Crime Writers, Stick to Your Guns! by Gerald Elias

During those intense, isolating Covid years, my wife and I watched just about every streaming detective series we could find. Some were riveting, others meh, a few downright boring, but most of them shared one peculiar characteristic: The crime solver––whether a cop, detective, PI, amateur sleuth, male or female––was, one way or another, semi-dysfunctional.

They were alcoholic. They were ADHD or OCD. They (or a loved one) suffered from Alzheimer’s. They were divorced, or worse: Their spouses were dead or had been killed. They had issues with their superiors. They were consumed by a dark past. Their teenage kids, particularly their daughters, were in revolt because Mom or Dad didn’t understand them. (Hard to understand how an otherwise brilliant sleuth could have absolutely no clue what made their children tick.)

In other words, the very characteristics that might have enabled the crime solver stand out from the crowd back in the day, now actually made him/her just like everyone else. 

With Murder on Vacation, my collection of 16 short crime stories, I turned the tables on what had quickly become this hackneyed premise by imagining a hero who just so happens to be –drumroll– a nice guy! Maury Gross is a retired, Jewish NYPD police chief: part cop, part philosopher, and if one is totally honest, part nebbish who could stand to lose a few pounds and who would like nothing better than lying on his couch in Queens with a nice sandwich and watching the Mets on TV. His loving wife, Bobbi, is his equal partner in crime-solving. Mutually respectful, they share their skills, opinions on ethics, concerns, decisions on the dinner menu, and not least of all, a slew of one-liners.

One publisher with whom I had a contract for MOV insisted I craft a dark backstory for Maury. Maybe he had been a drug dealer. Maybe he had cheated on his wife. Maybe he had been guilty of police misconduct. Something, as long as it was heinous enough. Otherwise, the publisher told me with certainty, readers would have no interest in the character and the book would not sell, with the clear implication that they wouldn’t make any money.

I demurred. Maury and Bobbi are different from the other sleuths, I insisted, for the very reason they are not conflicted except, perhaps, where clothes shopping is concerned. I stuck to my guns. The publisher tore up my contract, but I was determined to go to the mat with Maury, even if it never got published.

Eventually, Murder on Vacation found a loving home with White City Press, which released it in May of 2026. “Move over Nick and Nora, there’s a new crime-fighting duo in town,” praised multi-prizewinning mystery author, James L’Etoile. I’ve been more than pleased with readers’ responses, who find Maury and Bobbi a welcome relief from the unrelenting angst hurled at us from so many angles. Maybe best of all, reader after reader tells me that while they really like Maury, they just love Bobbi. 

As Maury would say, “Go figure.” 

As Bobbi would say, “Of course, dear.”

Murder on Vacation 

Mysteries and Music 

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Gerald Elias has led a double life as an internationally recognized musician and critically acclaimed author. A former violinist with the Boston Symphony, his prize-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series is set in the dark corners of the classical music world.

A native New Yorker, his recent release, Murder on Vacation, features the lovable crime-solving couple retired NYPD Police Chief, Maury Gross, and his perspicacious wife Bobbi.

Jerry divides his time between Puget Sound in Washington and the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, enjoying the outdoors, travel, coffee, good food, and most of all, being a devoted grandpa.