Behind the Story of Finders Not Keepers by D.E. Haggerty

D.E. Haggerty is the author of thirteen novels ranging from romantic comedies to cozy mysteries. She’s also a bit of a traveler, having lived in Istanbul, Germany, and The Hague. Finders, Not Keepers is the first book in the Not So Reluctant Detective Mystery series.

It all begins with a find

“I actually wanted to write a series of novels as a sort of adult spin-off of the Nancy Drew Mysteries,” Haggerty said. “I loved those books as a child and thought a series would be a fun tribute. The Nancy Drew Mysteries often start out with Nancy discovering an object. I thought: Why not have my main character find something and the discovery turns into a murder mystery? This is indeed how Finders, Not Keepers starts out, but the tribute to Nancy Drew died a slow death when my characters refused to follow my instructions.”

Haggerty said that while she’s not big on addressing issues or arguments in her mystery novels, Finders, Not Keepers does address an issue. “The title itself refers to the adage ‘Finders, Keepers’ – the premise that when an object is abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it. My title is slightly different, however, in that’s I’ve added ‘not’ before keepers. Throughout the book, various characters argue back and forth on whether keeping an item you find is the ‘right’ thing to do or not. The title makes my position clear.”

Keeping it light

“I think the most important thing I would like to say to readers is not to take the story too seriously,” Haggerty said. “These are light, fun (and hopefully funny!) books. Yes, the characters sometimes make stupid mistakes or do things they should know better than to do. But this just adds to the ‘fun’. The actions of the characters aren’t meant to be strictly realistic. Sit back, grab your favorite drink of choice, and forget about the world for a while.”

Haggerty noted that she made the decision to write this series in third person. The previous two cozy mysteries she wrote were in first person, as are her romantic comedies. “I love writing in first person. You can write all this crazy stuff people think but don’t dare to say. But I’d gotten quite a few comments from readers being ‘tired’ of first person and read a few articles that first person was going out of style. So, I decided to give third person a try for Finders, Not Keepers. I was struggling with it and ended up complaining to a writer friend. Her response? ‘But the thoughts and observations of your main character are hilarious!’ Uh oh. At this point, it was nearly finished with the first draft. I ended up keeping the novel in third person but tried to add some thoughts and observations of the heroine. Lesson learned.”

Traveling the world

While researching her historical fiction novel, Searching for Gertrude, Haggerty traveled to Istanbul, where she had previously lived and where her husband was living. She stayed in the Pera Palace hotel, which is featured in the novel. “I also spent two days walking around the Pera region of Istanbul to ensure it was all fresh in my mind when I wrote the novel. Although I lived in Istanbul for two years, I’d been away for over a year when I started the novel. Walking around the streets of old Istanbul got me excited to write the novel – something I’d been putting off for years.”

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