How July 4 Fireworks Inspire Mystery Writers

July 4 is a holiday synonymous with summertime family fun--backyard barbecues, beach picnics, fireworks in the park, local parades, etc. And that makes it an interesting backdrop for murder mysteries. First, it's easy to forget that July 4 commemorates the birth of a nation in violent revolution, but this Fourth comes on the heels of headlines--the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage and racially motivated violence--that remind us that a nation founded on the concept of inalienable rights is still fighting to realize those ideals for all citizens. A mystery writer certainly can find murderous motives in old, violent biases--with joyous fireworks bursting ironically in the background. Second, the nation is still threatened by internal and external enemies, although very different ones from 1776, as shown by recent headlines about potential terrorist attacks on Independence Day. It's not hard to imagine the plot for a mystery-thriller! But mainly, we are plagued by more personal demons on the holiday. I am certain that, as families, friends and strangers gather together, there will be many new headlines about violence from fractured relationships and fractured minds. Since the most common violence on the Fourth of July comes at home, the "cozy" mysteries are also those that most often embrace an Independence Day theme, with an emphasis on amateur female sleuths, recipes and cute pets. Here are four 2015 July 4-theme mysteries for your (very light) holiday reading. First comes Nancy Coco with Oh Say Can You Fudge: Allie Murphy, owner of a hotel and fudge shop, plans to hire an aerial skywriter for a holiday display, but he turns up murdered. Next, is Isis Crawford's A Catered Fourth of July: Two sisters in a small New York town cater a Revolutionary War battle reenactment and then become sleuths when the town's playboy is killed. Cute canines dominate in Mutts & Murder, a Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery by Amazon best-seller Meg Muldoon: Winifred Wolf is covering canine-related stories for the local newspaper in Dog Mountain, Oregon, when a dead body is found in the local dog park before the annual Fourth of July Pooch Parade. Last on the list is Doggone Dead, another mystery in the popular Pecan Bayou series by Teresa Trent: In Pecan Bayou, Texas, Betsy Livingston is looking for her runaway puppy when she stumbles upon a murder on a dead movie-cowboy star's estate. For a much longer list of Fourth of July cozy mysteries, see http://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/fourth-of-july-mystery-book-theme-list.html