Damaged Characters, Murder Mysteries, and Dealing With the Past
Damaged characters,
murder mysteries, and dealing with the past
by Patrick Linder
I’m often asked how much of what I write about is real and
how I come up with plot ideas. These are interesting questions for a writer of
murder mysteries to consider, especially given the common advice that you
should “write what you know.” Spoiler alert: I’ve never actually murdered
anyone.
I write about murder, but I consider myself first and
foremost an emotional writer. Perhaps a better way to say that is that I am a
writer most concerned with the emotion(s) of the story. That’s one big reason
why I love mysteries—to solve a murder you have to also solve what the
motivation was and what the repercussions have been, and these are almost
always tied to emotion(s).
If you take a step back and think about a mystery as this
fantastic combination of crime, motivation, and repercussion, the emotional
path often leads directly to any number of damaged characters. I love the
emotional baggage that damaged characters bring with them. I love the mystery
of why they are limited and how those limitations shape where and who they are
in the present. And I love having a detective who himself (or herself) is also
battling limitations and emotional baggage.
My novel Ghost Music:
A Marcus Brace Mystery combines all of these elements. My detective is
flawed, not a superhero. As Marcus gets closer to finding the murderer, he is
forced to deal with his own emotional limitations and face a family legacy that
he would rather remain buried. Understanding his own history becomes key to
understanding and solving the murders taking place in the present.
It’s this type of multi-layered mystery and emotion that I
love. I’m working on the sequel to Ghost
Music and once again find myself creating a story that answers not just why
the main crime was committed but also why the characters are damaged. To solve
the crime, you have to solve the damage that each character brings to the
story.
So, what do you think about mysteries that include a damaged
detective? Is your favorite sleuth appealing because he/she has been forced to
deal with some type of damage, or because they already have everything together?
Ghost Music
summary
Seattle Detective Marcus Brace is falling
apart, both professionally and personally. Before he can put his own demons to
rest, a brutal homicide and an unusual summons from family long-forgotten force
Marcus to confront everything he’s been running from. With the killer targeting
those closest to him, Marcus is on a journey to not only find a murderer but
also solve a family mystery that was hidden for decades.
A fast-paced murder mystery that looks at
how past and present interact, Ghost
Music was awarded Third Place for Unpublished Fiction by the Public
Safety Writers Association and has garnered critical praise since its
publication.
“If I were working on
a 5-star rating system here at Haunted Book Case, I'd give this novel 50. I
definitely look forward to anything further this author puts out. He's a
fantastic writer.”
--The Haunted Bookcase
--The Haunted Bookcase
Patrick Linder |
Bio
Patrick Linder was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. He graduated
from the University of Kansas with degrees in English and American Studies.
Awarded a Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, Linder earned his PhD in
American Literature from the University of Washington. Linder is a regular
contributor to the online journal Rebelle Society. He lives with his two children
in Snoqualmie, Wash., and is currently at work on the follow-up to Ghost Music, again featuring Seattle
Detective Marcus Brace. Stay in touch with Patrick at www.patricklinderbooks.com or by
emailing him at: patrick (at) patricklinderbooks (dot) com.
Thank you for visiting me today, Patrick. I loved what you had to say about your book.
Comments
JL Greger, author of medical thrillers/mysteries - Ignore the Pain, Coming Flu, and Murder: A New Way to Lose weight
Marja McGraw