MINNEAPOLIS — Mindy Mejia killed off her own mother in the first story she ever wrote so it’s hard to disagree with her when she says, “I’ve always been a crime writer. There have always been people dying in my work.”

That first story, about the Twin Cities native’s mom’s funeral, was way back in kindergarten. And its dark themes ended with a trip to the school guidance counselor by her mom, Linda Montgomery.

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