Meet Granny Bertha from The Solving the Mystery Series by Matt Ferazz

I am happy to welcome Granny Bertha to my blog today. Granny was introduced to me by Author Matt Ferazz. Let’s meet Granny and see what she has to say.

What was the first investigation you ever did? What was the last? Do you expect to do more investigations in the future?

Oh, Granny, my first investigation was such a long time ago! I was still a young woman, pregnant with my son, when I read in the papers about a man who was found dead in my town. I decided to investigate it by myself, and found out who did it, but was afraid to show my conclusions to the police. Unfortunately, the killer committed another crime after that. I felt so guilty that I promised I was never going to let my fear get in the way of justice again.

Decades after that, when I was already a grandma, a dead girl appeared near my house, and I promised I was going to get the killer. And I did.

My last case involved a rich girl who freaked out when she saw a painting being unveiled. Nobody knew what that meant, but my sixth sense told me there was something odd about that girl. My investigation proved me right. There was a murder hidden in that story.

It’s my plan to continue my investigations as long as there are murders to be solved. I want to help people, most of all. If I can do that, I’ll be a happy woman.

What do you know about the psychology of a criminal?

Everything I know about the criminal mind – or the human mind, for that matter – comes from my life experience. I like to think I can differentiate a person who would commit a murder from a person who wouldn’t. Unfortunately, I believe that most people can kill if they have the motif and the chance. That’s the tough part of the job.

How would you describe your investigation style?

Each case is different, and I use different methods for each one. I try to listen to everybody, to let them tell their version of the story. It’s so rare to find someone who listens nowadays! People open up like a book when they realize you are hearing what they have to say.

Can you describe a time when your work as a detective was criticized?

Yes: everytime I’m around my daughter-in-law, Lydia. She’s not a bad person, but she hates having a detective in the family. She was a pain in the neck during most of the Convenient Cadaver case, and even afterwards, when I was traveling, she kept telling me I should mind my own business and let the police handle the cases.

How do you handle investigating when people don’t believe in you?

Let me put it this way: if I only acted when people support me, I wouldn’t do anything in my life! After all, Granny, we are old ladies facing dangerous criminals. People will always say that we’re crazy, and that we should limit ourselves to knitting and taking pills. I love knitting, but I always love catching criminals and I’m good at that. So that’s what I’ll continue to do as long as I can stand on my feet!

Bio: Author of all trades, Matt Ferraz has written thrillers, sci-fi, cozy mysteries and a lot of witty e-mails that sadly can’t be published. With a degree in journalism and a masters in biography, Matt has works published in English, Italian and Portuguese, and loves trying new genres.