In his new book, “Fatally Inferior,” author Lyn Squire brings back his protagonist Dunston Burnett. A lot has changed with the character, and he’s feeling more like an investigator after the events in the first book. A good thing too, because in “Fatally Inferior,” he’s got a perplexing murder to solve.
In this interview, Lyn talks about Dunston’s growth, the mystery he’s tasked with solving and the setting of Victorian England.
How has Dunston changed from the last book?
Dunston Burnett, my protagonist, is a diffident, middle-aged, retired bookkeeper. In “Immortalised to Death,” the first book in The Dunston Burnett Trilogy, he comes out of his shell enough to engage in a mild flirtation. It does not end well. After that experience, his unease around women becomes even more pronounced in the second book, “Fatally Inferior,” and a bachelor he will remain for the rest of his days. He did however earn the respect of his policeman colleague in book one, and this bolsters his confidence as an investigator in book two.
What went into creating this mysterious disappearance?
I wanted to move away from the standard ‘locked-room’ mystery in which the corpse is found in an enclosed space without any feasible means of exit for the killer. In “Fatally Inferior,” the body vanishes, seemingly spirited out of a snowbound, locked-tight country house. The only tracks in the white surrounding the house lead from the backdoor, but that door was locked the entire night of the disappearance and all keys were safely secured. This apparent impossibility is the mystery confronting Dunston at the start of “Fatally Inferior.”
How does this particular case challenge Dunston?
As in all his cases, the mystery at the heart of “Fatally Inferior” pits Dunston’s limited sleuthing skills against the complexity of the crimes he confronts. Whether he succeeds or not is an open question. But this time he also faces a greater and more personal challenge. Initially, Dunston was intrigued by the case as an intellectual puzzle, but when he suffers a devastating loss, he becomes a man on a mission, driven and determined.
Where do you see this character going?
The third book in the trilogy, “The Séance of Murder,” is a story of greed. Dunston is invited to a distant relative’s house where he finds himself involved in a séance and a murder. After more deadly deeds, Dunston’s fate hangs in the balance. He is presented with the unexpected prospect of an affluent lifestyle, but only if he can expose the killer before he himself dies. Either outcome – wealth or death – brings Dunston Burnett’s life as an investigator to an end. “The Séance of Murder” will be released in 2026.
What’s the influence of setting this in Victorian England and involving the family of Charles Darwin?
Charles Darwin’s life and times drive and shape “Fatally Inferior” in two ways. One stems from the uproar that greeted the publication of “The Origin of Species.” Darwin was immediately bombarded with scathing reviews, blistering editorials and crude cartoons. This avalanche of disgust and hatred from believers in God’s creation of man, led me to imagine a more malicious assault on the scientist, the abduction of a family member. The other arises from his marriage. Darwin and his wife were first cousins. In the 19th century, the offspring of such marriages were thought to suffer loss of vigor and infertility. This brought to mind an image of a couple desperate for a grandchild only to be cruelly robbed of this happy outcome by a vile act of revenge. Together, the invective and Darwin’s blood relationship with his wife, are the structural foundations of “Fatally Inferior.”
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