‘Death Of A Romance Writer’ by Joan Hess

Death Of A Romance Writer by Joan Hess, 1990

The magic trick:

A surprising twist on the “story within the story” twist

We’ve got a weekend double of clever mysteries from Joan Hess. Both stories feature authors writing stories within the story.

Today’s feature, “Death Of A Romance Writer,” is particularly clever in the way it throws its writer character into the piece being written. We’ve seen that kind of thing going back to Buster Keaton climbing inside the movie screen. It’s a little bit of a fun, meta twist on traditional storytelling, and this story takes that twist to the next level by surprising the reader, who likely isn’t even aware that such a “character inside the story inside the story” twist is happening.

And that’s quite a trick on Hess’s part.

The selection:

“Who’re you?” Althea demanded bluntly.

The dowager raised a painted eyebrow. “I am your mother-in-law’s dearest friend, Lady Althea. You had tea only yesterday at my summer home. Your first introduction to society, I believe. I’m amazed that it has slipped your mind.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Althea moved away from the woman’s rancid breath and fluttery hands.

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