Max Talley is the author of the new novel Santa Fe Psychosis. His other books include Peace, Love & Haight.
Q: What inspired you to write Santa Fe Psychosis, and how
did you create your character Jackson Bardo?
A: I had lived in Santa Fe and thought New Mexico would make
a good backdrop for a crime story. There are fine Tony Hillerman crime novels
set there, but the area hasn't been overused, like say Los Angeles, San
Francisco, or New York.
I've written crime short stories (which is how the novel
started), and my last novel, Peace, Love & Haight, had crime mixed in among
the cults, communes, drugs, music, and ‘60s vibes, but I'd always wanted to
write a pure detective novel.
Jackson Bardo was an attempt to create a flawed protagonist
that a reader could eventually relate to. He served in Iraq, and even though
the novel takes place at least 10 years after, he is still affected by his time
there. Bursts of anger, confusion.
As a private investigator, he has trouble with authority,
doesn't like taking orders from police officials, and often follows his own
inner directives—which gets him in trouble. I like having friction between the
detectives, who have to work closely together to solve a case.
Q: The book’s subtitle is “A Hardboiled Crime Thriller”--how
would you define “hardboiled,” and what are some of your favorites in that
genre?
A: I tend to think of hardboiled as tense, adult, dark,
psychological crime fiction. The stakes are higher, there's more danger. In
missing person and kidnapping cases, the longer it takes to locate them, the
more likely a victim may already be dead.
Hardboiled heroes are often antiheroes, shrouded in moral
twilight. Maybe the detective(s) had problems with alcohol or drugs, or was
violent in interrogations.
Sometimes they might have psychological issues from serving
in a war, or suffer depression, or have a trail of broken marriages due to
being obsessed with the case they're on. They can be sullen and antisocial
loners.
They seek justice, but the darkness they've experienced,
from whatever happened in their past, has taken them to the edge. They waver
between doing things the correct way and achieving their results by any means
necessary.
Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson are
masters. Some favorite hardboiled novels are The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon,
No Country For Old Men, and Devil in a Blue Dress.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it
signify for you?
A: Possibly a few levels to the title. There is a released
prisoner in the story who seeks revenge against detectives Jackson Bardo and
Diego Juarez. He is violent and psychotic.
Then there is a general instability among a small percentage
of residents. Sort of an outlaw sensibility gone wild, of disobeying traffic
laws, rules of civility, the dictates of logic.
Beyond that, someone once told me the dating scene was tough
in Santa Fe, because the men were all obnoxious jerks and the women were all
crazy. A generalization of course, but that played in to my title. And I
thought it sounded catchy.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope I conveyed the raw beauty of New Mexico. There is
so much wide open space beyond the scattered cities. The mesas, the buttes, the
mountains, lakes, pine and aspen forests, and red rock areas are all very
special.
There is still an Old West feeling there, that outlaws (or
modern day criminals) could hide out in canyons and gulches. Because it's
easier to get off the grid there, to lose yourself in time. Is it 2026 or 1986?
The issue the detectives have in my book is that they can
track down and arrest low-level criminals who kidnap teenagers for a
trafficking ring. What's harder is convicting the rich, powerful men (and some
women) who fund and run the operation.
We see the very same things in our current news, where much
of the Epstein Files have been released, but punishing the vile participants
hiding behind lawyers, their billions, and the redacted names has proven
extremely difficult.
Crime novels must have action and suspense, but I wanted to
be very specific about the environment, about the psychology of the characters,
and also to inject a little philosophy.
Two favorite authors, Cormac McCarthy and James Lee Burke
are experts at blending all those things together into novels about criminals
and detectives. I try to follow—several hundred miles behind—in their giant
footsteps.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: A novel called The Duke of Barstow. Evan, a mid-40s
travel writer, is assigned an article about California's Inland Empire.
Instead, he meets Deke Munsen, the titular character, who is sort of the secret
mayor of Barstow. He's a combination back room dealmaker, gambler, life coach,
guru, and a con artist.
Evan's article grows into a novel about the Duke of Barstow,
but Deke Munsen disappears after some of his shady ventures go wrong. Evan's
book about him is a success, and the publisher wants a sequel so they can sign
a miniseries deal with a TV network.
Narrator Evan must search for the missing and presumed dead
Deke Munsen through tiny derelict towns of the Mojave Desert. The closer Evan
gets to discovering the Duke's true identity, the more he begins to lose his
own.
It's a surreal road trip adventure into the mind, and about
how publishers, writers, and their subjects are all trying to both charm and
con each other. Hopefully it's funny. The novel is due to be released at the
end of the year.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Thank you for your tireless efforts in interviewing a
wide swath of writers about their new books, Deborah. And congratulations on
your current mystery novel, Everything She Most Admired. Have you interviewed
yourself yet? [Answer: Yes!]
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Max Talley.
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