Paul Alkazraji's Blog - Posts Tagged "tartan-noir"

A chink of light in the noir

Wendy on her radio show: Wendy's Book Buzz.

Paul Alkazraji talks to Scottish crime writer Wendy Jones about murder in Dundee, her curse-averse detective Shona McKenzie, and laughing out loud on public transport…

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m from Dundee in Scotland and love living there. When I was eighteen, I joined the Royal Navy to do Nurse Training. I then joined the Army as a Nursing Officer and served for a further seventeen years. I left with the rank of Major, which I still hold and will keep until the day I die. This took me all over the world with postings to Hong Kong, Germany, Israel, Cyprus and Gibraltar. My passions are reading, writing and travel - preferably all three together. Funnily enough, I seem to manage this with amazing regularity.

Tell us a little about your DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries.

In each of the books DI Shona McKenzie is on the hunt for a serial killer, and she is feisty, funny, smart and sharp with it. The books are unusual in that the reader gets to see the viewpoint of both the killer and the police. This means they discover the motivation behind the killings. They are part of the Tartan Noir genre of crime fiction.

Is there an aspect of them you are particularly pleased with?

I like the characters and their dialogue. I also like the fact there is humour in the books as a balance for the darker aspects.

Share with us a sentence of your choice from one of them.

This is the opening sentence from Killer’s Cut.

Despite the green-eyed man driving the old Mercedes Benz carefully up the steep mountain road, the human leg still rattled around in the boot.

Tell us about something you like or dislike in one of your characters.

Detective Constable Roy MacGregor is a nasty piece of work in the first few books. He is young and arrogant and this comes across in his reactions to people. He has improved a bit but still tends to fly off the handle. However, he’s a computer genius so Shona needs him in her team.

Fiction writers put characters in dramatic situations ultimately to ‘say’ something. What are you saying in your latest work?

The latest book in the series is Killer’s Crew. It starts with a hanging on a ship. Given the size of Dundee, which is described as the biggest village in the world, the body count is high. Whilst not overtly so, I guess I am saying that evil lurks not far beneath the skin of the city. However, good ultimately wins as the police catch the bad guy.

Dundee Postcard: 'evil lurks not far beneath'.

How does your faith influence your writing?

Whilst I am a Christian, my books are not. They are written for a secular market but can be read by anyone. Given it is a crime book there is violence, however there is no sex or swearing. Balanced with this is the need for authenticity, and I get around the swearing by having Shona totally against it. She won’t tolerate it.

How do you approach the ‘tartan noir’ of your genre through the light of your faith?

I need to ensure I make it as realistic as possible. My take on it is that evil exists. Christian or not we cannot shy away from that. I hope I handle it sensitively, especially when DI Shona is dealing with the relatives and friends of the victims.

What aspect of the craft of writing do find most enjoyable?

I love words with a passion. So my favourite part of writing is shaping those words into an order which makes sense and brings joy to readers.

What books or authors do you like to read?

All the Scottish crime writers such as Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Alex Gray, Lin Anderson, Caro Ramsey, James Oswald and many others. I also like the Scandinavian Noir Writers, and American Crime Writers Kathy Reich and Patricia Cornwall. James Patterson and Janet Evanovich are particular favourites.

What are you most thankful for in life?

I’m thankful for my health. For many years, I was ill to the point of disability and this impacted my life to quite a degree. I seem to be fully recovered now and I am eternally grateful for that. I am also thankful that I can write and that readers enjoy my books. That is a true privilege.

What makes you laugh?

A lot of things including the antics of children, jokes and television programmes. The Janet Evanovich books often make me laugh out loud, which can be a bit odd if I am on public transport. I am currently writing a new series called The Cass Claymore Mysteries, which is a humorous PI series. That’s making me laugh. I hope it makes everyone else laugh too.