Pretty Dead Things

Lilian West

Crooked Lane Books

Dec 10^th, 2024

Pretty Dead Things by Lilian West is a mystery that intertwines secrets, heartbreak, and small-town intrigue. The novel connects the lives of Cora who is trying to adjust to life in Hickory Falls, and Clarity Grey, a woman whose unconventional life ends in tragedy.

The narrative alternates between 2024 and the 1950s. At an estate sale, Cora finds two rings and feels she needs to return them to their owner. It seems the Shaw family, that includes the sisters Beverly, Ruth, and Hazel, are somehow connected to the rings.  Both Beverly and Hazel want nothing to do with them, but Ruth believes the rings might have belonged to her mother, Clarity, a free-spirited woman, who disappeared in the 1960s.  

As Cora continues to unravel the mystery, she unearths old jealousies, unhappy marriages, adultery, and trying to find out what really happened to Clarity. 

Elise Cooper: What was the idea for the story?

Lilian West: It was inspired by an event.  While at my parents’ house I was helping them move and was sifting through the junk. There was a coffee can in the garage that had a whole bunch of things, including at the bottom was a ring and a band.  To this day we do not know where it came from. While I was driving back to my house, I came up with the idea of a woman going to an estate sale, getting this jar of beautiful things, and finding rings at the bottom.  It was linked to a mystery at the town. 

EC: Why Hickory Falls as the setting?

LW: I am a Midwest girl, growing up in Iowa.  This town was inspired by the beautiful small towns along the Mississippi River. I took some of my favorite aspects of the historic town I grew up in and created this new setting.  I named it Hickory Falls because one of the streets I live off is called Hickory and my best friend lives in Iowa Falls. This town name was inspired by things that meant something to me.

EC: What was the role of the rings in the story?

LW: On its face is that the rings were given in love but symbolizes so much more. The love represented heartache to other people.  It meant different things to different people. 

EC:  What about the mystery?

LW:  It included the missing woman, the affair, the marriage, those accused, and the family divided. It is a story about the complexity of relationships, those that move on and those left behind. 

EC: How would you describe Cora?

LW: She is inquisitive and does not listen to people who want her to stop trying to find the mystery behind the ring. She was someone who wanted to find her way and her place in this new town. She was bored so she jumped into this. She found a resolution to a mystery that people in the town did not want her to poke into. 

EC: How would you describe Clarity?

LW: She never wanted to hurt anyone.  She lived by her heart which was her downfall. Clarity led an authentic life. I think she was a little bit Bohemian. She as well as other characters had heartaches.  

EC: How would you describe Beverly vs. Ruth vs. Hazel?

LW: This sisterly dynamic is interesting and complex. There was love, resentment, and competition.  Their personalities were very different. Hazel was the stepsister and looked up to her older sister Beverly who tried to ignore her. One of the scenes that stuck with me is when Cora meets Beverly for the first time.  There is a hallway full of photos, which showed how she had her mother on a pedestal. 

EC: Next book?

LW: I submitted a manuscript. I hope to continue writing books where the recurring character is the town itself, Hickory Falls. The main character will be an antique dealer. The working title is The House on Blood Moon Bluff.

THANK YOU!!

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