Readers may remember today's guest, Tracee de Hahn, and her look at the reclusive life of Switzerland's elite in her first novel, SWISS VENDETTA. Her inimitable detective, Inspector Agnes Lüthi, is back in A WELL-TIMED MURDER, out this February 6th: Swiss-American police officer Agnes Lüthi is pulled into the investigation of a dead watchmaker while recovering from injuries she sustained in her last case. Guy Chavanon died a week ago, and his daughter doesn’t believe his death was accidental. Shortly before he died, Chavanon boasted that he’d discovered a new technique that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry, and she believes he may have been killed for it. Reluctantly, Agnes agrees to investigate his death. But the world of Swiss watchmaking is guarded and secretive, and before she realizes it, Agnes may be walking straight into the path of a killer.Today, Tracee is sharing part of the inspiration for A WELL-TIMED MURDER - the differences and similarities between old school chums in two different cultures.
It’s
the fifth, may I still say happy new year? I think so. Happy New
Year!
I
spent the past week at my parents’ house in western Kentucky where
I grew up. Nothing makes for a year-in-review (life in review?)
moment like a return ‘home.’ I dove into family life and barely
left the house (my six-week-old niece was there, attention grabber!).
However, there was plenty of time to think about friends from
childhood.
Growing
up in a small town means there is a sense of connectivity even among
people you don’t know. This was well before ‘degrees of
separation’ were counted, but I’d say that there were never more
than two. Everyone ‘knew’ everyone or could place them –
through band, sports teams, friends of siblings or parents, church,
neighbors. Somewhere there was a connection. We were all in a loose
circle, and whether side by side or way across the gap, there was an
element of continuity.
My
husband had a very different experience, one I think about often
since my books are set in Switzerland where he spent his childhood.
One of the underlying themes of my next book, A WELL-TIMED MURDER, is
family. Well, really children and parents and their relationships,
which led me to quiz my husband about his experiences at boarding
school. Not surprisingly, a fictional boarding school plays a
significant role in the new book.
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| Tracee's childhood home on the left; her husband's boarding school on the right |
My
husband left his home in Vienna for boarding school in Switzerland
around his ninth birthday. Tell ten people this and you will get ten
reactions: high quality education, idyllic setting, torn from parents
too young. The list goes on. Are these children the rejects – sent
by parents who can’t be bothered to rear them? Or are they the
recipients of a bounty of privilege? (Between us, my husband has a
few former classmates who he is certain were sent as far from home as
possible. But I won’t name names.)
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| Henri de Hahn's school near Gruyere Castle; Tracee's high school near farm land |
Compared
to my own circle of childhood acquaintances, my husband’s expanded
exponentially the moment he arrived at school. Granted, there was a
similarity of access to this privileged environment, but beyond that
the kids were there for disparate reasons (parents serving in
war-torn places, tradition of boarding school education, and yes,
those children whose parents may have wiped their heads with glee!).
They came from all over the world – Africa, the Middle East, Europe
and a trio of brothers from America. This setting – full of
incongruity and the clash of tradition and culture amidst the normal
trials of adolescence – turned out to be rich fodder for my
characters.
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| The medieval town of Gruyere. Charmant! Affasanate! Reizend! |
As
we celebrate the start of a new year, I don’t have a resolution
precisely, but I do hope to meet up with some of my childhood friends
and acquaintances in 2018. No matter our different paths, we still
have a special connection. I’m sure of it.
I’m
curious – did you connect with lifelong friends over the holidays?
My ‘oldest’ friends date from 5th
grade, when my family moved to a new town. I bet a few of you have
friends from much earlier than that…..
Tracee has a giveaway for one lucky commenter: your choice of the audiobook or trade paper of SWISS VENDETTA, or, if you're willing to wait a month, the hardcover of A WELL-TIMED MURDER!
You can find out much more about Tracee de Hahn, her books, and her travels at her website. You can friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter as @LuthiMysteries, and drool over her pictures of glorious food and sweet dogs on Instagram!
