A Field Guide to Death and Deceit:
A Harry & Emma Mystery - A Novel by Michelle L. Cullen
About A Field Guide to Death and Deceit
A Field Guide to Death and Deceit: A Harry & Emma Mystery - A Novel
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting - Ohio
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books
Publication date : September 15, 2026
Print length : 336 pages
Hardcover ISBN-13 : 979-8892426787
ASIN : B0G7CL8PFV
Paperback ISBN-13 : 979-8892426794
ASIN : B0G7CBDY54
Digital ISBN-13 : 979-8892426800
ASIN : B0G75WTNB9
Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer.
This delightful sequel to A Field Guide to Murder is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.
When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm's owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.
After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.
To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray.
As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns updead.
About Michelle L. Cullen
Michelle L. Cullen has lived and traveled all over the world, from working as a bilingual secretary in Paris to backpacking around Europe, Central America, and Southern Africa to helping rebuild communities after war throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific — where she saw the best and worst of human behavior. Her lifelong fascination with people and why they do what they do, was further fueled by her academic training. She obtained her PhD from the London School of Economics' Sociology Department and her master’s degree in anthropology from Melbourne University in Australia.
A fan of adventure, she has a black belt in Taekwondo, has summited 900 feet rock climbing, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, and hiked up an active volcano. She currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she’s either doing yoga, playing outside, or plotting murder. She’s a proud member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guide, and has been gleefully reading and watching murder mysteries since the age of ten.
INTERVIEW
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
My writing journey started with a horse. It was late 2017, and I had just moved to Austin. I met with a friend of a friend over coffee to get recommendations on local doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, mechanics, etc., and she ended her long list by asking if I wanted the number for a riding coach.Since it was Texas, I immediately envisioned myselfon a horse, glidingover rolling hills of gnarled pecan trees. I asked if the stable was nearby. She furrowed her brows, then corrected me – she’d said “writing” not “riding.” Equally intrigued, I took the number. Within two weeks, I had a writing coach and had started my debut mystery, A Field Guide to Murder.
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
It took me about five years to write my first book – a process that included A LOT of rewriting, revising, and editing as I learned how to write fiction, and more specifically, mysteries. My second book, an unpublished thriller based on my aid work in post-genocidal Rwanda, took me about a year. My third book, A Field Guide to Death and Deceit, the sequel to my debut mystery, took me about one month to outline, six months to write, and two months to edit and revise.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
My writing schedule depends on my day job. I run my own consulting business, so my ability to dedicate time to writing can vary based on clients’ timetables and demands. In general, I try to dedicate one to three hours in the morning to outlining or writing, and save research and book promotion for the evening, after I’ve finished my day job. I’d love to get to the point where I am able to write every day, but I’m not there yet.
4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
While I enjoy being creative, I’m a scientist at heart and use my anthropology training to develop my stories. For my first book in the Harry & Emma Mystery series, before I began writing, I conducted a demographic analysis of mystery readers and tried to figure out how I could develop a story with broad appeal, picking up other demographic groups. I also spent hours mapping my characters’ backstories and arcs and then aligned these with varying story beats associated with the mystery plot. After that, I color-coded sections by POV, plot points, and subplots to create a complex diagram that enabled me to visually see how my story was unfolding.
5. How do books get published?
I think this depends on your route to publishing, whether self, hybrid, or traditional. I’ve taken the traditional route. It took me a few years to sign with an agent, after networking at numerous conferences, attending several pitching events, and sending out multiple queries. Once agented, my book was on submission for a year before it went to auction and I landed a two-book deal with Crooked Lane Books. Once the deal was signed, my first book was in production for a year. Overall, it took me eight years from when I started writing until my book landed on bookstore shelves.
6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
My books and characters are inspired by real life. In my Harry & Emma Mystery series, many of Harry Lancaster’s memories are based on my experiences working around the world as an anthropologist, helping to rebuild communities after war. For my character Emma Stockton, her struggles of figuring out herself and her life’s direction mirror what I went through in my twenties. It took me a while to figure out which dreams I wanted to pursue.
7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I wrote my first mini-book when I was in the first grade. It was a story about a fight between “America,” “the British” (which I misspelled as “Brithis”), New York, and New Jersey, proving: (a) geography was not my forte; (b) I was destined for a career in post-conflict reconstruction, and (c) I have a compulsion for stories with happy endings – my first story ended with my four “protagonists” laughing together.
8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
If I’m not writing (or working my day job),I love spending time doing yoga or being outside: walking, biking, kayaking, or paddle boarding.
9. What does your family think of your writing?
They’re my biggest fans and have been incredibly supportive, and for that, I am so grateful!
10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
What has surprised me the most is how many mistakes you immediately see after your book is published (doh!). Despite reviewing my manuscript hundreds of times, and having beta readers, my agent, my editor, a copy editor, and a proof editor all review my first book, I can still find mistakes.
11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve written three full manuscripts, one of which is published (A Field Guide to Murder), the second will bereleased on September 15th this year (A Field Guide to Death and Deceit), and the third is unpublished. I think my favorite is the unpublished one. Time will tell if that enters the world.
12. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
I’ve taken a lot of very helpful classes from Writer’s League of Texas, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime,International Thriller Writers, Writer’s Digest, Lawson’s Writers Academy, and Foxprint Editorial. Each of these organizationshave been instrumental in me learning the craft and business of writing. But I think the best tip I’ve received is to not quit. The writers who succeed are the ones who don’t give up.
13. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I’ve received some lovely emails from readers saying how they’ve connected to my two main characters and how they’ve enjoyed my stories. Harry is seen as kind, fatherly figure – although my beta readers over sixty-five all wanted to date him! Many of my younger readers have noted how they can relate to Emma and her struggles. I also have received kind feedback from the book club discussions I’ve joined (you can request this here). These virtual and in-person discussions have been a wonderful way to connect with readers and fans of mysteries.
14. Do you like to create books for adults?
I do. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a child or teen, so I can’t image writing for that audience at this point.
15. What do you think makes a good story?
I think any good story should include: (a) characters that readers can relate to and connect with, and (b) unanswered questions that keep the pages turning. When I wrote A Field Guide to Murder, I did my best to put parts of this equation on every page, with the end goal of creating a book that you would want to hug at its end. This is not an easy feat when your story includes murder! So, I did my best to infuse the book with humor, connection, and inspiration as the mystery plot unfolded.
16. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
As a kid, I desperately wanted to see the world, and I’ve been lucky enough to have done quite a bit of this. So far, I’ve been to sixty countries, having lived, worked, or studied in many of them.
17. What Would you like my readers to know?
If you enjoy a book, please leave a rating or review. Ratings and reviews help other readers discover an author’s works and tells publishers, bookstores, and libraries that there is demand for their stories. If you’d like to see more of the books you enjoy, ratings and reviews are a great way to help make that happen.
- Website:https://mlcullen.com/
- Newsletters:https://michelle-l-cullen.kit.com/
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MichelleLCullenAuthor/
- Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/michellelcullen/
- Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55985912.Michelle_L_Cullen
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