Welcome back, mystery author Laury A. Egan! We’re chatting today about her new crime fiction novel, Fair Haven.
Bio:
Fair Haven is Laury A. Egan’s fifteenth published novel, many of which fall into the psychological suspense or crime fiction category, such as Jack & I, The Psychologist’s Shadow, Doublecrossed, The Ungodly Hour, A Bittersweet Tale, and Jenny Kidd. A second collection, Contrary: Stories and a Play will be published in mid-May, and she is also the author of four volumes of poetry. Ninety of her stories and poems have appeared in literary journals and anthologies. She is a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, and a 2024 recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Award in prose.
It’s a pleasure to have you back, Laury. Please tell us about your newest release.
Fair Haven: A picturesque riverside town. A safe, friendly place. And then, one summer afternoon in 1994, Sally Ann Shaffer is electrocuted in her hot tub. Who did it? One of her many lovers? Her husband? A thief? A jealous colleague at her tennis club? The town is suddenly embroiled in suspicion, interpersonal conflict, blackmail, fraud, and murder.
Fair Haven shares sympathies with the British crime drama, Midsomer Murders, because of its small-town setting and diverse cast, any of whom could be the killer (except Cagney, the beagle). The characters include Chris Clarke, who is hired to photograph the crime scene and is involved with Kate Morgan, a woman fighting for custody of her son (Kate has a past history with Sally Ann Shaffer); the police chief, Ray Mackie, who steps aside in the investigation in favor of Vincent Rivera from the Major Crimes Bureau. Other players are Detective David DeMarco, charged with coordinating the local police effort; Harry Fallon, Kate Morgan’s drunken ex-husband and a long-time lover of Sally Ann; and R.J. Baines, a realtor hiding her lesbianism and her affair with the deceased. The relationships between these characters, as well as with a tennis pro, husband, priest, and a financial fraudster, provide rich opportunities for intrigue.
What inspired you to write this book?
Full admission: Fair Haven was my first novel, begun forty years ago and shelved in bookcases and closets until last year when my publisher, Spectrum Books, accepted four novels and published them within thirteen months, leaving my desk bare. Since I hadn’t read Fair Haven for years, I dusted it off and looked through it, groaning at the amateurish formatting, the plot errors, typos, etc., and was about to give up on it, however the plot was interesting and I really liked the characters and location (which is several miles from my house). I rolled up my sleeves and set to work, swearing frequently, and then hired an editor because the plot was so problematic. Finally, after numerous more reviews, I submitted the ms. and my publisher accepted it immediately.
What inspired the novel?
Location, location, location. Plus the main character is a professional photographer and sailor (as I was) and owned a beagle like I did. That’s more or less where the autobiographical similarities end.
Excerpt from Fair Haven:
1994: Prologue: “Tantalized by a cool breeze from the river, her nipple rose erect—the last involuntary movement her body would ever make.
The murderer paused by the open sliding glass door, observed the woman’s creamy, tanned skin, and then, silently, left.”
What’s the next writing project?
Contrary: Stories and a Play. Twenty-one stories, sixteen of which have been published in literary journals. The play is a first for me: a dramatic study of two women, one of whom is recovering from a plane accident and is struggling with disability, and the other is her therapist.
What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
This book was a bloody headache to revise due to its early beginning in my career. It is the longest ms. I’ve written, with the most complex plot and the largest cast. Still, the book is full of Peyton Place-like mischief. It’s great fun!
If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
One of my biggest mistakes during early stages of Fair Haven was that I thought the local police force would be in charge of the investigation and the gathering of forensic evidence. When I gave the ms. to a Fair Haven policeman to review, he pointed out this huge error, explaining the county would oversee the investigation, although they would coordinate with Fair Haven’s police force. And, after speaking with a retired Monmouth County prosecutor and head of the Crimes Unit, I knew I had to totally alter the structure and revise the activities of some of my characters. Then, I spoke with a financial specialist and asked him how a broker would commit fraud. With a huge grin, he provided a detailed approach and seemed to relish the idea of how this might be accomplished.
What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.
When I initially moved to my house almost 30 years ago, it was near my childhood home, with a view of Manhattan, the Atlantic Ocean, and Sandy Hook, a peninsula that protects my town. Because these same qualities inspired my early poetry (at age seven), I semi-retired as a freelance book designer and focused on my first passion, writing. Although my office was downstairs for several years, I began having severe foot issues that required that I move into an upstairs room where I now work at a desktop, usually every day of the week and most of each day.
What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?
Kate Atkinson is an absolute favorite, though I’m also in a Scandi-noir phase, reading Jo Nesbo, Anne Holt, Lars Kepler, Ragnar Jónasson, and Lilja Sigurdardóttir. For literary work, which I sometimes write, I am a great admirer of Virginia Woolf. For psychological suspense, Patricia Highsmith was a first inspiration.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
I hope readers will try Fair Haven—it isn’t just a murder mystery. In fact, the murder itself happens only in the Prologue (see extract above), and the majority of the book is about the community, the relationships, and the intrigues.
Links:
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Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews!
Thank you, Lisa! Good questions!
Wonderful interview. I am so in awe of Laury!!