Todd Kroger sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can get to know him better.

What is your full name?
I was born Theodor Mendez, but for reasons too dreary to go into, I changed it when I married. I go by Todd Kroger.

How old are you?
Well, really! I am between the age of consent and the AARP. That’s all anyone needs to know.

What is your profession?
I am an anesthesiologist by training. These days, for reasons too complicated to go into, I am a make-over guru. (I prefer make-over queen, but I’ve been told that’s unprofessional.) I can fix anything from mom pants to nun bras. And I don’t wait to be asked. Pro-active make-over guru. That’s me.

Do you have a significant other?
I have another of great significance, yes. The LOML, my BFF, my HAE.

If so, what is his name and profession?
Doctor Roger Kroger. He’s a pediatrician. He saves babies and makes Powerpuff Girl scrubs look rugged.

Do you have any children?
Don’t put ideas into my head! I have part shares in Diego Muelenbelt, the most adorable six-year-old ever to wake you at six to ask why bees aren’t sticky. And other pressing questions. I love him.

Do you have any siblings?
Thankfully, no. Could you imagine the poor things having to cope with comparisons to moi?

Are your parents nearby?
Sigh. My mother is always quite nearby, and for the lockdown she was extremely nearby. She lived in one of the downstairs rooms in the motel where I reside for reasons too personal to go into right now. Of course I love her. She’s my mom. But I don’t love her taste in music – Slipknot – or her dedication to naked swimming in public pools.

Who is your best friend?
Besides Roger, I would have to say Kathi Muntz, who co-owns the Last Ditch Motel and runs the attached laundromat, The Skweeky Kleen. She understands me. But Lexy Campbell is coming up on the inside. She’s annoying but entertaining.

Do you have any pets?
Not really. There was this one time Lexy and I made Diego put frog spawn back in the slough and promised him a goldfish in compensation. When we went to the pet store, for reasons too long to go into, we bought several goldfish, a seahorse, a bunny rabbit and two kittens. Della, Diego’s mom, never quite forgave us and there’s still a little grooming and tank-cleaning in my life.

What town do you live in?
Cuento, CA. My whole life.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
It’s big enough to have a Target, but small enough so you never want to go pick up coffee in old sweats, in case you run into an ex. So, worst of both worlds.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Well, like I said, I live in a motel room. And I rent another one, in case of spiders in the first one. We do own a lovely home, but it has a major bug problem. The tenants don’t seem to mind. People are weird.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I like the lounge out front. It used to be a set of lawn chairs and an ashtray but since the lockdown it’s a long table where we eat family-style, with twinkle lights, patio heaters and more hot gossip than a Real Housewives’ make-up trailer.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
I am on a lifelong quest for the perfect sashimi. When it comes to dessert, I recently accidentally dropped a double-stuffed Oreo into a dry martini, for reasons too embarrassing to go into, and drank it anyway. It was surprisingly delicious.

Do you have any hobbies?
My mission to end box dyes and nose hair takes up most of my time. Although, I suppose, I have solved four murders in the last two years. I know so-called hikers who hike less often than that. So perhaps my hobby is murder.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
When a new client, who is a disaster from her grey roots to her ashy heels, gives me carte blanche. That’s my favorite kind of carte, including Amex Black.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
I just cast my eye over the earlier answers and I think I would have to call it Reasons Gone Into. I like that. Reasons Gone Into: the extraordinary life of Todd Kroger.

Scot Mist, A Last Ditch Mystery #4
Genre: Cozy
Release: January/February 2022
Purchase Link

Despite efforts to create a safe environment to see out the pandemic, the residents of the Last Ditch Motel face more dangers than they imagined possible in this hilarious yet claustrophobic mystery.

March 2020 and Operation Cocker is a go! The owners of the Last Ditch Motel, with a little help from their friend Lexy Campbell, are preparing to support one another through the oncoming lockdown, offering the motel’s spare rooms to a select few from the local area in need of sanctuary.

While the newbies are settling in, an ambiguous banner appears demanding one of them return home. But who is it for? Lexy and her friends put a plan into action to ward off the perpetrator, but the very next night, a resident disappears and a message scrawled in human blood is found.

As California shuts down, the Last Ditchers make another gruesome discovery. They tried to create a haven but now it seems as if everyone’s in danger. Is the motel under attack from someone on the outside? Scary as that is, the alternative is worse by far.

About the author
National-bestselling and multi-award-winning author, Catriona McPherson (she/her), was born in Scotland and lived there until immigrating to the US in 2010.

She writes historical detective stories set in the old country in the 1930s, featuring gently-born lady sleuth, Dandy Gilver. The latest of these is 2021’s The Mirror Dance. After eight years in the new country, she kicked off the comic Last Ditch Motel series, which takes a wry but affectionate look at California life from the POV of a displaced Scot (where do we get our ideas, eh?). Book 4, Scot Mist, came out in January. She also writes a strand of contemporary psychological thrillers. The latest of these is last year’s A Gingerbread House.

Catriona is a member of MWA, CWA, Society of Authors, and a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.

All comments are welcomed.