By Elaine L. Orr
The 14th Jolie Gentil cozy mystery is on the shelves and in ereaders. Phoning in a Murder has the same mix of friends, humor, and crime-solving as the other books in the series, but it adds a subject that drives me bonkers -- cell phone use in schools.
Genre fiction can't preach, but it can highlight an issue, place, or subject. If you've read the books (and I hope you have!) you'll note Jolie runs a food pantry. I don't say, "Feed the hungry" -- instead she and friends plan silly fundraisers and occasionally work behind the counter. Maybe a reader will put a couple extra cans of food in the next food drive.
Many of the books also have a U.S. military veteran named Max, whose traumatic brain injury limits his abilities -- but not his sometimes humorous take on life or desire to help. Another character, Lester, is often irritated by Max, and Jolie (or her four-year old daughter) remind him to be kind. As my dad said, you don't have to support a war to support the veterans.
Why cell phones? As a substitute teacher, they drive me nuts. It's not just that some students insist on surreptitiously trying to use them during class. That's simple rudeness. Most kids aren't rude, but you have to accept that some will be on occasion. It's what I think they're missing by keeping their noses in phones. There's a lot less chatter as high school students enter a classroom. Chatter is fun.
In Phoning in a Murder, cell phone use and conversations about it don't dominate discussions or actions. But the murder victim's irritation with them does fuel the plot. Just something to think about. For the record, I use my cell phone, maybe as much as half an hour a day or an hour if there's some big news story. Fortunately, there are always plenty of other things to do.
I wrote Phoning in a Murder over six months, which is too long to write a relatively short book. (I had a lot of 'stuff' going on.) I'm about to start either the 15th book in the Jolie series or the sixth family history mystery. My commitment to myself is to be done before school starts. Talk about a homework assignment.
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