There are three telltale signs that indicate the success of a mystery novel. First and foremost, there has got to be a body. Someone has to die — and we're not talking a peaceful, slipped-away-in-their-sleep kind of death, either. Second, the relationships must be convoluted and twisted so that no character is free of suspicion. Lastly, praise from fellow authors helps establish the mystery novel as a worthwhile read.Harry Dolan's first novel, Bad Things Happen, meets all three requirements.
The book revolves around a mysterious stranger who has a dark past. His friend is murdered and he sets out to find out who did it.
"That's what drives the plot, [the] murder," Dolan said.
A love interest between the main character and the victim's wife adds layers of complexities to the plotline. Every action or attitude is a potential motive and all must be examined. These elements combined result in a novel that Stephen King declares to be a "great f------ book," where James Patterson said, "Bad Things Happen is a very smart, well-written roller coaster ride that is always threatening to hurl the reader out into roaring empty space."
Besides earning praise from King and Patterson, Bad Things Happen was named as one of the best crime novel debuts of 2010 by Booklist and Bill Ott. It was also featured on NPR as a top pick from indie booksellers. That's not too shabby considering this is Dolan's first published book. It came out last year and was recently released in paperback.
"About 10 years ago I made the conscious decision to write a novel so I just moved up [to Ann Arbor] and decided to make a new start and write," Dolan said.
The book took about 15 months to write, and Dolan knew where to begin.
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Author talk and signing with Harry Dolan
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"I started out with the main character ... and his back story," he said. "The other characters grew up around him."
Despite similarities between Dolan and the character David Loogan, such as working as an editor and an interest in mystery writing, Dolan said "the character David is not based on any one person, but is only the kind of type you might find in mysterious literature."
As for the other characters, they are based on the people that Dolan has hung out with. To be clear, he was referring to the "highly educated kinds of people" such as professors that are found in Ann Arbor, not murderers or mysterious strangers with dark secrets.
In the book, the main character works for a mystery magazine. Unsurprisingly, Dolan reads mostly mystery novels. He studied philosophy and fiction writing during college and has worked as an editor.
"I like books that are sort of fast-moving and driven by a lot of sharp dialogue and a lot of plot twists; those are the kinds of books that I find entertaining," he said.
He writes mystery for the same reasons and has a second book being published in 2011 - Very Bad Men, the sequel to Bad Things Happen. We can undoubtedly look forward to more cases of unsavory death, complex characters and-hopefully for Dolan-continued critical acclaim.
Other Literary Events in September
Mostly Fiction Reading Group — Zeitoun
Sept. 20, 7 p.m.
Barnes and Noble, East Lansing / barnesandnoble.com, (517) 324-3926
This month's selection is the 2010 One Book, One Community read, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. Having to deal with the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was hard enough for most New Orleans citizens. But what if, as you help rescue other survivors, you are then arrested and accused of being a member of Al Qaeda? Dave Eggers tells the moving story of Syrian-born Abdulrahman Zeitoun and the way that life has radically changed in a post-9/11 world.
Fabulous Fiction
Sept. 13, 1-2:30 p.m.
CRDL- Faith Johnston Memorial Library / youseemore.com/Chippewa, (989) 433-0006
Join a discussion of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This epistolary novel tells the story of Juliet Ashton, an author who is looking for her next topic-anything but war. As luck would have it, Juliet starts corresponding with a group of people on Guernsey who used literature to help them survive the Nazi occupation of their island during WWII. Juliet is intrigued, and end up visiting to Guernsey in order to get more information.
Speculative Book Discussion
Sept. 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
CADL Downtown Library / cadl.org, (517) 367-6300
One of the best aspects of sci-fi is its ability to explore at a problem on both large and small scale at the same time. This month's book, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, does just that. In a Canterbury Tales-esque setting, Hyperion follows seven pilgrims on their quest to the Shrike. Their society is crumbling, and foundations of humanity are crumbling with it. This dark tale offers a look at what could happen to society if pushed to extremes.
