The Killing of Bobbi Lomax, my debut
novel, focuses on the search for a deadly bomber in a small, devout town.
It was so fundamental to the narrative to create
an oppressive setting and to help with this I created my town
as hemmed in on all sides by mountains and desert, essentially cut
off from the outside world. Its physical
landscape matches the claustrophobic psychological state that many of its
residents experience on a day to day within the controlling rules the Faith has
established.
Because
living in what's essentially a closed religious community is a
world that many people in the Western world no longer experience, it was vital
to make both my cops, Marty and Al, outsiders -- so that they
could act as a conduit for the readers’ questions. As outsiders, both men
have differing experiences and attitudes to the Faith and the world around
them and we witness its impact on not just the townsfolk, but
them as individuals. I hope that their position as outsiders, albeit to
varying degrees, works to introduce the reader to the world of Abraham
City. It was also vital, because one of the novels other
key characters, Clark Houseman, is so compelling a study,
that I create interesting cops, so that Clark not suck up
all the narrative's oxygen. With that in mind it was
vital to give Marty and Al intriguing back-stories and also give them
a shared past like a long married couple. Obviously, it was important that
this information be drip fed to the reader, little by little, otherwise there
would just be too many establishing facts served in a dollop up front in
the narrative rather than creating enticing multi-layered characters
for the reader to unpeel like the proverbial onion. As written, the
readers unravel the cops recent shared and
individual pasts, as much as I want to reveal, for there is,
after all, a prequel in the writing so no spoilers. Through Marty and Al
we meet the other players in the drama, the townsfolk, many of whom are
under suspicion of being the bomber, but others who are there to add light and
shade and show us our cops on the case, individually and together and, in
doing so, reveal their true personalities. In Iran they say that you can
tell how devout a woman is by how far back on her head she wears her
headscarf, but just as in Iran, rebellion - even slight - is
dangerous and the Faith are all too aware of that.
In
Abraham City people can get the measure of you by what you choose to serve them
as refreshment. But, conversely, this is a world where neighbours spy on
neighbours, so what you are being shown may not be your
neighbour's reality at all. So, suspicion and false accusation is
rife. The Faith has made spies of its citizens and, in turn, those in
power spy on all the citizens because to take their eye off the ball may allow
dissenters to gather and grow and threaten the status quo. Best to cut off
dissent before it can ferment. But when you do that you create enemies who
might not strike back until you are least expecting it. To quote my ultimate
writing hero, Shakespeare, “Revenge is a
dish best served cold”.
You can follow Cal Moriarty on Twitter @Calmoriarty
The Killing of Bobbi Lomax by Cal
Moriarty is out now (Faber & Faber, £12.99)
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