The Femmes Fatales welcome Jean Rabe

posted by Dana

Here at the Femmes Fatales, we know a little something about writing across genres, which is why we are so pleased to have Jean Rabe with us today.  Jean's an accomplished SF/F writer, and her first mystery, Dead of Winter, featuring Piper Blackwell, debuted earlier this week.  Jean, take it away! 

I Love Harry Bosch (and a few other mystery characters) by Jean Rabe

Characters are the essential building blocks for novels. Great characters drive series and careers, no matter the plotting and pacing of the books wrapped around them. Flat characters can sink even the most clever, intricate storylines. If I read a book with one of those flat characters, I put the author on my “don’t buy another one” list.

Harry Bosch is a superb character, and he has tugged me through all of Michael Connelly’s books. Yeah, I bought them all…even the ones where Bosch makes only a guest appearance or doesn’t even show up. Connelly’s constant appearance on bestseller lists means he has tens of thousands of readers just like me. As I said, great characters can drive careers.

I met LAPD Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch in 1993 when I picked up Michael Connelly’s The Black Ice, the second Bosch book. My editor (I was writing high fantasy at the time) told me Connelly was excellent and I should read him. I always read “outside my genre” and attended all manner of writing-related conventions. I happened to be at a mystery con where Connelly was signing books—I think it was a Boucheron, so I took my copy of The Black Ice, visited the convention dealer’s room and found The Black Echo—the first Bosch book, and chatted with the author. That was before Harry and his creator became a serious serious serious big deal, and there wasn’t a line at his signing table. We had a lengthy conversation—about books, crime (I used to be a crime reporter), crafting characters, and west coast sunsets—I’d seen a few, but not enough.

I read The Black Echo right after the convention. My editor was right—Connelly was excellent. And I fell in love with Harry Bosch. Harry’s a complex man, born in 1950 to a prostitute, orphaned, a Vietnam veteran, named for the 15th century Dutch painter. He loves good blues and jazz—vinyl, passes quiet evenings on his deck, and in later books he treasures time with his daughter. His partners have come and gone…all good characters too. Harry feels real to me, a three-dimensional someone who I could run into at a Mexican restaurant. Connelly has made him deep and flawed and heroic.

Harry’s made it a tad difficult on other fictional characters; there aren’t a great many out there that can touch that high bar he’s set. Here’s a list of all the Harry Bosch books—or books he’s appeared in, in order, in case you haven’t discovered this amazing character. And if you have discovered him, the list will let you know if you’re missing any.

The Black Echo (1992); The Black Ice (1993); The Concrete Blonde (1994); The Last Coyote (1995); Trunk Music (1997); Angels Flight (1999); A Darkness More Than Night (2001); City Of Bones (2002); Lost Light (2003); The Narrows (2004); The Closers (2005); Echo Park (2006); The Overlook (2007); The Brass Verdict (2008); Nine Dragons (2009); The Reversal (2010);The Drop (2011); The Black Box (2012); The Burning Room (2014); The Crossing (2015); The Wrong Side of Goodbye (2016)

Connelly’s Mickey Haller is good, too, but he’s not yet up there with Harry. Or maybe I’m just not as keen on courtroom drama. Still, I buy them all. Connelly is just that awesome.

Other characters have tugged me through series. I am especially fond of Robert Crais’ Joe Pike and Elvis Cole, and of course—Maggie. I was chatting with a literary agent at this past summer’s Killer Nashville. He asked me what mystery books I liked. Instead, I told him what characters I liked. He agreed that the best books and the best authors make you talk characters first. We had a great, long conversation about who we thought were the best, and we agreed on the following:

Favorite author-character combos
James Lee Burke and Dave Robicheaux; Jeffery Deaver and Lincoln Rhyme; Sara Paretesky and V.I. Warshawski; Robert B. Parker and Spencer and Jesse Stone; and Val McDermid and Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. Dana Stabenow and Kate Shugak were on my list for a while, but I didn’t want to read any more books set in Alaska. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

What makes Harry Bosch and these other characters so enticing to me? They have family and friends, have loved and lost, and their world has been painted realistically and is believable. For every strength, they have a weakness. They have likes and dislikes, fears that are amplified in just the right settings.

Their opponents are appropriately matched and challenging.

They are constant to the point veteran readers understand how those characters are going to react in given situations, and when something is going to chaff at those characters’ personalities.

In all of the books the conflict matches up well with the characters. The setting fits the characters like an old comfortable pair of shoes. There is just the right mix of dialog and narrative. And the stories all start with an interesting scene that builds. There are no wasted pages.

When I crafted my own mystery character, I took lessons from the masters…as well as attending oodles of seminars at mystery conventions and talking to sheriff deputies, attorneys, and Army veterans. My character, Piper Blackwell, is an Army veteran and newly-minted sheriff of a very rural county in southern Indiana.

I needed to make her deep and real, have a history, and be peppered with likes, dislikes, and challenges she was ultimately up to.

I asked myself:
What’s the worst thing I can do to Piper?
What’s the best thing that could happen to her?
What does she want? And am I going to give it to her?
What kind of music does she like? –driving rock, on the old side
What’s her beverage of choice? –coffee, really good coffee
Where does she live? –in an outdated apartment above her father’s double garage
What does she drive? –a two-door spec, she’s big on good gas mileage
How many Christmas cards does she send? –two boxes, double from previous years

 USA Today Bestselling author Jean Rabe has written 35 fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction novels. The Dead of Winter, her 36th, is her first mystery. She has roughly 100 short stories in print, has edited a couple dozen anthologies, and has edited more magazines than she cares to tally. When she isn’t writing or editing, she tosses tennis balls to her cadre of dogs, visits museums, and tries to find gamers who will play Axis & Allies with her.

Comments

[Mark]

I came to Connelly's books the other way around. I'm listening to them on audio, and I've listened to all the Mickey Haller books, and am not working on Bosch. I think I like Mickey a bit better, but I am loving the Bosch books, too. I have a long ways to go to catch up, but it will be fun.

And you are right - his characters are great, and great characters are what make a series appeal for a long time.

Congrats on the new book!

[Elaine Viets]

Welcome, Jean. Love your list of questions about Piper -- especially how many boxes of Christmas cards she sends. Congratulations on your new book.

[Mary Saums]

You're so right about Bosch. He's a real person to me. That scene in one of the early books, when a flashback hits him while closing in on the bad guy, made a little rip in my heart that still hurts just thinking about it.

I love the list of questions for Piper. Very helpful for when you need to circle around a character to figure him out. Thank you!

Looking forward to Dead Of Winter and your fantasy books too.