Q: What makes Maura Isles different from other fictional forensic detectives?
-- In many ways, she's similar to other fictional forensic pathologists in the job that she does, the cases she tackles. But as a character, Maura is very much a reflection of my own personality -- logical, detached, and a firm believer in science. Sort of the "Mr. Spock" of the crime-fighting world. But unlike me, Maura's a woman struggling to find happiness in her personal life. She makes some unwise choices in love, and now she's suffering from those choices. Readers sometimes ask me how someone as smart as Maura could make such dumb choices in men.
Sadly, I can point to a number of really brilliant women I know who've ended up in unhappy relationships -- so Maura's no different. Just because she's fictional doesn't mean she's immune to the realities of romance.
Q: What are your thoughts on the popularity of the forensic detectives these days?
-- We all want incontrovertible evidence to reassure us that no injustice has been done. We like answers we can rely on. That's the beauty of forensic evidence -- when it's properly collected and analyzed, you don't have that nagging suspicion that maybe you just convicted the wrong suspect.
Q: What would a soundtrack to your novels sound like?
-- A low constant thrum of cello music. Unsettling and foreshadowing of bad things to come.
Q: Has your writing changed much since the first novel?-- It's gotten a lot edgier. I tackle subjects that are quite a bit more grotesque. I also feel a lot more free to linger on my characters' lives, and to add more complications to their personal stories, because it's a long-running series and I have the leisure and the space to do so.
Q: Do you do a lot of research?-- It depends on the story I'm telling. For books like BONE GARDEN and GRAVITY, I was writing about topics that are far afield of my own comfort zone (1830's Boston; the space program.) For such books, I have to devote months to background research and site visits before I feel ready to tackle the writing. For the Rizzoli and Isles series, though, I can do much of my research while I'm writing the story. I can rely on my own medical training, or I can call my medical colleagues. I keep a large personal library of medical and forensic textbooks.
Sometimes, I'll elaborate on true crime cases for my stories. Finally, I subscribe to the Nexis news search service, which sometimes directs me to real-life crimes stories.
Q: What's next for you and Maura?-- I'm now working on the 7th book in the series (still untitled). It features mummies, shrunken heads, and other archaeological oddities!
Q: Which crime writers do you like?-- I've been most impressed by several authors recently, among them Linwood Barclay, C.J. Box, Lisa Unger, and Chris Mooney.
Q: What does the future of forensic science / law enforcement look like in your opinion?-- Theoretically, it should get harder and harder to commit a crime and get away with it. But human error always enters into the picture, and as long as law enforcement makes mistakes, forensic science is going to
have its limits.
Q: What question should be asked every writer we interview and what would be your answer to it?
-- "How do you know when an idea is going to turn into a book?"
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