Book Spotlight: Show Me Skulduggery

Do you love when an author includes pieces of their own hometown in their stories? How about horses? Do you love a good story with stables? Well, my dear friend Ellen Withers has just the tale for you! And check out the fun title: Show Me Skulduggery. I want to read it just because of that title! See what you think after learning about her inspiration.

​While growing up in Mexico, Missouri, at the end of my elementary school day, I used to walk from my school to my grandmother’s house. Because my grandmother lived one block from the school, her place was much closer than my house. Spending time with my sweet and wonderful grandmother was one of the greatest blessings in my lifetime.
There was another blessing I experienced when making that journey to Grandma’s house. My path took me beside the big stables, show rings, split-rail fences, and lush green lawns of Simmons Stables. Mr. Simmons trained many of the finest Saddlebred horses in the world. He did this for over 60 years, right in my hometown. 

​The horses that trotted around the ring, and switched gaits as if by magic, were amazing to experience. They were majestic creatures. None of them could be mistaken for average horse flesh. They were spectacular beasts sporting shiny hair coats, with manes and tails flowing in the wind.
The main stable was approximately eighty years old when I was walking past as a child and was still in pristine condition. The stable was a magnificent structure, 254 feet long, painted white, with a huge stained-glass half-moon window decorating the entrance. Sadly, time and Mother Nature caused the aging structure to become decrepit and dangerous.
Coincidently, my high school classmate Bobette Wilson, was one of many people in town who worked for years to return the stables to its historical greatness. The structure is now the International Saddlebred Hall of Fame and used as an events center and wedding venue. It is the oldest building in the United States continuously devoted to boarding and training champion American Saddlebred horses. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Although I moved away from my hometown years ago, I incorporate Mexico, Missouri’s beautiful and historically interesting structures into my mystery series. The foundation of the Show Me Mysteries series was based upon my desire to embrace the interesting things that make my town special and to share its charm and history as a writer.
Each book in the series focuses on one of these hometown structures. My newest book, Show Me Skulduggery, features Simmons Stables and the rich, diverse history of Saddlebred horse trainers in Mexico, Missouri. My childhood visions of those beautiful horses have now come to life on the pages of a book.
Every book in my series includes two mysteries woven in a dual timeline. One mystery occurs in contemporary times and one in a book highlights an existing historical structure in my hometown. Characters from the contemporary storyline move forward with each new book. The historical characters remain within their historical timeline, but some are the antecedents of contemporary characters. In addition, romantic threads run through both the contemporary and historical storylines.
My goal is to use fictional characters and fictional situations to breathe life into local history associated with the featured structure. Although most characters and situations are fictional, the larger parameters of accurate historical events are my guideposts.
Art Simmons, Tom Bass, Clark & Potts Sales, the Lee Brothers, B. O. Tucker Stables and Dincara Stables brought fame to my town. They were world famous. Queen Victoria, Queen Marie of Rumania, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley, Will Rogers, and Buffalo Bill Cody were all admirers. Most of these celebrities purchased horses trained by those from Mexico, Missouri. William Shatner, Captain Kirk from Star Trek, is one of the recent admirers.  
It’s been a blessing from God to transform my love for my hometown and its history into a book series that relays notable history and current building revitalizations in a series filled with intrigue and mystery.
It is my wish that readers will enjoy the series and fall in love with the town, the people, and the rich history of the area.
Thanks to the positive reception of the series, I’m under contract for a fourth book in the series, Show Me Murder. The historical structure highlighted will be Hardin College, a woman’s college founded in 1873. Presser Hall, a building used by the college, has been repaired, restored, and transformed into the Presser Arts Center. Presser Arts Center now produces events and offers classes and workshops in the study of fine arts.

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Death comes knocking once again in Show Me Skulduggery, the captivating third book in the award-winning Show Me Mysteries series. These mysteries involve two eras, early 1900s, and contemporary times, featuring a famous Saddlebred horse stable in Mexico, Missouri. Intrigue, deception, underhanded behavior, and murder will keep you turning pages.
Present day: Because of her behavior, the disregard of the needs of her tenants, and her penny-pinching ways, everyone despises slumlord Katherine Mull. When a killer emerges and acts upon their desire to end Katherine’s life, Liesl, Kurt, and Nicole must race against time to identify the killer before this madman kills again. Can they track down the killer before someone else dies? Do they have the skills necessary to identify the killer before they become the target?
1920 through 1953: Mexico, Missouri is famous for being the “Saddlehorse Capital of the World” thanks to world-famous owner/trainers Tom Bass, C.F. Clark, Joseph Potts, George and William Lee, Robert Stewart, and Art Simmons. Each has built upon the solid, respected reputation of the previous trainer at these beloved stables until now. Who can discover and stop sabotage at the stables? Will the Saddlebred trainers be bankrupt if the breed’s sterling reputation is destroyed? Is murder the ultimate act of an evil man seeking revenge?

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Ellen E. Withers is an award-winning fiction writer, freelance writer, and retired insurance fraud investigator. Her award-winning mystery dual-time series, Show Me Mysteries, published by Scrivenings Press, is set in her picturesque hometown of Mexico, Missouri. The third book in the series, Show Me Skulduggery, debuts May 2025.
Her nonfiction book about winning writing contests is Magic Words: How to Enchant Judges & Conjure Contest Wins, inspired by her writing contest column in the digital writing magazine Writers Monthly PDF.
Coming in 2026, Ellen will have a dual-time mystery series, Spa City Mysteries, set in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

Website: https://ellenewithers.com/
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071728886831
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BWZ1G7JS
Instagram profile: https://instagram.com/lnwithers?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33215146.Ellen_E_Withers
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-e-withers?list=about

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