Lanie Price: A Character Study (Part 1)
"Lanie is a brilliantly drawn character." —Caribbean Life
This is the first of a three-part study on Lanie Price, the society columnist featured in Darkness and the Devil Behind Me and Black Orchid Blues. I'll discuss what makes Lanie tick, what drives her and why she does what she does.
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Lanie Price
I had a wonderful dinner meeting with a local book club on Wednesday evening and of course the topic of conversation was Black Orchid Blues. We not only discussed the story, but talked about Lanie Price, the lead character, and how she's such a risk-taker. For example, one woman brought up the instance in which Lanie has a face-to-face conversation with a violent high-profile criminal who has successfully eluded even the best New York City detectives. He contacts her and she agrees to meet with him — alone. One of the ladies from the meeting said, "I sure wouldn't have done that."
She had a point. I probably wouldn't have done it, either. Then again, maybe I would've. If I'd been Lanie, with her background, her innate skills at reading people, her professional experience in dealing with violent criminals; if I had her ambition and her dedication to the job, then yes, maybe if I had all that, I would've done just as she did.
Few of us are as heroic or daring as the heroes we read about. But isn't that difference what keeps us fascinated? Don't we all secretly wish we had the guts to step into the dark in order to find answers? Don't we all secretly wish we had the guts to stand up and speak our mind when someone tries to intimidate us? Yes, I think we do. At least, I do.
We want our heroes to be bigger than life. Still, they have to be "normal" enough for us to relate to them. What's normal about Lanie? And how does this very normalcy support her tendency to take risks?
Well, she is, first and foremost, a reporter. From this we deduce that she's highly inquisitive by nature. Second, she's a reporter. So we can deduce that she strongly believes in the power of information. Third, she's a former crime reporter, so we see that she also has the drive of a passionate advocate.
And last, but not least, she's a widow, a woman still living in the shadow of grief and all that this implies. She has no children and no close family. In other words, she's alone. We won't really discuss this factor, but surely it's in the mix. There's nothing like the death of a loved one to make you reconsider the worth of what you're doing with your own life – or make you wonder whether you want to live at all.
In the next installment, we'll discuss the details …
