A Look Inside the Mind Behind the Break-Out Cozy Summer Mystery: Baker’s Dozen
Autumn Doerr is the author of the must-read summer mystery novel, Baker’s Dozen: A Lexi Fagan Mystery. The book was inspired by a real fire she witnessed in San Francisco in the 80s. That experience evolved into the first book in the series. It makes for the idea summer book.
The book tells the story of Lexi after she moves to San Francisco and lands a job working at a local bakery. Tragedy strikes when her lover, who is also a firefighter, turns up dead in a devastating fire. Suddenly, she’s caught up in the murder investigation and begins to uncover secrets that could get her killed.
Q: What makes your book a must-read?
A: If you enjoy a good mystery, can appreciate an old-fashioned bakery and get a kick out of San Francisco, or have always wanted to visit, “Baker’s Dozen” is for you.
Q: What is something interesting/cool/unbelievable you discovered while researching your book?
A: For opera buffs, before the 1983 Fall season, there were no English supertitles at the San Francisco Opera. La Traviata, the opera that’s in the book, was the opera that popularized the practice. (Hint: there are supertitles at the La Traviata, in “Baker’s Dozen”.)
And for those of you into more gruesome research: The inciting event in my mystery book is a fire at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco. I witnessed this fire in 1983 and, over 20 years later, it sparked the idea for my mystery book. Through research, I discovered that the December 18th fire had taken two people’s lives and prompted Mayor Diane Feinstein to require sprinklers be installed, along with smoke alarms, in all hotels to bring them up to code. At the time, I didn’t even know two people had been killed as a result of the fire.
Q: If your book was turned into a film/TV show, who would you tap to play the lead(s)? Why?
A: For some reason, Rooney Mara comes to mind for the main character, Lexi Fagan. She has such a range and looks very young. She can play naive and smart, not a combination you see too often. Denzel Washington for Detective Robert Reiger, of course; though he doesn’t have a big part in Book 1, he does play a larger role in the second book that I hope to publish later this year. In case Mr. Washington is busy, hem hem, I also think Donald Faison from Scrubs or Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911 and Speechless) would also be smashing.
Q: Tell us something about you that no one else knows.
A: I can tap dance (barely) and love to cut a rug on the dance floor to early disco.
Q: Recommend a book that is similar to yours. If people like X, then they’ll love your book because…
A: If you like Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series, you’ll like “Baker’s Dozen.” Grafton’s novels are known for their interesting, and often older, characters. Her descriptions of the fictional town of Santa Teresa ground her stories so you feel as if you’re there. I tried to do the same thing with descriptions of my beloved San Francisco. And, finally, Grafton protagonist, Kinsey Millhone, gets caught up in a lot of hairy situations; something that Lexi Fagan has a habit of doing.
Rapid Fire Questions and Answers
Q: Meat or Veggies?
A: Meat
Q: Kanye West or Taylor Swift?
A: Taylor
Q: Coachella or Broadway?
A: Broadway
Q: Selfie or group photo?
A: Group photo
Q: Hardcover book or Kindle?
A: Hardcover
Q: Chess or Candy Crush?
A: Chess
Q: Cookies or cake?
A: Cake
Q: Firefighters or cowboys?
A: Firefighters
Q: E.L. James or J.K. Rowling?
A: J.K. Rowling
Q: Kittens or puppies?
A: Kittens AND puppies!
Ready to unravel this tasty mystery for yourself? Find the book on Amazon.
