In the mystery writings of Marilyn Kemp, there is a consistent theme of murder being investigated by two "nosy Puritans" named Hetty Henry and Increase Cotton. The novels take place during the colonial American period, and have many themes that are consistent with the historical time period, such as the butler in Death of a Dancing Master and how he "stuttered the words all the way to jail", implying a small community within walking distance. Death of a Bawdy Belle was a story of the Salem witch trials as well. The "rapid speech of words in Gaelic" also gives background on the languages spoken. Overall, I think that the stories seem to tie in closely with one another, but fail to drift far enough from the roots of the outlines. All of them involve murder and have the same themes, and multiple books involve witches. The narrow genre makes this type of writing an extremely hit or miss theme, although the pros are that getting acquainted with characters and following the story is easier.
2 questions I have are whether writing with such a recurring theme possibly limits the audience and why mysteries tend to involve only murder and no other crimes.
1/6 Speaker = 5*****
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