Writers Who Kill

Deceived by Mary Keliikoa

In the third book in the series, PI Kelly Pruett finally feels like she's coming into her own. With her personal life well on track, a gig uncovering what drove a client's granddaughter underground could be good for business. But after her undercover operation at the homeless shelter reveals rampant drug dealing, she's suddenly kicked off the case... just as another girl goes missing.

Vowing to expose the truth even if it means pro-bono work, Kelly is taken aback when her half-sister helps her hunt down answers in a tent city brimming with distrust. When her investigation doesn't move quickly enough to save a second woman from a vicious murder, Kelly doubles her efforts, unwilling to accept defeat. Amazon.com

 

The PI Kelly Pruett series has been nominated for Lefty, Agatha, and Anthony awards and was a Shamus award finalist. Deceived is the third book in the series. Although you have short story and Woman’s World credits, what particularly draws you to writing in this genre?

 

I’m a puzzle solver and a curious soul… those are probably the easy answers. But the first books I read in the mystery suspense genre were those of Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Cornwell, Faye Kellerman, Janet Evanovich, and Sue Grafton. I loved them all, still do, and was really drawn to not only trying to figure out who the culprit was, but why they were committing the crime. Deep diving into the psychology of why a person is driven to crime and what motivates those trying to solve it really appeals to me. And that often means looking into the relationships. Mystery/suspense checks all the boxes and it’s what I read. So when I decided to try my hand at writing a novel, there was no other choice but this genre.

 

Tell us how you got into writing? The impact of any of your past work on your writing?

I started writing in my later twenties. I was a legal secretary, another profession that really appealed to me because I found the behind-the-scenes look at cases so intriguing! But as to writing, the secretary next to me wanted to write a mystery novel, so we penned one together. From that moment on, I was hooked. While that first book didn’t sell, I went on to write two more novels on my own, and then drafted the first Kelly Pruett mystery. I did take a break after that to start a company, however, and it would be nearly 20 years later that the first Pruett book was published. But those early years absolutely impacted the writer I am today.

 

In 2017, you wrote blogs which addressed being at a crossroads in your life. How did choosing the paths and making the decisions you did during that time impact you then and now? In this series, would you consider Kelly to have come to a crossroads in her life?

 

There are so many times throughout the writing journey that you can opt to walk away. Rejection is hard and showing up to write when success doesn’t seem obvious can be debilitating, if you let it. What I learned during that crossroads period of my life is that in the end, I wanted to write. Even if it didn’t go anywhere, I loved creating story. And that focus helped me to show up and continue to create books.

 

As for Kelly Pruett, she has come to a crossroads in the third book. For her, learning balance and creating her own pathway is an absolute necessity if she wants it all…and she does. Her quest becomes to make choices that honor her father’s legacy, while paving her own way as a mother and an investigator.

 

Kelly has inherited her late father’s PI agency. Was she trained to be the PI that he was or is she getting on-the-job training?

 

Kelly’s father was very protective of what he allowed her to do, and how deep into the darkness he allowed her to go. Throughout the series, that proves to be more hinderance than help. She’s definitely getting on the job training, and she has to do it quickly to stay ahead of danger.

 

In Deceived, a long-time client of her father’s asks her to take on the task of finding what has happened to his granddaughter – is she alive and in hiding, in danger, or dead. Does he treat her with the same deference he would have treated her father or what is her perception of working with clients who dealt with her father?

 

He does and he doesn’t. He thinks enough of Kelly’s father’s reputation to call her for the case. But he also makes it clear she has to earn his trust and respect. Kelly knows that too, which makes her push harder and sometimes push too far to be half the investigator her father was. Part of her character growth comes from changing that perception, however.

 

When one thinks of PIs, one often thinks of male characters – how should Kelly change, if there is any difference, how one views PIs? Does she act differently than if you had made her a male character? Are her inner thoughts different?

 

There is an image of male PIs that often equates to tormented, go-it-alone souls who live on the edge. But I wanted a PI that was more relatable, which is why I made her a mom, co-parenting with an ex-husband, and surrounded by complicated family relationships. I’d like the reader to recognize that a woman can be just as good as any of her male counterparts—she might just need to approach her cases differently.

 

As to how Kelly acts—much of what drives Kelly is not only to make her father proud, but to show her daughter that a strong woman can succeed in a male-dominated profession. So, her motivations are different than a man’s might be because it’s about how she views herself as much as how her daughter views her.

 

As for how she acts differently…while she does get herself into a few tangled spots physically, she’s always aware that she isn’t going to dominate physically in many situations…and pulling out a weapon is not necessarily the best answer, but she better have it ready.

 

You made Kelly a mother, but you added the challenge of her having a deaf daughter. Please define Waardenburg syndrome and tell us how you envisioned incorporating that into this series?

 

Waardenburg syndrome is a hereditary deafness, and what I wanted to incorporate into the series really was that while society might view that as a limitation, Kelly never wanted her daughter to be limited by it or what other people believed. It’s used in the series as motivation for Kelly to keep showing her daughter the way forward, and that you define your own path, no one else.

 

You have some very interesting side characters in Deceived who appear to be recurring characters– Kelly’s daughter (Mitz), Jeff (her ex-husband), Jeff’s mother (Arlene), Kyle (Det. Hot Stuff), Hannah (half-sister) and Floyd the dog. Each has a definite role in the book and in interacting with Kelly. Which one or two characters are your favorite to write? How does the presence of these characters influence the arc of Kelly’s personal growth?

 

I loved writing all of the characters… each has such a unique place in Kelly’s heart, and in her motivation to grow throughout the series. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Arlene, Kelly’s ex-mother-in-law who lives right next door.

 

Because Kelly lost her mother early, and she was raised by a busy PI dad, Kelly has built some heavy walls that suggest she has to go it alone and can’t rely on people. But Arlene challenges her on what family looks like, and how it cares for each other. That love, which on occasion doesn’t appear that loving, really works to lower Kelly’s defenses, allowing her to have a fuller life going forward. And Arlene is so complex. You see her one way in the beginning, but as the layers peel back, the reader learns what motivates and drives her too. It’s probably the most rewarding of relationships in the series.

 

You do an excellent job in Deceived of addressing many social issues, including homelessness, drugs, mental illness, women’s equality, and physical challenges, without ever beating the reader over the head with any of them. How did you balance bringing these issues into Deceived and why was it important for you to do so?

 

I really appreciate that, and I strived to create that balance for sure! A lot of my writing is what I know or what people I love have known. In this case, all of the above are aspects that have touched my life. My husband was homeless because of poverty and abuse, and my brother because of addiction and physical disabilities, which is why I wanted to bring some light on the subject and humanize those experiencing it.

 

One of the ways I tried to do that was to show Kelly’s beginning biases, and to see how she changed throughout. Whether she knew it or not, she had a few misconceptions, and as she worked through the process, I believed it allowed the reader to do the same. At least that’s what I was hoping for. 

 

In the dedication and credits, you address the person who makes every day an adventure for you – Robb. Who is he and how has he influenced or supported your writing?

 

Robb is my husband of 33 years this July. I am a work-aholic and I derive a lot of joy from my writing and all things around being published. That said, Robb is an expert in making sure that I don’t take it too seriously and that I get up and balance my world.

 

He is also the first person who hears my story ideas. And because of his diverse background, being a street kid in Hawaii, and having experienced some of the crime that can be present there, he’s been a fountain of information on many subjects. I love sharing this journey with him, and he always tells everyone he’s my biggest fan—but I would add that I am equally his.

 

What is next for you?

 

Deceived is out May 10, but I am also starting a new series that will be out mid-September 2022. The first book in that series is HIDDEN PIECES. It features a former Portland homicide detective turned small town sheriff who is emotionally debilitated from the loss of his child and marriage. Sheriff Jax Turner answers the call for one last case of a “runaway” teen, but when it’s clear the girl has been abducted, and ties to a tragic cold case emerge, he is forced to confront his own ghosts before another child is lost.

 

I’m really excited for this series as it is set at the Oregon coast—an area my family lived in for several years—and I was able to revisit many of my old stomping grounds and use them as the setting.

 

How can readers find you?

 

Best place to follow me is through my newsletter where I host giveaways, let my readers know where I will be, and of course, any upcoming sales or releases.

 

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