Peter Spiegelman

Peter Spiegelman's new novel is Dr. Knox. From a Q&A at the author's website:

Q: When did you first get the idea or inspiration for Dr. Adam Knox?

A: The character of Dr. Knox had been percolating in my head for years before I wrote the first words of the book, and arose from my long interest in the parallels between the doctor and the fictional detective. There are the similarities in their observational and deductive skills, of course (recall that Dr. Joseph Bell was one of Conan Doyle’s inspirations for Sherlock Holmes), and also, I think, in their worldviews. Both are privy to some of life’s most grim and intense moments, and see human experience stripped of pretense and nicety. Because of this, they stand at a remove from the workaday world, and are both empowered and isolated by this distance. In Dr. Knox, my desire was to create a character who isn’t a traditional detective but has some of those same talents, and who shares something of the hardboiled P.I.’s perspective, world-weariness and stubborn appetite for justice.

Q: This new novel is set in Los Angeles. What drew you west?

A: My choice of setting for Dr. Knox, Los Angeles, has roots in my childhood. I lived in L.A. for several years in the late sixties, and saw the city through the eyes of a largely unsupervised child. To my gradeschool self, it was mysterious and impenetrable, and also vast, glamorous and frightening. To some extent, I still see the city through that lens—and so L.A. remains endlessly fascinating to me, equal parts...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Peter Spiegelman's website.

The Page 99 Test: Red Cat.

Writers Read: Peter Spiegelman (August 2011).

--Marshal Zeringue