Jonah Raskin, emeritus Sonoma State University professor, writer and former radical journalist visited local booksellers. “I talked to booksellers a couple of years ago, and asked, ‘Are there any wine country murder mysteries you recommend to tourists?’ and they said no. They talk to tourists who come in all the time and say they want a murder mystery that’s set in Sonoma, and the booksellers say there really isn’t one.” So Raskin wrote one.
Healdsburg Literary Guild, SHED and Alexander Valley Vineyards present Jonah Raskin, author of over 14 books, talking about his latest, a mystery novel titled “Dark Land, Dark Mirror: An Eco-Noir Mystery,” on Thursday, April 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SHED, 25 North Street, Healdsburg. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at : https://healdsburgshed.com/events/luminarias-jonah-raskin/.
Your admission includes a seat, a glass of Alexander Valley Vineyards wine and some savory bites prepared by SHED chef Perry Hoffman.
Raskin had to get past the sunny tourist image of wine country to craft his book. “Nothing bad happens here, people told me. It’s sunny and everything is good. For a while I was doubting myself. Maybe there are no crimes here. So I started reading the papers very carefully, and sure enough, there’s plenty of crime around here.”
So he wrote a book with a female detective in present day Sonoma, and the good life is still present in his book, but the book delves down into the true human drama that percolates beneath the sunny façade. “There’s meals. There is one place where there is a blind wine tasting. The setting is largely in the town of Sonoma. A bartender in a cellar bar is a key figure because he knows a lot of what goes on. Like all bartenders he is a confidant and knows secrets.”
The female detective in this book is a lesbian named Tioga Vignetta. She must deal with a lot of lying and cover-up, as she tries to uncover who murdered Mrs. Olivera, a rich woman found bludgeoned.
When Tioga is called in there is already a confessed killer, but mystery readers know there are confessions and there are confessions. Raskin’s authentic background comes through; in addition to living here for decades, he has spent time as a reporter in the area. The setting, down to the dry spells and floods, the wine tastings and tourists, rings true.
The detective work as well rings true. Raskin’s younger brother is a private investigator and Raskin used him as a sounding board for detective technique and authentic background. But, in addition to gritty realism and telling detail, there must be lyricism and beauty in good detective fiction. “For really good detective fiction you must combine cynicism with romance.” Come listen to Raskin and see if he has gotten the right amount of each.
