Plenty of twists in Darien author’s new mystery
Tessa Wegert loves a good cliffhanger. “Cliffhanger endings are tricky because people either love them or despise them,” she said.
The Darien author also loves a good plot twist, and her fans are sure to delight in this twist: Her next Shana Merchant novel, “The Dead Season,” is releasing on Dec. 8, earlier than its previously announced 2021 release. Wegert said she was pleased when Penguin Randomhouse decided to move up her publishing date because it means her readers won’t have to wait a full year between the two releases.
“It’s almost like giving the readers a little holiday surprise,” she joked.
Her sequel takes place three weeks after the events of Wegert’s debut novel, “Death in the Family,” and offers readers more insight into the detective’s mind and answers the burning questions readers might have about Shana’s personal boogeyman, Blake Bram.
Those who read “Death in the Family” will know that Shana suffers from PTSD after she was kidnapped by nefarious killer Bram. In the sequel, Wegert gives readers the opportunity to dive into Shana’s past and reveals just how prominent Bram is to the dogged detective.
Wegert explained that “The Dead Season” picks up with readers learning that Shana has been suspended from her detective duties with the New York State Police and that she’s become obsessed with tracking down Bram, who she believes is searching for her. When Shana discovers that her estranged uncle’s remains have been uncovered, 20 years after he was last seen, she finds herself unofficially investigating her uncle’s death when she returns to her hometown to comfort her family. While investigating her uncle’s death in Swanton, her colleagues ask for her advice on a missing child case back in the Thousand Islands.
“She finds herself involved in not one case, but two cases that she really has no jurisdiction to be working on, but obviously has skin in the game and a very personal connection to them. It’s very much a homecoming for her and it’s about facing the ghosts of her past,” Wegert said.
Without giving anything away, Wegert explained that she always knew who she wanted Blake Bram to be to Shana.
“I always knew about the natu ture of the relationship I wanted the them to have and the connection between them going into ‘Death in the Family.’ What I didn’t entirely know was how I was going to write the homecoming aspect of ‘The Dead Season.’ I wanted it to be an invisible threat,” she said.
While the publishing details haven’t been hammered out yet, Wegert said she’s working on her third Shana Merchant book. She also said that she spent the summer revising a draft of a thriller novel she had previously written and added that she has ideas for other standalone novels.
As far as the third book, Wegert teased that the cat-and-mouse game between Shana and Blake Bram will intensify.
“I do want to address a lot of things in the third book and obviously there needs to be a reckoning, there will be more of a physical confrontation between Shana and Bram in the third book.”
Wegert admitted that she doesn’t know how many books she’ll write in the Shana Merchant series but quickly added that she knows she has other cases and situations she wants her detective to face.
For Wegert, 2020 has been a strange year. She released her first novel right before the shutdown and found herself unable to promote her book through traditional means. “It’s bizarre in a sense,” she said. Wegert has been writing novels for the past decade and said that having her debut release and its sequel published in the same year was “unbelievable.”
“It was a very challenging year for debut authors; there were very little chances to meet with readers, but I’m making the best of it.”
She said she’s attended virtual book clubs to chat with readers and has spoken at literary panels and conferences. While she hadn’t been able to have more traditional in-person book events, Wegert said she’s been able to find and connect with her reader base online.
The author also said that while she’s writing she does take into account her readers’ concerns and feedback, as they offer a different perspective on her characters.
“Readers have hopes and wishes for the characters and I think they have some expectations for how they would like things to go and I want to make sure that I deliver.”
Now that her characters are out in the world and not just in her head Wegert said she wants to “do right by them.”
She added that sharing her characters with readers has been a strange experience and that it surprises her when readers talk about her characters as if they’re real people.
“I can’t get over it. It’s such a fun experience to hear people talk that way,” she said. “These characters all came from imagination so to hear that response, to me, means that I did them justice when it came to making them feel realistic and authentic.”
Wegert will have a virtual author talk with Stamford author Wendy Walker at Barrett Bookstore in Darien on Dec. 8 to celebrate the release of “The Dead Season.” For more information about the author talk, visit barrettbookstore.com.