In this age of media sensationalism, we’ve all had our dark moments. When a heinous criminal gets off lightly with an unthinkable crime, how many of us have thought, as author J.L. Engel puts it, “the judicial system doesn’t give due justice to the kinds of people who commit crimes against humanity.”
In his debut novel A Dangerous Man (our review), Engel levels the playing field. A former father, husband, and government operative has freed countless trafficking victims from captivity, sweeping across the United States like a storm and leaving a path of destruction in his wake. Now, he’s arrived in Boston to bring his life’s work to a close, and take revenge on those who took everything from him. Pursuing him is a relentless FBI agent with more at stake than textbook justice, a hard-boiled detective suspicious of everything, and cunning twin assassins. These characters risk everything as they’re dragged into the chaos of one man’s war for true justice.
In this Q&A, J.L. Engel gives us a glimpse into the mind behind this “Dangerous Man.”
Q: Where did you get the idea for A Dangerous Man?
A: It came from watching horrible news stories that consistently seemed to revolve around kidnappings and trafficking. At this time, which was almost 16 years ago, there was a string of events that were infuriating. I was an incredibly protective young father and it disturbed me that there was no definitive solution to these crimes. I needed an outlet and I knew that I could direct my frustrations towards my writing, which I had shelved some time ago.
Q: Tell us about your protagonist, this dangerous man. Who is he and what is he after? Tell us about his “odyssey of vengeance.”
A: The protagonist of A Dangerous Man is a complicated character. He’s an enigma; a highly trained former government operative. Every detail about him is shrouded in shadow by design, except for the fact that he had a family in the past. He wants vengeance, justice for his loss and he wants to eradicate as much of the human trafficking world as he can. In his pursuit of that, his journey evolves. This aspect however, only gets the reader to the end of the book, where they will find his quest is only beginning.
Q: Why did you choose to write about victims of trafficking?
A: I chose trafficking because of its inherently evil nature. I’m drawn to darker subject matter and at the time the idea came to me, it was a phenomenon that I had already been grappling with. This led to research, which in turn reconfirmed how disturbing it was and gave me the justification I needed to devastate those responsible as wildly and violently as I deemed fit in my story. I’m all for being a law abiding citizen, but the judicial system doesn’t give due justice to the kinds of people who commit these crimes against humanity. I wanted to level the playing field, and in A Dangerous Man I can do that.
Q: How did you go about doing the research for this book?
A: I read different articles, watched documentaries, and researched organizations and statistics. I currently work in law enforcement, so I would talk to people who had been involved in different capacities. I learned about different methods and schemes used to obtain victims. The state of an individual’s mind and their circumstances usually determine how vulnerable they are. All of this was also pre-Taken. When Liam Neeson’s character was introduced to the big screen, I thought, “Crap, now I can’t write my story.” The similarities were too strong at first, however, I crafted A Dangerous Man to be much more intricate. Over time my simple concept became its own universe, in which I plan to tell many more stories in the future.
Q: How difficult is it to put together a thriller of this nature, and what was the most difficult segment of the book to write?
A: Putting A Dangerous Man together was not difficult. I had been piecing it together in my mind for a long time, and when it came time to commit to it, I was prepared. Several of the emotional aspects were tricky, such as making him relatable so that he could be rooted for beyond the simplicity of his loss. The most challenging segment of the book was imagining the scenarios I put the victims in. They’re amplified for the story, although I imagine parts of them can and have been true somewhere in the world in some way. Furthermore, writing those segments so that they had a definitive impact on the reader because this is a real world problem was additionally hard.
Q: What writers most inspire you?
A: I’m a fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, as a pair and individually. Their Pendergast novels are among my favorites to read. Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp novels. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher had some particular influence that will be obvious. I also admire James Patterson, Dan Brown and David Baldacci. I recently discovered Michael Koryta’s Those Who Wish Me Dead and I’ll certainly be reading more from him. Those are the most prominent novelists. I’m a big fan of Taylor Sheridan, who created Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River, and the series Yellowstone. He also produced a recent film adaptation of Those Who Wish Me Dead. I enjoy his character dynamics, the action, the world building that they create and the atmosphere.
Q: Were the characters inspired by anyone in particular?
A: I didn’t have specific people in mind initially. Clint Eastwood’s film personas were an inspiration, for sure. James Spader, too. One that may not be well known among readers is Tony Sentmanat of Real World Tactical out of Florida. Tony’s worth looking up. His YouTube content is awesome. He’s a hardcore, no frills, very physical kind of guy. I realized that his dynamic workouts were an inspiration for how I wanted to portray the physicality of my protagonist with him being a large, dynamic character. My father’s influence on me as a man, father and a parent is all over this story with nuance. There are others in my life that have mentored me at times with their coaching, influence, and inspiration.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
A: I hope readers will be entertained. Creating suspense and action is the purpose of writing a story like this. My reasons for writing this story were born out of frustrations with the world and the awful things that happen in it. I hope they’ll become aware of these atrocities against humanity. Sex trafficking claims victims indiscriminately, and it is about as heinous a crime as can be, especially considering it’s a thriving industry. Maybe some readers will take part in the fight somehow; donate to an organization like Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), or A.I.M., two that I support. I hope they’ll want to read more of my work and see where we go from here.
Q: What is your next project?
A: My next project is in the oh-so-fun editing stage. It’s another crime/thriller called The Dock. The story revolves around the rising tensions forced upon a New Orleans crime family’s “fixer” when he’s backed into a corner by the return of a vengeful prodigal son and faces an unknown killer who’s come to reconcile a past transgression. I’m very excited about this one. It is not in the A Dangerous Man universe, and gave me a break between worlds and storylines. Alternating between stories keeps things fresh. As I finish up the editing of that manuscript, I’m also beginning the outline for the sequel to A Dangerous Man, titled, A Violent Man.
A Dangerous Man is available for purchase here.
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About J.L. Engel:
J. L. Engel is not an award-winning best-selling author of numerous crime/action/suspense thrillers, or the occasional genre bending sci-fi/fantasy novel – YET. He is a lifelong writer who began doing so at the age of twelve. Under the enthusiastic tutelage of his sixth-grade teacher, who once got him the opportunity to be published, but he screwed it up because he was a stubborn child. Since he’s grown up – some – he occupies his time as a single father, reading, writing, hiking, watching movies, pursuing fitness, and is an award-winning veteran corrections deputy and defensive tactics instructor in the Pacific Northwest.
