2020 American Fiction Awards Winner – “Mary Lou: Oh, What Did She Do?”

Interview with Author K. B. Pellegrino on her recent fiction writing award:

The 2020 American Fictions Awards Sponsored by American Book Fest – WINNER – MYSTERY/SUSPENSE: PROCEDURALS FOR “MARY LOU: Oh, What Did She Do?

Having such a diverse character as Mary Lou was an opportunity for me to share with readers a woman’s life. Perhaps Mary Lou was an unusual woman, with certainly I hope unusual experiences, but her road in life portrays our search for good over evil. There are times when we fail in the search for good, but the continued search is what humans do. The plot in this book is complicated and the attentive reader soon learns that going back in time is one way to explain a very complicated woman.

Writing about good and evil is important to me. Mary Lou could have been me or maybe not. My childhood supported me with loving parents. What would have happened if they were not loving; if they were evil? I see my ambition in Mary Lou. I applaud her talents. I cringe at her fate wondering if she earned it or was truly a victim. I thank God, Mary Lou is not me.

I especially liked developing my go-to good detective, West Side MCU Captain Rudy Beauregard. He is with the police but is an ordinary man as measured by most standards. Query: How ordinary is a man who is a sleuth with little evidence to follow but who with his slow, but methodical, methods solves crimes against all odds. My Captain Beauregard sees crimes committed, almost committed, and accidents not considered crimes until he blunders onto the scene. This slow turtle-like character respects his victims. After all, the great morality kiss we get from reading murder and mystery fiction is seeing justice prevail. Rudy and his MCU fellow detectives try their best to search for justice. Given the complicated realities of a system that does not fit all situations, they must accept justice ‘as they find it available.’ Rudy knows, feels certain, that he plays an important role in life. His often nemesis is Defense Attorney Norberto Cull. Sometimes working together and sometimes at odds, their directed efforts are to discover the perpetrator of dastardly deeds. In this case, they were required to ensure there was a crime first.

So many other characters we meet in this novel are vignettes on life in several parts of the country. A blowsy friend from Georgia, who talks a blue streak, finds approval from Rudy. We are once again reminded that crime is crime wherever it occurs, people struggle everywhere trying to live good lives, and pursuit of the bad guys is a worthy goal.

However, sometimes we identify with the perpetrator. What then?

K.B. Pellegrino – Author