Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Format: Email Narrative
Publisher: Bumper Crop Productions, Inc.
Website: http://www.emailmystery.com
Price: $4.99 USD / $5.99 Cdn
Preview: Free preview of the story is available.

I recently discovered a unique "email mystery" called THE DAUGHTERS OF FREYA, written by Michael Betcherman and David Diamond. Besides being a suspenseful and fun read, the most fascinating aspect of the story is its presentation.

The story's narrative takes the form of a collection of email exchanges between the main characters of the story. However, the reader upon purchasing the story, has those same emails sent to their own inbox. This gives the reader a more intimate reading experience, as if being CC'd by the characters themselves.

Those readers familiar with epistolary novels, like DRACULA, written as a collection of letters, diary entries, and news clippings, will enjoy this format. Michael calls this updated version an "e-pistolary" novel.

"Email narratives" are a relatively new storytelling medium. THE DAUGHTERS OF FREYA, which was released in 2004, was the first to actually be sent out as an email subscription.

The suspense induced by having to wait for the next email reminds one of a serial novel, but luckily we need only wait a few hours to satisfy us. The emails are received over a three week period in real time. So, on average, the reader may receive three to five messages throughout the day. It only takes maybe five or ten minutes out of your day total. (Finally a novel at MY speed!)

One of the aspects I enjoyed about the nature of using email as the medium was the added level of realism to the story. Michael explained, "the guiding principle behind this concept is that we wanted readers to experience this story in exactly the same way that they actually use the internet. Just as in the emails that people get in their real life will occasionally link to external sites, our emails also link to external sites.

"So some of them are newspaper, magazine articles, or photographs of potential suspects that were created specifically for the mystery. But in order to enhance that aspect of email use, we would include websites that already existed just to further blur the line of reality and fiction."

Every good novel starts with a good cover; the website at emailmystery.com is that cover. I think it looks good -- it brings you in. You have the ability to flip through the first three pages of the story as it were.

The story itself is well-written and the characters are introduced quite well through their communications. The main character is Samantha Dempsey, a journalist who has been asked by an old friend to investigate a cult his daughter has gotten involved with.

The cult is a group of young women called the Daughters of Freya, whose leader, Simone Jorgenson, has convinced them that sexual liberation will save the world. Fear not, dear reader, there is little to no depiction of sex in the story.

Samantha's initial article after meeting with Simone and the girls is that the cult really has no ulterior motives. But when a mysterious informant surfaces and claims the cult is not what it appears to be, the plot thickens.

The story has many twists and dangers, yet it is not overly-complex. A great balance is struck with story, characters, personal dramas, and suspense.

When the story ended, I found myself missing the emails. I believe this is partially because of the way you read the story. There is an intimacy built between the reader and the characters because you feel like you are involved in their emailed conversations.

Yet, this is also due to the fact that the characters are written so well that you feel connected, and miss them when their tale is done. A sequel is in the early stages of planning, and I am looking forward to that.

The story costs only $4.99 US ($5.99 Cdn) to subscribe, just under the price of a paperback novel. It comes to you at your convenience, at your inbox. It's a wonderful story. a novel way of telling it, and I really enjoyed it.

If you would like to read or listen to my interview with Michael Betcherman, please visit http://shaurettenet.blogspot.com and check out "Is This Thing On?" episode #4.
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Michael Betcherman is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker. He is currently working on a documentary on the wrongly-convicted. David Diamond is a writer and journalist based in Kentfield, California. His seventh book, coauthored with poker's Annie Duke, hit bookstores this September. To find out more about Michael Betcherman and David Diamond, visit THE DAUGHTERS OF FREYA website at http://www.emailmystery.com.