It's
been a while since I've conducted author interviews but I'm excited with my
first feature for 2022.
Meet
author Hurriya Burney. Her first book is an intriguing mystery novel and I'm
super excited to share an excerpt from it.
Plus
join me for an exclusive interview with Burney, where we talk about writing,
her books, and more.
First, here's a bit about Hurriya Burney
HS Burney writes
fast-moving, action-packed mysteries set against the backdrop of majestic
mountains and crystalline ocean in West Coast Canada. She loves creating
characters that keep you on your toes.
A corporate executive by
day and a novelist by night, HS Burney received her Bachelors’ in Creative
Writing from Lafayette College.
A proud Canadian
immigrant, HS Burney takes her readers into worlds populated by diverse
characters with unique cultural backgrounds. When not writing, she is out
hiking, waiting for the next story idea to strike, and pull her into a new
world.
And
here's a bit about the book:
Book name: The
Lake Templeton Murders
Series: A
Fati Rizvi Private Investigator Murder Mystery
Genre:
Mystery, Thriller
Number of
Pages: Around 420 pages
Synopsis:
A body washes up on the
shores of Lake Templeton, a small town on the coast of Vancouver Island. Sharon
Reese, the victim, was a dedicated government employee. Everyone liked her, but
no one knew much about her. Was she hiding something? Maybe a questionable past
riddled with scandal. And did it lead to her plunge to death, in a drunken
stupor, off the dock outside her secluded lakefront lodge?Was it an accident? A
suicide? Or cold-blooded murder? Private Investigator, Fati Rizvi, is
determined to find out.
Fati arrives in Lake
Templeton to find secrets that run as deep as the City’s sewers. Everyone is
hiding something and nothing is as it seems. A cult escapee. A corrupt
politician. A struggling airline. A multi-million dollar public-private project
to revitalize the Lake Templeton waterfront. How are they all connected?
As Fati valiantly unravels
the knots, another body is found on the shore. Is it the same killer? And can
Fati stop them before they strike again?
Get a taste of The Lake Templeton Murders by HS
Burney with this excerpt from the book:
Sharon’s body was half-reposed face-down on the wet
sand, deposited on the shore like plastic waste. Clumps of hair were caught in
the jagged rocks that edge the receding land, one bloated arm flung over a
large boulder, as if trying to find a grip. Her legs floated behind her like
windsocks. Silk shirt ballooned over the surface of the water like a
parachute.
The crime scene has been cleared up.
Culver Beach sparkles in the vestiges of the sinking sunlight, sand glinting
like diamond dust. The only remnants of the morning’s tragic discovery - dried
boot prints in the grassy sand, left behind by the police.
The nearest house is walled off by a
thicket of trees and is currently empty, owned by a businessman who only spends
a few months here in the summers. The beach is quiet, with not even a dog
walker in sight. I walk on the sand for a few minutes, shoes in hand, reveling
in the quietude. I breathe in the fresh air, slightly briny, and crisp enough
to open up my nasal pathways.
No answers will be found here. Not
for me. I have limited experience analyzing crime scenes. Even though, as a
beat cop, I elbowed my way to many sites above my pay grade, attaching myself
to the most brilliant detectives like a barnacle. Thankfully, you don’t need to
be an expert at crime scene analysis to catch a killer.
And catching a killer is what I do
best.
I will answer the plea in Sharon’s
outstretched arms, still flailing in death as her body collided against the
land, unmoored from its watery grave. I will unravel the secrets in the wide
eyes and rote responses of Sharon’s colleagues, all identical, parroting one
another. The combative non-responses of Mayor Alena Krutova. And the
exaggerated sorrow of Sergio Alvarez, Marketing Manager at City Hall, who
claims to only know Sharon as a dear colleague.
I will piece together the puzzle of
Sharon’s life. Who was she? What was she doing in Lake Templeton? Did she steal
a half a million dollars from the City? And did it drag her to an early death,
pitched off the deck outside her own home?
What transpired on Sharon’s deck last
night after the sun sank behind the heavy winter shadows?
Want to
know more about Burney and her books, her writing, and her diverse characters?
Let's
get to the interview
1.
Your
first book is a mystery, which means it's one of your favorite genres. Can you
tell us who your favorite mystery authors are?
HS Burney: I would read anything by Harlan
Coben. I first discovered him when I was frequently taking business trips from
Vancouver to Toronto. I would buy a book at the airport and finish it by the
time my plane landed in Toronto four-and-a-half hours later.
I’ve
also always enjoyed mysteries by Mary Higgins Clark. And who can forget the
classics – Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.
More
recently, I’ve been reading works by more independent and less mainstream
authors, such as Rachel Abbott and Jackie Kabler. Outside of the core mystery
genre, I enjoy reading edge-of-your-seat psychological thrillers.
2.
You
mentioned working on your second book, so is The Lake Templeton Murders
going to be a series? Do you have a number of books in mind? Can your books be
read as standalones?
HS Burney: You can call it a series. But they
are also standalone novels. Private Investigator, Fati Rizvi, was such a joy to
write. I know her intimately. She feels like a close friend. I want to solve
more mysteries with her, put her in interesting situations, and let her put the
puzzle pieces together.
My
next book, which I am hoping to publish by Spring 2022 takes PI Fati Rizvi on a
new adventure. I don’t have a number of books in mind that I want to write. In
fact, I have more ideas than I can execute in a lifetime. The only shortage is
time.
3.
Can
you tell readers what your novel research process is like?
HS Burney: My research process is primarily
focused on police procedure. I am blessed to have a police detective and a
judge within my network, who were instrumental to lending a touch of
authenticity to The Lake Templeton Murders.
There
is a theme of financial fraud in the novel, which I am a somewhat of an expert
at as a 15-year banker. I’ve seen some very interesting situations during my
career!
My
setting is one in which I live and work and am proud to call home. This is
important to me as I write more powerfully when I can visualize, touch, and
breathe in my setting. My novels don’t require a ton of research because I
situate them in real settings that I am familiar with. This is important to me
– to write what I know.
4.
Your
bio says you like to include 'diverse characters with unique cultural
backgrounds.' Do readers get to see this in The Lake Templeton Murders?
Can you elaborate more about the cultural backgrounds you like to include in
your writing?
HS Burney: I am blessed to be surrounded by a
mosaic of diversity in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada. Being an immigrant
myself, it is very important to me to incorporate this diversity into my books
– not in a way that looks like tokenism but in an authentic, natural way. Given
that I am surrounded by people from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds in my real
life, writing characters that reflect this requires no extra effort. It happens
organically.
My
main character, Private Investigator, Fati Rizvi, is a South Asian female PI
born to Pakistani immigrants. Her sidekick, Zed, is a young gay man. Another main
character is an immigrant from Russia. But they aren’t the only diverse
characters in the book.
I
believe that adding elements of diversity adds rich complexity to a story. It’s
something I’ve found lacking in mystery novels, although I’m starting to see
more writers put focus on this in recent years.
5.
Have
you set a Goodreads goal for 2022? If yes, how many books would you like to
read this year?
HS Burney: I gave myself a very conservative
goal of 12 books for 2022 – because I wanted to make sure I hit it! Having said
that, I have no doubt I will exceed this goal. My goal as a writer is to write
and publish 2 books this year.
6.
Other
than mystery, what are your favorite genres?
HS Burney: A related genre – psychological
thrillers. I suppose you can say that I enjoy any book that keeps me on the
edge of my seat. I want twists and turns and bombs dumped on me. I want
suspense. I want to keep wondering what happens next until the very end.
7.
Some
mystery books tend to be a bit gory or descriptive in the details of the crime,
is The Lake Templeton Murders similar? How much blood and violence can
readers expect in the book and series?
HS Burney: Not at all. That’s not really my
thing. My murders are relatively clean and involve minimal blood. I am also not
a fan of violence. I don’t have the stomach for it.
The Lake Templeton Murders is more focused on the puzzle of the
case. The narrative weaves through the background of the characters involved
and how it feeds into their motivations, and relates to the problem at hand,
i.e. solving the murder. Here is an excerpt from
a reader's review:
“What I found when compared to today’s genre of most modern day murder
mysteries, [was] that there is no gratuitous “in your face” violence, explicit
sex scenes or profane language every other sentence. On reflection I found that
to be somewhat refreshing.”
8.
Can
you tell us a bit about your work or works in progress?
HS Burney: I’m one of those odd writers that can
only have 1 work in progress at any given time. I struggle to pull myself from
story to story and world to world.
I
am currently working on the next mystery involving Private Investigator Fati
Rizvi, which I have titled The Missing Twins. It’s set in the
wealthy neighborhood of West Vancouver, one of Canada’s priciest postal codes.
In
The Missing Twins, The Azad-Shah family are pillars of the
community, both successful entrepreneurs with a brood of four. They are lauded
on magazine covers and their bespoke, custom-built house has been showcased in
Canadian Real Estate Magazine. Fati gets called in because their
nineteen-year-old twins are missing. They disappeared on their 19th birthday,
the day they ushered in official adulthood.
As
Fati starts to unravel the knots, she uncovers that the Azad-Shah family isn’t
as picture-perfect as they would have you believe. There are secrets,
dysfunction, the messy nest of hidden ties and grievances. The happy family
dance is just a veneer, like garnish on a peeling painting.
The book explores themes of family dysfunction, similar to my first
book, The Lake Templeton Murders. I am looking forward to releasing it
by Spring 2022.
Connect with HS
Burney via Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads.
About the Author
