Prairie Path Books Helps Mystery Lovers Get Inside the Minds of Authors

Book lovers in search of fun, out-of-the-ordinary events need look no further than Prairie Path Books in Wheaton.

At PPB's latest event Feb. 28, not only were guests treated to a full array of hors d'oeuvres and a mystery performance for them to solve, the owners brought in guests from Indiana and Ohio, as well as Wheaton, to share inspiration about their favorite topic: mystery novels.

Audience members were delighted to share in an intelligent discussion with Terence Faherty, author of the Owen Keane mystery series (among others), and Robert Goldsborough of Wheaton, who is continuing the Nero Wolfe series written by author Rex Stout until his death in the 1970s.

Jim Huang also shared some background on the mystery genre. He is a book review editor, mystery conference programmer and publisher, and he has served in the leadership of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association and Sisters in Crime.

"It was so great to be out talking with intelligent people and the authors," guest Evie Caprel said after the event.

Faherty's Owen Keane is "a guy immersed in mysteries," Faherty told the crowd at Toms-Price Furniture, where Prairie Path Books events are held.

"Keane fails in the seminary and dropped out," Faherty said. "He becomes an amateur sleuth, and solves the big questions that tripped him up as a seminarian by solving little human mysteries."

Rex Stout wrote the Nero Wolfe novels for decades, Goldsborough told the group.

"I consumed them and continued to consume them throughout high school and college," he said. "I showed my mom his obituary, and she said, 'Now there won't be any more Nero Wolfe stories.' I thought, 'Maybe there could be one more.' And I wrote a Nero Wolfe book just for my mother."

He ended up writing nine more, so far.

Goldsborough, formerly a longtime newspaperman, has written 14 mysteries and won multiple awards. In addition to Owen Keane, Flaherty's other mystery series involves private eye Scott Elliott and is set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. He also has won and been nominated for a number of awards.

The next event at Prairie Path Books, the "Keepers" cooking event, has sold out, but the shop's owners have added a second "Keepers" event on March 27.

Also in March, "College Planning and a Beer" will be held at 7 p.m. March 20. Cost is $20. Sign up here.

For more information on all Prairie Path Books events, visit their website at www.prairiepathbooks.com.