“A somber, readable tale of frontier psychodrama. Falconer draws this provincial world well, although the book’s most memorable creation is Macleod himself, a hard man with a soft heart and a jaded worldview,” assesses Kirkus Independent Reviews. The Falconer in question is Mr. Saul Kenneth Falconer, author of the new thriller The Diabolus Legacy.
1875 Sydney, New South Wales, and the cobblestone streets are rife with crime. Police Inspector Cormag Macleod is haunted by visions of his deceased wife and children, as well as the people whose death he himself brought about. When he’s sent to a small town in the middle of nowhere to investigate a murder, his hopes aren’t exactly high.
He begins to find out that the gruesome murders going around are more nefarious than thought possible. Evil may be emanating from the netherworld. With the aged Constable McDermott by his side, and his own demons on his mind, he’s got his work more than cut out for him. We had a blast seeing what the author, this mastery of mystery, had to say about how he crafted his novel, because in case you didn’t know, creating a good plot twist is quite difficult. Read the full review here.
Q: Why did you begin writing? What’s kept you going?
A: There are so many good stories just waiting to be told, and I wanted to be able to bring those characters and stories to life: to immerse the reader in the setting and the characters’ lives, to have them invested in the outcome. Great feedback, reader enjoyment and appreciation keep me going.
Q: How did you choose the setting and plot twists?
A: My great-grandmother owned and ran an inn in Gresford, NSW and I wanted to bring the rich history and characters of the region in the 1800s to life. Although the novel is fiction, I have been fortunate to have excellent historical resources to allow me to weave real events and characters from that time into the story. The plot twists were chosen to show that evil exists where we least expect it, and to show that we can never truly put our past behind us.
Q: Do you have a personal favorite scene or character?
A: Cormag Macleod is my favourite character. He is a classic detective; hard-nosed and sharp of wit, tough and sometimes brutal when he has to be. But there is a side to him that he rarely lets people see, a softer side, a man who remembers what it is like to have a family. And this is seen in his interactions with some of the other characters like McDermott.
Q: What was a particularly challenging aspect of this writing experience?
A: Creating a thriller without compromising the history. Getting the period details right was a major challenge, from the meals eaten in different parts of the frontier country, clothing, slab huts, and the lifestyle of those who lived on the land in the 1800s. I was helped enormously by wonderful source material and the historical societies in the regional towns.
Q: Have you learned anything surprising from your exploration of police work and criminal justice?
A: The amount of detail in police work, even in the 1800s was a surprise. Even without modern fingerprinting techniques and DNA, detectives were still able to use methods that helped solve the case.
Q: Do you have another writing project on the horizon?
A: The sequel to The Diabolus Legacy, The Demon Mark, will be released on February 1. The sequel follows the journey of Macleod as he pursues a serial killer in rural Dungog. I’m really excited about the next book. It’s a thriller, a fast-paced action detective novel, with Macleod’s story arc continuing as he comes to terms with his past.
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About Saul Kenneth Falconer:
Saul Kenneth Falconer is the pen name of Paul Bird, a fiction writer who lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and four children. He was born and raised in Newcastle, Australia, where he studied nursing, then medicine and began his specialist training as a physician. When he is not writing, he works as a Rheumatologist, caring for people suffering from arthritis and joint diseases.
