The Saga Continues, But Changes

I don't often say this: Too Many Clues may be one of the best of my 10 Sebastian McCabe - Jeff Cody books.

Fans of Rex Stout will likely recognize the title as an homage to the Nero Wolfe corpus, which included Too Many Women, Too Many Cooks, Too Many Clients, and the novella "Too Many Detectives."

Certainly my mystery writing has been influenced by decades of re-reading Nero Wolfe as well as Sherlock Holmes, but there are more differences than similarities in our work. One of the big ones is that -- unlike Wolfe and Archie -- my characters age in real time. They are all eight years older than when we first met them in 2011.

Another is that I paint on a broader canvas. By that I mean that many more continuing characters walk through my ages, and their pasts will influence future stories. David Marcum understood what I'm doing when he wrote, "By this time, Dan Andriacco is creating a world."

That world also changes. Some minor characters have come and gone over the years, while others have changed jobs or shifted relationships. In Too Many Clues, for the first time, two major characters who have been in the series ever since No Police Like Holmes will take their leave for good. It will be interesting so see how you readers react.