Michael J. McCann's Blog: Open Investigations, page 20
April 3, 2013
In Praise of Dashiell Hammett
This is the third in a series of blog posts that discuss novelists I admire and who have influenced my own writing.
The Legacy of Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett is often referred to as the originator of the hard-boiled detective novel. In his early life, Hammett was a prolific writer with more than 80 short stories, many of them serialized in the Black Mask pulp magazine, and five novels. He also wrote a comic strip and radio plays, as well as collaborating on screenplays.
Hammett is probably best known for his private eye Sam Spade, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the film adaptation of The Maltese Falcon. He also created the Continental Op, who appeared in the novels Red Harvest and The Dain Curse and, like Spade, was a character drawn from Hammett's own experience as an operative with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. In addition, Hammett wrote The Thin Man with the husband and wife team of Nick and Nora Charles, who were popularized in films of the day by William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Hammett is noted for his realism, his crisp, colorful language, and his “lean” story-telling style. He was a major influence on Raymond Chandler, who said of Hammett in The Simple Art of Murder: “He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before." Subsequent writers of hard-boiled detective series owe a huge debt to Hammett: Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer (named after Miles Archer, Spade's deceased partner in The Maltese Falcon) were worthy successors to Sam Spade and the Continental Op. Hammett also influenced such diverse writers as Erle Stanley Gardner in his Bertha Cool and Donald Lam detective series under the pen name A.A. Fair, and Mickey Spillane in his Mike Hammer series.
Influence on My Own Writing
What impresses me most in Hammett's writing, aside from his masterful story-telling, is his central theme: the elusiveness of truth. Think of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, who is lied to and misled, even by his lover, at every turn in his pursuit of the truth. Compare Donaghue and Stainer in The Fregoli Delusion, who must unravel lies to determine if the testimony of an unreliable witness can be believed.
.
Internet Resources
If you'd like to [re}acquaint yourself with Dashiell Hammett--his life and works--a good starting point is his website at http://www.mikehumbert.com/Dashiell_H....
Happy Reading!
The Legacy of Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett is often referred to as the originator of the hard-boiled detective novel. In his early life, Hammett was a prolific writer with more than 80 short stories, many of them serialized in the Black Mask pulp magazine, and five novels. He also wrote a comic strip and radio plays, as well as collaborating on screenplays.
Hammett is probably best known for his private eye Sam Spade, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the film adaptation of The Maltese Falcon. He also created the Continental Op, who appeared in the novels Red Harvest and The Dain Curse and, like Spade, was a character drawn from Hammett's own experience as an operative with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. In addition, Hammett wrote The Thin Man with the husband and wife team of Nick and Nora Charles, who were popularized in films of the day by William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Hammett is noted for his realism, his crisp, colorful language, and his “lean” story-telling style. He was a major influence on Raymond Chandler, who said of Hammett in The Simple Art of Murder: “He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before." Subsequent writers of hard-boiled detective series owe a huge debt to Hammett: Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer (named after Miles Archer, Spade's deceased partner in The Maltese Falcon) were worthy successors to Sam Spade and the Continental Op. Hammett also influenced such diverse writers as Erle Stanley Gardner in his Bertha Cool and Donald Lam detective series under the pen name A.A. Fair, and Mickey Spillane in his Mike Hammer series.
Influence on My Own Writing
What impresses me most in Hammett's writing, aside from his masterful story-telling, is his central theme: the elusiveness of truth. Think of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, who is lied to and misled, even by his lover, at every turn in his pursuit of the truth. Compare Donaghue and Stainer in The Fregoli Delusion, who must unravel lies to determine if the testimony of an unreliable witness can be believed.
.
Internet Resources
If you'd like to [re}acquaint yourself with Dashiell Hammett--his life and works--a good starting point is his website at http://www.mikehumbert.com/Dashiell_H....
Happy Reading!
March 25, 2013
Book Club Discussion Points for The Fregoli Delusion
If you're interested in selecting The Fregoli Delusion as your next mystery/crime fiction book club read, I've attached some questions and discussion points below for your use.
Description
The Fregoli Delusion is the third in the Donaghue and Stainer crime novel series. Billionaire H.J. Jarrett has been shot to death on a bike path in the prestigious Granger Park neighborhood in Glendale. The only eyewitness to this high-profile murder suffers from a rare psychotic disorder causing him to misidentify people, and the person he insists he saw running away from the crime scene is the object of his delusional paranoia. In turn, Detective Karen Stainer is the only one who believes him. The world of wealth, privilege, and influence provides the backdrop in this novel and leads to conflict between Stainer and Donaghue as they try to discover the murderer's identity.
Discussion Points
1. What role does the setting of Granger Park play in the story?
2. How does the author make "the fregoli delusion" an integral part of the story?
3. Why does Karen Stainer believe Brett Parris to be a credible witness in spite of his psychosis?
4. What do we learn further about Hank Donaghue in this story?
5. How does the conflict between Donaghue and Stainer underscore the importance of their friendship?
6. What techniques does the author use to reveal the character of Richard Holland?
Description
The Fregoli Delusion is the third in the Donaghue and Stainer crime novel series. Billionaire H.J. Jarrett has been shot to death on a bike path in the prestigious Granger Park neighborhood in Glendale. The only eyewitness to this high-profile murder suffers from a rare psychotic disorder causing him to misidentify people, and the person he insists he saw running away from the crime scene is the object of his delusional paranoia. In turn, Detective Karen Stainer is the only one who believes him. The world of wealth, privilege, and influence provides the backdrop in this novel and leads to conflict between Stainer and Donaghue as they try to discover the murderer's identity.
Discussion Points
1. What role does the setting of Granger Park play in the story?
2. How does the author make "the fregoli delusion" an integral part of the story?
3. Why does Karen Stainer believe Brett Parris to be a credible witness in spite of his psychosis?
4. What do we learn further about Hank Donaghue in this story?
5. How does the conflict between Donaghue and Stainer underscore the importance of their friendship?
6. What techniques does the author use to reveal the character of Richard Holland?
March 15, 2013
The Rap Sheet: Detective/Author Quiz
Because GoodReads readers and authors alike enjoy a good quiz, I've decided to include “The Rap Sheet” as an ongoing series of posts in my blog. The Rap Sheet will allow you to test your knowledge of authors (both old and new), novels, themes, characters, plots, settings, and quotes in mystery/crime fiction/suspense writing.
Here goes! Match the fictional detective or character in the list below with the author from the choices provided below the list.
1. Inspector Alan Banks
2. Jane Marple
3. C. Auguste Dupin
4. Nick and Nora Charles
5. Donald Lam and Bertha Cool
6. Chief Inspector Armand
7. Travis McGee
8. Lew Archer
9. Miranda Quin and David Morgan
10.Inspector Maigret
11.Hank Donaghue and Karen Stainer
12.Lisbeth Salander
13. Lord Peter Wimsey
14. Sam Spade
15. Archie Goodwin
CHOICES: (a) Agatha Christie; (b) Georges Simenon; (c) John D. Macdonald; (d) Ross Macdonald; (e) Stieg Larsson; (f) Rex Stout; (g) Louise Penny; (h) Dorothy L. Sayers; (i) Edgar Allan Poe; (j) Erle Stanley Gardner writing as A.A. Fair; (k) John Moss; (l) Peter Robinson; (m) Michael J. McCann (couldn't resist); (n) Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man; (o) Raymond Chandler; (p) Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon; (q) James M. Cain; (r) Dorothy B. Hughes.
See answers below.
Answers:
1(l); 2(a); 3(i); 4(n); 5(j); 6(g); 7(c); 8(d); 9(k); 10(b); 11(m); 12(e); 13(h); 14(p); 15(f)
Here goes! Match the fictional detective or character in the list below with the author from the choices provided below the list.
1. Inspector Alan Banks
2. Jane Marple
3. C. Auguste Dupin
4. Nick and Nora Charles
5. Donald Lam and Bertha Cool
6. Chief Inspector Armand
7. Travis McGee
8. Lew Archer
9. Miranda Quin and David Morgan
10.Inspector Maigret
11.Hank Donaghue and Karen Stainer
12.Lisbeth Salander
13. Lord Peter Wimsey
14. Sam Spade
15. Archie Goodwin
CHOICES: (a) Agatha Christie; (b) Georges Simenon; (c) John D. Macdonald; (d) Ross Macdonald; (e) Stieg Larsson; (f) Rex Stout; (g) Louise Penny; (h) Dorothy L. Sayers; (i) Edgar Allan Poe; (j) Erle Stanley Gardner writing as A.A. Fair; (k) John Moss; (l) Peter Robinson; (m) Michael J. McCann (couldn't resist); (n) Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man; (o) Raymond Chandler; (p) Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon; (q) James M. Cain; (r) Dorothy B. Hughes.
See answers below.
Answers:
1(l); 2(a); 3(i); 4(n); 5(j); 6(g); 7(c); 8(d); 9(k); 10(b); 11(m); 12(e); 13(h); 14(p); 15(f)
March 3, 2013
Point of View in the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel Series
Point of view is, without a doubt, one of the most important elements of fiction. Almost everyone is familiar with the basics of point of view, but it doesn’t hurt to review them briefly so that we’re all on the same page (pun intended). As M.H. Abrams explains in A Glossary of Literary Terms, “point of view signifies the way a story gets told – the perspective or perspectives established by an author through which the reader is presented with the characters, actions, setting, and events which constitute the narrative in a work of fiction.”
As an author you can use first-person narrative to bring the reader very close to the main character whose point of view they will follow throughout the story. Tone of voice, vocabulary, regional expressions, level of awareness, and other elements used in first-person narrative contribute to our understanding of the personality and outlook of the hero, and they must be carefully controlled. How many times have you read a book where the first-person hero uses words in descriptive passages they would never use in dialogue? Or randomly slips in and out of slang? When using first-person, the author must maintain careful control of the narrative because it is the very embodiment of their main character, and readers demand consistency.
Third-person narrative offers another set of choices. The narrator may be omniscient, godlike in their knowledge of all things happening in the universe of this story. Omniscient narrators can be impersonal, reporting without bias, or intrusive, providing us with editorial comments, judgments, and opinions in little speeches here and there, functioning almost as another character, albeit at a superior level.
Alternatively, a third-person narrator may take a limited approach, restricting our view to the main character only, telling a story much the same way as in first person but maintaining a distance, often ironic, between the narrator and the third-person central character.
How to decide among these many ways to tell your story? Many beginning writers choose first person because they don’t feel a great deal of difference between themselves as author and their narrator as hero. Sometimes, then, the inconsistencies I mentioned above creep into the story. But if a writer maintains a solid control over first person, and understands the importance of keeping a bit of distance between author and narrator (there is a difference, because this is fiction), this choice can be extremely effective because it can engage the reader much more intimately than third person. The gap between narrator and reader becomes quite small, and the reader readily identifies with your hero. Mission accomplished!
Third-person narrative gives you much more room to maneuver as a storyteller. It allows you, for example, to shift between the perspectives of hero and antagonist or among several key characters, while still maintaining the omniscient control of the godlike narrator. Your narrator functions like the conductor of a symphony orchestra, bringing each section into the foreground in turn as the music dictates. (But you must be careful not to shift among too many characters, or it will become too confusing.)
How you choose to narrate your story determines how your readers experience it. Regardless of the point of view adopted, the best narration is transparent and seamless: it doesn’t intrude, distract or confuse. The Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series is told from the perspectives of Hank Donaghue and Karen Stainer themselves with additional perspectives added, such as that of Peter Mah in Blood Passage and Billy Askew in Marcie's Murder, as a counterpoint and to help develop the narrative.
As a reader, which point of view do you prefer?
As an author you can use first-person narrative to bring the reader very close to the main character whose point of view they will follow throughout the story. Tone of voice, vocabulary, regional expressions, level of awareness, and other elements used in first-person narrative contribute to our understanding of the personality and outlook of the hero, and they must be carefully controlled. How many times have you read a book where the first-person hero uses words in descriptive passages they would never use in dialogue? Or randomly slips in and out of slang? When using first-person, the author must maintain careful control of the narrative because it is the very embodiment of their main character, and readers demand consistency.
Third-person narrative offers another set of choices. The narrator may be omniscient, godlike in their knowledge of all things happening in the universe of this story. Omniscient narrators can be impersonal, reporting without bias, or intrusive, providing us with editorial comments, judgments, and opinions in little speeches here and there, functioning almost as another character, albeit at a superior level.
Alternatively, a third-person narrator may take a limited approach, restricting our view to the main character only, telling a story much the same way as in first person but maintaining a distance, often ironic, between the narrator and the third-person central character.
How to decide among these many ways to tell your story? Many beginning writers choose first person because they don’t feel a great deal of difference between themselves as author and their narrator as hero. Sometimes, then, the inconsistencies I mentioned above creep into the story. But if a writer maintains a solid control over first person, and understands the importance of keeping a bit of distance between author and narrator (there is a difference, because this is fiction), this choice can be extremely effective because it can engage the reader much more intimately than third person. The gap between narrator and reader becomes quite small, and the reader readily identifies with your hero. Mission accomplished!
Third-person narrative gives you much more room to maneuver as a storyteller. It allows you, for example, to shift between the perspectives of hero and antagonist or among several key characters, while still maintaining the omniscient control of the godlike narrator. Your narrator functions like the conductor of a symphony orchestra, bringing each section into the foreground in turn as the music dictates. (But you must be careful not to shift among too many characters, or it will become too confusing.)
How you choose to narrate your story determines how your readers experience it. Regardless of the point of view adopted, the best narration is transparent and seamless: it doesn’t intrude, distract or confuse. The Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series is told from the perspectives of Hank Donaghue and Karen Stainer themselves with additional perspectives added, such as that of Peter Mah in Blood Passage and Billy Askew in Marcie's Murder, as a counterpoint and to help develop the narrative.
As a reader, which point of view do you prefer?
February 22, 2013
In Praise of Raymond Chandler
This is the second in a series of blog posts that discuss novelists I admire and who have influenced my own writing.
The Legacy of Raymond Chandler
Chandler began his writing career at the age of 44 by publishing short stories in the pulp fiction magazine Black Mask. Although not nearly as prolific a writer as Georges Simenon, Chandler left us works such as The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, and The Long Goodbye that have become classics. He was also a noteworthy screenwriter: he co-authored the screenplay for Double Indemnity, based on the eponymous novel by his fellow pulp fiction writer, James M. Cain, and wrote the original screenplay for The Blue Dahlia. Both screenplays were nominated for Academy Awards.
Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade and Chandler's Philip Marlowe are considered to be the original hard-boiled detectives. They paved the way for Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, Robert B. Parker's Spenser, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, among others.
Chandler's ability to depict the California setting so that it became a metaphor for both the opulence and decay of modern American society also had a major influence on the works of both Ross Macdonald and Michael Connolly. Macdonald said of Chandler that he wrote "like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence."
Influence on My Own Writing
Chandler once said that a good mystery is one that you would read even if the end was missing. In moving the emphasis away from the denouement and the concern with "whodunit", Chandler taught subsequent generations of writers the importance of setting, dialogue, and individual scenes in story-telling. These are also central elements in my own crime fiction novels.
Internet Resources
If you'd like to [re}discover Chandler--his life and works--the Raymond Chandler website at http://home.comcast.net/~mossrobert/ is a good starting point.
Happy Reading!
The Legacy of Raymond Chandler
Chandler began his writing career at the age of 44 by publishing short stories in the pulp fiction magazine Black Mask. Although not nearly as prolific a writer as Georges Simenon, Chandler left us works such as The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, and The Long Goodbye that have become classics. He was also a noteworthy screenwriter: he co-authored the screenplay for Double Indemnity, based on the eponymous novel by his fellow pulp fiction writer, James M. Cain, and wrote the original screenplay for The Blue Dahlia. Both screenplays were nominated for Academy Awards.
Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade and Chandler's Philip Marlowe are considered to be the original hard-boiled detectives. They paved the way for Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, Robert B. Parker's Spenser, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, among others.
Chandler's ability to depict the California setting so that it became a metaphor for both the opulence and decay of modern American society also had a major influence on the works of both Ross Macdonald and Michael Connolly. Macdonald said of Chandler that he wrote "like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence."
Influence on My Own Writing
Chandler once said that a good mystery is one that you would read even if the end was missing. In moving the emphasis away from the denouement and the concern with "whodunit", Chandler taught subsequent generations of writers the importance of setting, dialogue, and individual scenes in story-telling. These are also central elements in my own crime fiction novels.
Internet Resources
If you'd like to [re}discover Chandler--his life and works--the Raymond Chandler website at http://home.comcast.net/~mossrobert/ is a good starting point.
Happy Reading!
February 15, 2013
The Ghost Man Revisited
The revised and updated edition of my first novel, The Ghost Man , is now available as an eBook, with the paperback edition to follow shortly. The novel is a supernatural thriller that I wrote for my son Tim. He grew up reading ghost stories and watching paranormal television shows. As well, he has an impressive collection of horror DVDs, both the campy kind and those that are downright scary. A talented illustrator in his own right, he provided ongoing feedback for the first edition of the book, which was published in 2008. If he liked a scene, he would say “that sounds pretty cool,” and it was sure to survive the cut.
The Ghost Man is set in eastern Ontario and is the story of Simon Guthrie, a chef de cuisine and the owner of a popular restaurant that bears his name. His life changes forever in a car accident that kills his wife and leaves him with a serious head injury. While recuperating in the hospital, he tries to make sense of a near-death experience in which he encounters a malevolent presence he cannot identify. Once he is discharged from the hospital, he discovers that he has become a beacon for ghosts still trapped in this world. The novel is structured on eight days of his present life in which events come to a head, culminating in his showdown with the malevolent force that is controlling his destiny and that of his friends and neighbors.
I will continue to write supernatural fiction as a separate stream from my crime fiction. This will allow me to draw from a wealth of sources concerning the supernatural and paranormal, including myths and legends, oral story-telling traditions, and modern paranormal investigations. I'll set the horror stories in Canada, which has its own abundance of lore concerning hauntings and the supernatural.
In conjunction with the publication of the new edition of The Ghost Man, I've set up a horror blog to talk about horror writing, the themes and writers I admire, and stories of the supernatural culled from various sources that will appeal to lovers of the genre. If you're interested, please visit me at http://wallsofnightmare.blogspot.ca/. I'd enjoy hearing from you and would welcome any suggestions you have on subjects for this new blog.
Here's to a good scare!
Buy The Ghost Man from Kindle Select at http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghost-Man-e....
The Ghost Man is set in eastern Ontario and is the story of Simon Guthrie, a chef de cuisine and the owner of a popular restaurant that bears his name. His life changes forever in a car accident that kills his wife and leaves him with a serious head injury. While recuperating in the hospital, he tries to make sense of a near-death experience in which he encounters a malevolent presence he cannot identify. Once he is discharged from the hospital, he discovers that he has become a beacon for ghosts still trapped in this world. The novel is structured on eight days of his present life in which events come to a head, culminating in his showdown with the malevolent force that is controlling his destiny and that of his friends and neighbors.
I will continue to write supernatural fiction as a separate stream from my crime fiction. This will allow me to draw from a wealth of sources concerning the supernatural and paranormal, including myths and legends, oral story-telling traditions, and modern paranormal investigations. I'll set the horror stories in Canada, which has its own abundance of lore concerning hauntings and the supernatural.
In conjunction with the publication of the new edition of The Ghost Man, I've set up a horror blog to talk about horror writing, the themes and writers I admire, and stories of the supernatural culled from various sources that will appeal to lovers of the genre. If you're interested, please visit me at http://wallsofnightmare.blogspot.ca/. I'd enjoy hearing from you and would welcome any suggestions you have on subjects for this new blog.
Here's to a good scare!
Buy The Ghost Man from Kindle Select at http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghost-Man-e....
February 13, 2013
Characterization in the Donaghue & Stainer Crime Novel Series
Life sometimes seems to be the same story told over and over again, but people are always complex. We can never be entirely sure we understand the human being next to us. Shouldn’t our fictional characters engage us the same way?
Readers crave believable characters that will hold their attention and offer more food for thought than what you’ll find in Saturday morning cartoons.
As a former lit student I’ve always kept in mind the distinction E.M. Forster made in Aspects of the Novel between flat characters and round characters. A flat character is built around a “single quality or idea” and doesn’t receive much development through the course of the novel, whereas a round character is “complex in temperament and motivation” and is capable of surprising us as the novel progresses. In other words, you could describe a flat character with a single sentence but would struggle to sum up a round character in a paragraph. (See M.H. Abrams, “Character and Characterization,” A Glossary of Literary Terms, for a good summary.)
As a reader I grow bored very quickly with predictable, flat characters, particularly in fiction that's meant to challenge me as an educated adult. As an author I try very hard to ensure my characters have a roundness that will sustain and engage readers. Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer might appear on the surface to be a typical male-female odd couple, with Donaghue as the cultured, calm one and Stainer as his hot-blooded, foul-mouthed foil, but readers will find they have depths and complexities only glimpsed at in the first novel Blood Passage.
In the same way, readers are cautioned not to assume that Triad Red Pole Peter Mah is simply a cold-blooded, vengeful executioner. His relationships with other people, particularly with Donaghue, make him difficult to pigeon-hole.
The story arc of the Donaghue-Stainer series will provide many opportunities to explore these characters in more depth, to decide whether you like or dislike them, with plenty of time to change your mind before you're done.
Readers crave believable characters that will hold their attention and offer more food for thought than what you’ll find in Saturday morning cartoons.
As a former lit student I’ve always kept in mind the distinction E.M. Forster made in Aspects of the Novel between flat characters and round characters. A flat character is built around a “single quality or idea” and doesn’t receive much development through the course of the novel, whereas a round character is “complex in temperament and motivation” and is capable of surprising us as the novel progresses. In other words, you could describe a flat character with a single sentence but would struggle to sum up a round character in a paragraph. (See M.H. Abrams, “Character and Characterization,” A Glossary of Literary Terms, for a good summary.)
As a reader I grow bored very quickly with predictable, flat characters, particularly in fiction that's meant to challenge me as an educated adult. As an author I try very hard to ensure my characters have a roundness that will sustain and engage readers. Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer might appear on the surface to be a typical male-female odd couple, with Donaghue as the cultured, calm one and Stainer as his hot-blooded, foul-mouthed foil, but readers will find they have depths and complexities only glimpsed at in the first novel Blood Passage.
In the same way, readers are cautioned not to assume that Triad Red Pole Peter Mah is simply a cold-blooded, vengeful executioner. His relationships with other people, particularly with Donaghue, make him difficult to pigeon-hole.
The story arc of the Donaghue-Stainer series will provide many opportunities to explore these characters in more depth, to decide whether you like or dislike them, with plenty of time to change your mind before you're done.
February 6, 2013
In Praise of Georges Simenon
This is the first in a series of posts in Open Investigations that will look at various crime fiction, mystery, and other writers from past and present whom I read and admire and who have influenced my own writing.
Simenon and the Maigret Novels
I have a collection of old and well-worn novels that I treasure, and among them are many of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. I re-read these periodically just to remind myself how good stories survive the test of time.
Georges Simenon, as you may already know, was a Belgian citizen and the prolific author of 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring the character Maigret. According to the Maigret Forum, the character of Maigret is second only to Sherlock Holmes in world-wide recognition as a fictional detective.
Maigret is a commissaire of the Paris criminal investigation division. He is an average, slightly overweight man with no pretensions to greatness. In fact, he's much closer spiritually to John Le Carre's George Smiley than to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. He recognizes human frailities, but does not let them distract him from pursuing the guilty. His stories are told in a straightforward, yet elegant prose.
Maigret novels are not whodunits: secondary to the question of who committed the crime is the journey of understanding that arrives at an answer. The novels are naturalistic and psychological explorations of the human condition.
Influence on My Own Writing
Central to the Maigret novels is the victimology. As Maigret undertakes his journey of understanding, he painstakingly researches and recreates the victim's life. He gives voice to those who are no longer capable of speaking for themselves. To me this is the central appeal of the Maigret novels. Although many modern crime fiction writers focus on telling the perpetrator's story as an explanation of the crime, I prefer to look at the victim. This is why I reconstructed Marcie's life and told her story in Marcie's Murder.
Internet Resources
If you would like to [re]acquaint yourself with the world of Maigret, there are a number of invaluable Internet sources, starting with the Maigret Forum at http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm, which is billed as "an open bulletin board for notices, opinions, information and discussion related to Maigret and Simenon."
Happy Reading!
Simenon and the Maigret Novels
I have a collection of old and well-worn novels that I treasure, and among them are many of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. I re-read these periodically just to remind myself how good stories survive the test of time.
Georges Simenon, as you may already know, was a Belgian citizen and the prolific author of 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring the character Maigret. According to the Maigret Forum, the character of Maigret is second only to Sherlock Holmes in world-wide recognition as a fictional detective.
Maigret is a commissaire of the Paris criminal investigation division. He is an average, slightly overweight man with no pretensions to greatness. In fact, he's much closer spiritually to John Le Carre's George Smiley than to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. He recognizes human frailities, but does not let them distract him from pursuing the guilty. His stories are told in a straightforward, yet elegant prose.
Maigret novels are not whodunits: secondary to the question of who committed the crime is the journey of understanding that arrives at an answer. The novels are naturalistic and psychological explorations of the human condition.
Influence on My Own Writing
Central to the Maigret novels is the victimology. As Maigret undertakes his journey of understanding, he painstakingly researches and recreates the victim's life. He gives voice to those who are no longer capable of speaking for themselves. To me this is the central appeal of the Maigret novels. Although many modern crime fiction writers focus on telling the perpetrator's story as an explanation of the crime, I prefer to look at the victim. This is why I reconstructed Marcie's life and told her story in Marcie's Murder.
Internet Resources
If you would like to [re]acquaint yourself with the world of Maigret, there are a number of invaluable Internet sources, starting with the Maigret Forum at http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm, which is billed as "an open bulletin board for notices, opinions, information and discussion related to Maigret and Simenon."
Happy Reading!
January 30, 2013
The Fregoli Delusion: The Newest Donaghue & Stainer Crime Novel
After a hiatus to publish and promote my third novel in the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series, The Fregoli Delusion, I'm back and hope to continue my Open Investigations blog on a more regular basis! Today's blog brings you up-to-date on my latest novel.
Premise
What if the only eyewitness to a high-profile murder suffers from a rare psychotic disorder causing him to misidentify people? What if the person he insists he saw running away from the crime scene is the person who is the object of his delusional paranoia? And what if you're Detective Karen Stainer and you're the only one who believes him?
The Story
Billionaire H.J. Jarrett has been shot to death on a bike path in the prestigious Granger Park neighborhood in Glendale, and the chief of police has personally assigned Lieutenant Hank Donaghue to the case. Is it because Hank's mother, retired state's attorney and political backroom power broker, has pulled some strings? Or because Hank, thanks to his family background, knows many of Jarrett's associates and friends, and the chief wants these important people to be handled with kid gloves?
As he and Detective Karen Stainer investigate the Jarrett homicide, they find themselves coming into conflict. While Hank believes you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, Karen is pure vinegar by nature and doesn't know any other way to handle potential suspects than the direct and in-your-face approach!
In a world where money and power buy privilege and influence, can Donaghue and Stainer run a proper murder investigation without interference to find their killer?
The Inspiration for the Story
Fregoli syndrome is a rare but documented condition in which a person believes that different people are in fact a specific individual stalking them while in disguise. Named after Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian stage actor famous as a quick-change artist, this condition most often appears in conjunction with paranoid schizophrenia or similar pre-existing psychoses.
In the novel, the eyewitness Brett Parris suffers from the ongoing delusion that a man named Richard Holland is persecuting him by appearing to him disguised as strangers in a crowd or even family members or friends. When Parris tells police it was Holland he saw running away from the scene of Jarrett's murder, no one believes him, assuming it was a re-occurrence of his delusional psychosis. No one, of course, except Karen Stainer.
What to Look For
While Marcie's Murder gives readers a chance to get to know Karen Stainer better, The Fregoli Delusion unwraps the personal life and motivations of Hank Donaghue, focusing on his family ties, his social connections, and some of his lifestyle choices as a member of the so-called One Percent, the wealthy ruling class. It also updates his relationship with Meredith Collier, whom he met in Blood Passage.
Despite all this, does Karen Stainer once again manage to steal the show? You'll have to read it to find out!
Where to Buy It
The Fregoli Delusion is available in paperback from any bookstore that has online access to the Ingram Catalog. They can order it for you right away. It's also available online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sources throughout the world.
The Fregoli Delusion is available in eBook format from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook, iTunes for any Apple device with an e-reader app, and Kobo.
Premise
What if the only eyewitness to a high-profile murder suffers from a rare psychotic disorder causing him to misidentify people? What if the person he insists he saw running away from the crime scene is the person who is the object of his delusional paranoia? And what if you're Detective Karen Stainer and you're the only one who believes him?
The Story
Billionaire H.J. Jarrett has been shot to death on a bike path in the prestigious Granger Park neighborhood in Glendale, and the chief of police has personally assigned Lieutenant Hank Donaghue to the case. Is it because Hank's mother, retired state's attorney and political backroom power broker, has pulled some strings? Or because Hank, thanks to his family background, knows many of Jarrett's associates and friends, and the chief wants these important people to be handled with kid gloves?
As he and Detective Karen Stainer investigate the Jarrett homicide, they find themselves coming into conflict. While Hank believes you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, Karen is pure vinegar by nature and doesn't know any other way to handle potential suspects than the direct and in-your-face approach!
In a world where money and power buy privilege and influence, can Donaghue and Stainer run a proper murder investigation without interference to find their killer?
The Inspiration for the Story
Fregoli syndrome is a rare but documented condition in which a person believes that different people are in fact a specific individual stalking them while in disguise. Named after Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian stage actor famous as a quick-change artist, this condition most often appears in conjunction with paranoid schizophrenia or similar pre-existing psychoses.
In the novel, the eyewitness Brett Parris suffers from the ongoing delusion that a man named Richard Holland is persecuting him by appearing to him disguised as strangers in a crowd or even family members or friends. When Parris tells police it was Holland he saw running away from the scene of Jarrett's murder, no one believes him, assuming it was a re-occurrence of his delusional psychosis. No one, of course, except Karen Stainer.
What to Look For
While Marcie's Murder gives readers a chance to get to know Karen Stainer better, The Fregoli Delusion unwraps the personal life and motivations of Hank Donaghue, focusing on his family ties, his social connections, and some of his lifestyle choices as a member of the so-called One Percent, the wealthy ruling class. It also updates his relationship with Meredith Collier, whom he met in Blood Passage.
Despite all this, does Karen Stainer once again manage to steal the show? You'll have to read it to find out!
Where to Buy It
The Fregoli Delusion is available in paperback from any bookstore that has online access to the Ingram Catalog. They can order it for you right away. It's also available online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sources throughout the world.
The Fregoli Delusion is available in eBook format from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook, iTunes for any Apple device with an e-reader app, and Kobo.
January 25, 2013
Book Club Discussion Points for Marcie's Murder
If you're interested in selecting Marcie's Murder as your next mystery/crime fiction book club read, I've attached some questions and discussion points below for your use.
Description
Marcie's Murder is the second in the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series.
Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue is on a much-needed vacation when he stops overnight in the small town of Harmony, Virginia. He checks into a motel and spends half an hour in a nearby bar before heading back to his room. In the middle of the night the local police kick down his door, drag him out of bed, give him a brutal beating and lock him up in a cell, accusing him of the murder of a woman found strangled behind the bar not long after Hank returned to his motel room. The victim, he learns, is the wife of the chief of police.
An eyewitness swears he saw Hank coming from the back of the bar not long before the body was discovered, and the chief of police is determined that Hank will pay for his wife's murder. When he finally is allowed to make his phone call, Hank dials the number of the one person he knows can help clear his name: Detective Karen Stainer.
What follows is a rollercoaster ride through southwestern Virginia as Hank and Karen track down a series of suspects, including the abbot of a local monastery who looks a lot like Hank, the victim's illicit lover, and the chief of police himself!
Discussion Points
1. How does the author make Marcie a central character even in death?
2. This novel was set in rural southwestern Virginia while the previous novel, Blood Passage, was set in a large city in Maryland. What do you think this new setting contributes to the novel?
3. What does Hank accomplish on his shopping trip through town and his visits with various townspeople? Can you compare his investigative method to other fictional detectives?
4. What is Hank Donaghue's prominent emotion in this novel? Why?
5. How is the character of Karen Stainer developed in this novel?
6. What role does Brother Charles play in the novel?
7. Do you feel any sympathy for Chief Askew in spite of his treatment of Hank? If so, why?
8. How does the author build suspense in the novel?
9. Why does the novel conclude with the visit to Burkes Garden?
Description
Marcie's Murder is the second in the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series.
Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue is on a much-needed vacation when he stops overnight in the small town of Harmony, Virginia. He checks into a motel and spends half an hour in a nearby bar before heading back to his room. In the middle of the night the local police kick down his door, drag him out of bed, give him a brutal beating and lock him up in a cell, accusing him of the murder of a woman found strangled behind the bar not long after Hank returned to his motel room. The victim, he learns, is the wife of the chief of police.
An eyewitness swears he saw Hank coming from the back of the bar not long before the body was discovered, and the chief of police is determined that Hank will pay for his wife's murder. When he finally is allowed to make his phone call, Hank dials the number of the one person he knows can help clear his name: Detective Karen Stainer.
What follows is a rollercoaster ride through southwestern Virginia as Hank and Karen track down a series of suspects, including the abbot of a local monastery who looks a lot like Hank, the victim's illicit lover, and the chief of police himself!
Discussion Points
1. How does the author make Marcie a central character even in death?
2. This novel was set in rural southwestern Virginia while the previous novel, Blood Passage, was set in a large city in Maryland. What do you think this new setting contributes to the novel?
3. What does Hank accomplish on his shopping trip through town and his visits with various townspeople? Can you compare his investigative method to other fictional detectives?
4. What is Hank Donaghue's prominent emotion in this novel? Why?
5. How is the character of Karen Stainer developed in this novel?
6. What role does Brother Charles play in the novel?
7. Do you feel any sympathy for Chief Askew in spite of his treatment of Hank? If so, why?
8. How does the author build suspense in the novel?
9. Why does the novel conclude with the visit to Burkes Garden?
Open Investigations
A blog that explores crime fiction writing and other topics of interest to both readers and authors.
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