JUDGMENT by Joseph Finder takes an occurrence and uses it as a jumping off point. He has a knack for having an incidental event magnify into a riveting conspiracy mystery. Finder noted, “I met a judge socially and spoke with her about the pressures she faces. ...
I don’t think there are heroes anymore. We’ve seen too much, and we’re too smart, to believe in what we’ve been told. Everyone has flaws, everyone’s corrupt. And I’m generally okay with that, provided we approach people honestly, without reverence. To that end, I think all my characters have some bad elements to them, or do callous things. If they don’t, perhaps I’m not being honest with myself
MIKE BARSON: As you recount in the book, your research in several cases caught up with some of the original participants just in the nick of time. Of course many of them had passed away long before you even got started, not least Peckinpah himself. Who would you name...
William Boyle, The Lonely Witness (Pegasus Crime) Lisa Unger, Under My Skin (Park Row) Sam Wiebe, Cut You Down (Random House Canada) Lou Berney, November Road (William Morrow) Robert Olen Butler, Paris in the Dark (The Mysterious Press)
Doing research for my latest novel on the island of Cyprus led me to a strange paradox. The island may be split by rival military forces. But most Cypriots just don’t care that much. Those I spoke to found the division of their island to be, at worst, a bit annoying....
All my novels have a message of being kind to one another as the characters become knitted together. In this book, light was brought into the household. Within a community people could leave a lasting fingerprint on each other.
