Set in South Yorkshire and featuring a forty-something American expat (and her cat) trying to adjust to English life while also solving a murder mystery, Gianetta Murray’s Moved to Murder combines crime, comedy, and pathos with librarian trivia and interior design. As Group Editor Andrew Palmer finds out, it is based somewhat on Murray's own experiences.

Gianetta Murray is laughing. The American author has been explaining to me that, although she has lived in the UK for nineteen years, there are still some cultural differences that put a smile on her face.

We were discussing how annoying it is when Americans say "math" instead of "maths." She responded by pointing out that the same thing happens in the US when Brits say "sport" instead of "sports," and let's not even talk about football and soccer.

Murray has explained why she writes and punctuates in American English.

"Although I have lived here for nearly two decades, America is still my biggest audience, and when I started writing, I knew that all my friends back in the US were going to buy it. Plus, British readers are more forgiving of different spellings.”

Her cosy crime novels also explore cultural differences. “I do kind of have fun with that,” she says. “A lot of the book is about Vivien trying to adjust to living in England, and those are drawn from my experience.”

Murray worked as a librarian as well as a technical writer and editor, which isn’t a surprise as she grew up in California’s Silicon Valley. There are still bits of California that she misses, such as the sunshine.

She met her English husband in Ireland while working on a project studying the origins of Celtic music with the organisation Earthwatch, and found they both enjoyed the Emerald Isle’s famous black nectar.

“We had to interview musicians in pubs to find out what their inspirations were, so we always say Guinness brought us together.”

Another laugh from the friendly Murray, who tells me that they moved to a village outside the city of Doncaster (it received city status in 2022), which, along with its environs, is the setting for her novels.

"I originally set it further north, but it was getting tricky doing all the research, so my husband finally said, ‘Why don't you just set it here?’ In other words, write what you know.

“In addition, I couldn't find any other mystery series set in Doncaster, so I thought that was a unique selling point.”

A helpful little technique Murray uses is to place a quotation at the beginning of each chapter: “I like to give the reader a flavour of what is going to happen in that chapter. Of course, chapter titles can serve this purpose, but ultimately, I found it more enjoyable to search for the quotations.

“It’s a little hint, but also something humorous and, in most cases, classic.”

Like many authors, Murray has been reading crime fiction since she can remember; it is her favourite genre. “I enjoy reading it, and therefore it's what I enjoy writing,” she says.

“I like the combination of character development and a puzzle to solve, plus cosy crime allows me to add some humour.”

That brings us back to the differences between American and British humour. I suggest that it can be dangerous because it's easy to offend people, but Murray has several checks and balances in place.

"I have lovely beta readers, half of whom are American and half British, and I also belong to a writing group. They all serve as a check to say, ‘Perhaps you went too far there’, or they just tell me outright that something isn't funny."

The protagonist, Vivien, has a lot of the same encounters Murray did, and she tells me that one of the advantages of starting to write when you’re older is that you have a lot of experience to go by. She laughs again and tells me, “My husband says it's so much me that when he gives me feedback, he just uses my name for the main character!

“Vivien, however, is a bit thinner, younger, and smarter. If you're a writer, why not have fun with an improved version of yourself?”

Why not, indeed?

Murray does a fair bit of plotting. She delineates the plot's direction and the murder's execution, then considers the complexities of their escape or capture. “I need to know those things before I start to have a basic understanding of the potential growth paths for the protagonist characters. Then I leave room for imagination and inspiration.”

Murray has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in English Literature and grew up with classic authors such as Dickens and Trollope, both of whom “knew how to plot a good novel.”

She enjoys authors Josephine Tey and Ngaio Marsh, “probably my favourites as far as Golden Age crime writers. But I also love Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse!”

As we come to the end of our time, it has certainly been a hoot with all the laughter, and Murray sums it up perfectly: “Basically, the world can be full of stress and unfairness. While they often deal with real-life issues, cosy mysteries allow us to take a much-needed break from the rat race, to go where people are witty, animals are never harmed, and justice eventually prevails.

“It's novel therapy.”

Moved to Murder is published by Troubador