Goodreads asked Chris Holcombe:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Chris Holcombe I had written two books set in the modern-day (that will also never see the light of day lol), and was a bit restless. I didn't like having to write about my detective combing through Facebook posts and tracking apps.

One Christmas, I was inspired by a Bette Davis movie marathon with my father to write a historical mystery. As a gay man who loves the crime fiction genre, I noticed queer characters hardly get the starring role in a crime series, so I was committed to having my protagonist be part of the LGBTQ+ community. From there, I discovered an article that led to a series of books describing this vividly vibrant queer world in 1920s Manhattan.

Now I had found the history, but what about the mystery? That took a bit longer to figure out, but once I discovered the Committee of Fourteen and other "anti-vice" organizations, I could see how a speakeasy owner--and a gay one at that--could be forced into the role of the "reluctant detective."

From there, THE DOUBLE VICE began to take shape.

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