Cat, Deputy Editor

Richard Crompton’s debut mystery novel, Hour of the Red God, is “character-driven from the get-go” according to our Whodunit columnist Bruce Tierney. Crompton introduces Maasai protagonist Detective Mollel, who is “outwardly ritually scarred, inwardly emotionally scarred and always a bit at odds with fellow cops.”

We chatted with Crompton about the fascinating Nairobi setting, Detective Mollel and more in a 7 questions interview.

Describe your book in one sentence.
A gritty thriller and a vivid portrait of a city on the edge.

What do you think readers will most like about Detective Mollel?
He combines two very different worlds. Raised in the tribal Maasai heritage and translocated to the modern city, he feels at home in neither. But his sense of family, duty and justice ring true across all cultures.

Why does Nairobi make for such a compelling mystery setting?
It’s a city of contrasts. Sky-scrapers and slums. Wealth, poverty, corruption and ethnic tension. The police force is strained to its limits. This, however, works for the mystery writer. Instead of relying on high-tech solutions, it’s back-to-basics detective work which will ultimately prevail.

What’s one book you think everyone should read?
1984.

Would you make a good detective?
No. Real-life crime is usually casual, cruel and random. As a writer I would be looking for patterns and motives which do not exist.

Your website’s header states, “Anyone who says they enjoy writing is not trying hard enough.” What does that mean to you?
I want my books to be simple, elegant and effortless to read. The craft of writing is to make the writer invisible. It takes a lot of effort to learn how to disappear.

What’s next?
The sequel, Hell’s Gate. I am also writing a novel set between London and Africa, which is becoming a kind of homage to Bleak House. And my kids are insisting I write a book for them—which fills me with dread, as they’re my toughest critics.

Ingrid Thoft's debut thriller, Loyalty, introduces P.I. Fina Ludlow, a fearless pursuer of the truth and somewhat outcast member of a truly dysfuctional (and very powerful) family. When her brother's wife goes missing, the Ludlows call in Fina's special talents to crack the case—but her search digs deep and tests those familial bonds.

Thoft's research into the world of private investigation led her to attend and graduate from the University of Washington P.I. program. This unique insight makes Loyalty all the more realistic and more thrilling. We chatted with Thoft about P.I. school, her femme fatale Fina and more.

Why did you decide to attend and graduate from a certificate program in private investigation? Do many authors go so far in their research? Does it give you an edge?

Before writing Loyalty, I was working on a series that featured an amateur sleuth. As much as I loved writing that character, I felt limited by her amateur status. I decided to create a professional private investigator but needed to learn the rules of private investigation before my character broke some of them! Fina makes her own rules, but does so knowingly, not because she’s incompetent. The University of Washington had recently started their certificate program in private investigation, so I enrolled and learned the tricks of the trade. There were no other writers in the class, but I highly recommend that kind of research. It gave me a good understanding of the profession, and it was lots of fun!

What's the coolest thing you learned in the P.I. program?

One of the cases that stands out was part of a presentation done by a scientist from the Washington State Police crime lab. She discussed trace evidence and the idea that we all leave things behind wherever we’ve been and pick something up from that location as well, whether it’s fiber, hair or residue of some sort. Her example was ash from the Mount St. Helen’s eruption. The ash that was deposited into a suspect’s car filter could only have come from a particular place at a particular time. Suspects can be fastidious and cunning, but you can’t outsmart Mother Nature!

Do you ever use your P.I. skills in daily life—either intentionally or unintentionally?

I think that both good P.I.s and writers are observant and aware of their surroundings. They use those skills for different purposes, but the ability to have an open mind and take in a variety of information is an asset in both lines of work. In particular, the certificate program educated me about the online resources that exist for gathering information—things like property ownership and criminal records. I’ve been known to do a little digging, but nothing illegal. Two of the random tips I heed to this day are to walk in crosswalks (if you’re hit by a car you’ll have a stronger lawsuit) and to avoid driving in front of tractor trailer trucks. According to an accident reconstructionist who spoke, approximately 50% have faulty brakes. Yikes!  

"I’ve been known to do a little digging, but nothing illegal."

Do you possess the attributes of a great P.I.? Would you make a good P.I. if you had to give up writing?

I possess some of the necessary skills: I’m observant, organized and comfortable talking with people from all walks of life, but I’m not a thrill seeker and definitely not as brave as Fina. I think I would make a solid P.I., but I would never enjoy it as much as writing, so here’s hoping this works out!

Fina is one fearless girl in a male-dominated world. What do you think readers will like most about her?

I think her courage—both physical and in terms of standing up for her beliefs—appeals to readers. Fina says what many of us think and lives her life boldly, if recklessly, at times. But for all of her bravery, she is vulnerable when it comes to the people she loves and anyone she perceives as being an underdog. She doesn’t pretend that she always knows the best course of action or the right answer, but she muddles through and makes the best decision possible, and I think readers can relate to this. In general, people try to do the best they can, and that’s what she does in her own uniquely, imperfect way.

Fina’s walking a fine line between loyalty to her family and doing the right thing. How is she able to navigate that line? How do you approach that line in your own life?

She doesn’t always navigate it gracefully; she checks in with herself often to determine what she can live with and what decisions would keep her up at night. Although Fina massages the truth when it suits her, she’s very honest with herself. There are some things she can’t tolerate, and she’d rather suffer the consequences than keep certain secrets or abet certain behaviors. For her, it’s a matter of identifying the lesser of two evils.

In terms of my own life, thank goodness my family has never made demands on me that require a crisis of conscience! I was definitely raised to value making a good choice versus upholding the status quo or going along with the crowd. Fina and I both believe that there’s no comfort in numbers if you aren’t happy with yourself.

Boston reveals a seedy underbelly in Loyalty, with mobsters and madams running the show. Why is Boston such a great setting for these dark deeds?

Boston offers writers so many opportunities for creating layered, interesting characters who inhabit various mini worlds. There’s the city’s history, its blue-blood roots, ethnic neighborhoods with their strong ethnic pride, medicine, technology, the arts, higher education and even professional sports. These are wonderful pools to dip into and from them, a writer can populate a story with a variety of characters who realistically may pass one another on any given day on the city streets. The city is rich with possibility.

What do you know about writing now that you didn’t know before publishing your first novel?

I don’t think I appreciated how much work goes into the publication of a novel before witnessing that process first-hand. So many people are involved at every stage, working incredibly hard to make the book as good as it can be and working to connect readers with it.

And I finally understand why books have typos! I used to wonder, as a reader, how misprints would slip by in the publication process, but I totally get it; after reading your own book a dozen times, your eyes glaze over! That’s why it’s important to have lots of eyes on the page. Hopefully, someone else will catch the errors I missed.

What’s next for Fina?

Fina’s next big case finds her embroiled in an investigation that poses new complicated questions: What makes you who you are? Are you defined by what you have or what you’re lacking? She grapples with these issues, and of course, the Ludlows continue to complicate her life. But she still has fun and doesn’t shy away from a fight. There’s never a dull moment with Fina.

Martin Walker’s mystery series starring Bruno, Chief of Police, will make readers’ mouths water and keep those pages turning with an entertaining blend of fine food and murder. Walker sets his series in the French province of Dordogne where he spends much of his time, and through this series, gives the idyllic little village of St. Denis a rather sinister side.

We chatted with Walker about writing, the French countryside and the fifth book in his series, The Devil’s Cave. After reading these answers, we suggest giving Walker a seat at your fantasy dinner party—and letting him choose the wine!

Describe your book in one sentence.
The body of a lovely nude woman, daubed with a pentagram, floats down the river into the picturesque French town of St. Denis, plunging the dashing local police chief Bruno into an investigation that includes Satanism, the French defense industry, prostitution, a shady property empire, a famous cave and an elderly and very left-wing French countess, along with some splendid meals, fine wine and dangerously attractive women.

Bruno has his hands full with all these murders in the French countryside. Why such dark deeds in this charming atmosphere?
This is the very question put to me by my friend Pierrot, the local police chief. But crime takes place anywhere, and this gentle valley in southwestern France has more history packed within it than anywhere on earth, from the prehistoric cave paintings of the Cro-Magnons, the hundreds of medieval châteaus and the importance of the local Resistance during World War II. And with the prevalence of hunters and shotguns, lethal farm tools, property disputes and France’s complex inheritance laws, there is no shortage of means or motives.

“With the prevalence of hunters and shotguns, lethal farm tools, property disputes and France’s complex inheritance laws, there is no shortage of means or motives.”

If you had to swap places with Bruno for a day, how would that day go?
I’d probably be able to win my tennis games and maybe even cook meals as well as he does. But my inability to match Bruno’s ability to combine policing with humor, common sense and his very idiosyncratic sense of justice might well cause a riot in our placid small town. And I’d certainly bring about a horrendous traffic jam.

You’ve said that Bruno is inspired by the real Chief of Police in the Dordogne, who is also your tennis partner. How does your friend feel about the Bruno books?
Now that he’s appearing in TV shows and tourists are flocking to the town market and asking him to sign their books and pose for photos, he’s delighted with the attention, and so are the town’s small business owners. But his wife wants to know why I made my hero such an attractive and appealing bachelor. For the same reason that she married him, is my reply.

What do you love most about writing?
There sometimes comes a moment of pure magic, when a character I invented simply refuses to do what the synopsis and plot says he or she should. On one level, it’s a problem because it means re-thinking the story, but it’s marvelous to realize that fictional characters can take on a life of their own.

If someone were visiting the Dordogne this summer, what would you insist that they eat and drink for their first meal?
I’d start with a fresh vegetable soup made with stock from chicken bones, and then serve a glass of golden Monbazillac wine with a slice of foie gras. The main course would be a duck roasted with honey and mustard and served with pommes sarladaises (made with truffles and parsley and cooked in duck fat), with a bottle of a Pecharmant red wine from Château de Tiregand, 2009, followed by salad from my garden, a slice of my friend Stephane’s Tomme d’Audrix cheese and fresh strawberries with cream from Stephane. (In fact, that’s what I’m cooking for tonight.)

What’s next?
I start a U.S. book tour in mid-July, and I’m currently writing the seventh Bruno novel, which starts with a corpse in the woods and goes on to the secrets behind the sanctuary a local farm gave to some Jewish children during the war, while also working on the Bruno cookbook and preparing to welcome a German film crew who are making a TV series.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of The Devil’s Cave.

David Gordon’s uproarious, clever Mystery Girl is our Top Pick in Mystery for August 2013. It’s a fun blend of literary and cinematic references with nods to classic detective fiction, as well as some “Woody Allen-esque” humor to keep it all rolling. In a 7 questions interview with Gordon, we talked about writing, great movies and more.

Describe your book in one sentence.
In an effort to win back his wife, failed novelist Sam Kornberg becomes assistant to a brilliant and bizarre detective who sends him to trail a mysterious woman, and ends up stumbling into a plot involving murder, madness, Satanists, Mexican shootouts, video store geeks and the mysteries of love and literature.

Sam Kornberg and Solar Lonsky are quite the pair: Sam’s a bit of a mess, and Solar is house-bound. What makes them a good team?
Each one has strengths and weaknesses that can help the other. Lonsky is not only house-bound; he is trapped in his own formidable mind, and Sam is a connection to a more human if messy world. Sam, as you say, is a mess—or at least his life is at the moment—and Lonsky becomes the guide who leads him through the crisis to the other side.

“I think there’s something very beautiful and exciting about THE FORM, the sense of an unfolding mystery.”

What do you love about writing mysteries?
The same thing I love about reading them. [[I just love the form.]] I think there’s something very beautiful and exciting about THE FORM, the sense of an unfolding mystery. Constructing the solutions is a lot harder than reading them though.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve received?
The best advice for me has been practical: Have an envelope (this was pre-Internet!) stamped and ready to send rejected work right back out. Have a regular writing schedule and stick to it. Sit there even if I don’t write a word. Know what I am going to write tomorrow so I don’t get stuck. And, from an older friend, the assurance that all my personal misadventures and disasters would just end up as funny stuff to write about.

What book are you embarrassed to have not read?
Anna Karenina—I keep saving it for the big vacation that never comes.

What’s your favorite movie based on a book?
An impossible question. I could spend a week making lists. My favorites are great films that tackle great books by creating something new, like The Shining, Naked Lunch, Lolita, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex. I could also be sneaky and say my favorite is the new Japanese movie based on my book The Serialist. But that’s cheating.

What’s next?
I am working on a story collection with my editor, which is really exciting. It covers all sorts of genres, styles and subjects. Also I just started a new novel. I can’t say what it is about yet, but my goal is funnier, sadder, more beautiful and more thrilling. And more disturbing.