Today we have Christy Carlyle on the blog, here to answer a few questions alongside the release of A Deadly Invitation, book two in the Electra Poole Mysteries.

Thanks so much for having me!

Welcome! Can you tell us a bit about the setting of A Deadly Invitation?

A Deadly Invitation is set in Oxfordshire, in a village near Oxford. So it’s a change for my heroine, who’s been raised and is most at home in London. I wanted to get her out of her natural element a bit.

What inspired this second book in the series?

I am a huge Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle fan, and I always enjoy “country house mysteries” set in an English country house, somewhere remote enough from London to feel unsettling and unfamiliar. I wanted to capture the feeling of something like a Miss Marple mystery or The Hound of the Baskervilles, with the added suggestion of a supernatural element.

What is your favorite aspect of Electra Poole’s character?

I love her strength, her tenacity, and her fearlessness. In this story, she is struggling, doubting herself and her future path, but it doesn’t stop her from wanting to help. It doesn’t stop her from being determined to find answers.

What is your favorite aspect of Detective Inspector Gideon Pierce’s character?

Gideon’s protective instincts are very dear to me, and I love that he has a core of confidence in his own knowledge and skills that means he’s never truly threatened by Electra discovering a piece of information that might aid him. In A Grave Gift, the first book in the series, he expressed a lot of frustration with Electra’s involvement in the Lady Becknell case, but it was mostly out of concern for her. He secretly loves working with her, and that becomes a bit clearer in A Deadly Invitation.

What is your favorite part about the dynamic of their partnership?

Trust is my favorite thing about their dynamic. Even though Electra isn’t certain that Gideon truly believes in her psychic abilities, she does trust him. And despite having his own doubts about phenomena he cannot explain, Gideon trusts Electra. They are the person the other would go to in a time of crisis because of the bond they shared since childhood.

What kind of research do you do when writing historical mysteries?

I research the time period a great deal, reading about everything from historical events to fashion to what people were reading at the time. The late Victorian era is my favorite era to read about and write about. I also spend a lot of time researching the legal system in England at the time, trying to figure out which police division out of which station handled crimes in which part of London, how a commoner was adjudicated versus a nobleman, etc. I love researching for this series.

What can readers expect next in this series?

The next story will return to London, and Gideon must once again go to Electra during a murder investigation because the victim was found with her calling card in his pocket. The investigation will involve Electra’s friend, Lady Cordelia Redmayne, so the stakes will be particularly high for Electra.

What are some things you are really enjoying reading right now? Books, TV, foods, etc.?

I am reading through several of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries again, and I recently fell in love with AMC’s Interview with the Vampire, so I’ve been going back and reading Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles series book by book.

Want to know more about A Deadly Invitation?

A country escape turns into a deadly trap.

When an old friend, Lady Alice Kirkham, invites Electra to her family’s country estate, she welcomes the chance to escape London’s bustle and the persona she’s carefully cultivated as a medium to the upper crust. Alice knew Electra before she made a living from séances, and a visit to Oxfordshire offers a rare chance to step away from it all.

But when a nobleman dies the night after her arrival, Alice becomes the prime suspect, and Electra’s attempts to help her friend only pull her deeper into the tangled web of relationships at Carthorpe Hall.

Electra comes to realize someone is orchestrating a deadly game and turns to the one man she swore never to trust with her secrets—Detective Inspector Gideon Pierce. Though they always clash, he believes in her and he’s begun to trust her abilities. Together, they work to unravel carefully crafted deceptions and seek a murderer so determined to cover their tracks that they might kill again.

Meet Christy Carlyle:

Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there’s nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.

Contact Christy at christy@christycarlyle.com or find out more at www.christycarlyle.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram, not to mention, you can sign up for her newsletter here to keep up with everything happening with Christy!