How The Great Gatsby Inspired My Debut Literary Thriller

How The Great Gatsby Inspired My Debut Literary Thriller

I. In the fall of 1985, I discovered a tiny bookstore in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was a hot, humid evening. I’d escaped from Freshman Orientation and was wandering aimlessly through the streets of this tiny town, looking for some sort of refuge. I’d been in America four days, and it was bewildering: The accents. The brightly colored clothes. The strange, flavorless American food. I needed a respite, and I found it in a bookstore, tucked away on a si…