Kristi Jones grew up in the military and has lived in Germany, England, Turkey, and many places throughout the U.S. She attended a German high school that left her with a lifelong love of languages. She holds a degree in history and is a member of Sisters in Crime and The Writer’s League of Texas. In her free time, Kristi loves to paint, travel, explore historical sites and comb through old bookstores and museums for obscure nuggets of historical details to add to her stories. She lives in the Houston area with her husband and two rescue pups.
Q: How did you get the idea for the story?
Kristi: I’ve always been interested in history and grew up as a military brat. I read Eisenhower’s Crusade in Europe, where he mentioned a consignment of WACs assigned to his headquarters. This inspired me to contact the U.S. Army Women’s Museum, which had a lot of information about the 149th Post Headquarters. I conducted research in their archives in Virginia and wanted to write a story about these women. My first murder mystery was inspired by them. Additionally, I lived in Turkey for several years when my dad was stationed there, which helped me write about Algiers, where the first WACs were stationed.
Q: What elements of the story are true?
Kristi: The murder is pure fiction. However, when the WACs arrived, they were assigned to various roles—military police, office work, drivers, and signal communications. As in the book, there were officers who resisted having women in their offices, while others were supportive. The reactions of the male soldiers in the book also reflect real life: some saw the WACs as dates and morale boosters, others became jealous when the women fraternized with British officers, and some viewed them as not being “lady-like.” The women had to overcome these challenges.
Q: Do you think the WACs broke the “glass ceiling”?
Kristi: These women were pioneers, the first stationed in a combat situation. They were considered a “test-tube company” because people wondered if they could withstand the rigors of being in a combat theater, including bombardment. As the war progressed, they proved they could do the job.
Q: How would you describe Dottie?
Kristi: She is protective, gutsy, and sometimes embarrassed. She speaks French and German, which makes her valuable to the Allied cause. Dottie was abused by her husband, who saw her as weak and vulnerable. Her backstory includes her husband fighting for the Nazis and taking their daughter, Sophie. Dottie’s journey is about transforming from a mouse to a lion, finding her strength and independence. She represents the real women who joined the WACs to gain freedom and become a force to reckon with.
Q: What role do her daughter and husband play in her story?
Kristi: They are her driving force for joining the military. Dottie struggles with self-belief and must find her emotional and physical strength. In future books, her motivation will include winning the war to find her daughter.
Q: How would you describe Captain Devlin?
Kristi: He’s cocky, with strong cop-like instincts. At the same time, he can be calm and caring.
Q: How would you describe the other WACs in the story?
Kristi: I wanted to give each of them distinct personalities based on the women I researched:
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Sue: Calculating, sly, argumentative, troublesome, and a scandal girl. She plays games and engages in black-market activities.
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Ruth: The consummate soldier—determined, serious, dependable, rational, and grounded.
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Jeannie: Sweet, trusting, and scared. Dottie places her trust in Jeannie.
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Mary: The youngest—dramatic, selfish, childish, and princess-like. She is seeking adventure.
Q: What message do you want readers to take away from the book?
Kristi: A book quote sums it up: “I hope Dottie’s story will illuminate their sacrifices, courage, and the critical role played in the combat theaters during World War II.” I also want to inform readers about the severe manpower shortages at the time. Recruiting these women filled non-combat roles, freeing men to fight.
Q: What can you share about the next book?
Kristi: Jeannie will return as Dottie’s sidekick. The next book is tentatively titled A Map to Murder. After working with the Military Police to solve a murder in this book, Auxiliary Dottie Lincoln wants a permanent assignment with Captain Devlin and the MPs. Instead, she’s sent to work for Force 141, a top-secret planning headquarters just outside the city. She becomes entangled in a web of secrecy, betrayals, and murder, racing to root out a traitor before an innocent woman is hanged for a crime she didn’t commit.
Murder In the Ranks by Kristi Jones is her debut mystery filled with spies, murder, and a touch of romance. It is also a historical novel that delves into the American Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) where women served in a combat zone in Algiers. Their duties were of the administrative nature, mainly typists, drivers, translators, and switchboard operators freeing up more men to fight. The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was renamed from WAACs to WACs, without “auxiliary” in the name.
The plot features Dottie Lincoln, who decided to join the WAAC after her abusive German husband left her for dead and took their daughter with him behind enemy lines when he joined the Nazis. Dottie Lincoln learned that it’s better to be a trained soldier rather than a victim.
Risking her own reputation, as a WAAC squad leader in World War II she becomes an investigator when one of the women in her unit is found dead. WAAC Ruth Wentz is found sprawled on the pavement in a pool of her own blood. Army officers speculate the incident was a suicide, but Dottie believes Ruth was murdered. She convinces MP Captain Devlin to look at the evidence and investigate. Secrets, deception, black market, bribery and blackmail all prevail as the investigation proceeds including Dottie’s past that comes to haunt her.
This mystery has multiple suspects with lots of twists, keeping readers guessing to the very end. Those reading this debut novel will welcome more books in this series.
