Welcome to Between the Covers Summer Series.

I'm Anne Bocock, award-winning mystery writer Elaine Veeks is here.

She's written 34 mysteries in four different series.

The latest is the sixth in the Angela Richman Death Investigator Series and the title is Late For His Own Funeral.

Elaine, thank you for being here.

I'm delighted.

You write 4 series some are funny and sweet and that's not what we're talking about with Angela Richman this is definitely hard boiled I mean it's like going to the dark side so I want to start with this let's start with some background on who Angela Richman is and then if you could give us just a little peek into late for his own funeral without spoiling anything Angela Richman is a death investigator and a death investigator is someone who works for the medical examiner's office and she's in charge of the body at the at the crime scene.

So, the books tend to be a little bit darker but if you like forensic mysteries, this is your book.

Now, Now late for your own funeral.

Concerns a wealthy man in Shodo Forest which is a mythical home of the 1% and his car is crashed and they do very sloppy police work but he's declared dead and so his widow goes ahead and holds the funeral.

She gives him everything he wants.

Even a $30,000 gold casket.

Now, in the middle of the funeral, who walks in but the dead man?

He's drunk is a skunk and he wants to take selfies with his casket.

Elaine, I have to ask.

You know, you write what you know and you actually took this death investigator training course.

Uh that's really being committed to your craft.

Uh I'm curious.

What kind of training, I mean, did you actually, did they have you like arrive on at a crime scene?

Well, what they showed was a lot of videos.

And also talks from forensic professionals.

And I think it was easier for me to go through this because there was a distance.

It was a video.

And you know so I got to the point at the very end that I could actually eat lunch while watching an autopsy.

That's that's some extensive training.

You know we met many years ago and at that time I fell in love with Helen Hawthorne who was your character in the Dead End Job Series and I mean I mean this could be 20 years ago.

Helen these books were lighthearted South Florida books.

The subject was the minimum wage world.

And looking back I'm thinking you know today this more than ever this don't you consider this like a social commentary they are social contrary they're about the difference between the rich and the poor and how they're treated by the police and the community the audience may not know this but for each one of the dead end job series you did real life research I mean you work the jobs you were a hotel made you you did all kinds of things what kind of job and really what did you learn about the minimum wage world?

What I learned about the minimum wage world is that it costs a lot of money to be poor.

Um most of these jobs you cannot afford to live on them and people don't do favors for you.

They treat you like you're invisible and it's you know, I am surprised and and lost in admiration on how people survive and and maintain good humor with these jobs.

Uh I can only imagine that you will have many more in the series.

I mean, look at what's going on in the world now.

You do write four series you have 4 strong, very different women characters.

There's a newspaper columnist and death investigator, mystery shopper that we said the dead-end job worker.

Is there one that is the most fun to write?

One that that you're most in love with?

Well, right right now, I'm really focused on the Angela Richman series and so I enjoy delving into the forensics and I know a lot stories which your readers won't want to know if they're watch eating dinner but to me, that's fascinating.

Oh, I think it's fascinating to all of us.

She is such an amazing character.

I want to go to a lightning round if we could and learn a little bit of more about you.

So, with your permission, I'm going to start.

Tell me right now what your bookshelf would say about you.

Oh, my bookshelf.

My bookshelf Uh well it would say I'm very vain.

Because behind me are all my books.

Are you a night owl or an early bird?

I'm a night owl.

I like to stay up until about midnight.

But I like to sleep in late too.

I am not an early riser.

My husband gets up at the crack of dawn and he's annoyingly cheerful but I love him anyway.

What is the biggest risk that you ever took in your career?

The biggest risk I ever took was going back to the dark side.

Going back to writing forensic mysteries.

I'd always written light funny mysteries but I had a major change in my life.

I I had a series of strokes And after that I looked at the world a little differently.

And it was much more serious and so my books became a little serious too.

Elaine Veeks, it is always fun being with you.

I want to do this again soon.

Her latest is Late For His Own Funeral.

It's in the Angela Richman Death Investigator Series.

I'm Anne Bocock.

Please join me on the next Between the Covers and you can find our podcast.

Go Between the Covers wherever you get your podcast.