Desmond St. Clair is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Tell-Tale Art, the latest novel in the Tri-Star Investigations mystery series.
Welcome, Desmond. Let’s get started, shall we?
Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too. I have been a major character in Rothstein’s last two novels, Ripped Genes and The Tell-Tale Art. The Tell-Tale Art moves from the Chicago to the south of France and back. A suicide is revealed as a murder involves art stolen by the Nazis. My technical expertise allows me to provide large amounts of background information and investigative data to Korb and Su. When my colleague, Kelan Su, is sent to France to search for the cache of art, she is kidnapped, bringing a gang of thugs into the open. Because of my military special ops experience, I was sent to keep an eye on her and rescue her from the thugs as well as take the criminals into custody.
I have been told that in the novel Rothstein is currently working on, my role will continue to evolve. He intends to continue the series and, as my boss, Marko Korb says, our agency and the series is called Tri-Star Investigations because there are three star investigators. I’m one of them.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too? I am glad to say that Rothstein listens to his characters. As Korb and Su often said to the author, “We are the professional investigators, not you. Please heed our advice.” In fact, I owe my existence to Korb’s and Kelan Su’s complaints that the author was not fully aware of the security and back-up needs of investigators in dangerous situations. In some earlier drafts of his manuscripts, he put Kelan in some precarious situations without adequate back-up. As you will see, since my arrival, I generally have Kelan’s back.
How did you evolve as the main character? I first met Korb in 1997 in Bosnia at an Operation Tango briefing session concerning the arrest of Serbian war criminals. I served as a British SAS commando in that war. After leaving the army, I opened an Afro-Caribbean restaurant back home on Tortola. Although the restaurant was moderately successful, it was devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2006. Rather than rebuild, I took a job with a security firm in Chicago. I missed the excitement of special ops. Corporate security didn’t fill the bill so I reconnected with Korb whose investigative career was renowned and whose cases seemed much more edgy. Working for Korb has allowed me to indulge all my specialties: cooking, informational technology, investigation, and security.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them? I feel as if I have not just joined a team, but also a family. My colleague, Kelan Su, is not only a smart and intrepid investigator, but also like my kid sister. Korb is in some ways the father figure I missed out on in childhood. The family feeling is accentuated by the facts that we all live and work under the same roof and I am the meal preparer.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story? I do at times miss the laid-back Caribbean culture of my homeland Tortola. I have tried to recreate some of that with my cooking, with special holiday traditions, banter with Kelan, and having my long-time boyfriend, Reggie, here in Chicago. Korb is tolerant of and even sometimes appreciative of these efforts, particularly when they encompass food. Of course, I would prefer Tortolan weather and its casual light clothing to Chicago’s climate and wardrobe, especially in winter.
An excellent aspect of the living/working situation here at Korb’s spacious Chicago townhouse is the fully equipped workout room in the basement. Both Kelan and I are conscientious about staying in shape and honing our fighting skills. Of course, you won’t find Korb there. While I am proud of my physique, I am sometimes embarrassed when the author dwells on a description of it. However, I suppose that some of this is necessary to give me full existence as a character.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book? To know me better, here are some of my favorite things about working for Korb: Observing Korb’s brilliant mental processes; being the unseen phantom backing up Kelan’s investigative forays; using high-power forensic databases to research suspects, money trails, and ownership links; educating Korb, the gourmet, and Kelan about Caribbean delicacies (of course, with my special creative touches); Korb’s provisioner connections which make it possible for me to import my favorite drink, Tola Chocolate Stout.
Thank you for answering my questions, Desmond, and good luck to you and your author, Lawrence E. Rothstein, with The Tell-Tale Art, the latest book in the Tri-Star Investigations mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Desmond and his author, Lawrence E. Rothstein by visiting the author’s website and his Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also follow him on BlueSky
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Lawrence E. Rothstein: Writing mysteries is his third career. In all of his careers as a lawyer, a university professor, and now as an author of novels, finding the right words to present an idea was always important and enjoyable. As an academic, he wrote many published scholarly pieces, including a book and book chapters. He started writing mystery/legal scenarios as hypothetical cases for law courses he taught. He gets his ideas from the news, particularly legal news, his previous legal work, areas of academic research, and other detective stories. With regard to The Tell-Tale Art, he used his experiences living and working in Aix-en-Provence. His detectives are based in Chicago, where he was born and raised.
dianneascroft.com 