Stepping Out Into a New World with HID FROM OUR EYES

Virtual Event: Julia Spencer-Fleming and Jenn McKinlay in conversation on Facebook Live, tonight, April 7, at 8pm EST!

Hosted by the Poisoned Pen Bookstore; information here.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Reader, they've published it.

After the better part of a decade, disease, death, drop outs and dysfunction, HID FROM OUR EYES is finally, finally here.

In the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Yay?

Here's the thing: I've been looking at my novel for the first time since finishing the (ugh) copyedits back in July, and I'm starting to notice an odd pattern. This book has something to say about our present moment.

"But Julia," I hear you say, "Isn't it about three identical murders taking place decades apart, and the three police chiefs working the cases?" Well, yes, that's what the plot is. But a novel is always about a lot more than the plot. Here's what I saw on my reread of HID FROM OUR EYES that I see differently in April, 2020:

1. Penny wise, pound foolish. At the end of the previous Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne book, the leaders of Millers Kill decide to put to the vote the question of whether or not to dissolve the Miller Kill Police Department and replace it with patrols by the State Police, saving thousands and thousands of dollars. But through the eyes of police chiefs Harry McNeal, Jack Liddle, and Russ Van Alstyne, we can see how much care, attention and dedication each man puts into his job.  As Russ points out to a voters group, the local cops on the beat stop annoyances before they become problems. 

Sort of like how stockpiling masks, PPEs and ventilators before they're desperately needed means having them available without paying premium marked-up prices. (To say nothing of toilet paper.)

2. Do we really want those people here? In HID FROM OUR EYES,  we get to see the Millers Kill area summer people up close and personal - folks with gorgeous mountain houses who spend money on local businesses and services - but who may not have the interests of the year round residents at heart. Places like Millers Kill - and Maine, where I live - have a love-hate relationship with seasonal visitors, and these days, the feeling is tipping toward one end of that spectrum, as people with second homes in more bucolic areas flee, not unreasonably, from urban areas that have become hot spots for Covid-19. 

In Maine, we've had incidents of petty vandalism and harassment, as natives fear people "from away" bringing contagion with them. In Millers Kill, the relationship between flatlanders and locals takes a darker turn... which, hopefully, we won't see in real life.

3. Blaming the outsider. The three murders in HID FROM OUR EYES may be decades apart, but they take place at the same time of year. One group that comes up again and again in the investigations are the carnival workers who arrive for the county fair each August - closed off, looking down on the marks, with their own lingo and mores. Each of the police chiefs sets the carnies high on their list of persons of interest. Yes, they might be right. But the first reason the ticket-takers, roustabouts and game tenders fall under suspicion is because they're outsiders - a society emphatically set apart from both the townspeople and the second-home crowd.


I don't think I need to point out the parallels in our country today. Bad things start to happen, and it's the fault of the Chinese, or Asians generally, or Italians, or all those people south of the border. They must be behind the problems. Why? Because they're not us.

4. The heroism of ordinary lives. We've been talking about this at JRW over the past couple of weeks - how the nurse next door, your mailman, the kid delivering take-out and the cleaning crew disinfecting the grocery store have become heroes in many people's eyes. Ordinary folks, just doing their job, and in so doing, enabling the rest of us to stay home, flatten the curve, and save lives. Scared sometimes, and worried, and stressed, but still showing up.

I think of my characters like that. The three police chiefs aren't heroes. They aren't climbing any higher on the career ladder. Their goals are to do the job for their small town, one day after another, until retirement. Reverend Fergusson and the people at her church don't think of themselves as heroes, either - they're focusing on helping others in small ways; fixing a meal, listening to a story, offering shelter. And despite pain and PTSD and problems big and small, they all show up, every day, the very act of doing so making the world a better place.

Honestly, dear readers, I kind of wish I had a funny, light-hearted book to offer you, or a thrilling escape into the past, or adventures in lovely and exotic locales. (Lucky for you, you can get those and more from my blog sisters!) But this is what I write, one small, economically depressed corner of the real world, and so this is what I give you. I hope you take a look, and maybe buy it from your local independent bookstore (they ship!) or check it out of your library (librarians are some of those ordinary heroes, working to put ebooks and audio books in as many hands as possible.)

And may we all enjoy better days in which to read and write.



New York Times bestselling novelist Julia Spencer-Fleming took up writing while still a stay-at-home mother, creating Clare Fergusson, first female priest in the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill. Her series has won or been nominated for every American mystery award available, including the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Agatha. HID FROM OUR EYES is her ninth book. You can follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS is out today!

A huge congratulations to Jungle Red's own Deborah Crombie!  Today marks the release of the 17th (!!) installment in her critically acclaimed Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series.  I had the pleasure of reading the book, and it's fantastic.  Readers old and new will not be disappointed; as the Minneapolis Star Tribune says "betrayal, sacrifice, and forgiveness.  It's all here."

The Reds posed some questions to Deb, but first, here's a brief synopsis to get you up to speed:

On a beautiful morning in mid-May, the body of a young woman is found in one of Notting Hill’s private gardens. To passersby, the pretty girl in the white dress looks as if she’s sleeping. But Reagan Keating has been murdered, and the lead detective turns to Gemma James for help. Gemma has a personal connection to the case: Reagan was the nanny of a child who attends the same dance studio as Toby, Gemma and Kincaid’s son.

Gemma soon discovers that Reagan's death is not the first tragedy in the exclusive London park, and when still another of the garden's residents meets with violence, it becomes clear that there are more sinister forces at play.

While his wife is consumed with her new case, Kincaid finds himself plagued by disturbing questions about several previous—and seemingly unrelated—cases involving members of the force. If his suspicions are correct and the crimes are linked, are his family and friends in mortal danger as well? Kincaid’s hunch turns to certainty when a Metropolitan Police officer close to him is brutally attacked. There’s a traitor in the ranks, and now Kincaid wonders if he can trust anyone.

As Gemma begins to see a solution to her case, she realizes she holds a child’s fate in her hands. Can she do the right thing? And can Kincaid rely on his friends, both inside and outside the Yard, to stand beside him as he faces the deadliest challenge of his career?

On to the questions!

HALLIE EPHRON: Debs, this one grabbed me by the throat, really. Your characters are real and sympathetic, so much so that when they're in danger I really feel for them. This book is really complex. It's got (at least!) three separate plots swirling around one another, all of them exploring trust. Do you write them separately or alternate, the way it lays out in the novel? And do they all come to you at once?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hallie, this book gave me a headache, I have to say. (A long headache!) I started out with a very rough idea, then did my usual outline/story-boarding. I eventually ended up outlining three separate timelines because I had to make sure that all the pieces of the puzzle fit together in the right order. The actual writing I did pretty much in the sequence it appears in the book. And of course things changed from the outline a good bit along the way. For instance, I had no idea when I started Denis Childs' backstory exactly what had happened to him in the past. But I was very aware that all the stories dealt with trust in one way or another.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We know you do a lot of on-site research in England (lucky you!) to get the details of Duncan and Gemma's world right. Where did you go and what did you explore to get the real feel of Notting Hill?

DEBS: Julia, I've stayed in flats in Notting Hill for extended periods over the years, and no matter where I'm staying, I always spend time there. And I ALWAYS go to Portobello Market on Saturdays. I have a huge sentimental attachment to the market. I suppose it sort of embodies London for me. I usually try to visit all of Duncan's and Gemma's usual spots, too, and in this case I peeked into as many private gardens as I could!

JENN MCKINLAY: This series has had a special place in my heart, like its setting Notting Hill, since the very first book. Because I adore Gemma and Duncan, I have to ask what have been some of the challenges of writing about two lead characters, both detectives, who are married with children? Also, have you ever considered killing either of them off (please say no or lie to me)?

DEBS: I was told that if I married off my characters, it would kill the series. Boy, did that make me nervous. But, I thought it would be really tiresome to put Gemma and Duncan in a perpetual will they/won't they situation, and I've always tried to be more true to real life than that. And I thought that a married couple with their jobs and a family would present endlessly interesting and dramatic possibilities. I think that's been true so far, and it has certainly been fun for me to write about.

And, no, don't worry dear Jenn! I have no intention of doing away with any of my major characters. I couldn't bear it.

HALLIE EPHRON: One of my favorite characters is Jess, a boy who's an aspiring dancer. He felt so authentic, I have to ask is he based on anyone?

DEBS: I have a good friend whose middle son was the inspiration for both Toby and Jess, at least in part. He was a very active and very athletic kid without much impulse control. When he was about Jess's age (Jess is almost eleven in the book) he visited a ballet class and he was instantly hooked. He went on to become a very talented and accomplished dancer, although he eventually had to give it up due to knee problems. It's a punishing discipline, and it takes great dedication to achieve success. I think I'm always fascinated by people who are driven to do something difficult.

LUCY BURDETTE: Debs, I have not finished and I refuse to rush through! But  really admiring your seamless transitions between Point of View characters. But that's a more technical discussion--maybe Hallie can lead us through us one day? I'll ask this instead...the title GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS is so fabulous and elegant. And then as I read, I notice that everyone is gardening! So I wonder, did the title come first and then you worked the gardens in, or, were you writing about all these gardens and their meaning for each character and the story, and the title followed?

DEBS: Lucy, that is so funny. That's the first time it's ever even occurred to me that everyone is gardening! It must have been subliminal... And I'm not even sure I could tell you now where the title came from. I don't want to make the book sound gloomy, but for me the all the intertwined stories were permeated with a sense of loss, and "lamentations" seemed to echo that.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  I must know--How do you juggle all the characters' lives? Do you have a timeline,  or a history, or an incredible list of lists? There are so many wonderful puzzle pieces that you put together so beautifully… What is your thought process and procedure for doing that?

DEBS: Oh, heavens. I do have timelines and lists of characters and scads of notes. The viewpoint thing is especially tricky, to keep from repeating information when you are seeing roughly the same situation from different characters' perspectives. And trying to make the different timelines end up at the same place! But I want it to be seamless for readers, so that they are just carried along and don't think about those things--at least until the end.

HANK: And before I knew you, I really expected you were British! And even when we first met, I was so surprised that you did not have a British accent.  How does your brain work? How do you switch on "American "when you come back home?

DEBS: It's a very weird thing, and something I don't really have answer for. I've not only lived in England and Scotland and spent a lot of time there over the years, but I've read British books as long as I can remember (and watched British TV as long as we've been getting it in the US.)  So my brain just clicks over to British voice, and I'm not really conscious of it. Split personality! Or maybe Jekyll and Hyde!

If it's a gift, I'm very grateful for it, because it's given me an enormous amount of joy over the years.

INGRID THOFT:  Gemma and Duncan were navigating some difficult terrain in their relationship this time around, because of professional and family demands.  Did you enjoy writing that tension or do you prefer when it’s smooth sailing on the home front?

DEBS: I did enjoy writing it.  I think the fact that everyone—not just Duncan and Gemma, but Duncan and Doug, Gemma and Melody, and Melody and Doug—were all at cross purposes through most of the book really increased the story tension.  That said, for the next book, I want to put everyone together, working on the same case!

INGRID: I love the supporting characters in the series, and this time around, Doug and Melody played important roles.  Have you ever considered doing a spin-off with your secondary characters?

DEBS: I ADORE writing about Doug and Melody.  And it has been suggested to me that I write a spin-off series with them, but I really like the dynamic of all the characters together.  And as slow as I am, I don't thinking writing more than one series is on my horizon.  Especially as this book was original 650 pages in manuscript...

What do you say readers?  Any questions for Debs on the new release?

 

(And if you want to ask her in person, click here for her tour schedule!)

Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland.  She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepards.