Doug Cummings
Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Your background puts you on “both sides of the street” as the back flap of Every Secret Crime reads. Which do you like better - reporting the crime or officially investigating it? Are you a better reporter or cop?

I was young, overeager and thoughtless as a cop. In it more for the excitement than anything else. I did stupid things, pulled stunts, got into fights and car chases, went into dangerous situations on my own without backup and generally acted like a goof. I loved every minute of it but, looking back, see numerous situations where I should have had my head handed to me. I was very, very fortunate because I was not a particularly "good" cop. In fact, they call those kinds of officers, "John Wayne's."

I was a better reporter because I had the police experience. More understanding and less aggressive. More a negotiator. More observant. Certainly more knowledgeable about how cops operate. More mature. My background added depth to my reporting, especially during live coverage of breaking police stories when I could put what was happening into perspective. That was part of what made crime reporting so much fun. And of course the adrenaline bump of running to breaking stories at all hours of the day and night.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Of course this leads me to ask - are you Reno McCarthy? Have you found yourself in life-threatening situations similar to the ones in the novel?

Reno is far better looking and faster with a quip and his fists. But as far as getting into scrapes, yes, as a reporter I landed in the middle of a car chase between cops and a couple of armed robbers who decided to shoot it out. Luckily my photographer was trying to film as he drove so we quickly ended up in a ditch and out of harm's way. I've had cops point guns at me just for showing up at a crime scene (outside the tape) and refusing to leave. I had the police chief of my town remind me repeatedly that he knew where I lived. Conversely, as a cop, I pointed guns at people (including a multiple murderer hidden under a kitchen sink. What some people keep in their cabinets!) I was involved in a high-speed pursuit of two armed robbery suspects who turned around and rammed us head-on and another where the car we were chasing sideswiped another and I almost ran over the driver when she was thrown out. I've been shot at, cut with knives(not during meal preparation). And I've hit a few bad guys in the fist with my head.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

I felt like no sympathy was given to the fact that Trey Hayden, only 17, was brutally murdered in his home. Is this because his murder is just a vehicle for the deeper mystery in this small town?

I think Reno showed his sympathy by going after the killer, don't you?

BCQ: Touche!

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Theo Zak's hand dabbles in every aspect of Wihega County life. You might say he "owns" the whole town. How does one man become God in a place like this? Is Reno the first person willing to rock the boat and keep on rocking even when he's hardest hit?

Zak represents an amalgam of people I've known or covered. A county "fixer" I knew who had his "office" in the courthouse snack bar; a suburban mayor with mob ties who did his best to cover up a murder, another mayor with mob ties who kept trying to open a casino in his town, a lawyer/minister who sued literally anyone who said anything bad about him or his church, and dozens of politicians who were the gods of their own little patch, whether a state, county, town or a legislative district. They rose to their positions by first currying the favor of the wealthy and powerful, eventually learning secrets and amassing a power base by use of that information and doing favors for the little people around them. Their type clean up alleys, get rid of rats, build parks and playgrounds and find steady government jobs for their friends and neighbors. They also cover up indiscretions, take kickbacks and use their power to hammer their enemies. They stab people in the back and call it reform. In fact, if they play the game well enough, they get asked to run for Vice President.

Study the history of Tammany Hall in New York or read up on the Chicago Democratic machine or just watch your own city council meetings and you'll see some real life examples of the word "clout." Think about that the next time you hear someone described as a "statesman."

It's a scary thing to rock the boat in a clout-infested world, especially if you have to live there while you're doing the rocking. Reno, fortunately, is an outsider and has the power of the media behind him. In his case he's doing what a good reporter is supposed to do: holding up a mirror in front of society's ills.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that because of the traumatic events in his recent past, Reno is a man who has emotionally flown the coop. Because of this he seems to give no care to putting himself in danger. This causes many people he cares about, like Al and Sunny, to also be in constant danger. What does this say about the kind of person he is?

You describe some of the classic symptoms of a psychopath. Scary, huh? Reno is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, harbors an intense dislike for clout-heavy people like those described in the last paragraph and carries more than his share of testosterone. He's also pretty narrowly focused, which helps when you're trying to find a multiple murderer.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Furthermore, completely shunning the man who raised you as his own - no matter what he's done - seems cold and heartless to me. But that's at odds with the rest of the vibe I got from Reno's character. Is there a caring, thoughtful man behind the angry one we know in this book?

Oh come on. Reno's a pussycat. He's just having a bad week. No doubt he sends Sunny flowers on her birthday and mows his elderly neighbor's lawn. But anger is what drives him, that's for sure. You may want to read the next book in the series to understand why.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

I definitely thought Moira was only out for herself. As a matter of fact, I didn't like her at all for most of the story! At the end though I got to thinking that she was also just a pawn in a powerful men's game. Should she be held responsible for her actions, like sleeping with half the courthouse, or is she just trying to make it in a man's world?

She's playing the game in the way she knows how to play it. Sex, as it is for so many powerful people, is one of her weapons. In her own way, she's as tough as Sunny, but vulnerable, too. As States Attorney, do you think she'll make some changes in Wihega County or turn it into her own little fiefdom, like Zak did? Or will the people who assume power in the county post-Zak see her as a liability? I'm not sure, but stay-tuned. Reno may encounter her in a future book.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

There is a definite undertone of familial relationships and their significance running through this book. Many of the relationships are "half" or "adopted." Does the type of relationship affect the way these people react to one another? For example, if Vinnie was Ray's blood father, would he behave differently? And without spoiling anything, would some of the other characters, like Zak or Wescott, have handled their lives differently?

Hard to say about Vinnie and Ray. Frankly, I didn't even know Ray until he presented himself in this book. It's funny how characters sometimes appear without warning, but it happens to me frequently. He's another person we may learn more about in upcoming Reno novels.

As for Wescott, he never really got to be a child, did he? I see him as one of those kids who read a lot and hung out in his room and built crystal radios. Although he also played some sports. Zak, hmmmm. Not sure if it was nature or nurture with him but it appears to me he set out from the first part of his career to control the people around him. That would suggest a childhood he perceived as out of control in some way or another, wouldn't it? I don't know if he could have changed his take on the world or not.

Reading Group Ideas: Interview an Author: Doug Cummings

When you started writing Every Secret Crime, did you already know the outcome? Did any of the twists you've incorporated work themselves in as you were writing?

I had an idea where I was going but not all the routes I would travel to get there. Wescott's character and abilities played a large part in creating several of the twists. I wasn't sure of the ending but knew it would be, like the beginning, written in third person. I like mixing point of view in what's essentially a first person novel.

BCQ: Where is Reno now? Will we be seeing him again?

Doug: Reno is vacationing at his villa in the south of France with Sunny and Socks-Monster, the feline action hero. He is saving up his energy for the third book in the series, which is in progress.