between Washington DC, where she lives with her husband, and York, UK, where she enjoys living in history, lingering over teas, and knocking around in pubs.
Her new novel is And By Fire.
Recently I asked Hawtrey about what she was reading. Her reply:
I’ll tell you what I am not reading—a mystery. Why? Because when I am writing (especially first-drafting) I avoid novels in the same genre to keep my characters’ voices as pure and authentically mine as possible.Visit Evie Hawtrey's website.
So currently I am reading Volume I of the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encylopeaedia. It’s non-fiction and illustrated. The description on the back earnestly explains: “the photographs, drawing and texts published in this book are part of a collection of more than three thousand tattoos accumulated over a lifetime by prison attendant Danzig Baldaev.” I would like to meet Mr. Baldaev, but he has been dead since 2005.
The introduction to Volume I, written by Alexei Plutser-Sarno, features one of the best opening lines ever—a line that could just as easily start a novel: “Strang asit may seem, the tattoo-covered body of a vor v zakone (legitimate thief), is primarily a linguistic object.” God, I wish I’d written that. And speaking of God, tattoos on vory that appear religious really aren’t, trust me on this one.
My dive into understanding the body-language of the Russian criminal class is part of the research for my next book—a follow-on mystery to And by Fire. My modern detectives, Nigella Parker and Colm O’Leary, are caught in the middle of another twisty multiple murder situation in modern London. This one involves Russian oligarchs and their associates. Not surprisingly, at least one of their victims has numerous tattoos. For the record, this author has none. There’s a drawing of a cat wearing a fancy hat, lace collar and bow tie while smoking a pipe on page 116 that caught my eye and tempted me. But alas he would indicate that I am “a recidivist convict” with no conscience. Very not me.
--Marshal Zeringue
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