Q&A with James H. Lewis

 

 

 

James H. Lewis is the author of the new novel Death of a Mama's Boy. It's the second in his Lydia Barnwell mystery series, which began with The Dead of Winter. Lewis lives in Pittsburgh.

 

Q: This is your second in your Lydia Barnwell mystery series--do you think Lydia has changed from one book to the next?

A: In the previous book, The Dead of Winter, Lydia had just been hired as a detective at the Allegheny County Police Department. While she was confident of her own abilities, she knew those around her didn’t share her opinion. She proceeded cautiously, usually telegraphing her next step to her partner, Sgt. Lyle Jeffrey, who had recruited her.

 

In this book, she is in full control, exhibiting the assurance she has always felt. (Those who followed her during the Chief Novak trilogy may recall that in the first scene, she feared for her job because she’d reported the former chief for theft. She’s grown a lot.)

 

Her personal life also takes a turn in this book, but to reveal more would be a spoiler.

 

Q: What inspired the plot of Death of a Mama’s Boy?

 

A: I had mapped out Lydia’s personal journey but didn’t have a case for her to work on.

 

I spend a lot of time on discussion forums and keep notes of things that intrigue me. A police officer has been asked for the most surprising thing he’d encountered in his career. He mentioned investigating a break-in at a funeral home when the perpetrator jumped out of a coffin in which he’d hidden himself.

 

I asked myself why someone would burglarize a mortuary and let my imagination wander.

 

I’d also kept a post from a Swedish woman who’d found a letter dated years before from a girl whose lover had led her on, then abandoned her. I had Lydia discover a similar note in her own house, then wondered how the two stories could be connected. 

Q: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: My working title was The Coffin and the Handbag, but didn’t think that would draw readers in. As I worked on the personality of the murder victim, who was devoted to his mother during her last days, the title came to me.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that particularly surprised you?

 

A: Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns and his deputy, Lieutenant Venerando Costa, gave me a tour of ACPD headquarters and answered dozens of questions.

 

I maintain a dialogue with law enforcement officers on Quora and pose questions to them about everything from processing DNA to firearms.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m a quarter through the first draft of the next Lydia Barnwell story, have a short story in the current issue of Yellow Mama, and am plotting a book that has a supernatural element to it.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: As I may have told you in the past, I published my first novel when I was 74 and have since written eight more. I had the advantage of a lifetime of writing as a journalist and fundraising professional, but I am evidence that it’s never too late to start.

 

I am always open to sharing what I’ve learned with those of us perched on the crest of geezerhood. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with James H. Lewis.