Henry James, that is
As you may have gathered, each volume of Crime with the Classics is themed around a different classic author. Sometimes the connections are strong, sometimes subtle. They may center on characters, themes, plot elements, or a general mood.
If you’ve read any Henry James, you’ll know that one thing you can never count on with him is a happy ending. Don’t worry—that’s not a characteristic I drew on in writing Justice with James. Traditional mysteries demand happy endings, and this one won’t disappoint.
What I’m primarily playing off here is James’s ghost stories. The most famous of these is The Turn of the Screw, but he wrote a number of others as well. The ghostly presences manifest in a wide variety of ways in the different stories, but there’s one common thread: The ghost (or other supernatural phenomenon) tends to target one character in particular with a very specific agenda. It could be revenge, it could be seduction, it could be protection, it could be a sort of passing on of a torch. You’ll have to read Justice with James to find out what our ghost’s agenda is and whether she accomplishes it.
Leave a Reply