Behind the Scenes – Writing Mann Hunt

 

Here’s a behind the scenes look at a bit of the process that went into the writing of Mann Hunt.

 

First of all, my books are always set in Canada, and I try to ensure the locales are places that I am familiar with.  In the case of Mann Hunt, the story is situated in Calgary, Alberta which is nestled at the feet of the Rocky Mountains to the west and the open prairie to the east.  My partner grew up in Calgary and I have taken many trips to the city.  While the names of the establishments in the book are fictitious, those who have been to Calgary may recognize some of these places.  I drew on my personal experience, my partner’s knowledge of the city and photos we took on our various trips.

 

As for the mystery itself, there are a lot of different types of research involved.  Much of it is doing a lot of internet research or reaching out to friends who have worked in policing. But in terms of structure, I love British murder mysteries, so some of the research was simply watching other mysteries on TV and reading other mysteries to see what elements created the greatest sense of fun and drama.  One thing is clear, the most successful mysteries have a fascinating central character as their detective.

 

I have always wanted to write a deeply flawed character that needed redemption.  In the case of Mann Hunt, I started by building a deep history for my detective Declan Hunt.  The other central character, Charlie Watts needed to be a foil … an innocent who gets drawn into helping to solve the mysteries and in the process falls in love with his boss.  I spent a great deal of time building their history and back story so that there is a lot to explore over the three book series.

 

One last thing on process … I write my mystery novels backwards.  I start with the crime that is being investigated.  Then I create the world and the characters and determine who has means, motive and opportunity to commit the crime … and then comes the fun … determining when the clues come out, in which order things are revealed, and along the way what will keep the reader pushing forward through the mystery and eliminate some of the characters from being the guilty party.  In the case of Mann Hunt I had a complete draft written, and then changed the identity of the murderer and rewrote the entire last third of the book to create a more satisfying story.

 

Mann Hunt is book one of the Declan Hunt Mysteries series.

and will be released by Pride Publishing on August 29^th, 2023.

 

Hoodoo House (the second book in the series) will be released in June of 2024.

Ian loved his boys’ nights out and tonight’s was the perfect antidote to the unpleasant meeting he’d had earlier in the day. At the party Ian observed his usual rituals, saw the usual people and as always, avoided drinking so he was totally in control. When he looked at his watch, he was surprised at the time. It was late and he had to get home. He changed into his street clothes, bade the rest of the party-goers adieu and trundled his suitcase back to the car. He pressed the button on his key fob to open the trunk and was about to stow away his bag when a voice from the shadows said, “You come here often?”

Ian jumped.

“Jesus, what the fuck are you doing here?” Ian snapped.

“Just being curious, I guess. Just wondered what you got up to in your spare time.”

“I don’t appreciate being stalked. What do you want?”

“You know what I want!”

“We’ve talked about this before.”

The figure pulled a knife out of his coat pocket.

Ian saw the uncertainty in his assailant’s eyes. “I can’t do anything about this right now, but tomorrow, I’ll call you and give you what you want.”

The attacker lowered his knife slightly. Ian talked, soft and slow, saying what he knew his attacker wanted to hear. He finished with, “I promise.”

“You’d better be telling the truth,” the assailant said as he spit his gum out on the drive and disappeared back into the shadows.

Ian started shaking. I’ve got to get home. Katherine will be worried. His trunk was open and his suitcase was still sitting on the ground. He put his bag in the trunk and drove down the driveway, through the gates as they opened and out onto the main access road.

A figure stepped out of the shadows and flagged him down.

What does he want now? he thought. He lowered his window and said, “I’ll deal with this tomorrow.”

Then Ian realised that something wasn’t quite right.

A voice said, “I don’t believe you. Give me the keys.”

“What?”

“The car keys. Give me your car keys!” the attacker snapped, reaching in the window and grabbing onto Ian’s hair. It was then that Ian saw the gun.

His heart pounded as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and handed them over with a shaky hand.

“Out of the car. Now!”

As soon as he stepped out, Ian was grabbed and dragged towards the back of the car. The trunk lid popped open. The man tore off the emergency trunk lid release tab before saying, “Get in.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Get in and you’ll find out.”

Ian climbed into the trunk and curled himself into a protective ball as the lid slammed shut. He was in total darkness. His suitcase, which contained all of the objects of the beautiful aspect of his life, pressed painfully into his back. The engine roared and the car reversed, then sped ahead. Every turn, corner, pothole and stop sent him ricocheting around his tight prison cell. As the car bounced on a particularly deep rut, his head hit the hinge of the trunk and blood trickled down his face.

The car came to an abrupt stop and the driver’s side door opened, then closed. The trunk lid popped open.

He wasn’t sure where he was. It was remote, and in the distance he could hear water running.

“Get out.”

Ian’s limbs felt heavy and he was having trouble disentangling himself from the suitcase and other items in the trunk.

The man said, “Now, I hope you know I’m serious about this. Are you going to give me what I want?”

Something inside Ian snapped. For once, he wanted things to go his way. He stared directly at his attacker and said, “No, you will not get what you want. And you will pay for this. I’ll go to the papers and tell them everything.”

Then Ian started to run. He got twenty feet before his left foot caught on a tree root and he fell. He looked back and could see that his assailant was nearly on top of him.

Ian curled his legs beneath him, and with every last ounce of strength, launched himself directly at his attacker, driving his head into the assailant’s stomach and knocking the wind out of him. Ian turned around and started to run past his car and along a trail which seemed to head towards a street lamp.

He got no more than fifty feet down the path when the man tackled him from behind. He landed with a crack. Ian looked up into the sky. So many stars, he thought. So many…

When Ian came to, he felt as if he were floating. His head throbbed and he couldn’t see out of his left eye. His brain swam in a sea of confusion. He was naked. None of this made sense. Ian tried to stand up but his legs wouldn’t oblige. He was surrounded by water. His brain shouted messages of danger and get to safety, but his body failed to cooperate. The cold water felt good. It eased the pain. The trees and stars above swirled as he thought, I used to like swimming. Then he descended into blackness.