Paul Alan Fahey on A Deadly Game of Malice

Paul Alan Fahey on A Deadly Game of Malice

I have to tell you I'm an avid Agatha Christie fan. Always have been. Always will be. I started reading her terrific mysteries as a teenager and was lucky enough, during the 1960's and '70's, to read every new book she wrote at the time her publisher released them. To the reading public, the latest Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, released at Christmastime, became known throughout the reading world as "A Christie for Christmas," and I devoured each and every one of them.

Not one to delve too deeply into the psychology of her characters or spend an inordinate amount of time on character development, Christie became famous for her ingenious plots. And deservedly so. The idea for my latest Lovers and Liars novella, A Deadly Game of Malice, came from one of my favorite Christie plots in The Moving Finger: a rash of poison pen letters circulate in a small English village and a series of murders follows. Given this situation, I took two of my characters, Caroline Graham -- now six months pregnant -- and Leslie Atwater -- suffering recurring PTSD from the Blitz -- and set them smack dab in the middle of it.

Are the sudden deaths connected to the letters? Or are the letters a smokescreen meant to hide the killer's real motive for the crimes? As weeks pass and bodies mount, Caroline, with Leslie's help, must use all her cunning and put her life at risk to uncover a cold-blooded murderer -- a remorseless killer who continues to raise the stakes in a deadly game of malice.

I hope you have as much fun reading the book as I had writing it. Please let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

Paul Alan Fahey
paulalanfahey.com