To Research; or not to research: a guest blog by Archer Mayor

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Archer Mayor is the mystery writer's mystery writer. How do I know this? Because he is, without a doubt, my mystery writer. When I was an uninformed scribbler trying to figure out how to turn my bad science fiction novel into a good mystery, I picked up a copy of FRUITS OF THE POISONOUS TREE and fell in love: with tough, honorable Joe Gunther, with the story's deep rootedness in the beauty and harshness of Vermont, with the walking wounded - victims, criminals and investigators - that populate Archer Mayor's books. It was the fifth in the series that has now reached twenty-six books with the just-released THE COMPANY SHE KEPT.

I can honestly say that if you like my work, it's because I paid attention to the lessons Archer was teaching me.

One of the things Archer is well known for - to the point of, I will admit it, a little gentle teasing from his fellow crime fiction writers - is his passion for research. In his home county, he has worked as a cop, a detective,  a death investigator, a firefighter and an EMT. Presumably, the only reason he doesn't hold the top office in town is that he's already the Mayor of Newfane.

But who can rib him about his devotion to authenticity when it yields such delightful results?

Many thanks for inviting me to chat.

As homework, I rambled around on the Jungle Red website, and I was caught by some references to research, accuracy, and how writers are naturally predisposed to “getting it right.”  My brain was instantly filled with examples both supporting this view, and flying in the face of it—without necessarily benefiting or suffering because of it.

 I believe it was John Gardner who introduced the notion that a writer’s job is to create a fictional dream space for the reader (it may not have been him, but it sure wasn’t me, lovely as that image may be). The notion struck such a clarifying chord with me—especially as a reader—because I had previously been baffled by why certain stories had suddenly lost their appeal in mid-read.

I realized that I had been enjoying a book (or a TV show or movie, for that matter) only to have my “fictional daydream” interrupted by either a leap of logic or a flat-out error. (Of course, there’s also always lousy acting or writing, but that’s another subject.)

I have to admit that I share recent blogger Maia Chance’s obsession with research—crawling through hoarders’ homes, exploring the innards of a 1920’s earthen dam, attending autopsies, visiting high-tech labs or horse-breeding farms—all to sometimes find that when that scene looms up on my writing horizon, I veer away from it and never use it.

I have been known to crawl through dark tunnels 70 feet underneath the Harriman Reservoir, to fully understand the experience for my “bad guy.” When writing about Northampton, MA (for Paradise City) I visited the former bunker (now Amherst library) hidden in the hills, very obscurely, and spent time downtown watching a woman painted silver stand frozen as a statue. In Philadelphia (Proof Positive) we scoured scary neighborhoods, (pretending to be tourists), ate cheese steaks and TastyKakes and even went to see the Rocky statue. 

 

I do enjoy the pure pleasures of the task, of course. I fondly recall inching along a 4-foot diameter tunnel under Brattleboro’s Main Street to share the experience of a homeless character in The Ragman’s Memory, or flying over Northampton to get a feel for the town, as an ominous, lightning-charged thundercloud chased us back to the airfield. And there was that trip along some of Newark’s worst streets for St. Albans Fire, taking photos for documentation, and being told by my fellow cop guide to keep moving, so we wouldn’t get shot… Ah! The joys.) 

 

That having been said, though, is there in fact a point to all this digging around? There obviously is for me—I want to “get it right” (and have fun in the process) but do readers actually care? Years ago, I was chatting with a well-known author at a Bouchercon, and he blithely commented that he never researched anything and had the sales record to prove that his readers didn’t care.

I was appalled (and remain so) but was he perhaps right?

Certainly some popular crime shows on TV seem to share his attitude, and thrive (while at the same time driving me from the room—it turns out that my many years as a cop and a medico-legal death investigator have hardened me against too much creative license. I am known to rant at the screen.) 

 

Now, of course I realize that there are realist/absurdists out there—“He can’t have used that gun. It didn’t have that kind of trigger until July, 1952, and this is supposed to be taking place that winter!” But if you are purporting to be writing about a real time and place, how rigorously should you toe the accuracy line?

And how much suspension of disbelief should you impose on your readers? Your thoughts?

During the height of a harsh Vermont winter, the body of a woman is found hanging from the steel-mesh retaining net lining the cliffs along the interstate. She was brutally murdered, with the word "dyke" carved into her chest. She was also a state senator and best friend and ally of the current governor, Gail Zigman. At Zigman's personal request, Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team agree to help the Vermont State Police in their investigation before the victim's high profile and powerful friends create the inevitable publicity maelstrom. 

Raffner was indeed a lesbian, and the word carved into her chest might be evidence of a hate crime, or it might be a feint designed to confuse and mislead investigators. But the question remains-what was she involved with, who wanted her dead, and what company was she keeping? What Gunther and his team discover during their initial investigation isn't the stuff of a simple murder. Someone killed a prominent figure and fabricated an elaborate scene for a purpose. 

And this might only be the beginning...in Archer Mayor's The Company She Kept.

You can learn more about Archer Mayor and read excerpts from his books at his website. You can friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter as @ArcherMayor. and see interviews and book promos on his YouTube channel.