HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It’s
what we’re writing week! But I am bringing in a ringer.
Oh, yes, I am writing. On
word number 42,280 of Untitled, and more about that soon. And DRIVE TIME comes next, and then SAY NO
MORE. Incredibly exciting.
But instead of hearing me
moan about how I have changed the beginning of Untitled fifteen thousand times,
and am certain I will never think of an actual title, let’s hear from a writer who is
actually finished with her manuscript. And who had millions of readers waiting to
get their little hands on it.
(In fact, you could be one of
the first! Our storied guest will choose a lucky winner from the commenters!)
And with all her glory and
all her awards and all her fans and all her sales and all her success—and all
her generosity and unending good works—I was intrigued to learn what went on
behind of the scenes of Linda Fairstein’s KILLER LOOK.
Who’d have thought? And--what
do YOU think?
Piece de...Resistance
Nothing delights me more than
an invitation to return to the company of the divine ladies who are the Jungle
Red Writers. I know most of them, have
signed books alongside many, and read them all.
The great graphic of this home page – those seven elegant headshots,
highlighted by the bright red river of glossy nail polish – speaks volumes
about their style.
What is style, after
all? It can be literary….and these
ladies have that in spades. And it can
be fashionable…they’ve got that, too. I
can’t always describe it, but I think I know it when I see it.
I’ve been writing a series of
crime novels for twenty years, featuring a New York City sex crimes prosecutor
– Alex Cooper - and her tough NYPD detective boyfriend – Mike Chapman. The 18th book in the series,
KILLER LOOK, debuts this week.
Throughout these two decades, Coop’s capers have taken an insider look
at many of Manhattan’s landmark institutions, most of which have a dark
underside. I had her job for thirty
years and know that fact well. I was a
prosecutor when a young violinist was killed backstage during a performance at
the Metropolitan Opera House – the cultural center of the city. I’ve never looked at Lincoln Center the same
way since.
I’ve set murders in museums
and libraries, on mysterious Governor’s Island and at the fabulous Botanical
Gardens. This time, I decided to take a
look behind the scenes in the New York City fashion world – after all, we are
America’s style capital, on a par with Paris and Rome, Milan and London.
Would it surprise you to know
that I met with a bit of resistance from my great friends at Dutton?
Well, it spooked me a bit.
The one square mile of Manhattan that is
known as the Garment District has existed for more than 150 years. For a century, most of America’s
mass-produced clothing was manufactured right there, until the very recent
outsourcing of the work to foreign markets with cheap labor.
The district has a
fascinating history. I had long thought it
established itself when sewing machines made mass production
possible…..grounded in the making of uniforms, blue and gray, for the Civil
War. I found out doing research that the
actual beginnings of the industry was pre-War – that it was cheaper for slave
plantation owners to ship their cotton to New York to have uniforms made for
their slaves. (There is always a dark
underside, just like I said).
I’ve never had a book theme
‘approved’ by the editorial team. What
happened this time? Well, as my JRW friends
know, more mysteries are read by women than by men, in general. I count on my women readers, but the
publishing crew knows that I’m fortunate enough to have a good male following,
too (which I credit to both Mike Chapman – my tough NYPD cop and his smart
mouth – and to my procedural bent, writing about the investigations and
forensics that I actually did in my old job).
Would I really lose my guys
in the name of fashion?
I love following
fashion. I’ve never been to the big
shows, never bought haute couture (and
did you know that term is regulated in France by the government? I
didn’t). But I do love to shop and I do
love to eyeball and admire great style.
The fix was easy. Instead of murdering a model or making the
book all about the slender girls on the runway, I got close enough to learn
that the business side of fashion is terrifically cut-throat and provides
plenty of motives to murder. No spoiler
– my victim is an American icon – a guy who went from rags to riches by
creating an iconic American fashion business (think of a collared t-shirt with
a wolf’s head where that little polo pony now sits).
I’m thinking that one of the
victims in the story is bleeding Jungle Red by the end of the novel - is that
okay? And while we are at it, do you have
a favorite KILLER LOOK?
HANK: Oh, great question! And
that depends. I may have more black jackets than anyone here. And I just scored some pretty darned great pink
Prada heels. But if I’m home, writing? I’m
in my (black) killer sweatpants.
How about you, Reds? And don’t
forget—the fabulous Linda is choosing a winner of KILLER LOOK from the commenters!
Linda Fairstein is the New York Times bestselling author of
KILLER LOOK, the 18th book in the Alex Cooper series of crime
novels. For thirty years, Fairstein was
a prosecutor in the Manhattan DA’s Office, where she led the country’s
pioneering Special Victims Unit.
