LJ Talks to Linda Barnes

Andi Shechter, Seattle -- Library Journal, 6/13/2006

Although she is the author of two popular mystery series and was recently elected the president of the Private Eye Writers of America, Linda Barnes has never quite gotten the critical attention she deserves. Her latest mystery, Heart of the World, may change that. Somewhat different from Barnes's other series books, it takes her six-foot-tall, redheaded Boston PI, Carlotta Carlyle, to Colombia on the trail of her missing "little sister."

In your new book, Carlotta leaves her familiar Boston setting. Was there a risk for you in taking that step?

LB: It was time for a shake-up, a new direction, a bigger risk. One of the dangers of a series is complacency. I'd already placed Carlotta in a wide variety of situations in the Boston/Cambridge area. She'd proved her mettle, so I wanted to haul her out of her comfort zone. Of course, that meant moving me out of my comfort zone as well.

Most of this book takes place in Colombia. Tell us about setting a book set in that volatile place.

"Volatile" is a great word to describe Colombia. So are "colorful", "vibrant" and "unruly." Much of country is physically hidden and inaccessible in ways that North Americans find hard to understand. Years ago, my sister married the only Colombian exchange student at her college. I fell in love with Colombia in the early 1970s, relatively tranquil years when the major export crop was coffee. Then came the bad years. A member of my brother-in-law's family was kidnapped, another was killed, and I stayed away for a time. I wanted to write about Colombia, but my Spanish is not that good. And I didn't want to write about cocaine, because Colombia is so much more than that. Then I received a book on goldwork and shamanism that sent me off in a new direction. I wanted to contrast the modernism of Bogotá with the secret world of the indigenous Kogi Indians. My admiration for the strength of the Colombian people is bottomless.

When you first introduced Carlotta's "little sister" Paolina, did you ever imagine the role she'd play in your character's life?

I made a deliberate choice not to let Carlotta be alone, like the classic male American detective. Giving my detective a "family" made her a more nuanced character. It took me a few novels to realize why those guys strolled the mean streets solo. A family is a responsibility and a challenge, but I've seldom regretted Carlotta's family ties. Paolina has always been the number one reason Carlotta stayed out of abandoned warehouses at midnight.

There's a strong element in Heart of the World of religious beliefs and understanding. Why?

Colombia is a country of faith. The unbelievable hardships its people have had to bear make it fertile ground for religion. The last time I was there, I visited a salt cathedral, an awe-inspiring restoration of an underground salt mine in which workers had carved the Stations of the Cross. Colombian Catholicism is leavened with animism and a reverence for nature. I guess I wanted to sound the bell of ecological doom, the warning of the Kogi tribe: Here in our air-conditioned, heated houses, we ignore the rain forest and the snowy peaks at our peril. Carlotta is not "spiritual," but she respects the truly spiritual in others.

What's next for Carlotta?

I left a few things unresolved in Heart of the World, so I hope to deal with them. Indian casino gaming plays a part as well the conflict Carlotta faces in choosing between Sam or Mooney.