Author Spotlight: Clare Chase

Clare Chase is an accomplished author who has written over 20 mystery novels. Several of her books have been shortlisted for awards and spotlighted as special selections by organizations like LoveReading, the UK’s leading book recommendation website. One of her most recent books, The Antique Store Detective, was just selected by Cozy Crime Reads as one of the best new cozy mystery series of 2024.

Clare writes traditional mysteries set in atmospheric English locales. She has written several mystery series for her current publisher, Bookouture, including the:

• Bella Winter Mysteries: This cozy series features amateur sleuth Bella Winter, the owner of Vintage Winter, an antique store in the charming village of Hope Eaton in the Shropshire Hills.

• Eve Mallow Mysteries: This long-running cozy series features amateur sleuth and obituary writer Eve Mallow and is set in an idyllic English village on the coast of Suffolk.

• Tara Thorpe Mysteries: This police procedural is a slightly darker cozy featuring local reporter Tara Thorpe and Detective Inspector Garstin Blake solving crimes in Cambridge.

You can sign up for Clare's early reading club on the Bookouture website to learn about upcoming releases and get Mystery at Monty’s Teashop, a completely free and splendidly unputdownable short story from the Eve Mallow Mystery series.

Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Clare Chase

What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?

I find it wonderfully absorbing, both as a reader and a writer. As a child I was already losing myself in classic, golden-age mysteries by authors like Agatha Christie. I loved trying to sort the clues from the red herrings and immersing myself in the adventure. I wanted to write the sort of books I loved reading.

What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?

It’s a good question. I’d say a relatable-yet-distinctive amateur sleuth, a memorable supporting cast and a dash of humour amongst the drama. I love a vivid setting, too, and proper clues so that after the grand reveal, the reader thinks, ‘Oh, of course! Why didn’t I guess?’ not, ‘Uh, what?’

Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?

Ooh, it’s just too hard to narrow it down! But the one that’s probably influenced me most is Miss Marple.

What inspired you to write your first cozy mystery?

It was down to a particular story. Even before I started reading Christie, as mentioned above, I discovered a children’s book called Septimus and the Danedyke Mystery by Stephen Chance. It featured a cop-turned-vicar who palled up with the local doctor to thwart a gang of thieves. The combination of danger, humour, and a wonderful sense of place had me hooked. From the moment I read it, I thought, ‘I want to be able to do that too’. I taught myself to touch type as a teenager, so I could write more quickly and drafted my first (appallingly bad) mystery when I was around thirteen years old. It never got published, needless to say!