Having taken a week out to talk about my trip to Boston and my grandson’s wedding, it’s time to get back on track, preparing for the release of Unleashed for Murder, the next book in the Market Center Mysteries Series.

I worked for several years as an editor at a couple of different trade publications. The first company was a publisher of a magazine covering the pet products industry. I don’t know that it’s quite as true today, but when you’re an editor at a trade publication, you go to trade shows because a lot of the action in any given industry takes place there, or at least, things get revealed at the shows.

My very first trade show was in the pet products industry, and it was a revelation. I hadn’t been at the show long before I realized that it made a great setting for a murder mystery, or maybe even a series of them. A closed show (not open to the public) restricted the cast, the limited time frame provided a built-in ticking clock, and the high stakes offered a welter of possible motivations.

Plus, in the exhibitors, you have a group of people who mostly know each other. They are friends, competitors, rivals, enemies, and sometimes even lovers. Sometimes more than one of those things at the same time.

And the stakes are really high for an event that lasts just a few days. Retail buyers attend to view new products, and they order in large quantities. Some represent chain stores that will make huge deals. A good show can ensure a company’s viability for the next year.

So manufacturers, importers, and other vendors will go to great lengths to draw attention to their products at the show. Elaborate booth displays and contests, including having a basket or bowl for people to drop business cards to enter a drawing, are almost de rigeur. Special events with high-end coffee or food service are common. Product demonstrations and celebrity appearances are frequent. I attended one trade show where a large manufacturer actually put on a small circus that featured magicians, jugglers, clowns, and a high wire act.

I’ve included a few pictures of elaborate trade show booths to give you an idea of what they can be like.

I included several of these things in Unleashed for Murder, trying to work them into the plot in interesting ways. Even the pet fashion show played a small part in our detective’s figuring out whodunit. Tune in to this blog tomorrow for a sneak peek at one of those events – that pet fashion show.