When it comes to mystery novels, most books center around a murder and then solve the 'whodunit.' For local author Elizabeth Ridley's mystery/thriller book, the mystery in question is one of identity.
Spanning over the course of just 24 hours, Searching for Celia follows spy novelist Dayle Salveson’s investigation into the mysterious death of her best friend and former lover.
"(She) tries to figure out who her friend really was," Ridley explains. "And if you don’t know the people you think you know best, do we really know anybody and do we know ourselves as well as we think we do?"
This is Ridley's first mystery novel. She strived to balance the characters' background stories with the exciting mystery elements that keep readers guessing.
"You can tell a story that has mystery/thriller elements to it, but yet you can still have characters who are interesting and three-dimensional and complicated...and you can see them grow and change," Ridley says.
Published by Bold Strokes Books in New York, Searching for Celia was named one of "The 15 Best LGBT Summer Reads" by the Advocate magazine. For Ridley, LGBT equality in literature is important. Roughly half of her books either contain or center around LGBTQ characters.
Ridley observes that literature is moving towards more of an acceptance of LGBTQ culture and characters, but in many respects, she believes that interest in LGBTQ literature is still in the minority.
Elizabeth Ridley was born and raised in Milwaukee and now resides in West Allis. She will be attending an official book launch the evening of July 23rd at Martha Merrell’s bookstore in Waukesha. It is free and open to the public.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F7l43puuKM
