So, there you have it! Is it the truth? Only God knows, Judy. The years have changed us. Are you the swallow? Or the nightingale? Remember, the myth is told both ways. But no matter how it’s told, only the gods deliver justice in the end, not us mere mortals.
What do you say, shall we meet up again? There’s so much to talk about, more stories yet to tell. Let’s say September 20th in front of Lincoln. Perhaps you can finally settle it for me: Is he freeing the slave or making him beg for his freedom?
Love, Philippa
September 1964
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Savage Kind pays homage to and re-imagines the femme fatale character from classic American crime fiction and the great films noir of the 1940s and 1950s. I’ve always had a strong affinity—and sympathy—for these kinds of characters. As a gay man, I’ve experienced a degree of the oppressiveness of our patriarchal culture, which often belittles and vilifies feminine characteristics and sensibilities. When I read these novels or watched these films, I saw the femmes fatales doing illegal and immoral things but sensed that, just under the surface, they were struggling to find agency. After all, these women were strong, intelligent, and witty. Why shouldn’t they have more power? Why did the men around them inhibit them? Why were they consistently punished by the narrative in which they found themselves? I always rooted for them, even if that wasn’t the intention of the story.
Powerful, complex, and passionate women have played a significant role in my life. Without my mother-figures, my teachers, and my peers, gay and straight, I would be utterly lost. I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to write this novel or, frankly, any others. I’ll always be in their debt.
Although writing is often portrayed as a solitary activity, in truth, writers would be nowhere without family, friends, agents, and editors offering criticism to help them mold their vision into its best form. I appreciate my generous friends who read early—and very rough—sections or drafts of this book and gave me detailed comments: Matthew Ferrence, Tara Laskowski, Bernadette Murphy McConville, Frances McMillan, Dalynn Knigge, Maya Shanbhag Lang, and Jessica Hendry Nelson. Especially, I’m grateful to my sensitivity reader, the fabulous crime writer Penny Mickelbury, for her essential and instructive feedback.
A resounding thank-you to my miraculous agent, Annie Bomke, who knows all too well the evolutionary journey of this manuscript. I sincerely appreciate her enthusiasm for these characters and her patience with me while I navigated this story’s many complex layers. I couldn’t ask for a better guide through my publishing journey.
Thank you to the fantastic Pegasus team for believing in this novel, notably my talented editor, Nick Cohen, who offered his clear-minded support and direction, Derek Thornton for the gorgeous cover, Maria Fernandez for the elegant interior design, and my publicists, Jenny Rossberg and Megan Swartz Gellert, for their hard work in spreading the word about the book, the importance of which should never be underestimated.
I’m also grateful to the LGBTQ+ writing community and the crime writing community, from bloggers to podcasters to instagrammers to organizations like Lambda Literary, Queer Crime Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Mystery Writers of America. I’m particularly thankful to Al Warren, true crime writer and radio host extraordinaire, who allows me to co-host on the House of Mystery Radio Show, even though I’m far from a typical radio personality!
It should never go without saying: thank you to all the librarians, teachers, bookstore owners, and avid readers who’ve read my work and the work of other LGBTQ+ authors. Without your support, well, where would we be? Keep reading widely, keep reading diversely!
To my family—my immediate and extended family, my blood-related and chosen family—thank you for your love, kindness, and support. Finally, to my husband, Jeff, whose own story echoes through the pages of this book, thank you for insisting that I stay the course with my writing—and for all the love, endless patience, and yes, food-preparation skills! Without you, I would starve… in more than one way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOHN COPENHAVER is the author of Dodging and Burning, which won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel and garnered Anthony, Strand Critics, Barry, and Lambda Literary Award nominations. Copenhaver writes a crime fiction review column for Lambda Literary called “Blacklight,” is a co-host on the House of Mystery Radio Show, and is the six-time recipient of Artist Fellowships from the Washington, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He’s a Larry Neal awardee, and his work has appeared in CrimeReads, Electric Lit, Glitterwolf, PANK, New York Journal of Books, and the Washington Independent Review of Books. He lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his husband, artist Jeffery Paul.
THE SAVAGE KIND
Pegasus Crime is an imprint of
Pegasus Books, Ltd.
148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2021 by John Copenhaver
First Pegasus Books edition October 2021
Interior design by Maria Fernandez
Jacket design by Derek Thornton / Notch Design
Imagery by Shutterstock and Alamy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-64313-809-1
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64313-810-7
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
www.pegasusbooks.com
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