Read Online Murder of Gonzago by R. T. Raichev - Free Book Online

liked the idea of suspicion falling on all the characters, even on the most unlikely. It seemed to suit my sceptical and somewhat paranoid imagination.’
    The owlish young man cleared his throat. ‘I believe you were involved in a real-life crime – about the time you were writing your first detective novel – is that correct?’
    â€˜I was,’ Antonia admitted. At once she wished she had held her tongue.
    How could her interviewer know about it? As far as she was concerned, no one but she and Hugh knew about the murders at Twiston. ** That murderer, as it happened, had got away with it. Could the murderer have confessed and been arrested without her knowing about it? No – it would have been in all the papers. Could the murderer have confided in someone? Antonia thought it highly unlikely, but then one never knew.
    â€˜Did your involvement in a real-life murder have any effect on your development as a detective story writer?’
    â€˜I am not sure. It may have done. I believe it served to cure the writer’s block from which I happened to be suffering at the time.’
    â€˜Do you agree with the assertion that the whodunnit is an extremely artificial form and that it obeys rules as rigid and ridiculous as those of North Korean formation dancing?’
    Antonia gave a little shrug and said she knew next to nothing about North Korean formation dancing. ‘Isn’t all fiction artificial? What is fiction but the selection of the writer’s internal compulsions, preoccupations, passions, fears and external experiences distilled in a form which he or she hopes will satisfy the reader’s expectations?’
    â€˜Do you read much modern crime fiction?’
    â€˜No, not much.’
    â€˜Are you familiar with the names of Martina Cole and Dreda Say Mitchell?’
    â€˜I am not … Should I be?’
    â€˜Do your books conform in any way to Henry James’s definition of the purpose of a novel? To help the human heart to know itself . Or do you write exclusively for entertainment purposes?’
    â€˜I write exclusively for entertainment purposes,’ Antonia said in a firm voice.
    â€˜Do you ever try to enlist the reader’s support for views and theories of your own?’
    â€˜No, I don’t. Sometimes my characters express opinions of books or authors which happen to be my own. On the whole, I am careful to keep my views as inconspicuous as possible.’
    â€˜Do you exercise complete control over your characters?’
    â€˜Complete and absolute. I like playing God to the page,’ Antonia said gravely. She tried to keep a straight face. She had started to enjoy herself.
    â€˜Do you regard plotting as the most fascinating aspect of detective story writing?’
    â€˜I suppose I do. But I also like to balance setting, characterization and plot, so that all three are interrelated and contribute to the whole. The kind of story I write,’ Antonia went on, ‘might have been written in the 1930s or early 40s, though I do make some concessions to modernity.’
    â€˜Mobile phones and the internet play an active part in your novels, don’t they?’
    â€˜They do … No, I must admit I know very little about police procedure, forensic medicine or the intricacies of the law. I write extremely old-fashioned detective stories … “Propulsively readable”? Who said that? Really? Are you sure?’ Antonia smiled. Must tell Hugh, she thought. ‘I had no idea … My detectives depend exclusively on their capacity for noticing things. My detectives are obsessively observant.’
    â€˜How important is setting to you?’
    â€˜Important enough. Though I try not to overdo it. Some writers tend to overdo the setting. Settings establish atmosphere and they can also influence the plot and the characters. Settings can enhance the horror of murder, sometimes by creating a contrast between the outward peace of