Dawn Brookes Fiction Reading Order

Chronological Reading Order This is the order in which you should read if you want to follow characters through each series by chronology, rather than each series individually. All of the books are written so they can read as standalones without major spoilers. Some people prefer to read in series order and others might want to follow the characters develop chronologically. The Rachel Prince Mysteries feature Rachel Prince as the main character and are set on a fictional cruise ship. Rachel enjoys meeting up with her best friend who is a nurse on board the Coral Queen. Lady Marjorie joins her on alternate cruises. It wasn't planned like that... it just happened! The Carlos Jacobi series features Rachel's love interest; a PI intent on changing the world with the help of his ex police dog and a quirky detective sergeant, Fiona Cook. The Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe series follows an elderly quartet who get together for holidays and end up solving murders. This is a developing series. A Cruise to Murder (Rachel Prince #1) Deadly Cruise (Rachel Prince #2) Body in the Woods (Carlos Jacobi #1) Killer Cruise (Rachel Prince #3) The Bradgate Park Murders (Carlos Jacobi #2) Dying to Cruise (Rachel Prince #4) Body at the Jewry Wall (Carlos Jacobi #3) – coming in 2022 A Christmas Cruise Murder (Rachel Prince #5) Murderous Cruise Habit (Rachel Prince #6) Death of a Blogger (Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Prequel Novella) Murder at the Opera House (Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe #1) Honeymoon Cruise Murder (Rachel Prince #7) Murder in the Highlands (Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe #2) Murder in the Strawberry Tent (Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe #3) – coming 2022 A Murder Mystery Cruise (Rachel Prince #8) Hazardous Cruise (Rachel Prince #9) Captain's Dinner Cruise Murder (Rachel Prince #10) Corporate Cruise Murder (Rachel Prince #11) More to be added…

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Cozy Mystery Writing Conventions

Genre Fiction I’m a mystery writer with my fiction falling into the cozy/cosy crime niche. I've now published seven books in one series with an eighth on the way. Cosy mysteries and the majority of detective novels fall into the category of writing known as genre fiction and on the whole, follow a defined set of conventions. Agatha Christie Monument These conventions/rules developed out of the Golden Age of Crime novels. Authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Margery Allingham, Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie created the widely recognised genre. The cosy mystery has evolved over the past few decades as new writers attempt to stretch boundaries, although many still adhere to the Decalogue or ten commandments described by Knox in 1929.  Escapist Literature I admit to being challenged by proponents of literary fiction and literary debate such as Albert Camus, but I prefer to write books to enable people to escape from the reality of life. This is one of the reasons I write books where the criminal is always found and justice is served. The popularity of genre fiction could highlight the need for people to feel safe while - at least in terms of crime fiction - being given the opportunity to experience vicarious excitement. The excitement comes through readers exercising their brains to solve the puzzle, working alongside the sleuth.  As a former nurse, I studied Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs in great detail. He described the need to feel safe in the hierarchy. He postulated human beings needed to satisfy certain needs in order to grow, mentally and physically. Maslow’s definition of safety was more about protection from external elements. Such safety requires a person to have shelter and security of body and mind; order in the world outside; laws that reinforced safety; stability in work and…

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