Yes, I know Mother’s Day was last Sunday but this is my day so I’m having my say. I have my mother to thank for introducing me to mystery novels. We seldom agreed on much, but shared the love of a good mystery.
My parents were avid readers and regular patrons of the public library. My father 
preferred historical and science fiction novels but my mother read exclusively mysteries. We made weekly trips to the library, where she got me started with Nancy Drew. Here was a detective who was sharp, adventurous, and female. Who knew? And I really wanted a car like Nancy’s roadster.
Years later, I was shocked to learn not only that Carolyn Keene wasn’t the author’s name but she hadn’t even written all the series’ books. Several authors contributed but Mildred Benson wrote twenty-three including the first three. The first Nancy Drew, The Secret of the Old Clock, was first published in 1959 by Grosset and Dunlap. I researched Mildred Benson for one of my books and learned she was a journalist and a bit of an adventurer like her fictional character, even getting lost on an Amazon expedition.
After going through all the mysteries for young adults, I switched to the books my mother 
read, Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series. My only disappointment in Perry Mason was the lack of romance, a trend that sadly continued on television. I also read most of Agatha Christie’s wonderful Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot stories. Dame Agatha’s first book, published in 1920, was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which I don’t remember reading, even in reprint. I particularly loved Book number ten in her Poirot series, Murder on the Orient Express, first published in 1934 by Collins.
Finally, I discovered the beginnings of the romantic suspense sub-genre with Mary Stewart’s and Phyllis Whitney’s books that blended romance and suspense along with the mystery. Mary Stewart’s Nine Coaches Waiting was first published in 1959 by William Morrow. In those early romantic suspense books, the heroines too often put themselves in danger and had to be rescued by the hero. Thankfully today mystery and suspense novels have evolved as have their female characters, whether written by a man or a woman. For today’s romantic suspense novels, we authors want to avoid a heroine who’s TSTL, Too Stupid To Live. Many of today’s heroine sleuths are as sharp and tough and adventurous as Nancy Drew, sometimes more so.
So thanks, Mother, for directing me toward the reading that would lead to what I’m doing today, blending romance, suspense, and mystery in my writing. If you’re still reading settled on your heavenly cloud, maybe you’ve picked up one of my books.
Kait Carson
Charlene D’Avanzo 
Susan: I am a subscriber to this blog but have not read any of your books. Wondering if you have a facebook page or a newletter. I would love to subscribe to your newsletter and will check Amazon for your books. Thanks for a great blog today!!
Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, do have a newsletter. Go to http://www.susanvaughan.com and on the home page, you’ll find a link to sign up for the newsletter. The link above in my bio will take you to my author page with all my books. I look forward to welcoming you to my subscribers!
You said the first Nancy Drew book was published in 1959. Actually, it was 1930. The 1959 edition was a rewritten edition. As for Mary Stewart, her first book was Madam, Will You Talk?, written several years before Nine Coaches Waiting. I grew up with all the authors you mentioned.
(I was born in 1947). Our library didn’t carry the Nancy Drew books so I had to pay $1:25 at the local bookstore for each book. Most of the girls in my school would each buy a few books and loan them to others so we could save money. I also read the Trixie Belden mysteries. Those books cost only 50 cents and were often gifts at birthday parties.
Christine, thank you for your corrections. Obviously, my sources had misinformation. How terrific that your friends could share the ones you had to purchase, probably with allowance money. I too was a baby of the 40’s and read both Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, both borrowed from the library.
I left a comment but also have a question. Are your novels clean? In other words free of foul language and sex.. The old romantic suspense writers like Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney were able to write good novels without being graphic.
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Christine, I’m glad you asked. My romantic suspense novels contain sex, violence, and foul language. I can’t think of a particular author to recommend to you that fits your criteria, sorry.
Thank you for letting me know. Unfortunately, I won’t be reading your books. I will stick to Christian fiction. (Or try to find books from the past which are going out of print.). Christine Battaglio
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