About the Book
Book: Mabel and the Privy of Doom
Author: Susan Kimmel Wright
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: March 5, 2026
Mabel plans to bring the joys of volunteering to the masses…if she doesn’t fall victim to an ancient curse first.
Mabel has previously encountered dead bodies while volunteering—but she never imagined she’d run afoul of a legendary curse. Until now…
A university archeology team has come to excavate an old privy on the grounds of the Thompson estate, home of Medicine Spring’s first white settler. They hope to retrieve items of historic interest, but rumors of lost treasure and dark curses swirl around the project.
Mabel has joined the dig as a volunteer, despite her reluctance to touch anything collected from the ancient outhouse pit. It doesn’t take long however, before she realizes a few dirt-encrusted artifacts are the least of her worries.
She doesn’t believe in curses, but accidents and misfortune plague team members—including Mabel herself. She begins to wonder if there might be some truth in the old stories. When a body turns up on the site, it appears the curse has transformed from local legend to deadly reality. Will Mabel be its next victim?
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About the Author
Susan Kimmel Wright began her life of mystery in childhood, with reading. That led her to writing kids’ mysteries and eventually to Medicine Spring with Mabel. A longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Susan’s also a prolific writer of personal experience stories, many for Chicken Soup for the Soul. She shares an 1875 farmhouse in southwestern PA with her husband, several dogs and cats, and an allegedly excessive stockpile of coffee and tea mugs.
More from Susan
I suspect it takes a somewhat warped sense of humor to write a book called Mabel and the Privy of Doom. In fact, I’m afraid this entire series may someday be Exhibit A when my kids decide I need a guardian—but meanwhile I’m having fun!
Mabel and the Privy of Doom was a joy to write, combining my love of mysteries, screwball humor, American history, lost treasure, and ancient curses. It all started when I first learned about historic outhouses or privies.
I discovered the Homewood privy (c. 1801) in Baltimore on a walkabout near Johns Hopkins University. Part of the Declaration of Independence signer John Carroll of Carrollton estate, this handsome brick building has been well maintained over the centuries and has its own historic plaque! (No, not “John Carroll Sat Here!”) Yet another high-profile privy excavation has been performed in patriot Paul Revere’s back yard in Massachusetts in recent years.
Archeologists often learn a great deal from excavating old outhouses, just from examining objects thrown away or accidentally dropped in the privy pit. Even privy pits on humble farmsteads or in modest back yards reveal a lot about family circumstances and daily life. Artifacts such as old bottles, coins, and broken pottery commonly surface.
Growing up, I was fortunate(?) enough have an outhouse on our rural, western Pennsylvania family property. My father, a carpenter and cabinetmaker, built our house himself after returning from World War II. Because the work took a long time, he also built an outhouse for use during the construction period, before plumbing was connected.
My father (perhaps I got my wacky sense of humor from him) added a “Sanitary Inspected Restroom” sign on the door. It now graces the wall of our powder room.
The outhouse survived for most of my childhood. Because our water supply came from a spring that occasionally went dry during a summer drought, we were occasionally forced to resort to the old privy. Luckily, these occasions were rare and typically brief, but I’ll admit I prayed fervently for rain.
Interview with the Author
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What does success as an author look like to you?
At this point in my career, I’m not looking for literary awards, financial success, or bestseller status. Success for me in providing my readers with a respite from life’s struggles. I want them to come home to my fictional village of Medicine Spring, kick off their shoes, get caught up in the story, and find themselves laughing a lot. While I do hope my stories have underlying moral value, the readers I most often think about are dealing with family issues, financial problems, grief, cancer treatments, and all the other things that wake us up at night.Nothing brings me more satisfaction than the people who tell me they’ve found comfort from my books during a dark time. I’ve been incredibly touched by those who tell me they’ve read the entire series more than once. What could possibly mean more than that?
- Which character did you connect to best in this book?
It probably comes as no surprise that I connect most closely with my main character Mabel. Like her, I’m a former lawyer, hopefully good-hearted though socially awkward, very attached to my late grandma, have dogs and a cat, and live in an old Victorian farmhouse that is far from a showplace. Sadly, I can’t eat like Mabel, who is—to put it as kindly as possible—a bit of a chowhound. Also sadly (but probably for the better), I don’t wander into thrilling mysteries everywhere I go! - What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?
I have many, but 2 Corinthians 2:14 (ESB) is particularly precious to me as a writer: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” - What is your vacation spot?
I have several favorites, and I hesitate to pick one or two, because my brain keeps clamoring, “But what about…?” One of my favorites has been Key West, FL, which I’m thinking about right now because dear friends have been spending a week or so there every spring for years, and have returned fairly recently from this year’s trip. A few years ago, my husband and I drove down to enjoy it with them, and I’ve longed to go back.I love the quirkiness, the romantic atmosphere, Cuban coffee and food, Key lime pie, and all the resident chickens running about in the streets. We visited Hemingway’s house, where I enjoyed absorbing the very place where he did his writing (and petted the six-toed descendants of his six-toed cat!). Another thrill for me because of my love of American history was visiting
President Truman’s Little White House, which has been preserved nearly perfectly, right down to the “The Buck Stops Here” on his desk! - Describe your view as you’re sitting in your writing chair.
In good weather, I like to write on my screen porch and watch the seasons change. I look out on our back yard and adjacent pony pasture, which these days is an overgrown tangle of tall grasses and native wildflowers like butterfly weed and joe-pye. Forsythia bloom in the spring, and the oaks and maple turn red and gold in the fall. The porch also furnishes terrific writing
atmosphere—with thunderstorms creating drama, and fog to lend mystery.
In the morning, I can hear the birds sing. We have a wide variety, including cardinals, song sparrows, titmice, and towhees. Later in the day, especially before or after a rain, come the lovely, liquid melodies of the wood thrush. Sometimes, we get an entire flock of turkeys—around April, the turkey menfolk love to strut their stuff and fan their tails for their unimpressed lady friends.
This time of year, robins hop about, pecking for earthworms, our resident bunny comes out to browse in late afternoon, and often a deer grazes at the edge of the yard (making my dogs lose their minds while the deer scarcely looks up). Honestly, with all this going on, the real mystery is
how I ever get anything written at all!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L, July 10
Texas Book-aholic, July 11
Simple Harvest Reads, July 12 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 13
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 14
The Avid Reader, July 15
Artistic Nobody, July 16 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 17
Guild Master, July 18 (Author Interview)
For Him and My Family, July 18
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, July 19
Holly’s Book Corner, July 20
Fiction Book Lover, July 21 (Author Interview)
The Bookish Ledger, July 22 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, July 22
Lily’s Corner, July 23
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a signed copy of the book of the winner’s choice from my series, Mysteries of Medicine Spring!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://gleam.io/vkE9E/mabel-and-the-privy-of-doom-celebration-tour-giveaway
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