Road trip – had to be a winner, right? As a kid growing up in the narrow streets of northern England, I knew America as surely as I knew the grey concrete of my own back yard. For years, I had a recurring dream; I was driving along a winding coast road – steep rocky hills to the right, clear skies above – and dropping away to the left, grassy slopes and a sea so blue it would break your heart. It was California – no question in my mind. The hardboiled language and differences in culture portrayed in film adaptations of Raymond Chandler’s and Dashiell Hammett’s novels fascinated me: guns and cars and whisky-drinking women, the paradox of claustrophobic cities, and vast empty landscapes. They influenced my first attempts at writing, and because Humphrey Bogart played both Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, he spoke the words in my head.
At that time, British crime fiction was written by a wealthy, privately-educated elite and aimed at an aspiring middle class. Murder was a polite affair, conducted off-stage and with the minimum of blood, to present a pleasing puzzle to readers. Poor, working-class folk featured only as servants, “actresses” of questionable virtue, and dodgy characters set to enliven a scene. In my teens I read some, enjoyed a few, but felt alienated by most of what I read. I was drawn to the mysteries and thrillers on my father’s bedside table – Hammett, Ross Macdonald and the hard, uncompromising world of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels. The thrill of all that unencumbered dialogue! For me dialogue is like music – it has a rhythm and tone, a pace and lyricism which is unique to each place. Writers like Dennis Lehane and Elmore Leonard have superseded those early influences, fulfilling my appetite for the kind of dialogue, which, as John Fowles put it, “perform(s) other functions.” Thomas Harris appeals to my gothic sense of the dramatic, while Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series satisfies my inner geek (I am science-trained, and my novels feature a forensic scientist). Whichever way you look at it, American fiction remains key to my own work, so when my agent suggested setting a novel in the United States, I was eager to grasp the chance. I readily swapped Marlowe’s 1938 Plymouth for a Jeep Grand Cherokee, already dreaming of dusty roads and rodeos.
Professor Fennimore, one half of my fictional detective duo, travels the world as a consultant forensic expert. It was easy to move him stateside for a month or two, to the midwest, rather than California, because that was where my contacts were, but who cared – it felt like the writers’ equivalent of an invitation to kiss the Blarney Stone. It wasn’t a smooth ride, at least at first . . . A potential host dropped out after he was promoted to Police Chief. Then I fell and broke my hand – and I had meetings planned all over Oklahoma as well as the 400-mile road trip to St Louis – with me as the designated driver. My driver's licence, renewable subject to a medical review, was delayed. I couldn’t hire a car without it and I couldn’t get insured. The new licence, and the all-clear on my broken hand, finally came through just a few days before we were due to fly out.
Nothing – nothing – prepares a small islander for the scale of the U.S. Heading to a meeting with aDA in the rural town of Tahlequah, I drove by fields and more fields, stretching out over a wide, flat expanse that could fit England’s Great Cheshire Plain in its back pocket. Red and black Aberdeen Angus cattle wallowing in farm ponds echoed those at home, but what Oklahomans call a ‘pond’ we Brits would call a boating lake. Oklahomans dug more ponds and wells post-Dust Bowl than any other state and they need them. In early May, it felt almost arid, temperatures were in the 80s, and wheat was already ripening in the fields. I drove through Wagoner, Cherokee County, featured in Charles Portis's True Grit. It is flat and ferociously hot – totally at odds with my childhood dreams of winding coastal roads in California, with cliff-top ocean views and cool onshore breezes. But there were compensations: I was in Rooster Cogburn territory – Indian Territory – with a history and individuality to rival anything the West Coast could offer. In the 19th century, a saying went: “There is no Sunday west of St. Louis and no God west of Fort Smith.” The law has since exerted its influence, but this former haven for desperados still has its share of ne’er do-wells: methamphetamine cookers and pot growers skulk in the backwoods, and as one homicide detective put it, “It’s easier to hide a body than find one in Oklahoma.” All those ponds and hand-dug wells . . .
Of course, the Web is a great source of information, but there is no substitute for talking to real people, especially in trying to unravel the complexity of the U.S. justice system. Fennimore’s sleuthing partner is Detective Chief Inspector Kate Simms; admittedly a bit of a mouthful, but unwieldy titles aside, British policing is relatively simple in comparison with the US. We have just 43 police authorities across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, most operate under the same laws and statutes as everyone else, and there are nationally-agreed procedures and protocols. Compare that with 77 counties in Oklahoma alone, each of which will have its county Sheriff’s Office, with its own quirks and traditions; then factor in differences in State legislatures, the FBI, State Bureaus of Investigation, Highway Patrols, State Police, U.S. Department of Agriculture Police, the Marshals Service, and you must surely pity the poor Brit trying to make sense of it all.
I know – it’s fiction – why not make it up? CSI-style TV gives an impression of forensic science conducted in sleek glass buildings, autopsies performed in mood-lit morgues. But until a few weeks before my visit to Oklahoma’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the gurneys were so old and battered they kept throwing wheels and unceremoniously dumping bodies to the ground. Not every corpse rolled into the morgue was X-rayed, because the OCME couldn’t afford to buy a digital X-ray machine, and they had to set aside enough film for the old photographic rig to last out the year. Film was expensive, and the ME told us, “When it’s gone, it’s gone” – and when it was gone, they would just have to do things the hard way.
You don’t get that from internet research. Face-to-face, you hear a judge telling high-falutin’ lawyers that they should address their comments “to the third row of the Bixby Rodeo.” You meet the Homicide Detective who revisited a Jane Doe case annually over his entire 35-year career; the District Attorney who explained “The Cockroach Defence”: If you’ve got the facts on your side, argue the facts. If you’ve got the law on your side, argue the law. If you’ve got neither, crawl all over the evidence . . . It’s one reason prosecutors despise defense lawyers. And then there are the Team Adam consultants: retired cops, FBI agents, and marshals, who dedicate their retirement years to finding missing kids. You laugh at their rambunctious tales, but you also see the sadness behind their eyes, their humanity, and compassion, and that is what lends truth to a story, colouring the monochrome images (and morality) of those noir films, adding a depth which could only be guessed at by a hardboiled film fan from across the ocean.
A.D. Garrett has written a day-by-day blog of this U.S. research trip for Believe No One. Start reading it here.
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Believe No One Comment Sweepstakes: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 years or older as of the date of entry. To enter, complete the “Post a Comment” entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2015/07/a-brits-400-mile-road-trip-hunting-american-crime-a-d-garrett-believe-no-one beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) July 30, 2015. Sweepstakes ends 11:59 a.m. ET August 6, 2015. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law.
A.D. Garrett is the pseudonym for the writing collaboration between award-winning novelist, Margaret Murphy, and forensic scientist, Professor Dave Barclay. Everyone Lies, published in the UK in 2013 to wide acclaim, was their first collaboration.
Enticing title. If I don’t win your book, I will be purchasing it. I love McDonald, McBain and Deavers. I hope you enjoyed your visit to the US even though it sounds like there were issues at times.
Wow! Just the way that you describe your research for this novel, I believe the story is terrific. Thanks for the oportunity to win a copy.
I usually don’t believe anyone. I’d love to read this book.
I couldn’t stop reading the blog. I’m in for the contest, and will look out for further writing from the author.
One person’s history is another’s fantasy..look forward to this title…
After reading this post I’m more intrigued to read the offerings of this pairing. I’ll be looking forward to a new series and hoping I win this so I can try it.
The blog diary was interesting.
I really want to read this book. Such an interesting voice.
Believing everyone is always problematic-would love to read these
I like all the research you did, this book is definitely going to be a hit!
I would love to read this book, sounds very good.
Love to see novels written by women in the non-romance genre.
I think this sounds fascinating and would love to read it.
Enjoyed the first offering from this pairing and looking forward to reading more… Thank you for the article, blog link, and opportunity to enter!
Looks like a good one
Wish I’d thought of it first.
Love crime thrillers!
Despite all your troubles, I hope you enjoyed your US visit. I hope you return and explore more of our wonderful country. The Midwest is a wonderful place, but you really should see the Grand Canyon, the sequoias, the Everglades and all the other unique things in this huge country.
I would love to read this book – thanks for the chance
Sounds really good. Would love to win. Thx.
Love to win this; thanks for the chance
Would love to win!
Sounds Good
Oh, I need to read this book!
Sounds like a great book to me. I would love to read it. Thank you
Sounds like a winner to me!!
With a title like ‘Trust No One’ — how could you not want to read this book?!
how interesting
Looks great!
Yes, please enter me in this sweepstakes.
Thanks —
Oh Wow! I really want to read “Believe No One” by A.D. Garrett! I ordered his other book, “Everyone Lies” and just received it today. Always post a review on Goodreads, Criminal Element and Amazon. I will cross my fingers. Thank you for posting.
Sue
Would really enjoy reading more.
this book sounds great thanks
I love the description … getting to the real nuts and bolts instead of the idealized version from the telly!
Would love to win
I usually don’t believe anyone. The book sounds interesting. I would love to win a copy.
Pick me !
I am a member, although I don’t remember my member name. Please check my email address. That is the same.
I enjoyed reading about the troubles this poor Brit is having navigating our legal system in the US.
Count me in, please!
You have such interesting sweepstakes. Thanks.
sounds like a fun one
Loved the description of her rental car!
Book sounds very good, too!
Thank you,
BooksellerSAW
Sounds good – thanks for the chance to win.
Definitely count me in!!! Can’t wait to read TRUST NO ONE!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win & good luck to all who enter!!!:)
Thanks again.
I read the first book and eagerly await the second!
TRUST NO ONE. I won’t unless I win. Thanks for the opportunity to win. I can’t wait to read this one.
Oh, this looks like a good one!
sounds great sign me up
count me in!
This would be great, thanks.
I would love to read this!
Would love to win this for my husband!
count me in
Sounds like a great read.
sounds good.
Having read the first collaboration between crime author Margaret Murphy and forensic scientist Professor Dave Barclay I am looking forward to Believe No One, the second in the series. Thanks for offering me the chance to win this great book.
I would like this
Thanks for the possibility!
I really want to read this book. very intrigued
I would like to read the work of A.D. Garrett.
I enjoyed Everyone Lies and look forward to Believe No One.
I lived L.A. I enjoy his comments of his U.S. research. I want to read this.
Crime thrillers are my favorite genre….and this one looks fabulous
I would like this.
Sounds awesome – would love to read this!!
This would be a great book to add to my collection
Sounds like a great read!!!
my kind of story, thanks
fantastic
This sounds like a great read!
sounds cool
Very interesting and inspired theme for a road trip! These books would come alive all the more afterwards upon rereading.
I would love to read this one. Thank you for giving all of us the chance to win this fine giveaway.
This sounds like it would hold my interest.
Sounds great!
looks good
Sounds interesting!
Looks like a book I would enjoy!
Love the review, sounds totally interesting. I think I will read this book. Thank you for the chance to win it!
i waana read this!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Something I want to read!
Good deal, count me in!
Oh, this sounds awesome. I’m familiar with the midwest, so maybe I’ll find some opportunities to say ‘I know where that is!’ throughout the book.
Just my kind of reading!! Thanks for the chance!
Looks good
Want to read, thanks for the shot at it!
I’d love to add this to my stack of books “to be read” that is getting far too small. I need to have a nice big stack to choose from.
It looks like your research paid off! I’ve often wondered if the Americans who write about British detectives (Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes) spend a lot of time overseas researching. They must–as their books seem spot on! Plus its time for another Kate Simms adventure!
I kove the Brits’!!
Like the concept – Brit in America – looking forward to reading it.
I really want to read this! Pick me!
I do believe no one!! Count me in 🙂
I have been reading your magazine all night I dont want to put it down. Can I order a subscription from the us?