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The Place Was A Little Spooky
The Rightful Future follows a retired librarian who investigates a brutal murder and uncovers a century-old secret that threatens her family and an entire town. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Three things inspired me to write this story. The first is that I was a career records and information manager who managed the records of a large corporation. The paper records were stored in a building on the campus that had originally been built to test jet engines during WWII. We stored the records in the old test cells and observation platforms, which had been modified to accommodate our needs.
The place was a little spooky, especially if you happened to be there alone, which I frequently was after my staff left for the day. The strange creaks, whooshes, clangs, and occasional bats could set me on edge. Even security officers were reluctant to do their walk-throughs at night. I would regularly joke that one day I was going to write a murder mystery set inside that very building. While Marian discovers the body in the library in The Rightful Future, the seed had already been planted long ago.
My second inspiration came by way of the state of New York. I was born there and lived my first fifty years there before moving South. I’ve always been fascinated by the rich history and multiculturalism and diversity of the state. I learned of the influence of Iroquois culture, specifically Onondaga language and culture, when I lived in Syracuse for thirty-five years. The whole state was originally inhabited by the Six Nations of the Iroquois: Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. Colonialism displaced the tribes and took land, some of it sacred land, to use as they wanted and without regard to the people it originally belonged to.
The forefathers of this country based their governance model on the governance principles of the Onondaga. New York was also an epicenter of abolitionism, suffragism, and the Underground Railroad. Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady-Stanton lived in New York state.
My third inspiration is my fifty-year interracial relationship with the love of my life, Ronald. I’d already written two memoirs about our experiences, but fiction seemed like a perfect place to explore some of the larger issues of race in America, and a mystery series was an excellent vehicle to unveil the history and show its connection to the present.
How do Marian and Lester’s different backgrounds and perspectives influence their understanding of the events unfolding in Cadence?
Marian and Lester have been together for so long, they share a similar perspective born of shared experiences. However, they are both strong-willed individuals, who approach crises from different angles: Marian’s understanding is driven by curiosity, while Lester’s understanding is driven by caution and protection. Uncovering secrets in Cadence tests them both—forcing Marian to confront uncomfortable historical truths while Lester seeks to shield the family from looming danger.
What inspired you to explore racial violence, white supremacy, and Indigenous history within the framework of a historical murder mystery?
It truly comes down to that collision of history and lived experience. By choosing to place Cadence inside the borders of the complex legacy of New York and then creating a framework of mystery and secrecy in which to tell the story, I am able to directly explore the realities of racism and systemic bias that I have witnessed firsthand on a deeply personal level for decades. Mystery (and horror) fiction allows me to expose these hard truths in a slow-burn dissection, showing how tightly the past is connected to our present.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?
The Rightful Future is the first book of A Cadence Mystery, a multi-award-winning series. I’m happy to report that six more books have been published since this came out in 2021. They are, in order: The Eagle Speaks; Stony Place; Stone Coat Man; Improbable Future; Fallen Deer; and Creature of Secret Sorrows.
Children of Broken Promises, book 8, is expected to be released in late Spring 2027, and I’ve already begun book 9. As the series progresses, the mysteries grow more complex and the past becomes a character of its own, choosing to be represented in the Indigenous folklore found not only in New York, but across the world, that comes calling with demands to be heard. In this upcoming installment, readers can expect Marian, Lester, Enoch, and others you will meet in the later books to confront the lingering broken promises of the past.
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Everything Is Connected
In Creature of Secret Sorrows, a shocking discovery in the woods draws a woman and her neighbors into a murder investigation that exposes generations of buried trauma and ancestral violence. What was the first image, character, or scene that sparked the story?
An image from the first book in the series, The Rightful Future, sparked this story. As the characters often reflect, everything is connected. A running theme of the series, A Cadence Mystery, is that long-buried secrets aren’t truly buried. They are simply waiting for the right convergence of people and events to reveal themselves. The narrator of the books, Marian Greene, saw a photograph of a lynching in book 1 in her discovery of the town archives. I always knew I would return to that image because it was so affecting for Marian just to see a photograph of a crime that heinous. And, of course, she is the one who discovers the horrific scene in the woods in book 7, Creature of Secret Sorrows. As the author, it’s paramount to keep track of those details across the span of the series, because, even if only the most discerning reader notices, those details serve as the glue to the world of Cadence. Everything is connected.
In this book, Randy has just been told by his birth mother that she is terminally ill and must see him to give him a family relic. Her devastating news sends him into the woods to search for a turtle stone to gift to her. At the same time, a young man of Ghanaian descent, Kwame Dua, from St. Louis, is headed to Cadence with his girlfriend after a series of unwarranted, racially-motivated police stops and an unsuccessful job hunt that he also believes was prejudiced by racial bias. At first glance, these two events seem completely unrelated, but the reader will discover they are deeply entwined in the secret about to be revealed.
The novel explores how violence echoes across generations. What inspired you to tackle that theme?
That’s a second theme of the series since the beginning. Here in the United States, there is a concerted effort by the current administration to erase the darker chapters of American history. That’s the wrong thing to do. We have to face our past, acknowledge it, reclaim the stories of the victims, and, finally, work toward restorative justice, so that the descendants of both the victims and the perpetrators can heal and come together. Our country is afraid to do that, most likely because it won’t be easy and will probably be a painful journey. But it’s necessary. We will remain divided until we do the hard work.
In Cadence, the past refuses to be erased or forgotten. Rather, it comes knocking on windows and demands recognition and restorative justice.
Readers will discover that trying to hide the past only complicates the present, and leaves certain characters to fuel grievances based on lies and myths. In Creature of Secret Sorrows, such subterfuge ends in tragedy. Had the truth been known, the outcome would have been very different.
Why do you think ghost stories and legends remain powerful ways of talking about historical trauma?
Ghosts and monsters exist in all cultures and are manifestations of our collective and personal traumas, fears, and unresolved sorrows. They are the very things that haunt us in our dreams and in stories passed down through the generations. Sometimes they are the manifestations of the evil perpetrated against others: heinous acts that could only be described as monstrous. Other times it is the longing for someone who suffered at the hands of violence. It’s a way to put a face and a name on that suffering and the ones lost, as well as the pain of being left behind to mourn them. And it is the hope that not only would these loved ones who were ripped from families through violence not be forgotten but that such egregious acts against humanity would never be repeated.
Can fans look forward to more installments in the Cadence Mystery series?
Book 8, as yet untitled, is already nearing completion. Based on an Inuit mythological creature, this story opens when an ice storm and ICE converge on Cadence, causing chaos and fear, and leaving characters to question their safety and their sanity. Readers will be asking, “What happened to the children?” This book promises to be a supernatural thriller steeped in folklore that tackles the roles of religion and faith, respect and acceptance of multicultural beliefs, and personal limits and ethics. An added bonus: you’ll learn some of the many words the Inuit of Nunavik use to describe different kinds of ice.
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Then, real terror visits. A cursed object alters perceptions of familiar places and faces. A mythical creature taunts police officers. And the past comes calling for justice, leaving the tightknit community of Cadence splintered by fear and suspicion.
When more people go missing and another body is discovered, the only thing left behind is unanswered questions. Who was the young man who died so violently? And who among them is harboring secrets and dispensing a depraved retribution?
Creature of Secret Sorrows
Creature of Secret Sorrows, by Dianne L. Hagan, returns to Cadence, New York, a town where history is never inert and the dead have unfinished claims on the living. When Randy Nichols disappears during a rockhounding walk, the search leads Marian Greene and her neighbors to a brutally lynched body in the woods. What begins as a murder investigation widens into a confrontation with ancestral violence, hidden family lines, supernatural guardians, and the damage passed down through the Hayward legacy. The mystery coils around Randy’s grief for his newly found mother, Madison’s fractured family, and the apparition of the asanbosam, a creature that seems less interested in terror than in justice.
I was struck by how Hagan refuses to separate the procedural from the spiritual. Cadence is full of police work, interviews, evidence, and old documents, but it is also a place where lake drums, bears, legends, and restless souls press against ordinary life. That mixture could have felt ungainly in a lesser book, but here it gives the story its pulse. The supernatural elements are not decorative fog; they are moral weather. They make visible what polite history tries to bury.
My strongest reaction was to the novel’s emotional density. Hagan writes community with breadth: meals, jokes, old resentments, marriages, griefs, and arguments all crowd the page. At times, the large cast demands attention, especially for readers new to the series, but the reward is a world that feels inhabited rather than staged. Randy’s tenderness, Madison’s jagged survival, and Marian’s weary courage give the horror a human temperature. I appreciated that the book is not content with simply exposing evil; it asks what repair might look like after truth has done its bruising work.
I would recommend Creature of Secret Sorrows to readers who enjoy supernatural mystery, psychological thriller, Black horror, historical suspense, ancestral trauma fiction, and community-centered crime novels. Fans of Stephen King’s small-town supernatural stories may recognize the sense that an entire place can become a haunted witness, though Hagan’s focus is more intimate, more reparative, and more explicitly tied to racial history. This is a dark, sinewy mystery with a conscience.
Pages: 320 | ASIN : B0GZK9V7MX
Recipient of the Literary Titan Book Award
Treacherous Trek
Fallen Deer follows a woman and her friends as the town they live in quickly spirals into an intricate mystery involving arson, hidden children, and a chilling murder that seems to connect to forces far greater than the town itself. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
You might be surprised if I told you a deer fell out of the sky and landed on our car, but it’s true. My husband was driving during a rainstorm, and apparently the deer was hit by a truck in the other lane and went airborne. My husband never saw it coming since it fell from above the car. He only knew what happened because another driver stopped to tell him. He was in shock when he called me—he hadn’t even dialed 911 yet—and I was startled that a career fire lieutenant, who was trained to respond to danger, would react to a crisis the same way the rest of us do. As we talked about the accident in the weeks after it occurred, I knew it would be the catalyst scene of Fallen Deer. I just added a little Cadence extra to it. The symbolism of the falling deer gave me the title, too, and the storyline for the character who falls the farthest.
The other inspiration was the political battle over immigration reform during election season. I wanted to put a face on the individuals who sacrifice everything to come to a country where half the people hate them and describe them as “venom” or worse. What is their motivation and thinking behind the decision to embark on such a treacherous trek that may end in being sent back to the place from which they fled? What is the history of immigration and who gets to tell the story of it?
What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?
I wanted to explore greed; resilience; revenge; retribution; discovering one’s inner strengths and weaknesses; trust; redemption; and, finally, acceptance and love.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
Aside from the opening scene of the falling deer, I liked writing Oliver’s journey of self-discovery. His is a late coming-of-age story, and his scenes are fraught with terror, insecurity, angst, comic relief, and glimpses into his parents’ intrusive relationship with him. Oliver first appeared in Stone Coat Man (A Cadence Mystery #5), where he shied away from the action. I wanted to dig deeper into his story and take him on his personal journey from shy, reticent kid, whose parents still send him care packages of essentials, to a self-reliant adult, who may not like where his thoughts are taking him, but who knows he’s the only one in a position to act upon them. The scene in which he envisions his vehicle passenger and a huge stag standing in front of the vehicle as Minecraft characters was really fun to write, but I am no gamer. I had to do research and then revise and revise to get the right balance of humor and suspense. I especially enjoyed writing the dialog between Oliver and his passenger.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I don’t have a title yet for the book I’m working on now, but it will be book 7 of the series, A Cadence Mystery, and it’s going to be a frightful thriller! I’ve had nightmares about the asanbosam, a creature from Ghanian mythology, that appears in the book. Often, my dreams take my books in directions I hadn’t considered, or they resolve questions when I feel stuck or suffer writer’s block, so I am always open to what they show me. The book deals with a terrible chapter in our history, doppelgangers, and the power of suggestion. I’m about 36,000 words in and plan to release the book in December 2025.
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Fallen Deer (A Cadence Mystery #6)
Dianne L. Hagan’s Fallen Deer drops readers straight into the stormy heart of Cadence, New York, a town brimming with history, secrets, and an eerie knack for attracting trouble. When Marian Greene, our ever-curious protagonist, sets out on a simple errand, she never expects to find herself staring into the lifeless eyes of a man who quite literally falls out of the sky. What begins as a routine morning quickly spirals into an intricate mystery involving arson, hidden children, and a chilling murder that seems to connect to forces far greater than the town itself. As Marian and her steadfast group of friends, family, and law enforcement unravel the layers of Cadence’s latest catastrophe, they uncover deep-rooted corruption, harrowing secrets, and the resilience of a community determined to protect its own.
What I love most about this book is how effortlessly Hagan blends cozy small-town dynamics with high-stakes suspense. The relationships feel real—warm, complicated, and filled with the kind of teasing and deep loyalty that makes the town of Cadence feel like home. Take Lester and Marian’s banter, for instance. Their long-standing love is evident in the way they bicker, support, and challenge each other. And then there’s Enoch, who, despite his gruff exterior, carries a quiet wisdom that grounds the story. Every character feels like someone you’d meet in real life.
The writing itself is a mix of sharp, punchy dialogue and beautifully immersive descriptions. The moment when Marian’s windshield shatters as a deer crashes onto her car is a masterclass in tension. The scene unfolds in slow motion, pulling the reader into the same breathless shock Marian experiences. And just when you think she’s caught a break, she looks up—only to lock eyes with a dead man. It’s moments like these that showcase Hagan’s ability to build suspense without sacrificing the intimate, small-town feel that makes Cadence so special.
That said, the book isn’t all heartwarming friendships and gripping mysteries. It also digs into weighty, real-world themes. The arrival of two buses of migrants, the racial history of Cadence, and the trauma carried by the town’s residents add layers of social commentary that make this more than just a mystery novel. One of the most gut-wrenching moments comes when a malnourished child is found hiding in the woods, terrified and alone. The urgency of finding the missing mother and the fear that something far more sinister is at play give the story a deeper emotional weight.
If you’re looking for a mystery that balances thrilling suspense with rich character relationships and meaningful themes, Fallen Deer is for you. Fans of Louise Penny’s Three Pines series or Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries will feel right at home in Cadence. It’s a book for readers who love a good whodunit but also crave depth, humor, and a little bit of history woven into their mysteries.
Pages: 258 | ASIN : B0DWYP2ZCV
Recipient of the Literary Titan Book Award
Accountability and Redemption
Improbable Future follows a woman who is trying to rebuild her life after facing numerous setbacks and decides to confront the traumatic events from her past by returning to the place she escaped from as a teenager, in order to uncover the mysteries that have haunted her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I draw from news stories and think about how the individuals involved would think, act, and feel in those situations. What gets them through unbearable times in life? What role does hope or the lack of it play in getting through those times? What are the lasting effects of trauma? How is trauma manifested in the individual? How does trauma affect that individual’s future and future generations? What happens when trauma is so overwhelming one can’t recover? Those are the questions I explored in Improbable Future.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
I find all of it interesting. I’ve been a people watcher since I was a child. When I look at someone I wonder what that person’s story is, because we all have stories. If anyone brags their life is perfect, they’re lying. Life is imperfect. The human condition is imperfect. And it can be difficult, sad, and sometimes terrifying. It’s what you do with what life hands you. It’s what you learn about yourself and others from the experience and how you evolve. It’s also about accountability and redemption. And while there are difficult times, there are also times of love, joy, and belonging. How do we navigate among them? That’s what I explore in my stories. What’s really important to me is that fiction allows me to explore the human condition in an intimate way through my characters.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The family you were born into and the family you find. Sometimes they are one and the same. Sometimes they are polar opposites. As with the series overall, this book deals with the big themes of racism, misogyny, inequality, and physical and psychological abuse. New to this book is the exploration of religion and how it can be corrupted through power and control, and the way in which one’s faith and beliefs are challenged.
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Cadence’s family and friends and the direction of the next book?
I’m so excited about book 6 of the series. I’m working on it now, and it will be released in early 2025. It’s titled Fallen Deer and is about two busloads of undocumented immigrants who are sent to Cadence, a sanctuary city, by the governor of one of the border states. As with all the books in the series, this book is also about current events and putting a face on the people experiencing it.
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Improbable Future
Following Samuel Hayward’s death in his prison cell, news reports insist it was not a suicide. Wealthy, influential, and corrupt, he was revered as the Messiah by a misguided group of violent racists. Madison Hayward returns to the mansion in Albany, New York, where she endured a traumatic childhood. As the next in line to inherit Samuel’s wealth, she finds herself at a crossroads. Seeking closure for her past abuse and the secrets she has harbored, Madison breaks off her engagement and becomes ensnared in the painful memories of her youth. In her quest for support, Madison reaches out to her Cadence family. But safety is elusive, and trust is scarce in this gripping mystery novel, as her return unveils a deadly web of secrets.
Improbable Future by Dianne L. Hagan is the fifth book in the Cadence Mystery series. This compelling story delves into the harsh realities of racism, religious fanaticism, and systemic injustice. As the title suggests, the pervasive corruption, hatred, and wickedness in society have eroded the hope for a better future. The novel addresses both sexual and physical abuse, making it a poignant and intense read. Hagan’s storytelling is masterful, with a captivating plot filled with suspense and tinged with horror. The setting—a mansion with a tragic history—adds depth to the narrative. Madison Hayward is a complex character, driven by her painful past and a desire to make a positive change in the world. Her interactions with a diverse and supportive group of friends and family are heartwarming. The ongoing backstory suggests that readers will benefit from reading the previous books in the Cadence Mystery series to fully grasp the narrative’s nuances. Fans of suspenseful thrillers will find this journey to uncover corruption and seek justice both engaging and thought-provoking.
Improbable Future by Dianne L. Hagan is a riveting addition to the Cadence Mystery series, blending suspense, emotional depth, and social commentary. Madison Hayward’s journey through her traumatic past and her fight against the legacies of corruption and injustice make for a compelling narrative. This novel not only entertains but also challenges readers to reflect on the pervasive issues of racism and abuse.
Pages: 316 | ASIN : B0D7B2WYH7
Recipient of the Literary Titan Book Award
Multilayered Mysteries
Stone Coat Man: A Cadence Mystery follows a woman whose grisly discovery begins a chain of events that rocks her small town. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’d once seen a program on television that purported a theory that Sasquatch creatures are humans who prefer to live isolated in the wild. I remembered that theory when I started researching the rich mythology of the Six Nations of Indigenous Peoples in New York State and came upon the Seneca myth of the Genoskwa. It fit this story perfectly that deals with the mysteries of who we are and how we are shaped by the legacy of our ancestors and our own experiences.
What was your favorite character to write for and why? Was there a scene you felt captured the character’s essence?
I have so many favorite characters in this series, and this is book #4, so the list grows longer with each book, but Leroy Steeprock has a special place in my heart. He is wise, funny, courageous, noble, and lovable, and he understands human nature. He is steeped in the traditions of his people and he has keen perceptions about life, humanity, and nature.
Every scene with Leroy is one of my favorites, but I love the scene where he is introduced to readers. I took meticulous care in the details of that scene and his interactions with the other characters. For me, and I hope for my readers, it is a scene that has stayed with me and that I enjoy reading again and again.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story, where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
Writing a mystery is fun. It’s like a huge jigsaw puzzle, especially when there are multilayered mysteries occurring at the same time, which is how all the books in the Cadence Mystery series are structured. It means keeping notes on details and many rereads of the manuscript to ensure hints and red herrings are well-placed and that all loose ends are tied up at the end. I relish the process, even when I’m up at 2:30 in the morning trying to get something just right. Loving the process is key because flexibility is a must and things change during my readings, revisions, beta readings, and with the editors. Love of the story is also a must because the story is good about revealing details my copious notes somehow missed.
What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?
I am 62,000 words into book #5 of the Cadence Mystery series. The book is titled Improbable Future. Again, it will be a standalone book, but it is also a book that brings the characters of the series to places and decisions they never imagined. It’s a thriller! I’ve already come to really like a couple of the new characters introduced in this book, and I can’t wait to share them with my readers. I expect the book to be released mid or late summer.
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