U is for Underground, Undertaker and...

U Is For Underground, Under Taker and Under Cover Cops

An underground railroad for escaped slaves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula seems like a long reach, a stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t. Truth is often stranger than fiction. The same place had been a stage coach depot, a prohibition era bootlegging operation, and, in its hay day, a Crime Family/Mafia hangout/resort. Bed and Breakfast Murders, and other novels found their story in this setting.

Not only do mystery writers' find spots like this fodder for a story, sometimes, as in this instance the location spawned many stories.

The Pink Lady Slipper and its sequel Bed and Breakfast Murders got a paranormal twist, an undercover cop and a body or two left for the undertaker after a visit to the coroner and forensic lab to determine cause of death. Zero Cemetery Lane by Cricket Sawyer, a paranormal Romantic Suspense, made good use of the past, the history of the sprawling brothel aspect of this same spot. 

Your sleuth can use the darkened hallways of history and to shroud mystery and intrigue and undercover cops, underground railroads, speakeasies and undertakers with all the aplomb a good mystery needs.

So dig around in the archives, or explore the real estate in your own back yard, you are sure to find some fodder for your muse. A book titled A Writers Guide to Places by Don Prues and Jack Heffron can give you a place to start.  Or Coast to Coast Ghosts, by Leslie Rule perhaps. Check your local library and bookstore for more places to start your mystery quest. 

P.S.

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