Interview with Gerald Hansen, Author of Out of Jurisdiction: The Last Of Maggie

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?

It was on a cruise down the Nile, taken with a friend of mine to celebrate the release of Murder Rinse Repeat, the fourth book in my Derry Murder Mysteries, that the idea came to me. I’d been wondering for a while if I might shake things up a bit for the fifth book. One thing I was certain of: I loved writing about Derry and my team, DI McLaughlin, DS D’Arcy, and co. (and readers seem to enjoy them as well), so I didn’t want to switch to a new set of characters in a different location.

But as I dragged myself up the steps to Abu Simbel, and as I gazed up at the columns of Luxor, I could imagine DI McLaughlin doing the exact same thing, the sweat lashing off him just as it was me. Only he would do it while he was trying to solve a murder… out of his jurisdiction. And if I made the victim and suspects also from Derry, the team back home would have to help him uncover the perpetrator of the murder in an exotic and exciting foreign location. So the first in a semi-series was born, Derry Murders: Out of Jurisdiction.

I also thought that some readers might still be hankering for a dark, rain-drenched murder in Derry as well, so I have a second murder for the team to investigate in this book, the mysterious and disturbing case of a man found mauled to death on the side of a lonely road one night under a full moon. Two for the price of one.

I already have the plot for book six lined up (it’s a murder on a Gaelic pitch, so very Derry-centric), and there’s no way to shoehorn a foreign location in there—although, truth be told, for a brief moment I had sleepless nights trying to devise a reason for the team to have to travel to Amsterdam or Poland before I gave up. So the second in the semi-series will have to wait. But for now, I’m wondering for the next Out of Jurisdiction book… Brazil? Nepal? China? Only time will tell.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?

Ha! I love this question, though maybe I know a bit too much about music, and the songs I’ve chosen might have people scratching their heads. I say... head to YouTube to check them out! For the pedantic and PC DS Nancy D’Arcy, it has to be “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” by the Spin Doctors.

For louche ladies’ man-in-his-mind, DC Tom Lyons, either “What’s New Pussycat?” by Tom Jones or “Daddy Cool” by Boney M.

For tech whiz DC Fern Hawkins, stuck at her desk as she is, and with maybe a new love interest in her life, Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love.”

DC Hens Cahill listens to RetroCharts in the book (more on that later), so he doesn’t have a theme song per se, but when he’s in his car with Lyons en route to an interview, music is always at the fore, and as obsessed with music as I am, those scenes are always a joy to write. I always wonder if the readers seek out the songs… It would be great if they did.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

One of the reasons I decided to switch genres from dark humor is that crime fiction—Scandi-noir, police procedurals, and murder mysteries—is my favorite to read. I especially love foreign ones, which explains why I chose to keep the location of my new series the same as my last, in my mother’s hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland. I lived there for years as a child (during the Troubles!) and nowadays it seems I’m never out of it. I’m not a native, no, but I think I know the city well enough to give my books the verisimilitude the genre requires.

As for specific Police Service of Northern Ireland rules (they are quite different from even the rest of the UK), I am grateful that a member of the PSNI met with me, gave me a tour of the station, and answered my many questions (and still does). The ridiculous questions this poor person has to put up with! But, again, I’m very grateful.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Being new to the genre, I’m not sure if other crime writers do this, but it became obvious to me with the complicated plot of the first book that I would have to construct a murder board in my home. I do this now with every book, complete with arrows and pins, maps, and photos of victims and suspects, friends and family that I’ve culled from Google searches of strangers who just look how I imagine my characters do. And I visit Derry to get photos of the actual crime scenes to put on the board; I wonder if the local tourist board will start conducting Derry Murder Mystery tours of all my murder sites, ha! Visitors to my home are startled when they see my murder wall. If they didn’t know what I write, it would definitely look suspicious! Is he a serial killer? A stalker? No, just a crime writer.

Another writing habit is that I must write outside, and thankfully, I live in California, so the weather’s usually perfect for it. And I simply must listen to music when I’m writing, though I’m very picky about my music. I can’t listen to the same type over and over. I used to have to think long and hard about what playlist I would choose to listen to before I started writing for the day—wasting time I should have spent writing—and then I discovered RetroChartsRadio, which really changed my life! It plays every UK Top 40 hit from the twentieth century on random elimination, which means two things: no repeats for six weeks, and many songs that radio and playlists seem to have forgotten! Music problem solved in one! I’m so grateful to RetroCharts; I always give them a mention in my books. And, no, I’m not being paid by them, ha! I never write without also listening to RetroCharts now.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I don’t, but friends have told me I’m the king of manifestation. I think of it more as good luck landing in my lap (or the universe aligning a certain way in my favor? I did something very, very good in a different life?). I don’t even want to bring up my current living situation, as it’s so marvelous and I don’t want the evil eye shining on me. But I will admit... thanks to a great friend, I get free flights around the world, so when I’m not writing I’m usually traveling. Name a country and I’ve probably been there, might even have written a few pages, done some editing there. Thankfully, I know many people around the world due to years teaching ESL, so I am graciously welcomed with open arms wherever I choose to go, which is more exciting than just landing on the tarmac as a tourist. (This might explain why I think I could pull off an entire Derry Murders: Out of Jurisdiction series.)

It was when I was at the CWA’s Dagger Awards ceremony in London in July—wearing a tuxedo for the first time in my life, my lovely ‘mammy’ at my side, champagne glass in my hand, surrounded by all these famous and talented crime writers—that I thought… “But I just got this plan in my head two years ago! How did it come to this so quickly?” Honestly, I was feeling a bit of the imposter syndrome, but then again, my sales prove I had the right to be there. Manifestation, good luck, karma, the universe aligning, or hard work? Maybe a bit of all five.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I’m not sure if murder is a genre that readers ‘take’ things from. However, I always remember wise words from a friend of mine, who told me she respects books she’s learned something from. It takes some research, but I always try to include something in my books that might not be known to readers, something that might enlighten them. In The Last of Maggie, readers not only get to experience what a Nile cruise is like, I’ve also included some tidbits about ancient Egypt, and something shocking that I discovered myself while writing the book: our letters come from hieroglyphs! I didn’t have a clue!

More important than this extra knowledge, however, I want readers to think, ‘That was a good read! Never saw that coming!’ I hope the plot keeps them on the edge of their seat and that they’re eager to sink their teeth into my next murder mystery.