The great thing about crime fiction is that you never know what’s going to happen next, and this interview is an example of that. We’d set it up to talk to author J Kushley about his recent novel, Collateral Death, but to our surprise, its protagonist turned up as well. So this is an interview with J Kushley and Percival Hoover – an impeccably dressed Pembroke Welsh Corgi. In bringing it to you I have fulfilled one of my lifelong ambitions, which is to interview a talking dog!
I am more than excited, but I better not let it show. Look at his eyes.
Collateral Death is a British noir mystery set in the north-eastern coastal town of Bellwick: a place of bad weather, long memories and institutions that prefer their secrets buried. When two teenagers turn up dead and everyone seems content to call it misfortune, one detective refuses to let it lie. That detective is the aforementioned Percival Hoover, who somehow manages to navigate the baffling world of human beings with ease even though he stands just one foot tall at the shoulder. What’s notable about him is not just that he can talk, but that he seems sharper than most of us.
The people of Bellwick have grown used to a talking dog among their citizens. Mr Hoover has just hopped onto his chair now, straightening his tie with a paw, and so we’re ready to begin…
Mr Hoover, what can crime fiction lovers expect from Collateral Death?
Hoover: I’ll start by objecting to your masthead. Fiction! It wasn’t fiction to me, whatever style Kushley wrote it in. One of the dead was a girl I tutored, I helped her through her dyslexia. So forgive me if I have mixed feelings about the whole thing ending up between covers for strangers to enjoy. That particular brand of voyeurism is precisely the sort of…
Kushley: Ah. To actually answer the question: at its heart Collateral Death is a missing-truth story, and the people who could bury that truth would very much rather it stayed lost. What mattered most to me was Bellwick itself: its streets, its mood, its people. And the very particular nature of our protagonist. A brilliant detective, but a… well…
Hoover: Say it. I dare you.
Kushley: …a complex character.
Hoover: We’ll talk about this later.
It’s fairly clear who the main character is. But how did the book come to be?
Kushley: I was commissioned by Bellwick Council to document Detective Hoover’s cases. They run a transparency initiative, and this is part of it. As this case rather shook the town’s foundations, it seemed the natural place to begin.
Hoover: For the record, I took part under protest. The council made me cooperate — a clear-cut case of blackmail.
Kushley: I’m not certain you’re allowed to say that publicly.
Hoover: I’ll show you the loophole in the contract later.
So, Mr Hoover — what were you up against?
Hoover: Everyone wanted this one buried. The police most of all — one individual there in particular. I won’t name him. I described him to Kushley well enough that the book gets him right, which is the most useful thing I’ve asked of the man. At first glance you might have called it an accident. But I knew her. She wouldn’t have got tangled in something like this of her own accord.
Kushley: By ‘her’, Detective Hoover means Chloe. One of the victims.
Hoover: Right. I sometimes wonder whether I should have left it alone. But I knew her — and once you know one of the names, you don’t get to look away. That’s about all I can say without spoiling it, which I’ve been forbidden to do. I didn’t like what I found.
Mr Kushley, what makes this book special? What was the treat for you as a writer?
Kushley: The contrasts. A corgi as your lead — a breed people file under cosy and light — and then these genuinely dark, noir stretches. Serious matter. And the next moment, humour again. I once heard Ricky Gervais say it’s vital to be able to laugh when things are at their blackest. I wanted that in here.
Hoover: So I’m a joke to you.
Kushley: Not in the least. But the way you move through this world — the dignity you carry to offset your, let’s say, particular existence — it can be very funny. And readers tell me those moments make you easy to like, and the weight of the case easier to bear.
Hoover: That may be the most intelligent thing I’ve heard you say. There’s hope for you yet.
Readers seem fascinated by the practical side — how you actually manage day to day.
Hoover: I adapted. The flat’s mine, rebuilt to suit. Taps I can reach, drawers I can read by scent, a kettle I can work without scalding myself more than occasionally. One learns. Or one goes thirsty.
How did you get into solving crimes? Any influences — famous detectives you admire, perhaps?
Hoover: I was a social worker. A tragic incident set me on a different path. As for influences — I haven’t any. I don’t read crime fiction, and I have no interest in all those invented detectives. Though there was one constable, on a case years ago, who saw the shape of the thing far sooner than I’d have credited him for. That impressed me.
Kushley: And if I may speak for the writer: I kept away from other animal-led books, to stay fresh. But I was certainly shaped by writers who work with the strange — Tana French, Belinda Bauer, and of course Mick Herron. The dry humour and bleakness of Slow Horses is exceptional.
What’s it been like working with J Kushley?
Hoover: He writes it all down. That’s the arrangement, and he keeps to it — which is more than I can say for most.
Kushley: I’d like to think it’s a partnership of sorts…
Hoover: You may file it under whatever heading you like.
Have you met any other talking dogs?
Hoover: Everyone knows dogs don’t talk.
Right. Well, given that poker face on the cover, we’d wager you’re good at cards?
Hoover: I usually won. For some reason no one will play with me anymore. Which suits me, given my schedule.
And who’s the young woman in black on the cover?
Hoover: That’s Meura. She helped a great deal with the investigation — particularly in all the ‘modern’ quarters. Computers and the like. Not my scene.
Kushley: More than that, though. His friendship with Meura is one of the most touching threads in the book. The night she carried him home from the bar, after he…
Hoover: That’s enough, Kushley… She’s a good sort. Next question.
Speaking of schedules — what’s next? Any new cases?
Hoover: There’s always a case. Humans are remarkably good at getting into trouble. Though I’ll have to investigate more carefully from now on — to keep the next one from ending up in a book.
Kushley: Wait. So what you told me last week wasn’t true?
Hoover: I didn’t lie. I simply didn’t tell you everything. You ought to learn the difference.
It was at this point that Percival Hoover decided the interview was over. We thank them both for taking the time to join us here on Crime Fiction Lover.
Collateral Death by J Kushley is available in bookstores and on Amazon. Watch for our review soon. Secure your copy with the buttons below.
