A rabid Anglophile since being stationed at an RAF base with the USAF in her twenties, Walker lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and two rescue terriers, where she drinks tea and dreams of England.
Here the author dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Alphabet Sleuths:
“Claire Reynolds hadn’t planned to kill a man that day, but stuff happens.”Visit Laura Jensen Walker's website.
In the opening of my mystery featuring four women of a certain age, you meet main character Claire, the C-member of the self-proclaimed Alphabet Girls: Atsuko, Barbara, Claire, and Daphne. When Claire accidentally kills a man who was strangling retired cop Daphne, the gal pals must get rid of the body—a member of the local crime family—without anyone knowing. Especially the police. After Claire discovers another dead body in their California retirement community, the Alphabet Girls become the Alphabet Sleuths to track down the killer.
While writing this story about four women in a retirement community, naturally, TV’s The Golden Girls came to mind. Widowed Claire in her innocence and naïveté, reminded me of Rose, played so wonderfully by Betty White. Except Claire has a silver pixie cut ala Jamie Lee Curtis.
But Jamie Lee is such a badass I’d cast her in the role of retired cop Daphne.
Claire, I see more as a cross between Annie Potts and Mary Steenburgen.
Barbara, the tucked and plucked beautiful blonde beauty queen and retired actress (and the oldest member of the Alphabet Girls) is Jane Fonda all the way.
That leaves the A-member of the group, Atsuko Kimura. An older Michelle Yeoh would be perfect as Atsuko.
I’m a huge old movie buff, so if I was casting this movie during Hollywood’s Golden Years, these are the actresses I’d pick:
Atsuko – Anna May Wong
Barbara – Lana Turner
Claire – toss-up between Irene Dunne and Greer Garson
Daphne – Barbara Stanwyck or Joan Crawford
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
