Bridgeville author Susan Kimmel Wright draws inspiration from real-life cold case for latest novel
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A Bridgeville resident took inspiration from a real-life cold case murder more than a century ago for her latest novel.
Susan Kimmel Wright’s mystery “Mabel Gets The Ax” will be released July 5. The book follows Mabel, who tries to solve a 1939 double axe murder in the fictional town of Medicine Spring.
The impetus for Wright’s story came from where she grew up, near Cemetery Road in Lambertsville, Somerset County. A mile down the road was the ruin of an old house.
“We used to ride our bikes down there and get scared and think we heard things,” Wright said.
Wright said an elderly woman in her 60s lived in the house in the early 1900s with her two grandchildren. Someone broke in and killed the woman with a hammer. The grandchildren escaped, but it was too late when they looked for help. Despite physical evidence and possible suspects, the 1906 murder remains unsolved.
“Just something about the whole story made it so easy to imagine that into my book,” Wright said.
While the book is inspired by the cold case, Wright said very little of that case is in the book.
“It bugs me that the murder was never solved because I believe it was solvable, but I was able to let Mabel solve her historic murders and bring justice to the world,” she said.
Wright began to write the book in 2016 for NaNoWriMo’s annual challenge event of writing a 50,000-word novel in one month. After writing it, she revised the book before sending it to her agent and beta test readers in 2018. It was not until December 2019 when she signed a contract with her publisher.
“Anybody that wants to publish traditionally will be in it for the long haul,” Wright said.
Wright hopes readers can find an escape from the real world while reading her novel. “That’s my goal for the reader – to laugh and to have a peaceful moment and some fun,” she said.
As Wright gears up for her release date, she is already working on the second installment of the Mysteries of Medicine Spring series. Her manuscript is due in August.
“I haven’t had a lot of time to have the excitement and positive stuff that I am sure I will feel on release day,” she said.
The book is available to pre-order on Amazon.