If one thinks about it, a writer is a conjurer and a liar at heart. He or she is always observing and listening—casing the jointin a literary sense. Every snippet of overheard conversation, every situation is hoarded away like ill-gotten loot in the nether regions of a writer’s mind. It may lay dormant for a while, but the idea is ready to be plucked at a moment’s notice from its resting place to be put to work as a muse for a story. It’s like a pebble tossed into a pond sending a delicious frisson of ripples across the glassy surface. But the tale is not truth. How could it be since it never happened? So what is left? A liethat has been carefully massaged and molded by the author with the sole purpose of seducing the reader into believing that this couldhappen.
To take this a step further, a mystery is a lie within a lie for at its core is a crime—a deception in itself. The sleuth, whether a professional detective or an amateur, must sift through a tissue of lies to bring a criminal to justice. This quest for the truth must be as knotty and complicated as possible. Otherwise, the reader would lose interest and that would be the death knell for the story.
The more tangled the web of lies, the better. But how does an author embark on this mission? It begins by coaxing the dear reader on a merry chase for clues. Within every story there are clues that are vitally important to solving the crime. Before I reveal the answers, I like to get the adrenaline racing through readers’ veins by taking them to the edge of a figurative cliff, leaving them breathless for a few suspended seconds, and then at the last moment veering off in a different direction. To accomplish this deviousness, I employ a red herring or two. It’s the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull to distract and compel the reader to pursue a twist in the tale. A magician’s sleight of hand to add a smidgen of spice to the story and keep it hurtling forward to a dramatic (and every author hopes satisfying) denouement.
A red herring could be a calculated lie by a murderer to gain time to make an escape. It also could be an omission that later on in the story, or in the case of a series, has devastating consequences when it ultimately comes to light. Red herrings help to heighten the tension between characters by creating an atmosphere of distrust. Meanwhile, red herrings are a wicked test by the author to see whether the secret sleuth within the reader can detect the truth or is merely swayed by circumstantial evidence.
In my mystery series, the overarching tenet of journalist Emmeline Kirby’s being is to uncover the truth and see that the culprit pays for his or her crime. Emmeline’s job is to hunt down every lead to find answers. A killer is desperate to keep the truth locked away in the darkest depths of the past, but this is impossible when Emmeline starts firing off probing questions. At times, her sheer determination to see that justice is served brings danger too close for comfort because the clues are false. To obscure the truth even further, I have Gregory Longdon, her dashing fiancé. He’s a jewel thief-cum-insurance investigator, whose life is a labyrinth of secrets. One doesn’t know where the last ends and the next begins. A charmer by nature, Gregory is the embodiment of a red herring because he dances on both sides of the law. He takes tremendous pleasure in running rings around Superintendent Oliver Burnell of Scotland Yard. But Gregory is not entirely devoid of scruples. He’s a gentleman at heart and murder goes against the grain. Only a master of misdirection could nudge Emmeline and Burnell toward the truth, which after all is hiding in plain sight—if one ignores the siren call of the red herrings from the rocky shoals.
Daniella Bernett, an MWA member since 2012, graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Journalism from St. John’s University. Lead Me Into Danger, Deadly Legacy, From Beyond The Grave and A Checkered Pastare the first four books in her Emmeline Kirby-Gregory Longdon mystery series. She also is the author of two poetry collections, Timeless Allureand Silken Reflections. In her professional life, she is the research manager for a nationally prominent engineering, architectural and construction management firm. Visit www.daniellabernett.com or follow her on Facebook or on Goodreads. When Blood Runs Cold, the fifth book in her series, will be released this month.