Peregrine

by William Bayer

  Q: The structure of the novel is a little unusual. It’s clearly not a whodunit. We know the falconer’s identity early on.

  A: My idea was to make it about “why” rather than “who,” and to structure the story by braiding together three strands, each personified by a different character (the falconer, Jay Hollander; the TV news reporter and female protagonist, Pam Barrett; and the NYPD detective, Lt. Frank Janek). The trick was to bring these characters together into a terrific triangular finale. I had in mind a kind of grand guignol style scene, and I knew early on that it would be set in the attic of the Chrysler Building in midtown Manhattan.

  When I started to write I wasn’t sure how to choreograph this final meeting. I only knew that it had to take place. And then one evening when I was about a third of the way through the book, an idea came to me in an instant. I still remember exactly where I was standing in my apartment when it struck. The Falconer, watching Pam’s reports on TV, would become obsessed with her, would kidnap her, take her to the attic where he housed the bird, and use the methods of falconry training to turn her into a kind of human falcon, “Pambird.” In the end Janek would rescue her, Hollander would die and the peregrine falcon would fly free.

  When this idea came I was so excited I rushed to finish the book. Once I knew what I was working toward, the writing came quickly. By the way, that’s the only time such a powerful idea came to me all at once. Usually I create my stories out of many small pieces. But in this book it came in a flash. I hope my excitement, which was enormous, is reflected in the book.