Investigating A Difficult Woman

The Q.C. Davis mysteries are not message books. They're plot-driven, follow-the-clues detective mysteries. But I do begin each with a core idea. In The Worried Man, it was the pain of death by suicide as well as Quille’s family history. In The Charming Man, the concept of friends, many of whom are like family, trapped in an apartment complex during a blizzard sparked the story. And for The Fractured Man, I focused both on long-lost childhood friends and how the urge to recruit others to a cau...
Read More

When The Phone Rings At Midnight

The Fractured Man Q.C. Davis Mystery Series 3
A midnight phone call rarely brings good news. This idea sparked the opening scene for one of the Q.C. Davis mysteries, The Fractured Man. But it didn’t inspire the plot. I say “industry” because I love self-help minus the industry. Tony Robbins' book Awaken The Giant Within helped me reframe my thoughts and overcome anxiety when it was a real struggle. Other books on happiness, productivity, and success helped me make career changes and improve my relationships. But self-help has ...
Read More

Chicago Knows How To Rebuild

Chicago Riverwalk South Loop
One reason I love writing the Q.C. Davis mysteries is they highlight what I love about Chicago, where I live. The news is full of bad news about the city (but that's what news is, right?). But Chicago also is home to fantastic restaurants, striking indoor and outdoor art, and beautiful buildings. Sometimes when I'm walking at twilight I stop and stare at the skyline and think how lucky I feel to live here. What you may not know is that this abundance of stunning (and sometime...
Read More

New Release: The 5th Q.C. Davis Mystery Is Here

The Hidden Man (A Q.C. Davis Mystery)
The Hidden Man (New Release) He wants his father's killer found, but his secrets kept. She vows to solve the murder no matter what. Will what she doesn't know eventually kill her? Until now, Chicago lawyer Quille C. Davis has investigated crimes, but only to help her loved ones. Now she's been hired to solve the murder of a well-known class action attorney. The victim died with a secret. Quille suspects it relates to his fascination with UFOs, an interest he shared with his long-time gi...
Read More

Fictional Detective Visits Real Chicago Restaurants

Fictional Detective Dines Out
When I started the Q.C. Davis Mystery series I wasn't thinking about restaurants. But they quickly became key to the books. Why? First, because I love dining out. Second, and more important to readers, is that sleuths need to interview a lot of people, and 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. Now the question readers ask me ...
Read More

A Sleuth Whose Superpower Is Listening

I didn’t set out to write a series featuring a sleuth who is kind. All I knew was that to write a private or amateur detective mystery, I needed a main character with special skills. Skills that could help her solve crimes where police failed.  My first choice about Quille C. Davis, the sleuth in the Q.C. Davis Mysteries, was an easy one. I made her a lawyer because I am one and know what skills it requires. Sleuth, Lawyer, And Former Actress Like me, Quille appears in court and handles law...
Read More

Who Killed The Basketball Coach?

No Good Plays (A Q.C. Davis Mystery Novella) His son's basketball coach is dead. She agrees to investigate. But is it worth her life? After solving a crime but losing a friend, Chicago lawyer Quille C. Davis’ plans for the summer are to have fun, catch up on her law practice, and enjoy time on her boyfriend’s boat. Then Detective Sergeant Beckwell, who helped Quille investigate the death of someone close to her, calls in a big favor. His son’s high school basketball coach is dead, ...
Read More

Sneak Peek at The Troubled Man (A Q.C. Davis Mystery)

The Troubled Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery 4)
Chapter One  What’s the one thing you want to do before you die? That question was printed in neon green chalk at the top of a blackboard hanging just inside Niche’s Women’s Room. I hadn’t noticed it when I walked in, but now I studied the chalkboard as I washed my hands. Ten numbered white chalk lines underneath provided spaces for restaurant patrons to write answers. It was early in the evening, and only one diner had filled in an answer. She wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands. Despite a...
Read More

Tour A Mysterious Historical Mansion In Chicago

Last holiday season my niece, a theatrical scenic designer, asked whether the historical mansion depicted in my mystery The Worried Man was real. I told her no, but it was modeled after Chicago Gilded Age mansions. A month or so later she said my Christmas gift wouldn't be ready in time. I never connected it to her question about the mansion. First, our family has a long tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts in March or May and sending birthday presents months late. Second, she's a de...
Read More

The Fractured Man Book Release Party 4/23/20

Via Facebook Thursday April 23, 2020 7:30 PM Central Please Join Spiny Woman Press and Lisa M. Lilly for a Facebook Online Book Release Party for The Fractured Man (Q.C. Davis Mystery No. 3). Video tours of settings featured in the Q.C. Davis mysteries The author reading Chapter 1 Online Quiz from The Worried Man  Quille C. Davis' Favorite Whiskey Sour recipe and more! Share your favorite cocktail recipe, tea flavor (Quille also loves tea), Chicago-based mystery, or phot...
Read More