GUEST POST
I am happy to have Lauren Carr on fundinmental today. Welcome, Lauren.
10 Reasons to Become a Murder Mystery Writer
By Lauren Carr
- You tried writing erotica, but things went seriously wrong during research and now your husband is in traction. Now, he refuses to help you do research for that genre anymore, so you need to find a genre that is less dangerous.
OR–
- You have a really bad boss, but you can’t quit your job, so the only option you have is to kill him. But you don’t want to go to jail because—
- you’ll miss too much work,
- and then you’ll get fired, in which case you might as well have quit your job instead of killing your boss.
Therefore, you need to kill your boss and know how to get away with it. You have come up with the perfect murder.
- After having committed the perfect murder, you have to brag about it! But if you brag about it:
- everyone will know you killed your boss,
- and then you’ll go to jail,
- and then you’ll miss too much work,
- and get fired.
In which case, you might as well have quit your job instead of killing your boss. So, how do you brag about committing the perfect murder without getting caught? Become a mystery writer.
OR–
- You want to be a detective, but your husband refuses to be married to a detective who will lure crazy revenge-seeking killers to your home because they will stain the carpet with blood and put bullet holes in the drywall. So, you’re murder mystery thinking is confined to your mind.
OR–
- You’ve been hearing and seeing some strange things going on next door and you’ve been documenting it. Now that you’ve been going over your notes, you can see that this would make some really interesting reading!
OR–
- You’re friend’s supposedly amicable divorce suddenly turned bad and you’re a really good friend. Really good friends don’t just help you move—they help you move the body. After all the research you’ve done to help her, why not publish it to help others?
OR–
- You’re a psychopath, but the sight of blood and gore in real life makes you queasy. So you can only be a psychopath in your own mind.
- You’re a psychopath, but you’re sane enough to know that if you act on it that you’ll go to jail & you don’t want to go to jail.
OR—
- The economy is hurting everyone—even the mob—who has cut back on your hours as a paid assassin. So, you might as well put what you know to work in another forum—murder mystery writing.
OR–
The economy is hurting everyone—even the mob—who has cut back on your hours as a paid assassin. So, you might as well put what you know to work in another forum—murder mystery writing.
OR– Just in case your husband suddenly turns up missing, you need to a reasonable explanation for why you have been visiting all these strange websites.
I love the post. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

MY REVIEW
If you are a mystery lover, you can’t go wrong with a Lauren Carr novel.
Shadows Of The Missing by Lauren Carr is a mystery on steroids. She blends the whodunit with suspense and thrills, making it hard to stop reading. I love the Geezer Squad and Chris Matheson. I love when secrets are exposed. We all know, you can’t run from your past. It follows you wherever you go.
The further into the book I get, the more the suspense rises and the pace picks up. There are multiple story lines and many suspects. It had me wondering what they all had in common and how the mystery would be solved.
There are a lot of characters and a list of them are in the front of the book. I have been reading Lauren Carr’s books for a long time now, so I am familiar with a lot of them.
My thanks go out to Lauren Carr for the opportunity to read and review Shadows Of The Missing.

Book Title: SHADOWS OF THE MISSING (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #5) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 434 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: May 5, 2026
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
“The Geezer Squad. They might not be in their prime physically anymore, but their combined intellect and skills at deduction are phenomenal.” – 5-Star Review by FUONLYKNEW
“Lauren Carr’s Geezer Squad has brought sexy back to mature men and women, whose kickass attitude and smarts sizzle as they melt the clues to those cold cases!” – Laura Fabiani, Library of Clean Reads
In the shadows of the missing, the truth lies buried.
Helen Clarke-Matheson believed she had escaped the shadows of her past, building a new life with Chris. But the past has a way of resurfacing, and when her sister arrives with a DNA test, Helen’s world is once again turned upside down. Her sister shattered the family history Helen believed to be true. Her young father hadn’t abandoned his family, and her delusional mother didn’t wander away from her children.
Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad, a quirky team of retired seasoned sleuths working under the guise of a book club, are drawn into a deeply personal investigation. They must wade through decades of buried secrets and conflicting accounts to uncover the truth behind the parents’ disappearances. As they peel back the layers of deception to unravel long-forgotten clues, they confront the lingering specter of murder and long-hidden crimes. Can they piece together the fragments of the past to bring closure to Helen and her siblings, or will the truth remain buried forever?
Enjoy These Other Geezer Squad Mysteries:
Book Title: CHRIS MATHESON COLD CASE MYSTERIES BOX SET (Book 1 thru 4) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 434 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: Oct 5, 2025
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
Book Description:
Dive into the thrilling Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries with this exclusive box set, featuring the first four books in Lauren Carr’s bestselling series! Join retired FBI agent Chris Matheson and his quirky “Geezer Squad” as they unravel chilling cold cases, blending razor-sharp suspense, laugh-out-loud humor, and small-town charm. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, detective thrillers, and gripping whodunits, this collection delivers over 1,000 pages of heart-pounding investigations.
What’s Inside:
- ICE: Chris Matheson’s first case pulls him into a web of betrayal and murder tied to a decades-old disappearance.
- Winter Frost: A chance encounter with his late wife, alive—years after the State Department declared her dead in a terrorist attack—shatters Chris’s world.
- The Last Thing She Said: A cryptic dying message sparks a race against time to catch a killer hiding in plain sight.
- Chris Crossed Murder: When a body clutching Chris Matheson’s federal agent badge is found dead in the snowy woods near an international airport, the Geezer Squad’s Christmas turns into a chilling whodunit.
- Compelling Characters: From Chris’s sharp detective mind to the Geezer Squad’s eccentric antics, every page brims with personality.
- Twist-Filled Plots: Expect jaw-dropping surprises and clever red herrings that keep you guessing until the end.
- Kindle Unlimited Ready: Binge-read this addictive series with your KU subscription or own it forever!
Amazon.com ~ Audible
add to goodreads
Book Title: ICE (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 364 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: February 26, 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
Book Description:
When Sandy Lipton and her unborn child disappeared, the court of public opinion found young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and his family has never lifted.
With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the clues are getting hot!
Book Title: Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 332 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: January 22, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
“Winter Frost was an entertaining, at times humorous read with suspense, some surprises, and even cute animals in the mix.” Review of Winter Frost by The iRead Review
It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.
Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad, working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding his late wife’s supposed death halfway around the globe. A state department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas.
Nothing is as it seems.
In his most personal cold case, Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair, the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?
Book Title: The Last Thing She Said (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 386 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: July 22, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
“I’m working on the greatest mystery ever,” was the last thing noted mystery novelist Mercedes Livingston said to seven-year-old Chris Matheson before walking out of Hill House Hotel never to be seen again.
For decades, the writer’s fate remained a puzzling mystery until an autographed novel and a letter put a grown-up Chris Matheson on the trail of a cunning killer. With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris puts a flame to this cold case to uncover what had really happened that night Mercedes Livingston walked out of Hill House Hotel. Watch out! The clues are getting hot!
Book Title: Chris Crossed Murder (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +)
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: Feb 22, 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
“Lauren Carr is among my favorite mystery writers. She knows how to write a fun tale while keeping readers engaged. …I would give Chris Crossed Murder one hundred stars if I could. I believe readers who enjoy reading well-written and clean cozy mysteries will most definitely want to read it. I have no doubt they will enjoy it as much as I did. The fifth installment from A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery series is on my radar for when it releases.” – Review of CHRIS CROSSED MURDER (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery, Book Four) by Amy Campbell, Locks Hooks and Books
It proves to be a Christmas to remember when the Matheson family receives the horrendous news that Chris Matheson’s body has been found in the woods near an international airport.
Everyone is stunned—especially Chris Matheson.
The mystery deepens when they discover the victim has Chris’s federal agent badge and appears to have been investigating one of his old cases.
The Geezer Squad’s latest case is not only a whodunit but who-got-dun. Is this a case of mistaken identity? Was Chris the intended victim? If not, then they must identify the murder victim to find his killer.
With Christmas days away, join the Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad as they race to piece together the clues to their most puzzling case yet.
Lauren Carr is the author of over thirty acclaimed mystery novels, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide. Her fast-paced series—the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and more—blend twists, suspense, humor, and unforgettable characters (including clever German shepherds!).
It’s Murder, My Son organically hit #1 in Mystery on Amazon, and her books consistently rank in the Top 20 Police Procedurals in the US and international markets.
A popular speaker and publishing consultant, Lauren lives on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV, with her husband and three spoiled rotten German shepherds.
Join the mystery at authorlaurencarr.com!
connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ X/twitter ~ pinterest ~ goodreads
MY LAUREN CARR REVIEWS
- It’s Murder My Son (Mac Faraday Mystery #1)
- Three Days To Forever (Mac Faraday Mystery #2)
- Cancelled Vows (Mac Faraday Mystery #3)
- Candidate For Murder (Mac Faraday Mystery #4)
- Crimes Past (A Mac Faraday Mystery #13)
- Shadow of Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery #14)
- Kill And Run (Thorny Rose Mystery #1)
- A Fine Year For Murder (Thorny Rose Mystery #2)
- Twofer Murder (Thorny Rose Mystery #2.5)
- Murder by Perfection (Thorny Rose Mystery #3)
- The Nutcracker Conspiracy (Thorny Rose Mystery #4)
- Ice (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1)
- Spring Thaw (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1.5)
- Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2)
- The Last Thing She Said (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3)
- Chris Crossed Murder (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4
- Killer In The Band (Lovers In Crime #3)
- Twofer Murder (Lovers In Crime #4
- The Root of Murder (Lovers In Crime #5)
- Killer Deadline (Nikki Bryant #1)
- The Wrong Side Of Murder (Nikki Bryant #2)
- The Prime Suspect (A Sam Mackade PI Mystery)
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