Young Detective Elodie LaRue Hunts for Missing Jewels in Mystery at the Biltmore

With a sterling track record in both writing for young people, and illustrating beloved picturebooks, author Colleen Nelson and illustrator Peggy Collins know how to tell page-turning stories that enhant their readers.

In Mystery at The Biltmore (Pajama Press), these artists have collaborated to tell the story of novice detective Elodie LaRue, who is hot the trail of some missing jewels that were taken from a neighbour in their renowned Upper West Side building, The Biltmore.

The budding LaRue detective agency turns up clues and suspects with creativity and verve, but the tale takes many twists and turns that put the reader on the edge of their seat and they wait to see if Elodie will come up empty-handed in this important case, or will track down the missing sapphires and the perpetrator that has snagged them from Mrs. Vanderhoff.

We're thrilled to share this Kid's Club BFYP interview with the author of this exciting and vibrant new picture book, Colleen Nelson, and to learn more about the inspiration for the story and its quirky characters.

Open Book:

Tell us about your new book and how it came to be.

Colleen Nelson:

Mystery at the Biltmore is set in a historic building in New York’s Upper West Side. The main character, Elodie LaRue, has been left behind again by her globe-trotting, art detective parents. They leave her with the directive to ‘do something productive’ so she decides to start her own detective agency at The Biltmore. She quickly gets her first case and gains a protégé in Oscar, a new resident. 

The idea for the book was inspired by the TV show ‘Only Murders in the Building’, which takes place in a building similar to The Biltmore. I love reading mystery books, but had never written one before, and was eager to see if I could pull it off. I guess New York is sort of my muse since this is my third book set in the city. We had an apartment there for about ten years and I lived there for a while and visited often. New York feels like a second home to me and every time I go back, I feel inspired. It was fun to revisit a neighborhood I loved for the book.

Elodie’s voice was clear from the first pages. Once I fleshed out the mystery and the culprit, my imagination went wild inventing the characters who live in her building. It was a joy to write this book, and I was thrilled when Pajama Press embraced it so warmly.

OB:

Is there a message you hope kids might take away from reading your book? 

CN:

Elodie worries that she may not be taken seriously as a detective because of her age. She does face some ageism but overcomes it as she uses her keen observation skills and logical thinking to solve the mystery. I think there’s a subtle message to readers that age doesn’t define your ability—look at all the impressive things young people are doing for the environment and social justice issues. While this is a light-hearted story, many young people come up against assumptions about their abilities. Maybe they’ll think about Elodie and how she doesn’t let it anything stop her.

OB:

What was the strangest or most memorable moment or experience during the writing process for you? 

CN:

I have two! I was in New York in May and went to visit the building The Biltmore is based on. I was too shy to ask if I could venture into the courtyard but I saw it from the sidewalk. After spending a lot of time online researching, it was so exciting to see the building in person. It was bigger and even more grand than I expected. 

I took a walk around the neighborhood imagining Elodie, her dog Carnegie, and Miss Rosa out for a stroll and then went to Zabar’s for a cinnamon bun!

The second (and more exciting moment) was seeing Peggy’s cover for the first time. That woman is an artistic genius! She so beautifully captured the spirit of the book and the characters. It’s such a thrilling thing to see a manuscript take shape into a book and the cover is the first step in that process. Peggy also did the illustrations in the book which add so much fun to the story. I can’t wait for readers to fall in love with Elodie, Oscar and Carnegie.

OB:

What defines a great book for young readers, in your opinion? Tell us about one or two books you consider to be truly great kids books, whether you read them as a child or an adult.

CN:

I read a lot, mostly for school. I have thousands of books in my classroom library and love being able to find the perfect book for a student. For me, it is always about the voice of the main character. I want it to be authentic, snappy and engaging. A recent book that I thought had all the perfect elements to be a great middle grade read was ‘Olivetti’ by Allie Millington. It’s told in alternating points of view between a typewriter and a boy. The voices, plot and language are divine. I plan on using it as my first read aloud with my class this year. 

Another book that I can’t stop raving about is ‘The Valley of Horses’ by Wendy Orr. It reads like a classic—a timeless story that has elements of magic woven through. I love being surprised by a book and Wendy’s clever storytelling made the book hard to put down. 

A recent adult book I read that I’ve also been recommending is ‘Crooked Teeth’ by Danny Ramadan. His memoir was riveting and challenged my thinking; it was an eye-opening book and beautifully written. I think it’s a book that is important for all Canadians to read—I hope it gets selected for CBC’s 2025 Canada Reads!

OB: 

How would you describe the writing community in Canada in terms of authors writing for young people? What strengths and weaknesses do you observe within the community?

CN: 

I’ll get a little political for a moment because there’s something going on in Manitoba that has me bothered. The community of writers in Canada, and in my province of Manitoba, is amazing. Dedicated, supportive, enthusiastic—we are cheerleaders for our peers. Which is why it’s shocking and disheartening that the Manitoba Book Awards are no more. A recent press release stated that the four organizations that played a role in running them have decided it is not sustainable for a variety of reasons. I think we are the only province that doesn’t have a provincial or regional award to celebrate and promote our writers. The quality of literary work produced in Manitoba rivals much larger provinces. We are home (or former home) to authors David Alexander Robertson, Joan Thomas, David Bergen, Tasha Spillet, Katherena Vermette and Miriam Toews, to name a few. Even our premier is a best-selling author! To think that there will no longer be a program to recognize the work of upcoming and established Manitoba authors makes me sad. I really think governments need to get behind their artists and support endeavors like an awards program. 

Can we have a moment of silence for Twitter, now known as X, please? 

While social media might not have been a part of my writing process, it was definitely an important part of my writing world. I really, really miss the community of readers and authors that used to share and create on that platform. There are a few people who became real-life friends thanks to social media. I used it to announce book launches, run contests and connect with readers. The mass exodus that has taken place over the last year or so has saddened me because I made a lot of healthy, positive connections on it. I think I was lucky to have seen it grow and to have benefitted from it while I could. I guess all good things come to an end.  

OB:

What are you working on now? 

CN:

Well, the second Mystery at the Biltmore is written and edited and comes out in spring 2025. I’ve also got a nonfiction book, ‘Making a Splash: How humans consume, control and care for water’ out next year with Orca. As for what I’m currently working on—I promised my nephew I’d use his name in a book. So, get ready for Casey Pollack who is on a mission to save his neighborhood library.

_________________________________________________

Colleen Nelson earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba in her hometown of Winnipeg. Her previous novels include Blood Brothers, selected as the 2018 McNally Robinson Book of the Year for Young People, and Pulse Point, selected as one of the CBC’s Most Anticipated YA Books of 2018. Colleen writes daily in between appearances at hockey rinks and soccer fields in support of her two sports-loving sons.

Peggy Collins is an award-winning children’s book author-illustrator with more than 35 titles to her name, including Harley the Hero, A Sky-Blue Bench, Whistling for Angela, In the Snow, and In the Garden. She has also written and illustrated for animated apps teaching math, indigenous history, and education. Peggy lives in Newburgh, Ontario with her two children.