WORCESTER—Author Hank Phillippi Ryan, on-air
investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV and bestselling author of 11
thrillers, came to the city with her newest book, “The Murder List,” on Sept.
7.
Ryan spent years as a television reporter before writing
fiction. Her career has provided a rich well of familiarity with crime and
motivation, leading to ideas for her novels.
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| Hank Phillippi Ryan |
The latest is a twisting exploration of the conflict
between defending and prosecuting attorneys, each dedicated to seeking justice
from an opposing point of view. She does so skillfully. To personalize the
plot, Ryan created a young law student, Rachel, who is torn between her defense
attorney husband’s side of the fence and that of her temporary employer, a
powerful district attorney. There’s a fascinating pull between the two forces
as Rachel observes them, but there’s also a sucker-punch conclusion that unites
her with both sides of the legal question.
The author has an impressive resume. She’s collected numerous
top writing awards from mystery organizations, including five Agatha Awards and
a Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her novels have been listed in Library Journal's
Best of 2014, 2015, 2016 and her recent novel, “Trust Me,” made it to numerous “Best
of 2018” lists. About her newest, “The Murder List,” the Library Journal says, “Masterly
plotted—with a twisted ending—a riveting, character-driven story” and “a
must-read for fans of legal thrillers.”
It is. The final chapter is a mind-blower.
Ryan says the book is a study, really, of “how defense
and prosecuting attorneys compete, each with the goal of winning a murder
trial.” Her thought process in creating the book is in itself a study in
fiction writing:
“I
was listening to my criminal defense husband discuss a murder case one day. One
track of my mind was listening to his narrative, and the other track was
thinking, ‘Wow, what a good guy he is.’ The authentic real thing—standing up
for the little guy, protecting the rights of the individual against the vast
power of the state and the prosecution, making sure the prosecution plays by
the rules and that the trial is fair and just.”
Using
her writer’s imagination, she twisted the notion a bit: “I thought, ‘what does
the prosecutor’s wife think about her husband?’ Certainly, she
thinks he’s a good guy—protecting the public, putting miscreants
behind bars, keeping criminals off the streets, standing up for law and
order.
“So
how, I thought, can everyone be a good guy? And I started thinking about ‘good,’
especially when it comes to the justice system, and realized that everyone
involved chooses the side they think is the good side. And then they fight it
out to see which ‘good’ wins.”
She
had the basis for a book, then and there, but kept thinking:
“Added
to that, the obsession with lawyers to win. You ask a lawyer, ‘What’s a good
case?’ And they’ll say ‘winnable.’ So, given that they all think they’re good,
and that they all want to win—and they’re always always in a
battle with each other—doesn’t that set up perfect conflict? And the question
of how far someone might go to win?”
It
certainly could. But she needed characters to manifest the differences and
interact. Hence, Rachel Stone. “Add
a newbie—a young lawyer wannabe who has to choose a side. So I created law
student Rachel, trying to figure out her legal life.”
Alongside,
she created two influences—Rachel’s brilliant defense attorney husband and her
new employer, a powerful DA whom he despises. “Two sides, battling for the
legal soul of this novice attorney, she said. “At least, that’s what they think
they’re doing.”
Insert
a murder and a war ensues, with Rachel experiencing the warring viewpoints
toward justice and more than a little trouble on the domestic front. In fact,
no one is exactly as the reader expects in this book.
During her years with WHDH, Ryan saw enough criminal
behavior and courtroom performance to draw conclusions about that niggling
little flag of truth waving for all its worth under the weight of battling
winds.
“I have been a television reporter for 43 years,” she
said. “I have wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians,
chased down criminals and gone undercover and in disguise.” … I have covered
court proceedings from the Claus Von Bulow murder to the Boston mobs, to the
case that became ‘A Civil Action,’ and dozens of murder cases. So people ask,
‘Do you do research?’ and I say—I’ve been doing research for 40 years.”
The underlying competition is used to elevate suspense
in this thriller.
“To get ahead in a cut-throat business, people use
whatever tactics they can devise and sometimes wind up doing things they might
not have predicted they were capable of,” she said.
Despite the book’s contrivances, Ryan doesn’t use an outline
as she crafts her story. “That’s what gets me to the computer every day,” she
said. “I have to find out what happens next. So, when people say ‘Wow, I never
saw that ending coming,’ I say, yeah, wasn’t that a surprise? I surprised
myself! That’s part of the magic of writing. And that’s what makes it a joy
every day.”
She’s not kidding. Ryan derives the energy she needs
for a schedule pivoting from a reporting assignment for her editor to writing
and, quite often, author appearances across the country. She has kept up with a
very busy schedule, one that puts her on planes—writing.
“My goal is to make my books be realistic and
authentic, so if I need to check facts of course I do—that’s part of the fun.
But my stories, being fiction, rely on my experience in the real world, and are
shaped by that. My thrillers are not my TV reporting turned into fiction, but
all that deep experiences translates into making genuinely believable stories.”
She’s been pleased by
reactions from those in the criminal justice field. “I’ve gotten so many emails
from lawyers who have read ‘The Murder List,’ saying how pleased they were to
read a book that not only nails the justice system, but also nails the
relationships that attorneys have with each other, and their psychological
drives and motivations.”
Ryan loves her life,
despite her busy schedule. (She visited six or seven states during the first
week of her current book tour.) Participants ask her all kinds of questions,
including this uncommonly known fact: her name. “I get asked about my name, and
where my story ideas come from, and whether I know the endings of my books
before I start writing. The answers are: It’s a nickname for Harriet (which
someone made up my first day of college); I have no idea, and No!”
“Having these successful
novels is a dream come true, ever since I was a little girl reading Sherlock Holmes
under the covers. I challenge myself to be better and better every time, to be
a better writer, to make my books be more compelling and surprising—I want
people to miss their stop on the T because they are so riveted by the book.”
Her goal must be in
reach. CNN named “The Murder List” an ultimate beach read this year.
Consequently, she travels
a lot, and her appearances are often before packed audiences. “It’s exciting
and rewarding, and actually inspirational, to meet all the people who come to
my signings or write me emails and want to chat about thrillers and the book
world.,” she said. “There are very few vacations, and I have basically given up
cooking. Don’t tell. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband.”
Would she change
anything? “If we could possibly make the days have more hours, that would be
very nice,” she said. “Other than that, I am the happiest and luckiest person
ever.”
