The places that leave an impression on my imagination are not usually the ones I’d expect. They’re not your average vacation hot spots, all-inclusive resorts with endless buffets or even famed cities steeped in history. They’re not necessarily the places I want to return to (though I’d never turn my nose up at a free trip, either.)
Detroit is one of those cities that caught my attention for no particularly good reason. I know as well as anyone else it’s not a city that you’d expect or desire to be moved by. However, my first time driving through Detroit some years ago, on my way to a concert, there it was. Like a feather passed along my nerve endings, a jolt of awareness. There’s something for me here, I thought. At the time, I didn’t quite know what, but I filed the impression away and knew I’d somehow come back to it.
It took a few years, though. In the meantime, I’d moved from Toronto to Vancouver to write a suspense novel (Eyes Like Mine) about a damaged but very resilient woman named Nora Watts. When Nora’s story began to take shape as a series, I knew that for the second book I wanted her to hunt down the clues to her past in an American city. That’s when I remembered Detroit. It was perfect. I have strong feelings about it, firstly, and it also has an incredible music scene. Nora has a powerful connection with music, so it seemed like the ideal location. It’s also very different from Vancouver and I thought that juxtaposition would be interesting to examine.
The events of this sequel would take place over a relatively short period of time, and I knew I had to approach it differently from how I write Vancouver. I wanted my Detroit experience to be short and immersive, a shock to my system and Nora’s, so I planned five days there and contacted a private investigator to show me the ropes.
There was a snag almost immediately.
The private investigator was so busy he foisted me off on his friend. Given Detroit’s reputation, I was suspicious of this “friend,” but it was coming down to the wire and I needed someone. I said, what the hell, and agreed to let a stranger pick me up from the bus station when I arrived in from Toronto.
I’m quite impulsive when it comes to travel, but even I had reservations about the wisdom of this plan.
However, luck was on my side. My private investigator was not a murderous psychopath, as I’d feared. He was an active police investigator named Ira Todd who genuinely enjoyed talking to writers. (I promise I’m not making this up!)
When he picked me up, he said, “My task force just broke a 2-year old case and I’ve got to get back to headquarters to interview a witness. Want to come along?”
Did I ever! Instead of depositing me at reception, which is what I’d expected, he took me to meet the other members of the homicide task force and allowed me to watch the interview take place on a live feed. It was incredible to see this seasoned interviewer talk to a witness just as a case was breaking. I’d never seen anything like it.
I spent five days with Ira, riding in his undercover vehicle, getting to know this city he’d lived in his entire life, the streets he’d patrolled and worked his butt off to keep safe. I learned how, when the city crumbled and became the punchline of a nasty joke, the people who could leave did and everyone else was left to pick up the pieces. I talked to everyone I could. Some people loved this broken city and others hated it. No matter what their views were, just about everybody had a strong opinion they were eager to share—and share at length.
At the end of my brief trip, I said goodbye to my guardian angel Ira, who’d gone out of his way to show me that Detroit isn’t good or bad. Like everywhere else, it’s a bit of both, and everything in between. It’s the perfect city for this part of Nora’s journey because you can’t go there without feeling something. I hope I was able to put some of that feeling into the book. If it didn’t come through, it’s entirely my fault. The city of Detroit, as always, gave me one hell of a ride.
It All Falls Down by Sheena Kamal (Published by Zaffre Books)
Nora Watts is being hunted . . . When Nora Watts is approached by a man claiming to know her late father, she is thrown into turmoil. Struggling with the imminent death, from cancer, of her friend and mentor Sebastian Crow, she is unprepared for the memories that this encounter brings back. What happened to her father that made him kill himself and abandon Nora and her sister? Heading to Detroit to try and find some answers about his life there, Nora expects to discover a reason behind his suicide. Instead, she finds more questions than answers. But trouble always follows Nora, and it's found her in Detroit, a city that is as broken as she is.
More information about the author and her books can be found on her website. You can also follow her on Twitter @sheena_kamal. You can also find her on Facebook.
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