Mansion Murder Motivates Mystery Writers

Six Sisters in Crime writers were entertained and motivated by the Theatre 40 Production of "The Manor," a mystery play inspired by true events in the history of the infamous Greystone Mansion.

Home to the Doheny family in the 1920s-1930s the 55-room mansion sits aloof and austere above Sunset Blvd in Beverly Hills, stoically waiting for its inner secrets to be exposed to curious visitors. But, are the events portrayed by the dozen professional players what really happened?

Written by actress Kathrine Bates, the play attempts to make sense of the political scandal and alleged murder-suicide mystery that has plagued the family for years. The "names have been changed to protect the guilty," claims the playwright. But just who are… the guilty?

Assembled first in the Living Room where characters and plot lines were introduced, the 75 guests were then divided into three groups and led by serving staff into various rooms of the mansion. Here, in live-action scenes, the tragic story unfolded.

Our group, led by the mute maid, entered a Bedroom, where we observed a nervous bride and her young husband (having slipped away from their wedding reception) about to perform the nuptial act. (Thankfully the disapproving mother-in-law called her son back to his guests.)

Next the housekeeper took us to the sunny Card Room to witness a vicious argument between the bride´s former "love" and his detested, married-on-the-rebound wife.

The butler then escorted us to the Office where we watched a "good old boy" Senator entice the master of the house into a political deal worth millions.

After an intermission of refreshments in the Breakfast Room, we took up the story ten years later, in a series of rapid, tense scenes played out in several places, including the marble staircase where we witnessed two savage deaths.

I was sitting at the foot of the stairs when gunshots were fired and one of the bloody bodies tumbled down, stopping only inches from my feet (the closest I´ve ever been to a real "live" corpse).

A dénouement back in the Living Room tied up most of the loose ends, but not all. Fodder indeed, for our clutch of diabolical crime writers.

The short story mastermind of our group later emailed a "what if" scenario…what if a criminal, hiding as an actor, murdered an audience member who suddenly recognized him? We emailed back our suggestions and brainstormed ideas.

What if … there was a mystery writer in the audience (a la Murder She Wrote) who would investigate the crime? What if … a group of mystery writers was in the audience and they solved the murder using their individual genre expertise (Murder They Wrote)?

Cranial wheels began to spin and fingers flew over computer keys. All we had needed was a little … murderous motivation.

Sisters in Crime is an organization established to promote female crime writers. Today, there are many male members (Misters in Crime) as well. www.sistersincrime.com

The Los Angeles chapter has published several anthologies over the years featuring short stories written by its members. The current anthology – Murder in La-La Land – is open to any member in good standing. They may submit up to two stories.

Deadline is March 31, 2009. For information, see www.sistersincrimela.com