The following is an interview with author Nick Kolakowski regarding the upcoming release of the novel, Where the Bones Lie, with Datura Books. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kolakowski about his creative process in bringing the murder mystery to life on the page, the themes that he hopes will shine through for readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of Where the Bones Lie! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the premise of this thrilling murder mystery?
Nick Kolakowski: Where the Bones Lie follows Dash Fuller, a Hollywood fixer who’s spent years helping to disappear the film industry’s worst secrets, and it’s left him a cynical burnout who loves bourbon a little too much. When the book starts, he’s tasked with tracking down a wayward movie star who’s trying to start a weirdo cult in the Hollywood Hills—a quest that ends in tragedy.
Just when Dash is at his lowest, a young woman named Madeline Ironwood comes to him with a peculiar quest. She’s the daughter of Ken Ironwood, a notorious smuggler and murderer who disappeared 20 years ago. Ken’s skeleton was recently discovered in a barrel at the bottom of a dried-up lake in a small valley just north of LA, and Madeline wants to know who killed him.
Dash agrees to help. As they dig into this decades-old mystery, they quickly realize the past isn’t dead at all: a lot of people—including some of LA’s biggest power brokers—have an interest in ensuring nobody figures out what happened to Ken. It’s a good thing that Dash and Madeline aren’t just smart and sarcastic—they’re also really tough. But are they tough enough to survive what’s coming?
BD: How would you describe your creative process in crafting this detective story? I would imagine that crafting the narrative and staying 3 steps ahead of your reader is quite the challenge!
NK: For a long time, I was a bit of a “pantser,” or a novelist who works without an outline. But with this book and its twists and turns, I realized that I needed to frame out more structure before I began writing, or the whole thing would fall apart on me. Even with that newfound dedication to outlining, though, it still took me some time to puzzle things out—for example, the huge flip at the end, which completely turns everything you’ve read previously on its head, didn’t occur to me until really late in the pre-writing process.
If you want to stay ahead of the reader, I find it’s helpful to figure out your ending first, then work backwards from there. That way, you have the clarity to build in your red herrings, your clues, your foreshadowing. It’s not a perfect method, if only because I still had to adjust and tweak details deep into the rewriting stage, but it made the writing really fun and smooth.
BD: What makes Datura Books the perfect home for this story?
NK: Datura is a cool, new crime-fiction imprint out of the UK that’s really dedicated to detective and mystery narratives. They’re more than happy to publish novels that combine old-school detective tropes with modern twists. The editors there love the genre, and they know what works and what doesn’t.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Dash’s story may connect with and impact readers?
NK: So, the mortality rate for a typical crime fiction protagonist is usually pretty high, and they tend to see their lives and minds stripped away as they spiral down to their inevitable doom—I’m thinking of all the film noir classics I grew up watching, for example. With Where the Bones Lie, I wanted to do something different with Dash and Madeline: I wanted to follow two people who are actively trying to get better despite their pasts and the odds against them, who recognize that they need to change and follow through.
And I think that’s something any reader can relate to. We all have our demons. We’ve all been down at one point or another, desperately trying to figure out how to stand up again. I hope that anyone who picks up this book can take some inspiration from Dash and Madeline: No matter how dark it gets, or hopeless it seems, you always have at least one more move in you. And if you can make that move while joking and laughing, so much the better.
BD: Are there any projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
NK: I just had a story, “Scorpions,” appear in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 anthology, alongside a whole bunch of other great stories by some fantastic crime-fiction writers. “Scorpions” takes place during the hot, violent summer of 2020 and follows a cop as she makes a very bad, scary deal to avenge a personal wrong. I feel like if you’re into mysteries and thrillers, you’ll love every story in that anthology.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Where the Bones Lie?
NK: Datura’s website has a nifty breakdown of the novel—for readers in the US, Penguin Random House (which is distributing the book in a bunch of territories) also has the plot, pre-order links, and more!
