Mystery for Christmas…or Anytime

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

If you love a good mystery, you will surely love Kary Turnell. If you have an affinity for the White Mountains and the seacoast and the Lakes Region of NH, you will easily picture these places as Kary Turnell deals with murder in New Hampshire.

For those who follow the Commissioner Kary Turnell Mystery series by author Mark Okrant, each new book is eagerly anticipated for the great story lines and the manner in which Kary solves the crimes that take place in select areas of the state. While the books are pure fiction, the settings are real and places Mark knows well, which is spart of the uniqueness and appeal to the mystery stories.

Mark’s background has certainly been a help when he sits down to write a mystery novel, of which there is quite a list thus far, with more in the works. Born and raised in Connecticut, Mark majored in geography in college and later taught on the university level. When he and his wife, Marla, moved to New Hampshire, Mark developed the first academic tourism program for Plymouth State University and was on the faculty full-time for 37 years. (Although technically retired, he continues to teach online for the college on a part-time basis.) With his extensive background in tourism – he also worked in tourism for the state of NH for 26 years – Mark has gotten to know the state quite well.

That knowledge of tourism aided Mark when he began to write. “I wanted to write in a way that would promote New Hampshire tourism, and that led to the mystery process,” he says.

All Mark’s books are reflected in his work in tourism, and also his training in geography has been a big asset, although it might not seem to relate to mystery books.

“Geography is about the physical relation of things on the earth’s surface,” he explains. “And the study of tourism deals with places of origin and destination.”

How did Mark, who lives in central New Hampshire, decide on the mystery book genre when he began to write? “In the early 1990s I picked up my first murder mystery and I loved it. Some years ago, at Plymouth State University, I wrote a murder mystery to be used in a tourism class. I used it with my students and it was a tourism planning text book written as a murder mystery set in a place called Judson’s Island.”

It was a creative and unusual way to teach a class about tourism, but it certainly got his students engaged and looking at tourism in a new and fun way. And as a bonus, Mark discovered he enjoyed writing mysteries. The books he writes are generally set in places Mark has visited and liked a lot, such as his favorite location, The Balsams in Dixville Notch. He loves the grand hotels in the state and it was easy to set a mystery to be solved in such a spectacular location as the Balsams. He adds with a smile, “Sometimes I have to revisit these places for details when I am writing,” implying that going back to the wonderful places around the state is no hardship.

In choosing a location for a book, Mark does research and one of his methods of deciding where to set a new mystery is seeking out someone who knows the location well. The question he asks, although it might seem startling, is “where would you kill someone in this particular place?” It could be a catacomb or dense shrubbery in the public eye and even a crime in plain sight that no one would notice right away.

When it comes to the nitty-gritty of the weapon of choice used in the murder in each book, Mark says it varies. And 75% of the time, the fictional victims are men. He has a friendship with a former police chief who is Mark’s go-to guy for CSI type questions.

One might ask who Kary Turnell is, assuming at first that it is a female sleuth/heroine of Mark’s books. “Actually Kary Turnell is a man, and I have no idea where the name came from,” Mark laughs. “In the books, Kary is a former college professor in the criminology field, and he is now retired.”

As with many writers who fashion their characters from portions of their own personalities and life experiences, parts of Kary’s story reflects Mark’s. One can see similarities between Kary’s fictional background and the real-life work and experiences of Mark.

Before Mark found his niche writing mystery novels, he wrote two non-fiction books about the tourism industry: “Sleeping Alongside the Road” and “No Vacancy: The Rise, Demise and Reprise of America’s Motels”. The books have been popular and take a look at how lodging and tourism grew and altered over the years. “No Vacancy” also has some remembrances from those who stayed at various motels, offering an invaluable look at the era of roadside lodgings and cottages.

However, the mystery genre stuck with Mark and he turned to writing with a murder theme. His first murder novel, “A Last Resort,” was set at The Balsams and took a number of years to research and write. It introduced Kary Turnell, a middle-aged criminology professor at Plymouth State University.

That first book led to more, set at recognizable places in New Hampshire, such as the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield and the Mount Washington Hotel (both locations are in “Murders at the Grand”) and Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle on the seacoast, which is the setting for “Whacked”. Other titles include “One Track Mind”, “A Thief in the House” and “Long Walk, Short Deck” (set on the M/S Mount Washington) to be released in the near future. Mark says he is working on a crime novel set in the Manchester area as well.

Also, the 100-page Kary Turnell Mysteries, is a series geared for those who want a quick – but satisfying and entertaining – read.

(Along with researching and writing mystery books, Mark is a freelance writer for The Laker, utilizing his skills in the tourism industry, and authoring a variety of local travel and human-interest stories.)

If you love a good mystery, or know someone who does, a mystery novel by Mark Okrant is just the thing to satisfy. A gift of a Kary Turnell or other book by Mark is sure to be a unique and fun gift during the holiday season.

For information and to order Mark’s books, visit www.markokrant.com. There you will find a list of booksellers and contact information.