SALUTE TO THE UNKNOWN NARRATOR

by Robert Lopresti

I have just received my author’s copies of the April issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, containing my new story “The Hard Case.” And, wow! For the first time ever my story is on the cover. And double wow, Joel Spector did a great job. It looks like a pulp magazine from the thirties, and I mean that as a compliment.

I note with great pleasure that I am joined in this issue by blogmates James Lincoln Warren and Leigh Lundin, as well as the late, great Ed Hoch. What an honor to be in such good company.

But enough celebrating. I want to talk about the nature of my story.

“The Hard Case” is an example of a subgenre I call the Unknown Narrator. In these stories all we know about the main character is what other people say about him (or her). The master of this genre was Jack Ritchie, a great author of short stories, and probably the man I have stolen the most from. He finally won an Edgar for “The Absence of Emily,” in which the narrator offers confusing and contradictory explanations for the disappearance of his wife. The explanation is cunningly wrapped in layers of false assumptions.

Another classic story of this type is his “The Day The Sheriff Walked,” in which the residents of a small town are so convinced that a stranger is there to investigate a mysterious disappearance, that they wind up giving him enough information to solve it.

Cracking the hard case

I have had at least three stories of this type published. For example, my second story in AHMM, more than twenty years ago, “Killing Is Easy,” had a narrator who spoke with the snotty wisecracks of the hardboiled private eye. Of course you don’t need a P.I. license to have a smart mouth, but most readers assumed that my story was travelling in that well-marked rut.

My current tale has a main character (not a narrator in this case) who is a stranger in town and is accused of committing a crime. The reader doesn’t know whether he did or didn’t, just that he seems extraordinarily calm about being threatened and handcuffed.

The tale was inspired by a song by a wonderful New York State songwriter Eddy Lawrence. I can’t even tell you the title of the inspiring tune because I am hoping you will read my story and his title might give away a plot element – or at least point you in a direction I don’t want you to look. If you wish, write to me after you read the story and I’ll tell you about the song.

I named a character in Eddy’s honor and I am sending him a copy of the magazine. If he responds I’ll let you know. And if you read my story and have any thoughts, let me know. Meanwhile I have to go buy a frame about the size of a magazine cover.