Jane Darrowfield is the sleuth in the “Jane Darrowfield” mysteries. One of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions. So, let’s get to know Jane.
What is your full name?
Jane Foster Darrowfield
How old are you?
Sixty-five as of my last birthday
What is your profession?
During most of my adult life I was an executive with a large telecommunications company. After I retired, I found a second act as a “professional busybody.” My practice involves fixing things that require discreet handling for neighbors, friends and clients. Problems that while vexing, costly, or even dangerous, are not appropriate for the police.
Do you have a significant other?
Lately, decades after my divorce and much to my surprise, I do. I never know what to call him. “Boyfriend” seems ridiculous at our age.
What is their name and profession?
His name is Harry Welch. He’s retired, too. He still does some consulting and teaching in his former profession. He doesn’t talk much about it, but he worked for the U.S. government, he traveled a lot and he’s not allowed to go into specifics about what he actually did.
Do you have any children?
Yes, I have a grown son, Jonathan, who lives in San Francisco.
Do you have any siblings?
My sister, Judith, lives abroad. We talk face-to-face over the internet at least once a month, but haven’t been able to get together for a couple of years.
Are your parents nearby?
Yes, they are both in Mount Auburn Cemetery, which is an easy walk from my house. I do visit from time to time. The cemetery is beautiful in all seasons, but especially in the spring.
Who is your best friend?
My best friend is Helen Graham, who lives around the corner from me. I have played bridge every Monday for over thirty years with Helen, Phyllis Goldstein and Irma Brittleson. They are my great and good friends and my support system. I love them dearly.
Do you have any pets?
I don’t. I had hoped to travel a great deal in my retirement, which dissuaded me from pet ownership. However, I recently cared for my neighbor’s cat, Wembly, for an extended period. It was so lovely to have him here, and with travel so restricted nowadays, I am rethinking my decision.
What town do you live in?
I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Cambridge is a city of over 100,000 people packed into just six square miles across the Charles River from Boston. It’s a dense city of diverse neighborhoods and squares that includes half a dozen institutions of higher learning, and everything from sites rich in history to cutting-edge technology and biotech businesses. I love it here.
Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
Fortunately, and with great difficulty, I was able to hold onto my home after my husband left me. I live on a winding street in a semi-suburban neighborhood in West Cambridge. The house is too big for me now, but I love it and my friends are nearby.
What is your favorite spot in your home?
My favorite spot is my chair in the living room. It’s a faded pink brocade, a color I no longer love, with spots from all the snacks I’ve dropped while sitting in it. But it holds my body like a gloved hand, keeps my back straight, and has a matching ottoman. Sinking into that chair is the physical equivalent of a happy sigh.
Favorite meal and dessert?
Dessert—ice cream, really good ice cream always. I love food, especially food found in my favorite restaurants in Cambridge—Italian, Mexican, Portuguese, Ethiopian, Thai. I am up for them all.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love to garden, read, and as I’ve mentioned, travel. I thought these hobbies would sustain me in my retirement, but they weren’t quite enough, which is why I’ve branched into busybody work.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
Rome. I rented a little apartment there and spent a month exploring the city. I love the way you can go around a city corner and unexpectedly, right in front of you, is a piece of Renaissance sculpture or an ancient obelisk. Because I had so much time, I could luxuriate in outdoor restaurants with an espresso or a glass of wine and watch the world go by. It was the trip of a lifetime.
What music do you listen to?
My friend Phyllis’s daughter has a vacation house in the Berkshires. When we take it over for our bridge group “retreats” we always go to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Under the stars on a summer night, no matter what they’re playing, it’s my favorite music in that moment.
Do you have a favorite book?
Little Women
What is your idea of a really fun time?
When Helen, Phyllis, Irma and I get together it’s always fun, no matter what we’re doing.
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I am so much an amateur I don’t even think of myself as a sleuth. In three of my cases, I have been lucky to work with Detective Tony Alvarez of the Cambridge Police Department. He is a lovely man who has become a friend to Harry and me.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I have office hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon. I work on the winterized back porch of my house. Some days, a prospective client makes their way down the garden walk on the side of my house to my office door. I hear them out and we discuss whether their situation is appropriate for my services. If it is, a name a price and take the case. Most evenings, Harry comes over and we cook dinner together or go out. It’s a lovely life.
Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door is the second book in the “Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody” cozy mystery series, released October 27, 2020 only at Barnes & Noble and will release on all platforms and formats in October 2021.
Jane Darrowfield is using her retirement years to work as a professional busybody, with most of her business coming from her West Cambridge, Massachusetts, community. This time her client is right next door. . .
Megan, who’s purchased the house next to Jane’s, needs some help from her snooping neighbor. Megan’s been having blackouts, hearing voices—and feeling like someone’s following her. Are these symptoms of an illness—or signs that she’s in danger?
Considering the extensive security system in Megan’s house, it seems like she should be safe—yet she soon vanishes into thin air. Some think she’s run away, but would this ambitious young lawyer on the partner track really miss a meeting with an important client? And where’s Megan’s cat?
The mystery is about to deepen when the cat is finally located in a hidden panic room—and as Jane and the police look into Megan’s friends, family, and past, it may be time to sound the alarm. . .
About the author
Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Barbara’s Maine Clambake novellas are included along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis in holiday anthologies from Kensington Publishing. Barbara and her husband live in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at maineclambakemysteries.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Thank you for the questions and answers. Loved reading them!!!!
I like your Jane. I hear the patience and exasperation in her voice. I’ll have to get a copy of one of the books in that series.