Advanced Praise for In the Matter of Michael Vogel:
"'Michael Vogel' is a dramatic new take on the small town murder mystery, and the adage that a secret is a story you tell about others, while a lie is a story you tell about yourself. "
- Chuck Hogan, NY Times best-selling author of The Town and co-author of The Strain trilogy.
In this beautifully crafted weave of three voices, Yanno tells the story of a young boy's death in a small upstate New York town in the 1960's. Almost cinematic in the telling, he injects darkness into the sunniest summer afternoons and discloses lies with innocent simplicity. Think Tom Sawyer in Twin Peaks. A story that will live in your imagination long after you've reached "The End."
- Kate Flora, Edgar-nominated author of Finding Amy.
About the Book:
I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, not unlike the one depicted in the novel. When I was twelve, I heard a rumor about people - adults - who were gathering on summer nights in a remote area just outside of town to engage in some rather tawdry behavior. To a twelve year old boy, talk of sex would ordinarily be of great interest. However, to me, the details of what they were doing was just downright creepy. For that reason, it stuck in my mind and, as a writer, I always thought it might make good fodder for a novel.
In addition, I had heard stories over the years of children going missing at public swimming pools, only to turn up later drowned (including an incident in that same hometown). However, in none of those stories had the child been murdered. They simply weren't found when they first searched for them, usually because of the depth and murkiness of the water. Again, as a writer, I thought "what if..."
Putting those two premises together, I came up with In the Matter of Michael Vogel, a murder mystery set in a fictional small town in upstate New York in 1966. The story is told from the perspective of three members of the community: one is a sheriff with a past he'd like to forget; another is a twelve year-old boy with a future he hopes to avoid; and the third is a forty year-old bachelor with a secret he wants desperately to keep. Together their stories converge in a conclusion that is both surprising and thrilling.
About the Author