Can you expand on the idea you touch on in Lady Killer that “it takes a village” to commit a murder?
Ultimately, the responsibility for a murder belongs with the murderer alone. But a murderer does not live in a vacuum. In Lady Killer, I try to show the inevitability of the murder through the actions of others. Mitch Lovett, a recently divorced dad of two, carries on two affairs at once with old college friends, Dee Wynn, a single hard driving executive who will not take no for an answer, and Gail Strickland, who has given up her career to raise a child with an abusive husband–who happened to have received a new gun for his birthday. The murderer was a high school jock who was sidelined by a college injury. He is like O.J. Simpson. He never lost his sense of entitlement. His respect in the community, in the baby sitting co-op where he, his wife, and Mitch are members, is at an all-time low. Mix in a few accidents here and there, some bad luck, and a woman who will not take no for answer, and you have a recipe for disaster.
You deal with a lot of issues in Lady Killer, including gun control, abuse, and male anger. Why bring all these issues together, and are there other themes that inform the novel?
In Lady Killer, the killer is a bully. He tries to get people to do what he wants them to do through intimidation. I suggest that he learned this behavior through his father. He is angry because, in the end, you can’t always get what you want, especially when you’re dealing with other people—in this case, his wife. This leads to spousal abuse, which leads to more male anger. It’s a vicious cycle. Perhaps, the killer needs to attend anger management classes as Mitch Lovett suggests. But the killer, being who he is, would refuse to attend. It would be a sign of weakness. Besides, the killer is a hunter. He has a collection of guns that he keeps under lock and key. He is a scary guy and everyone is afraid of him. So what do you do? You can take away his guns, you can force him into treatment, or both. Since he hasn’t done anything yet, there is not much you can do under the present system of laws to stop his murderous intents.
Why set Lady Killer in a babysitting co-op?
My wife and I belonged to a baby sitting co-op when our kids were toddlers. Many of the adult members were born and raised in Takoma Park, as well as attended Blair High School and the University of Maryland. Some married spouses from the community. Some from outside. I thought, what a perfect hothouse for shenanigans. There was actually a murder in our community involving one Blair graduate murdering another over sleeping with his wife. What I didn’t count on until I was well into the book was how perfectly the babysitting co-op fit into the overarching theme of personal responsibility. One of the important jobs of parents is to teach their child how to be civilized. One of the child-rearing theories floating around when my kids were preschoolers was the Theory of Consequences. You teach your kids the consequences for their actions. For instance, your kid doesn’t want to wear his shoes outside. So you let him go outside barefoot. He hurts himself. He learns the consequences of his action. He won’t go outside barefoot again. (Fat chance!) In these ways kids are mini-adults. They may have problems with concepts, and for that reason, they may persist in actions that have bad consequences. Adults, on the other hand, may understand concepts, but they may persist in actions that have bad consequences as well out of pure cussedness, anger, or any other number of reasons. It’s like the blind leading the blind.
Which ties in with the concept of responsibility you explore as well.
I suggest that we are not only responsible for our behavior, but the effect our behavior might have on others. When Mitch and Gail consummate their long-standing attraction – recklessly following their heart’s desires – they set into motion a series of events with tragic consequences. They know beforehand what those consequences might be. They might bruise the murderer’s ego. The murderer, in turn, will end the life of the victim and drastically alter the lives of friends and family, even the community where the victim lives. I guess what I am saying is that you have more power than you think, so it’s a good idea that you think before you do something. I guess I’m a pragmatist.
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