An exclusive interview with Verity Cade, protagonist of The Haunted Farmhouse Mystery Series by Kathryn Johnson

This is Maggie Holmes, crime reporter for Baker Street Magazine. Today I’m interviewing an unusual crime investigator, Verity Cade. Ms. Cade recently uncovered the truth behind a shocking murder, as readers of The Death of a Maven know. Rumors suggest she is about to become involved in yet another investigation in her hometown, Evansfield, Vermont.

MH: Mrs. Cade, can you tell us how you, a dairy farmer, got started as a private investigator?

VC: Just Verity, please, Maggie. And I want to set the record straight. I’m strictly an amateur sleuth, not a professional PI. I’m sure that any of your readers could do what I’ve done to help their local law enforcement agency.

MH: I see. Then you’ve had no training at all for this…shall we call it a hobby?

VC: (laughing) My friends would call it more of an obsession. But yes, it’s true that I’ve never trained as an investigator. For some reason I just notice things that other people may not pay attention to. And I suppose you’d probably call me stubborn. I don’t give up easily. When I see something that doesn’t make sense to me, I feel compelled to find out why.

MH: I see. So, tell me a little about your first success with a murder investigation. How did you become involved?

VC: Sadly, the victim was a close friend.

MH: How shocking!

VC: It really was. All the more so because our local sheriff declared her death due to suicide. I couldn’t accept that. If you had known Elvira, you wouldn’t have believed it either.

MH: So, you just started investigating on your own?

VC: Not exactly. A few of my closest friends, who also knew Elvira well, joined me. Eventually, we were able to prove she didn’t kill herself. The question then became—who did kill her? We dug into Elvira’s past, searching for enemies she might have made during her controversial career as a real estate agent.

MH: Amazing. And can you share with our readers the identity of her killer?

VC: Sorry, Maggie. Although Elvira’s murderer has been arrested, the case is still open in court. The judge has ordered those of us involved to not talk about any of the details until—

MH: I understand. Say no more! But my latest intel hints you’ve now become involved in a new mystery. In fact, if I have my facts right, individuals you are close to have already been named as suspects.

VC: That’s true, although it’s not something I enjoy thinking about. No one wants to believe they might be living next door to a murderer! No, I’d rather be at home on my farm caring for my cows and chickens than worrying about who might be something other than what they appear to be…or how to prove my friends innocent of murder.

MH: I can only imagine how upsetting this might be. Perhaps a change of topic would be welcome? Why did you choose to become a farmer?

VC: I didn’t, not really. I’m a city girl. I never imagined living in the country surrounded by farm animals. I met my husband Mark in college. I was a French language student; he was an Ag student. We were as different as a pig and a porcupine.

MH: But you fell in love?

VC: We did. And I learned to love everything about his farm and his life in the beautiful Vermont countryside and his quaint New England town. Unfortunately, while Mark was haying one day, he had a terrible accident. His tractor rolled on him and he was killed.

MH: How awful! My condolences, Verity. It must be challenging, working the farm on your own since then.

VC: I can’t say it’s been easy. But with help from two young men who are my farmhands and the support of my community, I’ve been able to keep the Cade Family Farm going.

MH: I’m glad to hear that. Ummm. There is another rumor going around that I hope you might comment on.

VC: You sound hesitant. Is there a reason?

MH: Maybe because I find what I’m hearing very hard to believe.

VC: Now you’re making me curious! What have you heard?

MH: My source claims your farm is haunted.

VC: (Laughing) Seriously? I wonder why anyone would ever think such a thing.

MH: Apparently, there have been sightings. Various things observed or heard that can’t be explained?

VC: I’m sure I wouldn’t know about any of that.

MH: Then you deny that two spirits, a man and woman, possibly from the 1800’s, are living in your farmhouse with you?

VC: Ridiculous!

MH: Perhaps we can come back to that question later? (Ahem!) Can you tell us more about your plans for involvement in the current investigation?

VC: Well, right now there’s very little any of us knows about what happened. Only that the victim, a tourist to our town, died under questionable circumstances. Was it an accident? Or did someone attack the person? And if the latter, then who? We just don’t know. Either way, the whole town is in an uproar. Vicious, violent things like murder just don’t happen in places like Evansfield!

MH: But, Ms. Cade…Verity, apparently, now they do.

VC: (Sighing) I suppose you’re right, sad to say. All the more reason for a citizen like me to lend a hand if it will restore justice to the town we all love.

MH: That’s perhaps a good place for us to end our chat, at least for today. Thank you for your time, Verity, and I wish you luck in solving this latest mystery. I hope we can talk again soon. I have more questions about the sleuthing you and your friends do. And I won’t forget about that strange gossip concerning the haunting of your farmhouse.

VC: I’m sure you won’t, Maggie.

This concludes our column’s weekly crime interview. If you would like to learn more about Verity Cade’s next investigation, you can find the exciting details in The Death of a Bad Egg by Kathryn Johnson.

Note: Both Maggie Holmes and the Baker Street Magazine are the result of author Kathryn Johnson’s imagination.

THE END

Want to know more about The Death of a Bad Egg?

When a tourist dies under mysterious circumstances while visiting charming Evansfield, Vermont’s July 4th festivities, the local sheriff believes the man’s death is due to a freak accident. But Verity Cade, dairy farmer and amateur sleuth, isn’t convinced. Ironically, her astute observations not only change the lawman’s mind, they result in the arrest of her young farmhand. Things look bad for Jason, whose violent argument with the victim was witnessed by half the town.

Vowing to free poor Jason and discover what really happened that night, Verity enlists the help of the Evansfield Private Investigations. The EPI, founded by Verity and her delightfully quirky but well-intentioned friends to support their community, realize that only by finding the real killer will Jason be freed. Meanwhile, Verity’s house ghosts, Percy and Anna Louise, also volunteer to help. But the 19th-century couple have their own worries. It seems they’ve lost control of their ability to stay unseen by all but Verity! They fear this foreshadows their departure from the 21st century and Verity forever!

Complicating the EPI’s investigation, the murder victim’s widow is attacked, a child goes missing…and then there’s the less urgent but nevertheless puzzling case of the disappearance of the Cade farm’s barn cat! Will Verity and her friends succeed in untangling this thorny mashup of conundrums before any more bodies turn up?

Preorder here!

Meet Kathryn Johnson:

Kathryn Johnson (aka Mary Hart Perry/Nicole Davidson) has authored over 40 thrilling mystery, suspense, and historical novels for adults and young readers. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious Agatha Award and won the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller’s Best Awards presented by the American Library Association.

Kathryn loves teaching the craft of fiction writing at The Writer’s Center (https://writer.org ), in the Washington, DC area, as well as throughout the world via live workshops on Zoom. She has developed seminars for and spoken at the Smithsonian Institute, Library of Congress, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and many regional writers’ conferences.

As the founder of a writer’s coaching and editorial service, https://KathrynJohnsonLLC.com , Kathryn is bursting with pride for her amazing author clients as they pursue their own publishing careers. Her nonfiction book, The Extreme Novelist is based on her popular 8-week course for fiction writers. https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Novelist-No-Time-Write-Drafting/dp/0692420835/

You can also find her on Instagram and Facebook.