HISTORY

Wall of Fame author Margot Peters, 88, steps away from the keyboard with a murder mystery set at a Wausau class reunion

Keith Uhlig
Wausau Daily Herald
Wausau native Margot Peters, 89, was best known for her biographies, but she's written three mystery novels. She recently completed her last book, "Murder Among Friends," set at a class reunion.

LAKE MILLS - The idea for the book came up a few years ago at a reunion of the Wausau High School Class of 1951.

The book, "Murder Among Friends," will be out soon — author Margot Peters, 88, is self-publishing the work through Amazon, and it is going through technical steps needed before it can go on sale. She is not sure when people will be able to buy the book, but she said it is the last writing she plans to do.

There were only about 14 people at that reunion, and those who attended had become a tight-knit bunch. They had grown up together during World War II, and then scattered to pursue careers, raise families and live life. They were now in their 80s, and these old friends had reconnected and their old ties developed into new relationships.

That's why class member Ron Hoffman of Combined Locks felt comfortable enough to suggest to Peters, a fellow Wausau High graduate, that she should write another book. It should be a mystery, he said, set at a high school reunion.

"And I said, 'Yeah, why not?'" Peters said at a recent interview at her Lake Mills home. "I was kind of half kidding." 

Throughout her long and prolific writing career, Peters has authored more than a dozen books, and just as many or more of her poems have been published. She is well-known in literary circles, primarily for biographies. Her books have been read on Wisconsin Public Radio.

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After earning a doctorate in literature and linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she wrote highly regarded books detailing the lives of literary and theatrical titans, including "Unquiet Soul: A Biography of Charlotte Bronte," "Bernard Shaw and the Actresses", "The House of Barrymore" and "Design for Living: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne." 

She received numerous kudos and awards for her work, including the American Writers Best Work of Prose Award, a Banta Award (bestowed by the Wisconsin Library Association) and a George Freedley Award for Best Drama Book, according to the website Wisconsin Literary Map of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English.

The Wisconsin Library Association also bestowed to her five awards for "Outstanding Achievement by a Wisconsin Author" and is an inductee into the Milwaukee Library's Wall of Fame.

While she was writing, she also taught English, linguistics and women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

When Peters returned to Lake Mills after the Wausau reunion, she kept thinking about the mystery she could write, "and all these ideas came from Ron Hoffman," she said. "He has been plotting with me."

Although Peters did all the writing, she and Hoffman collaborated, mostly through email, about the book. The plotting and the description and all that goes into creating a world for a reader didn't come quickly. Through the writing, Peters found out she had breast cancer (she's currently undergoing treatment).

Her husband, Peter Jordan, was also seriously ill during the years she wrote the book, and he died on Aug. 27. His loss has left Peters bereft and steeped in grief.

Finishing the writing of "Murder Among Friends" gave her both purpose and a distraction during those difficulties. A year ago she told the Wisconsin State Journal in December of 2020 that she was intent on seeing the book completed.

"I always finish what I start, or at least I try to," she said at the time.

Hoffman said collaborating with Peters, who he has known since middle school, was a fun experience. 

"I've never done anything like this before," Hoffman said.

Peters would periodically send Hoffman the book's chapters, two or three at a time, and he'd weigh in about how the story could go.

"I call it spinning a web," Hoffman said. "She seemed to run into a brick wall after a year and a half."

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The woman who is murdered in the book was the most popular girl in the fictional class, and Peters had identified the killer, but was struggling to draw the string between the two characters. Hoffman suggested a twist, and a different murderer. The book fell into place.

Hoffman said that Peters told him that "I was pushing her to finish it, like a cloud over her head."

Peters now uses her time to read herself, do jigsaw puzzles and spend time with her two Persian cats, Plumchin and Sweetie Pie. The sadness at losing her husband "almost sunk my boat," she said, but she finds joy in her relationships with her children and granddaughter.

And as for "Murder Among Friends," Peters said, "it's another job done. It's something I wanted to do and I did it. I never would have done it without Ron Hoffman. Never."

Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.