Troubled Water: An Aging Ain’t for Wimps Mystery
by Kassandra Lamb
About Troubled Water
Troubled Water: An Aging Ain’t for Wimps Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Northern Florida
Publisher : Misterio Press LLC
Publication date : July 28, 2026
Digital
https://amzn.to/4wAJb1b
Paperbacks will be available too!
What does it say about you when your coming-of-age story begins at seventy-one?
Amy Bridges Parker asks herself that question as she resists her domineering sister’s attempts to take over where her subtly controlling and recently deceased husband left off.
Then her sister Clara turns up dead! And a young man claiming to be the grandson of Amy’s first husband—the one who died in Vietnam fifty-two years ago—gives the sheriff a prime suspect. The boy had a grudge and must have gone after the wrong sister.
Amy isn’t convinced. She can’t really explain why, but she likes the young man. And she knows better than most that her sister, a mean girl back in high school, had plenty of old enemies. But who hated Clara enough to actually kill her? Or did the killer get the wrong sister after all?
About Kassandra Lamb
Kassandra Lamb has two loves: writing and psychology. In her youth, she discovered that writers need day jobs in order to eat. Partial to food, she studied psychology. Now retired from a career as a psychotherapist and college professor, she spends most of her time in an alternate universe with her characters. The magic portal to this universe (i.e., her computer) is in Florida, where her husband and dog catch occasional glimpses of her. Kass has authored over 40 books, including four mystery series and a romantic suspense trilogy.
INTERVIEW
Today, I’m welcoming Kassandra Lamb, author of Troubled Waters, to Ruff Drafts.
Kassandra, how long have you been published? What titles and/or series have you published and with which publisher? Have you self-published any titles? Please give details.
My first book was published in December of 2011. In the fifteen years since then, I’ve written and published over 40 books through an indie press that I co-own, misterio press LLC.
I have three series of mysteries out now (and I’m starting a new one), plus I’ve written some romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale. The mystery series are the Kate Huntington Mysteries, about a psychotherapist who often gets herself caught up in other people’s messes; the Marcia Banks and Buddy Cozy Mysteries, about a dog trainer who trains service dogs for military veterans and solves crimes on the side, with the help of her four-legged sidekick, Buddy; and the C.o.P. on the Scene Mysteries, about a female Chief of Police of a small Florida city.
Impressive.
Tell us a little bit about your books — if you write a series, any upcoming releases or your current work-in-progress. If you have an upcoming release, please specify the release date.
Troubled Water, the book I’ve recently released (July 28, 2026), is Book 1 in a new series called The Aging Ain’t for Wimps Mysteries. These are cozies about a recently widowed woman who is “finding herself” at the ripe old age of seventy-one. Oh, and she’s solving murders, as needed. I’m having a lot of fun with this new series.
Sounds like a fun series.
Describe your goals as a writer. What do you hope to achieve in the next few years? What are you planning to do to reach these goals?
I’ve actually achieved most of the goals I had when I started on this journey. I was considering retiring completely, as in stopping writing. But I became quite bored just imagining that. So I decided instead to recapture more of the joy of writing by (1) returning to writing cozies, my favorites to write, and (2) writing about the aging process, but from a light-hearted point of view.
Very nice. It’s important to write what you enjoy so that others enjoy it, too.
What type of reader are you hoping to attract? Who do you believe would be most interested in reading your books?
Up to this point my readers have been about 75% female, 25% male, ranging in age from fortyish up. Although, I have had some readers younger than that. This new series will probably appeal most to women above the age of fifty. They will be the audience who will most likely relate to my protagonist.
That’s a great target audience.
What advice would you give other authors or those still trying to get published?
If you love to write, then keep on doing it. Only a few authors end up with fame and fortune, so you have to do it mainly for the passion of the art. As far as getting published is concerned, there are more options available today to make that happen. Explore all of those paths without prejudging them, and find the one that is right for you.
Excellent advice. I agree completely.
What particular challenges and struggles did you face before first becoming published?
My greatest challenge initially was learning the craft of fiction writing. I’d always loved to write but most of my writing was non-fiction, related to my profession as a psychotherapist and college professor. But fiction writing is fairly different. Yes, I was already good at stringing words together into coherent sentences, but telling a story with those sentences was a greater challenge.
Later, the greatest struggle was finding and maintaining balance in my life. I have some workaholic tendencies, so for a few years I was working much harder than I should have been. I finally mastered the whole balance thing by designating certain days of the week for work (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). On the other days, I am then free to act like the retired old lady that I’m supposed to be.
Lol. Achieving balance between writing and family and personal activities can be a challenge.
Do you belong to any writing groups? Which ones?
Yes, I am a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors which is an international organization for indie authors. They have been a great resource through the years. And I’m also a member of Sisters in Crime and their online chapter. Writing is lonely work, so it’s really important to have these connections with other authors.
I’m a member of Sisters in Crime, as well. It’s a great association. I haven’t heard of the Alliance of Independent Authors but will check them out. Writing connections are very important.
What are your hobbies and interests besides writing?
Reading, of course. And I play Mah Jongg once a week and Canasta every two weeks. I love card games in general, even Solitaire on the computer.
Good hobbies.
What do you like most and least about being an author? What is your toughest challenge?
My favorite part of writing is the editing process. I love to watch a rough draft slowly transform into a polished story. I find it very exciting—to clean up all those rough edges until it is the best story it can be.
My least favorite parts are promotion and managing the business end of things. The former has its fun tasks, like writing blog posts and interviews and making promotional banners and images. These are fun because they are still being creative. But marketing in general is very time-consuming, and can get tedious, as can the business tasks, bookkeeping and such.
I think most authors feel the same way. I know I do.
What do you like about writing cozy mysteries?
Cozies are, by far, my favorite subgenre of mysteries to write. They are a bit more lighthearted, and they also are easier and more fun to write than say police procedurals. I’ve enjoyed the challenges of writing in other sub-genres, but cozies are like coming home to a warm fire and a cup of cocoa.
A cup of tea, too. Yes, cozies are appealing because the characters are quirky and the plots, as you say, are more lighthearted than other mysteries. Also, don’t forget the cats and other pets that are often featured in them.
Can you share a short excerpt from your latest title?
Synopsis of the story up to this point: Amy Parker’s husband has passed away of a heart attack—on her seventy-first birthday. The next morning, her domineering older sister, Clara shows up uninvited on her doorstep, with an excessive amount of luggage and her grumpy cat. Amy’s adult son, Brent arrives soon after. Amy is trying to avoid Clara’s efforts to take over where Amy’s subtly controlling late husband left off. Clara is also acting more and more like she is drunk. The following morning, Amy finds her unconscious in the driveway, beside the camellia bushes and a ladder.
CHAPTER FIVE
The two paramedics were loading my sister into their ambulance. They hadn’t answered me verbally when I’d asked if she was dead, only shook their heads, their expressions grim. Her face was grayish when they’d maneuvered her onto a gurney.
My heart did a weird flip-flop in my chest, and I felt sick to my stomach. This can’t be happening, again.
A white SUV pulled up in front of my house. Heron Shores Sheriff’s Department was stenciled on its door in dark green, along with some kind of shield.
The older of the paramedics jogged over to the sheriff, as his partner closed and secured the ambulance doors. I couldn’t make out all of the paramedic’s rapid-fire words, but I caught, “…fall from the ladder.”
As the departing ambulance’s siren wailed, I looked around the base of the ladder, trying to ignore the pool of blood soaking into my driveway several feet away. The area around the ladder was littered with half-wilted camellia blooms. But they hadn’t fallen off on their own as they normally would. They had short stems attached, with cut ends.
I examined the ground some more with my eyes—the paramedics had told me not to touch anything. I spotted the pruning shears under one of the bushes.
I gritted my teeth. “Dang it, Clara. I told you they didn’t need to be deadheaded.”
“Who’s dead headed?” The sheriff’s voice from behind me.
I twisted around. I tried to explain that I’d been talking about cutting dead roses off a bush, to encourage it to bloom some more, that it was called deadheading. But the more I talked, the more confused his expression became. He was obviously no gardener.
Finally, he shook his head, as if giving up on trying to understand me. So I gave up on trying to be understood. It didn’t matter anyway.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said in his low, rumbling voice, “but since no one witnessed the accident, there will have to be an inquiry.”
Brent came around the corner of the house and halted when he saw the sheriff.
“Did you see or hear anything, Mr. Williams?” the latter asked.
Brent shook his head. “I was in the house all morning.”
“How about you, Mrs. Parker?”
I shook my head as well. “No, not until I found her.”
“And when was that?”
“I don’t know exactly. I thought she’d gone for a walk. After breakfast, I was sitting out back for a while, and then I walked around the house and saw her.” I hesitated, trying to remember details. “We called 911 right away. They’ll have a record of the time.”
The sheriff nodded. “Do either of you know of any enemies she might’ve had?”
“Why are you asking that?” I demanded.
Brent narrowed his eyes at the sheriff. “Because he thinks it’s not an accident.”
“No, I don’t necessarily think that,” the sheriff said. “But in case it isn’t…”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“It must’ve been an accident,” Brent said, his voice rising. “She–”
I interrupted, blurting out, “She told me yesterday that her husband was leaving her.”
Brent stared at me. “You think Ronnie…” he trailed off.
The sheriff took out a note pad and began writing in it.
I finally let myself look at the pool of blood, where my sister’s head had been until a few minutes ago. It was a lot of blood.
As a nurse, I’d certainly seen blood before. I’d even seen a lot of blood.
But never from someone in my family, someone I cared about. A sob tried to escape from my aching throat. I swallowed hard.
The sheriff coughed quietly. “You can go inside, ma’am. I’ll be there in a bit.” He placed his big paw of a hand on my shoulder and nodded to Brent.
“Come on, Mom,” my son said, holding out his hand.
I took it and let him lead me into the house.
Great excerpt. Thank you, and thanks for the interview.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
WEBSITE: https://kassandralamb.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kassandralambauthor
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kasslamb/
BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/kasslamb.bsky.social
BOOKBUB PROFILE: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kassandra-lamb
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5624939.Kassandra_Lamb
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