The Code Busters Club series and Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner

I had the privilege of meeting Penny Warner when we were on a panel together at this year’s Sacramento Book Festival. I found out she has an excellent middle grade mystery series called The Code Busters Club, and she also writes mysteries for adults. Specifically, MURDER AT BLACKWOOD INN was published last September. Have a look:

Meet super sleuths Cody, Quinn, Luke, Mika, and M.E., members of The Code Busters Club. Together they decipher mind-boggling problems and crack the toughest of codes! Each book complements STEM instruction as readers use mathematical and critical-thinking skills to help solve mysteries. In the latest installment, THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING MASCOT, Matt the Brat is blamed for stealing the school mascot, so the Code Busters must find the real thief before Matt is kicked out of school for good…

Ghostwriter Carissa Blackwood is having the worst year of her life. After leaving her cheating husband, she finally takes up the offer to help her two eccentric aunts manage the Blackwood Bed ’n’ Breakfast Inn in Pelican Point, California–a house they only recently inherited from their deceased father, Bram Blackwood. The old man dabbled in the occult, and his daughters haven’t fallen far from the family tree. Aunt Runa is into crystals and plans to hold séances at the reportedly “haunted” house. Aunt Hazel has an herbary and offers herbal cures for everything from headaches to paranormal visions. But it’s Hazel’s poison garden that really concerns Carissa.

When one of the townspeople dies from a poison that could have only come from Aunt Hazel’s garden, the town is quick to point fingers. It doesn’t help that one of Aunt Runa’s charms is found at the scene of the crime. With a little help from Noah, the mysterious and handsome handyman; Aiden, the charming newspaperman—and the ghost of Carissa’s grandfather—it’s up to Carissa to clear her aunts and find the real killer before someone else is checked out for good at the B&B.

According to your website, you have written over 80 (!) books, fiction and non-fiction, for both children and adults. What keeps writing interesting for you, and in what ways, if any, do you avoid burnout?

I started writing years ago, when I had my first baby, just as something to do. I was writing mostly non-fiction books related to parenting—write what you know, they say. I was a college Child Development instructor for 35 years. But after a while, I decided to give fiction a try. I loved reading cozy mysteries so I decided I’d write one of my own. The first two didn’t get published, but the third one did—DEAD BODY LANGUAGE, featuring a Deaf reporter living in the Gold Country who solves mysteries by seeing clues hearing people often missed. That book won a Macavity Award for Best First Mystery and has been optioned by Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin.

As for burn out, if I get tired of one genre or age level, I try something new.

Neat! Your award-winning Code Busters Club series features kids who solve mysteries by cracking codes. What do you think it is about this series that resonates most with readers?

As a teacher of Child Development, I realized how much middle-grade kids love playing with language, creating their own secret codes, and reading about spies and code-breakers. When I wrote the Code Busters Club series, I wanted to have a diverse group of kids solve mysteries by discovering and cracking codes throughout the book. I think it adds to the fun of reading the series and makes kids feel smart.

It definitely does! You also write adult mysteries, including MURDER AT BLACKWOOD INN. How is writing for adults different from writing for children?

It’s a nice break to go between the two. I don’t write down to young readers, so I think the only difference is the more adult content in adult mysteries, such as murder, romance, lying, cheating—more serious themes.

Makes sense! What are some of your current projects?

I just finished the first book in a new series called RV DEAD YET? that features an older retired couple who take off in their RV and travel across the country visiting national parks on their bucket list. Naturally, murder ensues….

Order THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB books