Elle Jauffret: When Pop Culture Meets Murder in Cosplayed to Death

With her sharp wit, cross-cultural voice, and talent for weaving intrigue into everyday life, Elle Jauffret has carved a unique place in the modern mystery world. Her new novel, Cosplayed to Death (out November 11, 2025), invites readers back to the picturesque yet perilous coastal town of Caper Cove, where competitive surfing, pop-culture fandom, and small-town secrets collide.

In this much-anticipated second installment of her Suddenly French series, Jauffret once again blends the charm of a cozy mystery with the bite of a contemporary thriller. When a seaside cosplay festival turns deadly, former D.C. attorney turned amateur sleuth Claire Fontaine finds herself caught in a dangerous tide of identity fraud, online harassment, and high-stakes rivalry.

With her signature mix of suspense, humor, and reflection, Jauffret explores how disguise, belonging, and transformation shape both our real and virtual selves. Building on the success of Threads of Deception, praised by bestselling authors Jonathan Maberry and Hank Phillippi Ryan, Cosplayed to Death confirms Elle Jauffret as one of the most exciting new voices redefining the mystery genre with intelligence, heart, and a distinctly French-American sensibility.

FQM: Cosplayed to Death plunges readers into the worlds of cosplay and surfing: two vibrant, yet contrasting communities. What inspired you to bring these cultures together in a murder mystery?

Elle Jauffret: Both communities are vibrant parts of San Diego's cultural landscape, and as someone who's experienced both firsthand, I couldn't resist bringing them together. I learned to surf here in Southern California, where there's this constant, friendly competition for waves and respect in the lineup. And of course, San Diego is home to Comic-Con, which has made cosplay an integral part of the city's identity. Both cultures understand transformation and escape, just in different ways. One through nature and physical transcendence, the other through creativity and identity play. Writing a mystery at the intersection of these two worlds, allowed me to explore how we present ourselves to the world and what we'll do for acceptance (from the world and ourselves). 

FQM: As both a French native and a former attorney, your background clearly informs your writing. How do your experiences with law and language shape your storytelling?

Elle Jauffret: My legal background has taught me how to construct airtight arguments and spot inconsistencies, skills that translate directly into plotting complex narratives and creating unreliable characters whose stories need to hold up under scrutiny. I've also woven legal commentary and practical tips throughout the novel, giving readers insight into the law and current issues. Being French adds another dimension: I can write from personal experience about what it's like when Claire is mistaken for French because of her foreign accent syndrome. I know what it's like to navigate the world with an accent that marks you as 'other,' to have people make assumptions about who you are based on how you sound. That experience of linguistic displacement (of being simultaneously visible and misunderstood) became central to Claire's character and her journey of identity throughout the story.

FQM: Your novel explores the tension between online personas and real-life identities. How did you approach writing about social media and digital culture within a traditional mystery structure?

Elle Jauffret:  In older mysteries, the threat is physical. Now it can be digital and anonymous. An anonymous troll hiding behind the handle @FireInYourMouth launches a harassment campaign against Claire, questioning her rightful place as a chef, even suggesting she's undocumented. The attacks escalate from professional sabotage to doxxing. I treated this cyberbullying campaign as a parallel mystery: who's behind the handle, and how do you fight back against someone hiding behind anonymity? The mystery structure stays traditional (means, motive, opportunity). It’s a mystery within a murder mystery with an evidence trail that includes anonymous accounts, digital harassment, and the gap between online personas and real identities.

FQM: Beneath the humor and intrigue, there’s a strong reflection on belonging and self-presentation. Was that an intentional thread from the start, or did it emerge naturally as you wrote?

Elle Jauffret: It was intentional from the start. The whole premise emerged from wanting to explore how we present ourselves to the world and what we're willing to do for acceptance. I had a surfer who literally buys his way onto a team (paying for a captain position because he has money and craves that status); a cosplayer whose transformation began as a path to acceptance but became something she couldn't stop; and Claire, who is caught between professional fields (law v. catering), fighting to prove she belongs in spaces where people question her right to be there. Once I had those characters, the murder mystery almost wrote itself around their struggles with identity and belonging.

FQM: Without spoiling too much, can readers expect more adventures (and mysteries) from Claire Fontaine in the future?

Elle Jauffret: Absolutely! I'm currently working on the third and final Suddenly French Mystery. It's set during Halloween season, the victim is a tarot reader, and it explores how we're haunted by our pasts until we face them head-on. It answers the questions about Aurora's disappearance that have been building since book one, and resolves what's been simmering between Claire and Torres. It felt like the natural place to bring Claire's journey full circle.