Kathleen Kaska on the Physical Research

Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve added a guest post, but I couldn’t be more pleased with today’s offering. I’ve known Kathleen Kaska virtually for several years, and finally got to meet her a year ago face to face at a Bouchercon in New Orleans. I love her Sydney Lockhart series, too.

Before I begin writing one of my Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series, which won the 2025 PenCraft Best Mystery Series Award, I choose the hotel where the story takes place. It must be real and have existed in the early 1950s. Ideally, it must still welcome guests today. Walking through those doors lets me experience what my characters would have seen, heard, and even smelled. I notice the architecture, the view from the windows, and how light falls across the lobby in late afternoon. Details like these often spark plot twists I could never invent at my desk.

Researching the era means more than confirming dates and décor. The early ’50s carried a unique tension. The war was over, but memories were still fresh. Rationing had only recently ended. Women who had stepped into new roles during the war were being nudged back into traditional expectations. Class structures still held firm in many hotels, where guests and staff moved within carefully defined spheres. I wanted my protagonist, Sydney Lockhart, to break from these traditional roles, so I made her a private investigator. Her talents allow her to blend into her surroundings. She notices what others overlook and questions what others accept. When people do wrong, she refuses to look away.

All of this created fertile ground for secrets—and for murder.

I also research local businesses from that era. These establishments ground the mystery in authenticity, allowing Sydney to move through a fully realized world.

My upcoming mystery, Murder at the Faust, is set in the small German town of New Braunfels, Texas, where Sydney’s investigation leads her to Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. (I have many personal stories to tell about this place.) Over the years, entertainers have included George Strait, Jerry Jeff Walker, Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, Loretta Lynn, and, of course, Willie Nelson. Sydney also chases a suspect to Aquarena Springs, a popular Texas roadside attraction on a nearby crystal-clear lake. It features glass-bottom boats and submarines that take visitors below the surface to view a live underwater theater, where women trained to hold their breath for two to three minutes dress as mermaids to entertain passengers.

In writing about this region in Texas, I must mention the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers that run through town, where Sydney and her partner, Dixon, canoe along these meandering waterways in search of suspects and clues to the murder.  

Of course, Sydney has to eat to keep up her stamina, and what better places to dine than Krause’s Cafe, a 90-year-old German restaurant and beer garden, and Naegelins, a 142-year-old German bakery, both within a block of the Faust Hotel.

But while researching local events, I hit the jackpot. Sydney’s sidekick, Cousin Ruth, always shows up to help, usually going undercover. What better opportunity for Ruth than to get involved in the Miss Texas Pageant, which actually took place in New Braunfels during the time of the story?

My goal is always to transport readers—not just into a puzzle, but into a time and place that feels tangible. If, when you turn the pages, you can hear the creak of the Faust Hotel stairs, smell the cinnamon rolls at Naegelin’s Bakery, or taste the ice-cold beer at Gruene Hall, then maybe book a couple of nights at the hotel and visit these locations. If so, I’ve done my job.

Welcome to Sydney’s world. Check in, settle in—and watch closely. In a grand hotel, everyone has secrets to hide.

Kathleen Kaska is the author of the Sydney Lockhart Mysteries, winner of the 2025 PenCraft Award for Best Mystery Series, and the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mysteries. She is also the author of The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book (Lyons Press) and a contributor to the Belanger Books anthology Sherlock Holmes of BAKING Street.

Kathleen’s hardboiled detective novel, Death Without Dignity, won the Amity Literary Award and is scheduled for publication in spring 2027. Across genres, her work is known for character-driven suspense, socially conscious themes, and a generous touch of humor.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest and continues to write both series and standalone crime fiction. You can find out more about her on her website www.kathleenkaska.com. Her latest, Murder at the Faust, will be released on September 8, 2026, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon and at Anamcara Press.