite (and classic) relisten narrated by Shiromi is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Who can forget little Sara Crewe’s trials when her father the captain dies and her charmed life at Miss Minchin’s school becomes a nightmare. But Sara is so imaginative, hopeful, and kind through it all. And the book is all around fun to listen to or reread. You can find it here (or wherever you buy audiobooks).

Other Ways To Brighten Your Days

Entertainment isn’t the only way to brighten or lighten up your days. I like coloring, leaving a string of holiday lights up, drinking hot cocoa or chocolate tea Sunday mornings while I read fiction for an hour, planning a movie night, and catching up with family or friends I haven’t seen in far too long.

The holiday lights remind me — 

Sometimes people ask how I get so much done. Scheduling and focus help, but I leave a lot undone, too. As I noted recently on Facebook and Instagram, I didn’t get to taking my Christmas tree down until a couple days after Valentine’s Day. I haven’t sent my usual newsletter out in over a month (hopefully I will get to that soon). And laundry…well, let’s just say I spent all day Tuesday doing 5 loads and still have some left.

But I did recently release my new book Buffy and the Art of Story Season Three Part 2: How To Write Characters The Audience Loves (Or Loves To Hate) And Plots They Can’t Put Down, record an audiobook version of The The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror, and nearly finish the first draft of my new supernatural suspense novel. 

It’s all a tradeoff. And I’m learning to be okay with that. Which only took me a few decades but better late than never.

I hope you find some of these ideas fun or helpful! Feel free to comment below and share your favorites with me.

Best,

Lisa

The post Shows And Stories Cure Late Winter Blues appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

Scrivener, the program I used, made it easy to both follow the overall plot I sorted out in advance and vary it where needed. (No spoilers, though, if you haven’t yet read the book.)

Intrigued by The Skeptical Man? Learn more by clicking here.

If you’re a writer, too, and find this helpful, you might want to check out my non-fiction books for writers, including Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide For Plotting And Writing Your Novel. Or you can download free story structure worksheets here. 

The post How To Write A Mystery appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

Peek behind the scenes of the new release and all the Q.C. Davis crime novels throughout the day. There’ll be videos, location photos, book excerpts, quotes, and, of course, the traditional all-important book launch quiz.

Win and get a character named after you in the next novel!

Hope to see you on October 9! Click here to join.

The Skeptical Man Book Launch

Justice or illusion? Quille C. Davis risks it all to uncover deadly secrets in the world of magic.

In the mesmerizing world of magic and illusion, lawyer and private investigator Quille C. Davis finds herself entangled in a puzzling murder case. Her task: solve the murder of her dear friend’s husband, a renowned magician with a complicated past.

The victim, Randall Petrov, recently distanced himself from his family’s business. He devoted his energy to a noble cause: a nonprofit that brought the magic of hope to hospitalized children. But in doing so, he stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble, uncovering corruption and fraud. Additionally, Petrov conducted a daring sting operation that unmasked a fraudulent psychic who preyed upon vulnerable parents seeking solace. Suspicion falls, too, upon his own brother, set to inherit the family business.

Quille delves into the investigation, navigating not only the streets of Chicago, but a mystical European city. Her pursuit of justice comes at a great cost as she finds herself the target of deadly attempts on her life. Quille faces internal turmoil as well. Haunted by the recent resolution of her sister’s decades-old murder, Quille knows firsthand that justice does not always bring closure and healing — especially when it comes to her strained relationship with her parents.

Complicating matters is her long-distance boyfriend. Uncertainty over his return to Chicago leaves Quille torn between loyalty and the allure of an attractive and intelligent musician who aided her in a past investigation.

The Skeptical Man is a riveting mystery that takes readers through an intricate world of magic, family secrets, and personal redemption. Will Quille uncover the truth behind Randall Petrov’s murder, unearth the sinister corruption plaguing the nonprofit, and ultimately find the solace she seeks? Or will she fall prey to the same killer who ended Petrov’s life?

Get your copy today and uncover the truth behind the illusions.

Kindle | Paperback | Large Print (Coming Soon)

The post Book Launch The Skeptical Man appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

1. What Quille learns about her father’s past deeply disappoints and angers her. Is she being fair to him? Do his explanations satisfy you?
2. Does knowing more about what Quille’s mother went through when Quille was a baby make you more sympathetic to her? Could she do more to improve her relationship with Quille? 
3. Do you think Quille will be more understanding with her mother from now on? Should she be?
4. Is Dylan (the pastor’s son) being honest with himself about the ways he is both like and unlike his father? How do you think both his mother and his father influence how he sees himself and the world? 
5. Do you still feel strongly about events involving your parents or your children that happened long ago? If yes, why?
6. If Quille answered Ty’s question about the future faster, do you think he would have chosen differently at the end of the book? Why or why not?
7. Why do you think police focused more on Quille’s family than on the Kevs? Did it relate to their standing in the community, the facts of the murders, or something else?
8. Do you think the events of The Forgotten Man make Quille feel better or worse about her place in her family? 
9. Does Quille work so hard because she feels she needs to prove her own worth to her parents? Or does her work make her happy?
10. Do you identify with any of the families in the book (the Davises, the Kevs, the Sabatinis, the Ericksons)? Why or why not?

Meet The Author

Let author Lisa M. Lilly know if you’d like her to appear via Zoom or Skype for a Q&A with your book group. (Click here for contact information.)

The post The Forgotten Man Book Group Questions appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

A Non-Supernatural Mystery In Prague

First, though, private investigator Quille C. Davis will travel to Prague to question a psychic medium, who is also a murder suspect, in my Q.C. Davis mysteries.

While the Q.C. Davis mystery series is not supernatural, Prague’s long history of mysticism and alchemy make it an ideal home for the psychic medium character. And the city’s overall beauty makes me willing to have Quille spend time away from Chicago, which she (like me) loves and where she lives, practices law, and solves crimes.

Supernatural Books And Mystic Prague Nights

More on the new series, which will be a follow up to my Awakening Supernatural Thriller series, down the road. But to give you a hint, some highlights, photos, and ideas.

Simply being in Prague felt mystic, especially at night. Above is a statue on the famous Charles Bridge. 

And the monastery sparked many ideas for twists and turns in a new novel, as it included two halls of books. Look at the sign on one of them — perfect for a religious conspiracy thriller.

The Missing Bones

I also toured the convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Prague. (Hall and scale model of convent below.) What intrigued me most?

My guide told me that the crypt that bears the name of Agnes of Bohemia is not her final resting place. 

Turns out her supporters hid her bones from enemies after her death. They did such a great job that no one has ever found them.

I’m sure I can do something with that legend, or borrow from it.

Cathedrals And Castles

In Krakow, the Wawel Castle and the cathedral in it captured my imagination. In particular, the skull on one wall and what looks like a goat’s head with a sword thrust into it on the ceiling.

Why are both there? I’ll need research. Which will be fun and no doubt will lead to more ideas for plot twists.

Here’s the castle:

If you want to be first to know when the new supernatural thriller series begins or the new Q.C. Davis mystery is underway, click here to join my Readers Group email list and get a free Reader’s Guide to the original Awakening series.

The post Prague And Krakow Spark Supernatural Ideas appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

It was great to see so many people at the book release party as well.

Now I’m taking a much needed break and traveling in Europe. Along the way, though, I’m getting tons of ideas for a new book that will begin a series that spins off of my Awakening supernatural thriller series. And some possible destinations for Quille in the next Q.C. Davis mystery. There must be some witness or suspect she’ll need to see in Paris or Prague, right?

Photos in the collage above include Prague, which is beautiful and historic, a dinner in Paris, the book release party (including a photo of my youngest fan who is a couple books behind, but he’s a fast reader, he’ll catch up), and my parakeet Joss at home with the pet sitter.

I hope you’re getting a chance to take a break or vacation soon, too.

More next month!

Best,

Lisa

P.S. If you haven’t gotten The Forgotten Man yet, you can find links here. 

The post A Break For New Books appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

Chapter One: A Likely Suspect

It’s not every day you interview the man who might have murdered your sister. I leaned into the airport restroom mirror and dotted concealer over the dark circles under my eyes, then brushed lint from the jacket of my suit. It was my best suit. The one I saved for appellate arguments and pitches to gain new clients. Its warm brown color set off my olive skin and nearly black hair nicely.

I wanted the man I was meeting to answer questions about his daughter’s death. Like my sister, his daughter was kidnapped and killed at age five. The two girls were found in a grave together. Evidence showed the same person committed both crimes.

My phone buzzed.

Get New Release The Forgotten Man Here.

The Q.C. Davis Mysteries in Order:

The Worried Man

The Charming Man

No Good Plays (novella)

The Fractured Man

The Troubled Man

The Hidden Man

The Forgotten Man

About The Author

In addition to writing new release The Forgotten Man and the other Q.C. Davis Mysteries, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series as well as numerous short stories.  Her non-fiction includes books on writing craft under L. M. Lilly. She also hosts the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.

The post New Release: The Forgotten Man appeared first on Lisa Lilly.

The court proceedings against that driver marked the first time I directly experienced the criminal justice system. I learned about it in law school. But as a lawyer, at that point I’d handled only civil cases. (Meaning cases about recovering money, not prosecuting crimes.)

These experiences changed more in my life that I can cover in one post.

One key change, though, was the fiction I read and wrote. That might sound trivial. But stories are how I — and so many people — deal with and make sense of the world.

Before the crash that took my parents’ lives, probably 70% of my reading fell into the supernatural and horror genres, and that heavily influenced my writing. After was a different story.

Supernatural Switch

From my teenage years on, I loved reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz, both masters of supernatural and horror fiction and of creating engaging characters who fight against evil. One of my favorite books was the early horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. It influenced the first series I published, which is something of a cross between Rosemary’s Baby and the much later best seller The Da Vinci Code.

I confess to skimming the gore in the Stephen King novels. What drew me in was the quietly building horror and the likeable characters who faced seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The wonder, magic, and mysticism of these types of books also appealed to me, as well as the way they explored themes of life, death, and faith.

But after my parents’ deaths, I starting turning away from novels that had horror elements. I didn’t want to immerse myself in darkness, even if the main character prevailed over evil in the end.

I’d always also enjoyed mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels. I began reading more of those. But a specific type of them only.

No Tormented Crime Novels

If you read mysteries, thrillers, or suspense novels, you know that many focus on women as victims, show the action through the eyes of the villain, and/or include scenes where victims are terrorized. (If you don’t read these types of books, I’m not sure why you’re here, but thanks for stopping by.)

As with horror novels, I no longer wanted to read those types of books. And I definitely didn’t want to write them.

I spend months reading and researching as I sort out the plot for a novel. After a fairly fast first draft, I revise it substantially at least two or three times. Now that my legal work falls into the category of very part-time, I spend about a year on each novel. Back when I ran a more-than-full-time law practice, finishing a novel took closer to three years.

That’s a long time in a universe where victims are tormented.

But there is a genre of crime novel where the focus is on solving the crime and, possibly, achieving justice. That’s what I found myself drawn to.

Catching The Killer

For decades, along with horror, I read and loved the crime novels of Sara Paretsky. Her Chicago-based female private eye V.I. Warshawski pursues evildoers, protects the powerless, and strives to right all types of wrongs.

During the years after the crash, I started seeking out more authors that fit in that category. Getting lost in the books of Louise Penny, John Sandford, Jonathan Kellerman, and Elly Griffiths made me feel there was order in the universe. Their detectives reminded me that there are people out there who care deeply about justice, protecting others, and doing what’s right.

Admittedly, what’s “right” varies from detective to detective, but I loved that as well. There are few bright lines in life, and the books explored complex characters and moral questions along with the crimes.

I know the protagonists and the allies and friends who surround them are fictional. But the authors who created them are real. And I couldn’t help but feel comforted that they, too, must share some part of my vision of what the world ought to be.

So perhaps it’s no surprise, with all of the above, that I’d eventually begin writing my own series of crime novels. My detective, a woman lawyer who moonlights solving crimes, is driven by her own need for peace and justice. Named after a sister who was murdered before she was born, Quille works hard at finding justice for others.

In the latest book, The Forgotten Man (A Q.C. Davis Mystery), Quille at last turns to her sister’s cold case. It was a challenging book to write. In it, Quille grapples not only with two decades-old murders but with the effect that had on her entire family.

While my life is very different from Quille’s, as was my family’s loss, it’s a story I felt compelled to write.

The post This Lawyer Writes Crime Novels To Find Justice appeared first on Lisa Lilly.