Jochem van der Steen of Sons of Spade interviewed Chris Knopf, author of the Sam Acquillo Hamptons mysteries, The Last Refuge, Two Time, and Head Wounds.
Q: What makes Sam different from other fictional (unofficial) private eyes?
Sam is an engineer. Not a very exciting profession to those who don’t know engineering. But as with any pursuit, there are plenty of very clever and creative engineers, and Sam is one of those. He was a trouble-shooter, then headed up his company’s R&D department, so he’s professionally and temperamentally inclined to question the obvious, brood over anomalies, solve puzzles and never accept the accepted truth if it doesn’t fit with his observations. He’s also socially conflicted. He grew up in a blue collar, rough and tumble world, but like a lot of guys my age from that time, earned an education, and subsequently, a more sophisticated lifestyle than his roots would suggest. So he has one foot in each emotional paradigm – hard-edged, working class anger and erudite, intellectual curiosity.
Q: What are your thoughts on the psycho sidekick in PI novels?
Sam has a few sidekicks, none psycho. I’m familiar with the type, which I think writers invent to provide a surrogate dark side to their principle – a foil that helps with character development and plot. I think most of those sidekicks would be better off being shot before they hurt somebody.
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My Book, The Movie: Chris Knopf's Two Time.
--Marshal Zeringue
