Lauren, you really have kicked things up a notch with The Nutcracker Conspiracy, which is full of attempted assassinations, political conspiracies, and cover ups. Your other best-selling mystery series (Mac Faraday Mysteries and the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries) take place in more “sedate” settings of rural or small towns. What made you shift gears to set The Thorny Rose Mysteries in Washington, DC?

LC: Because that is where Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday live.

When creating the Thorny Rose Mystery series, I flipped my creative process somewhat. Since I write a number of murder mystery series, I have the luxury of choosing the series based on which one is the best fit for the plot. The Lovers in Crime is a small-town setting. I grew up in Chester, West Virginia. Mac Faraday lives on Deep Creek Lake, a resort area where my family vacations. The Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries is a combination. It is set in a rural suburb of Washington, DC.

However, in the case of the Thorny Rose Mysteries, the characters came first. Murphy Thornton appeared in my very first book—A Small Case of Murder. Then, he was only seventeen years old and aspired to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Jessica Faraday, Mac Faraday’s daughter, has been mentioned in the Mac Faraday mysteries. Originally from Washington, DC, she was attending William and Mary University in Williamsburg and is planning to go to medical school.

Since Murphy is a navy lieutenant, it is natural for him to be assigned to the Pentagon. Therefore, I had little choice in the setting.

The Nutcracker Conspiracy involves a conspiracy surrounding an attempt assassination attempt of the president. I can’t help noting that you used to work as an editor for the federal government. Without giving away any government secrets, did your work for the federal government inspire you to write about such a conspiracy?

LC: Yes, but it’s not as sexy as you may think.

The Nutcracker Conspiracy, named after the ballet which the president is attending when there is an attempted assassination, is loosely based on the JFK assassination. This latest Thorny Rose mystery takes up three years later. Conspiracy theorists are convinced the attempted assassin did not act alone—but rather that the president’s cabinet had framed the alleged assassin in a failed coup attempt.

In my opinion, most people are skeptical of those conspiracy theories that are contrary to their own beliefs. Yet, they happily jump on board for those conspiracies that validate their agendas.

Several years ago, my late mother came to believe that the moon landing was faked. Distrustful of the government, this conspiracy fell in with her beliefs. Of course, the government would con the world in such a manner.

But also, The Nutcracker Conspiracy explores how a conspiracy theory takes root and grows from the smallest detail. One circumstantial piece of evidence after another is attached to the conspiracy—like the layers of an onion. In this mystery, our detectives must peel back those layers of the mystery in order to get to the truth.

LC. Anywhere and everywhere. I am always on the lookout for a mystery plotline. I’m one of those people that if I’m left alone in a café waiting for a friend and she’s late, I’ll start imagining why. If she’s late enough, I’ll have concocted an entire story in which she’s been kidnapped by terrorists mistaking her for an ambassador’s daughter. Of course, my explanation will be much more exciting than hers when she arrives to announce that she got stuck in traffic.

I don’t know of that means I’m terribly imaginative or twisted. It all depends on how you look at it.

You always have such interesting characters in your series—especially furry four-legged ones. There’s Gnarly in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Irving and Admiral in the Lovers in Crime Mysteries. What four-legged sidekicks do you have in the Thorny Rose Mysteries?

LC: As with every new marriage, there is a merging of households. Jessica brought Spencer, a blue merle Shetland sheepdog into the marriage. Her long fur has a bluish cast to it, and she has blue eyes.

Murphy’s dog is Newman, a forty-five pound couch potato. He’s a Bassett Hound mix. One reviewer deemed Newman as “The Man.” Unlike Gnarly, who actively participates in Mac Faraday’s cases, Newman does nothing. He watches television from his recliner and doesn’t do anything—unless you try to come between him and the remote.

What’s next in store for Lauren Carr? Tell us that you are working on another mystery.

LC: Of course. Right now, I am working on the next Mac Faraday Mystery. Came Upon a Midnight Murder is a Christmas mystery in which Mac Faraday goes to a Christmas party and ends up investigating the murder of their host. Yes, Gnarly is there, too.