Mystery Lovers Corner

Mary Jane Maffini is the author of three mystery series and nearly two dozen short stories.  Her latest series, the Charlotte Adams mysteries, launched in May 2007 with Organize Your Corpses, the first of three books featuring this professional organizer from New York State. Charlotte’s own life is a bit of a mess, and not just because she seems to have ‘solve murder’ on her to-do list. But at least she gets to wear great shoes, eat ice cream out of the container and snuggle with her rescued miniature dachshunds. Plus she’s nice enough to include her favorite organizing tips. Charlotte joins the other two sleuths in Mary Jane’s gang: Ottawa lawyer and victims’ rights activist, Camilla MacPhee. Camilla is tough and focused, or else how could she handle that crazy family and those peculiar friends throughout five books?  Speak Ill of the Dead, the first Camilla MacPhee book was short listed for a Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis award for Best First Novel. The Dead Don’t Get Out Much, was nominated for a Barry Award in 2006.  Camilla’s quite different from Fiona Silk, a reclusive and unsuccessful romance writer and extremely reluctant sleuth.  Maybe things would be better if she had a sex life. Fiona first appeared in Lament for a Lounge Lizard, which was short listed for a Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel of 2003.

Mary Jane’s short fiction has been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Chatelaine, Storyteller and all six Ladies’ Killing Circle anthologies, among other places.  She holds two Arthur Ellis awards for short stories, was short listed for two more, and has been anthologized in World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories.

She had a career in public, private sector and government libraries, followed by a wonderful ride as a co-owner of Ottawa’s Prime Crime Mystery Bookstore. She now spends her days plotting, surrounded by her two miniature dachshunds, the ghost of her beloved Corgi-mix, Smudge, and her long-suffering husband.  She’s a former President of Crime Writers of Canada, a frequent speaker on writing mysteries and on the importance of Canadian crime fiction.