John Allore discusses his novel ‘Wish You Were Here’ after virtual launch at Brome Lake Books

On Saturday, Sept. 19 Brome Lake Books presented the virtual launch of Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl, a Brother’s Quest and the Hunt for a Serial Killer by authors John Allore and Patricia Pearson.

The book tells the story of the death of John Allore’s 19-year-old sister Theresa, whose body was found in 1978 not far from her school residence near Sherbrooke, Quebec. Her brother, convinced that she was murdered, sought to bring her the justice that the police did not. The novel chronicles John Allore’s 20-year investigation to find answers about her death.

With a story as personal to the author as this one, working with another writer might have presented its challenges.

“We both are lone wolves,” said Allore of himself and Pearson, “but the collaborative process in this case was very, very helpful.”

The novel opens with the discovery, by a man named Robert Ride, of Theresa’s body. Allore wrote the opening, but Pearson, he explained, did something

really, really brilliant with it.

Robert Ride would go on to face decades of misplaced guilt and sadness over his discovery and Pearson made the decision to include that in the prologue.

“You can talk about my grief and my family’s grief,” said Allore, “but the collateral damage that this caused...”

It is a reoccurring theme in the book, he explained.

The two authors complement each other, and both voices can be heard in the novel.

“I have a kind of gallows sense of humour,” admitted Allore.

“It’s needed in the manuscript,” he explained, with a topic as heavy as this one.

In general, Allore continued, he and Pearson were steering away from conventions about crime victims and things like that.

Allore elaborated that people tend to treat murder victims like a bird with a broken wing and he is opposed to that, to the over-sensitivity of victims that most people expect in these kinds of works.

The idea of writing a book about the tragedy and Allore’s investigation that followed was an idea he had been pondering for quite a while.

About 15 years ago Allore had written two-thirds of a book and proposed the novel to publishers.

They were intrigued by the story, said Allore, but essentially said that it felt unresolved and he should come back once they had solved the murder.

At the time, he explained, he and Pearson were thinking, “That’s not really the point of the book, we kind of like things left unanswered.”

Fast forward 15 years, Pearson was able to tell them that Allore thought he had solved the murder. That, Allore said, was the book that they wanted.

Still, ‘Wish You Were Here’ does not completely tie up neat and tidy for the readers.

“After they’ve read it, I want them to reflect,” Allore explained, “There’s enough in the book that I would say is unanswered, and that’s by design. Patricia and I really like a book that makes the reader do some work.”

He continued, “I would like to write a second book, I know what that second book would be, but right now is not the time for that.”

“Primarily, I’m interested to hear what people think,” he went on, “the way people respond to it, then I can respond.”

Allore mentioned that he hates the word closure, so one should not think of this book in that way. Closure to him, he explained, is the expectation to stop talking about it, to move on and leave it behind.

“I believe that you need to assimilate the trauma, or it will possess you and obsess you.”

“When I was ready to do that,” he continued, “It stopped being a painful thing.”

It is part of who he is, and that is why he was able to write a novel that detailed the injustice that his sister and many others faced.

Lucy Hoblyn, owner of Brome Lake Books, led the book launch over Zoom.

“We were thrilled to do it here,” Hoblyn said.

She added that hearing the authors speak about the book was the biggest eye opener for the dismissiveness of investigators in the 60s and 70s.

“All these stories,” she expressed, “Stories you don’t hear about.”

The book launch went very well, though Hoblyn described the virtuality as a surreal experience in some ways. She was pleased with the more casual atmosphere and encouraged viewers to turn on their cameras to ask questions to Pearson and Allore, which many people did.

The novel is available at Brome Lake Books, located at 45 Lakeside Road.