Victoria Hamilton Weaves Mystery, Charm, And Nostalgia Along The St. Clair River
PHOTO: Author Victoria Hamilton, creator of the beloved Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series, bringing cosy charm and mystery to life.
A Beloved Cosy Mystery Author Blends Culinary Tradition, Small-Town Life, And Intrigue Through Her Endearing Vintage Kitchen Mysteries Series
Victoria Hamilton masterfully combines suspense, warmth, and wit in her Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, bringing readers comfort, curiosity, and unforgettable stories filled with charm, humour, and heart.
Victoria Hamilton stands as one of the most beloved voices in modern cosy mystery fiction. With her Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, she has created not just a series, but a warm, familiar world brimming with heart, humour, and intrigue. Her heroine, Jaymie Müller, embodies the perfect blend of curiosity and compassion, a character who has evolved alongside her readers—resilient, intuitive, and deeply human. Set against the evocative backdrop of the St. Clair River, Hamilton’s mysteries celebrate small-town life, culinary nostalgia, and the irresistible lure of a well-spun whodunit.
What makes Victoria Hamilton truly remarkable is her ability to balance gentle charm with razor-sharp suspense. Her stories may begin with cats, cookbooks, and vintage treasures, but beneath the cosy surface lies meticulous plotting, clever misdirection, and emotional depth. Each novel feels like a return to old friends, while still offering something fresh and unexpected.
Victoria Hamilton is a gifted storyteller whose cosy mysteries blend nostalgia, clever plotting, and emotional depth, creating timeless tales that delight and intrigue.
Mosaic Digest magazine proudly features Victoria Hamilton, an author who continues to enrich the mystery genre with elegance, wit, and warmth. Her books remind us that comfort and curiosity can coexist—and that sometimes, the greatest discoveries happen right in our own kitchens.
What inspired you to choose the St. Clair River as the setting for this story, and how did it shape the mystery?
I live not too far from the US-Canadian border (on the Canadian side) and when I was a kid we would drive along the Canadian side of the St. Clair River. It was so intriguing to me that I was looking across to another country! Living where I do, just an hour up the highway from the border, I see the Detroit news all the time. When I was looking around for a US setting for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series, the St. Clair River was a natural place to start!
How has Jaymie Müller evolved as a character throughout the series, and what new challenges does she face in this installment?
Jaymie started the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries uncertain and at a crossroads in her life. Recently dumped, unsure of what she wanted to do, she was lost, in a way, but she has since evolved into a determined, happy, and busy wife and mom. In Cat Got Your Tongs she learns that they may lose a local treasured tradition, and steps up to take charge. At the same time, though, she is offered an opportunity she can’t pass up. Can she do both?
How do you balance the cozy and suspenseful elements in your writing to keep readers engaged?
Thankfully I have a great editor. I have, at times, tried to go in a direction that was perhaps too suspenseful, and dark, too moody or edgy for a cozy series, but when that happens my wonderful editor pulls me back from the edge and guides me back to safe ground. I hope I always find a balance that is satisfying to me as the writer, and to my readers.
How do you research the historical cookware and recipes featured in the series, and do you have a favorite piece of vintage kitchenware?
Ah, now we’re talking! As for recipes, I started out writing the series, thinking I’d be using recipes from my mother’s handwritten cookbook from the fifties and sixties – it is the inspiration for Jaymie’s Grandma Leighton’s handwritten book of recipes – but that was not really practical. So I look for vintage-type recipes all over the place. But in this case, it really is one of my mother’s recipes I adapted for the book, Baked Rice Pudding. So good!
As for vintage kitchenware… I do collect it. Favorite piece, though? That’s difficult, but probably my complete set of Pyrex Primary Colors bowls. So typical of the mid-century kitchen!
“Favorite piece, though? That’s difficult, but probably my complete set of Pyrex Primary Colors bowls.” – Victoria Hamilton
What role do the colony of cats play in the story, and why did you decide to include them?
I love cats; that’s the short answer to why I decided to include them. I had so much fun choosing names for them. If you read Cat Got Your Tongs you’ll enjoy, I hope, the themes of the cat names! In my own life, there is a feral cat colony in my neighbourhood, and I’m grateful to those who are dedicated to their care. A TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) program makes their lives better. I recalled from a few books back that Miss Perry was feeding a big stray cat behind her house, and I thought, ‘I’ll bet more have gathered since!’. So, that was the genesis of the feral cat colony, which made me wonder about that bluff over the St. Clair River, and what a great spot it would be for landing illegal border crossers. Together, those elements united to create a story!
What is your process for planting clues and red herrings to craft a compelling mystery?
I’m bad at this. No, really, I am! I’m a reluctant pantser, (plotting by the seat of my pants; if you look up pantser versus plotter you’ll understand the problem!) mostly because when I try to plot in advance I get to a point where I’d rather slit my throat than keep on plotting the novel. I want to WRITE, darnit! So I swear a lot while I try to write a plot outline, then I launch into writing with half a plot. From there, clues are planted as I write, but I’ll admit, many come about because as the story unfolds, I begin to understand it better. I think about the books(s) I’m writing non-stop… really, my brain never rests. So clues occur to me in the middle of watching a good TV show, or in the night, when I wake up, or while I’m doing the dishes or laundry. I write them down, and from there, it takes off!
And then sometimes I plant clues during the rewrite.
How do you develop the relationships between Jaymie and the supporting characters to add depth to the story?
It’s real life for me. I don’t know if I can explain it, but these people live in my head, their lives unfurling along with mine, and I think of them often, like I do absent friends, only in this case, I get to write the events in their lives as they happen. I think of myself as their biographer, not creator.
How do you incorporate local history, like smuggling along the river, into your fictional narratives?
There have been a few incidents in recent years of people crossing the US/Canada border in various ways illegally. It started me thinking of all the reasons someone might want to go over the border without checking in at customs besides smuggling. So there are two different reasons within the plot of Cat Got Your Tongs!
What challenges do you face in keeping a long-running series like this fresh and engaging for readers?
Hopefully readers feel the way I do, but I don’t find it a challenge because Jaymie’s life, like real life, is busy. The one constant in life is change. Because her life is so busy, there are always new challenges, new people, and add that to having a child, being married, running businesses, working… all of those things mean that there are always new avenues to explore, keeping things fresh for Jaymie and, hopefully, my readers.
Can you share a hint about what’s next for Jaymie Müller and the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series?
Life is about to get even more hectic! In Cat Got Your Tongs Jaymie made two significant commitments, to take on planning the annual Tea With The Queen event, which takes place in May every year, and to open a new tearoom/vintage store with her best friend, Valetta Nibley. So in the next Vintage Kitchen Mystery #13, Masher of Ceremonies, (Coming in 2026) we find Jaymie balancing all of that with, inevitably, murder!
I hope readers enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it!
“I hope I always find a balance that is satisfying to me as the writer, and to my readers.” – Victoria Hamilton
