Mysteries

Guest Chick: Laura Jensen Walker #giveaway

Hi, Ellen here, welcoming Laura Jensen Walker back to Chicks. Enjoy her journey from inspiration to publication for her latest mystery – and a giveaway! Authors, have you ever been told, “It won’t sell?” Laura was. But it didn’t stop her…

Senior Sleuths – A Look Behind the Scenes of my New Cozy (Giveaway)

Thanks so much to Ellen and the Chicks for having me back again! It’s great to be here celebrating my new cozy, The Alphabet Sleuths.

I’ll start with a disclaimer. There’s been a raft of senior sleuth mysteries released in the past few years, but I am not jumping on the bandwagon. I actually had the idea for The Alphabet Sleuths years ago when my then-publisher asked what I wanted to write next. I shared my thoughts of a Golden Girls-type group of accidental sleuths solving mysteries.

The response? “Books set in retirement communities don’t sell.” A few months later, The Thursday Murder Club came out. Sigh.

Oh well. After that idea was turned down, I moved on to a historical set in England I’d been wanting to write for ages. Before I even finished that book, I learned about a group of real-life women heroes in England that history had overlooked and knew I had to tell their story. This Anglophile, formerly stationed in the UK, wound up writing two back-to-back WWII novels, both of which were repeatedly rejected: “World War II novels aren’t selling right now.”

And so, I set those books aside and moved on. After writing two books set in wartime, I needed to immerse myself in something light, so I dusted off my senior sleuths idea. The minute I wrote the opening line: “Claire Reynolds hadn’t planned to kill a man that day, but stuff happens,” I knew I was in for a fun ride with my diverse group of women: retired journalist Atsuko; former actress/model Barbara; widowed Claire, a retired paralegal, and Daphne, a retired cop and the youngest member of the Alphabet Girls.

When I was writing the character of gorgeous Botoxed Barbara (who refuses to reveal her age) I thought it would be fun for her to have a vintage Barbie doll that plays an important role later in the book. This was long before the Barbie movie juggernaut appeared. Who knew? Can you say a day late and a dollar short? I prefer to think of it as always being ahead of the curve.

Oh, and those two WWII novels that agents and publishers repeatedly rejected? Death of a Flying Nightingale was nominated for a Lefty award for Best Historical last year and The Postmistress of Puddlington, the book of my heart, comes out in August. Yay!

Readers, for a chance to win a signed copy of The Alphabet Sleuths, (U.S. entries only) tell me who’s your favorite Golden Girl and why.

Author Laura Walker, Thursday, August 28, 2025.
Photo Brian Baer

BIO: Laura Jensen Walker is the award-winning author of more than twenty books, including the Lefty-nominated Death of a Flying Nightingale and the Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet. Her next book, The Postmistress of Puddlington, (not a mystery) releases in August. Her book club fiction debut, The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch, about a neurodivergent senior on a quest, comes out in Fall 2026. Laura lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and their two rescue pups.

SYNOPSIS: At sixty-nine years old, Claire Reynolds is changing things up. She’s volunteering. Learning to rollerblade. She’s rescued a shelter dog. And today, she’s killed a man. It wasn’t on her to-do list, but stuff happens.

Besides, the man in question was strangling her good friend Daphne, and what’s a gal to do? Scream, possibly. Call the cops. Or—at retired officer Daphne’s insistence—call in the rest of their senior gal pals, roll up the body in a blanket, and toss it off a cliff.

The dead man is a member of the local crime family, and if the police get involved it’s not just Daphne at risk, it’s them all.

But the body’s just the start. Soon the Alphabet Girls—Atsuko, Barbara, Claire, and Daphne—must transform into the Alphabet Sleuths, if they’re to keep both their liberty . . . and their lives.

52 thoughts on “Guest Chick: Laura Jensen Walker #giveaway”

  1. My first favorite was Dorothy, who was the most “normal” of them all. Now that I’m older than the three younger girls, Rose entertains me more. Life is too short!

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  5. OH, I have a reason to love them all! Dorothy because she was so completely herself, insecurities at time and all, but still put on the face of “I’m in charge” to the outside world. Rose because of her naivete, Sophia because of her sass and that tough heart of marshmallow and Blanche because she is such a flirt and knows how to use what she’s got! They were the best! I have had your book on my wish list since I first heard about it. So glad some publisher finally realized what a great idea you had! Congrats on the Lefty nom last year and I will be adding The Postmistress of Puddlington to my want to read list.

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    1. It’s really hard to pick a favorite–I like all of them for different reasons, but I think Rose wins by a hair with her naivete and delightful long stories. Thanks for the congrats and for adding Postmistress to your WTR list!

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  8. I live all of the Golden Girls, would have to go with Rose because you never know what she’ll say next!

    I loved Death of a Flying Nightingale, will definitely look for the next one when it comes out in August.

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    1. Thanks Judith. So glad you loved Death of a Flying Nightingale–sweet music to my ears. I love WWII historicals and it was a sheer joy to write The Postmistress of Puddlington.

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  10. I’m with Ellen; I love Dorothy But more importantly, your team of sleuths sounds terrific! Now I feel like we should all team up and start a detective agency!

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  11. Dorothy for me, too–Bea Arthur was a hoot!

    Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, Laura. I’m so glad you got all those “they’ll never sell” books published, and I so love the cover of The Alphabet Sleuths–can’t wait to read it!

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    2. Thanks Leslie! Severn House did a fab job with the cover. (Catriona M. loved it so much she said she’d like to have a dress made out of it 🙂

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  12. I love your determination and story about getting your book published. The cover is terrific! As a fellow “senior sleuth” writer, I think it’s a great trend and it is sort of crazy how so many people’s books are coming out at around the same time, but makes for a richer environment, right? (If there can be a billion and eighty vampire books…)

    Dorothy’s my favorite. My MIL is a ringer for Bea Arthur, plus that woman has a fabulous resting bitch face, which pleases me so much.

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    1. Thanks Mel. I really love the cover too! (So, who has the fabulous resting bitch face–Dorothy or your MIL? 🙂 Bea Arthur definitely does!

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  14. So weird! Some of my comments aren’t showing up 😦 Jeanie, Leslie, Marla, Mel, and Liz, I’m not ignoring you. In fact, I typed my comment twice, but it’s still not showing up and I’m too technologically impaired to know why. Sorry about that!

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  15. Hi all! We’re having technical problems with Laura’s replies. But don’t worry, she’s read and commented on them all. Some of the comments just aren’t showing up.

    We’ll share her winner here tomorrow.

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  17. Oh, this is like asking me to pick my favorite cat!! I love the premise of The Alphabet Sleuths! As for my Golden Girl, I’ll pick Rose because she’s the group sweet heart and of her innocence. Betty White had portrayed her so perfectly!

    Emily – cwkuen(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. Congrats on the new book and I love that first line.

    I must admit, I have never watched The Golden Girls. Seen a few clips, but that’s it. This sitcom lover really needs to fix that, doesn’t he? (No need to enter me in the giveaway.)

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    1. Thanks, Mark. I love the first line too 🙂 And yes, if you’re a sitcom lover, you definitely need to watch Golden Girls! (The first few seasons were the best.)

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  24. Dorothy is my favorite because she was the smartest and most cynical. She was the springboard by which all of the jokes “jumped off”.

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