ONLINE: Anatomy of a Good Mystery

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Junko Yoshida

Author and Last Kid Books founder David Benjamin.

The DeForest Area Public Library welcomes mystery writer and publisher David Benjamin for this virtual event. Benjamin shares his opinions and experience on writing mysteries, even sharing his "Recipe for a Memorable Mystery." Suspenseful tales are "like solving a series of problems, in which language, science, geography, law, imagination and the unexpected are all jumbled together,” he writes. Register for the webinar here.

media release: David Benjamin knows a good mystery from many perspectives from carefully crafting stories that draw you in to facilitating workshops for mystery writers.

“Writing a good story, especially putting together a thriller or mystery, is like solving a series of problems, in which language, science, geography, law, imagination and the unexpected are all jumbled together,” he says.

In Paris, where he spends time, he held a writing discussion with the British National Union of Journalists and a writing workshop at the American Library in Paris.

The author started his first novel in elementary school reading chapters aloud at St. Mary’s School in Tomah, Wisconsin. He adapted some of those experiences in his memoir, The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked (Random House, 2002). 

His publishing imprint—Last Kid Books (lastkidbooks.com) —pays homage to Benjamin’s first published fictionalized account of his life growing up in small town Wisconsin midcentury.

His ten titles, published since April 2019, have thus far won ten awards from independent press organizations.

Register for the free virtual event with David Benjamin at the Deforest Public Library, 

A Small Town Wisconsin Sleuth

Today, he draws ideas from a lifetime of living and traveling throughout the world as well as stories gleaned from his own backyard. Some of his well-drawn characters may be found charting paths through Wisconsin mysteries, page-turners he expertly brings to life.

His new mystery, Bastard’s Bluff, is the second in a multi-book mystery series. The first book, Jailbait, published last year, was an instant hit with armchair detectives.

In the newest release, “detective” Jim Otis gets dragged into a series of hate crimes in the normally neighborly town of Hercules, Wisconsin.  The villagers turn to Jim, ex-police chief to solve the mystery. Trouble is, after a scandal that derailed him in Jailbait, Otis is no longer wearing a police badge.

Benjamin writes, “He must revive his detective skills and solve the mystery before hardboiled FBI agent Flint Hardesty turns Bastard’s Bluff into another Ruby Ridge.”

Maureen Holtz, author, The Last Resort says, “This is a page-turner of a novel! Jim Otis’ relationships with the town’s citizens—from gumptionless weasels wanting power to intolerant bigwigs, to women with brains and no fear—are richly entertaining.” 

In 2019, Benjamin’s publishing company received awards from the NYC Big Book Awards in four categories. In addition to a Best Political Thriller award for Black Dragon, he received a Distinguished Favorite in Crime Fiction for Three’s a Crowd.

From the Independent Press Awards, he was honored as a Distinguished Favorite in Mystery for Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter. (the Left Bank area of Paris where he lives part-time), and won Best Essay Collection for Almost Killed by a Train of Thought.

Recipe for a Memorable Mystery

Benjamin is often asked what elements make a memorable who-done-it.

He says. “You can write a mystery without a murder, but the following three elements  — these three M’s actually — tend to be in place.” 

—  Maguffin — Coined by Alfred Hitchcock, a maguffin is an item that motivates characters, creates conflict and propels the plot.

— Moriarty — The elusive, brilliant and dangerous mastermind.

— Marlowe — A flawed but stubborn sleuth who won’t let go. Think Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe.

Each of Benjamin’s mysteries, Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter, Black Dragon, Jailbait, and Bastard’s Bluff, have these ingredients, and a few laughs as well.

James Fallows, of The Atlantic magazine calls the thriller, Black Dragon, “A genuine page-turner, full of enough action, suspense, sly humor, and sharp, cultural insights….an enjoyable and provocative book.” 

The author says, “To my surprise, some of my readers call it a ‘page-turner.’ In the story an American journalist in Tokyo and his beautiful Japanese sidekick blunder into a plot hatched by a diabolical 19th-century gangster come back to life, while fleeing a Korean/Australian assassin.”

The book won top honors from New York City Big Book Awards, in the Political Thriller category.

“There is an irony to this idea of boiling down the murder mystery to three bullet points, because that’s a formula,” says Benjamin. “And I don’t — can’t — write the sort of formula potboilers that sell like hotcakes.” He noted that the elements of maguffin, moriarty and marlowe are merely the basis for an infinite range of variations. Using examples from his own mysteries, as well as the work of other writers, he offers insights into the creative possibilities of the genre. 

“However the author puts the pieces together, the story should be accessible,” says Benjamin. “The reading should be fun. And thinking —talking — about it afterwards should prolong the pleasure.” 

Looking back, reflected by the multitude of books, manuscripts and essays he’s written, the author certainly knew what he wanted to do when he grew up — tell stories in front of people. He says. “I’m still doing what I discovered, as a sort of vocation, in grade school. From that moment, I’ve always believed that stories are the clues to solving the riddles of life.”