Lucky and good

There are some fantastical elements in Ottawa mystery writer Peggy Blair’s first book The Beggar’s Opera, but nothing stranger than the story behind how it came to be published. It’s the sort of tale that will encourage every writer hoping to strike it lucky.

Blair, a realtor and former government lawyer, had racked up about 150 rejections for her manuscript. It’s a large figure, but not surprising when one remembers that most publishers look on a first novel by an unknown writer with the enthusiasm they would normally reserve for a cold sore.

Undaunted, in 2010 Blair submitted part of the book to the Debut Dagger, a British crime writing award for unpublished authors. She didn’t win, but was drowning her disappointment at the hotel bar in Harrogate, Yorkshire, when in walked Ian Rankin, the famous Scottish mystery writer. Blair struck up a conversation and it turned out Rankin had just been in Ottawa for Bluesfest. She naturally told him about her book and he kindly offered to mention it to his agent.

Word quickly got around that Ian Rankin’s agent was going to look at Blair’s book. Other agents sensed blood in the water and cruised in for a look. As a result, Blair did land an agent and a three-book deal with Penguin. Her book was released in Canada this month and will also be published in Germany, Holland and Norway.

For an unknown writer from Ottawa, that’s like winning the lottery.

I first heard about Blair’s good fortune and her book when we were both on a mystery writing panel in the fall of 2010. I have been looking forward to the book since then with considerable curiosity.

I’m happy to say that The Beggar’s Opera does not disappoint. It’s fast-paced, atmospheric, has unusual characters and delivers surprises right to the final pages.

Blair was inspired to set the book in Cuba after a holiday there in 2006. Wise choice. Cuba is a country of contradictions where most anything could plausibly happen. For Canadian tourist and Ottawa police detective Mike Ellis, it is being accused of the brutal murder of a young boy who begs on the streets. The reader will have a hard time believing that Ellis did it, but he was on a bender and is not so sure himself.

We know there is more behind this crime, plenty more, and it’s up to Inspector Ricardo Ramirez to get to the bottom of it. He’s world weary but still trying to do the job right with the limited resources that the Cuban police have. One other thing about Ramirez. He has an unusual form of dementia, we’re told, that causes him to hallucinate, seeing the victims of the crimes he investigates. It’s a unique source of information for a detective, but it’s also an affliction that is said to be fatal.

Ramirez’s sidekick is pathologist Hector Apiro, who happens to be a dwarf. What might first seem like a stunt for the sake of novelty works rather well in Blair’s hands.

The Beggar’s Opera has original characters, a compelling plot and just enough humour to take the edge off the suspense. The book certainly falls well within the “good read” category.

For me, there are only a couple of thing that keep the book from the A level. The first is the author’s decision to imagine Cuban police procedures rather than research them in detail. This is fiction and what is offered seems credible enough, but my preference is for research and facts. Other readers might disagree. The other thing, oddly enough, is Ramirez’s lousy skills as a detective. The inspector is in a rush to convict Mike Ellis based on evidence that seems too obvious and lacking a credible motive. One would have expected a veteran police inspector to be more skeptical.

Ramirez will get a chance to hone his skills in Blair’s next book, which is set in Ottawa and picks up where The Beggar’s Opera left off.

In all, a worthy debut and proof that one generally has to be good to be lucky.