The Boston native, who graduated from what is now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1991, majored in sociology with a minor in English and was a member of the now-defunct Kappa Delta Phi fraternity. He is currently a lieutenant at the Suffolk County sheriff's department and owns Nona's Homemade, an ice cream parlor.  

 

The book will be available for $14.99 at the signing, with cash and cards accepted. The Kindle version is $4.99. The Pitcher's Mound Pub is located at 218 Ashland St.

 

iBerkshires.com interviewed Donahue by phone this week.

 

Q: What's the connection with Berkshire County in the novel?
A: It was both. I always wanted to write about the Berkshires, specifically about North Adams. And murder mystery... I just think it's a pretty intriguing genre. So, as soon as I figured out I would do a mystery-type book, where the majority of where the plot would take place was never in question.

 

Thomas Donahue

Q: What do you find most interesting about mystery novels?

 

A: I would say that you really have to keep the reader honest. You really force the reader to pay attention in the mystery. Where in a regular drama book it can be really well crafted, really well written, but you don't really have to maintain the reader's interest like a mystery because most people who read murder mysteries, or any kind of mystery, they want to solve the crime. So if my intent was to force the reader to think, to think of different options, different subjects. So I lay down a scenario where there's reasonably four plausible bad guys in my novel. Anyone can guess at these, guess it correctly, but why is she the bad guy? Or why is he the bad guy? So I think a mystery, in general, and this is just my personal reading, it makes you want to read the next chapter. It makes you want to figure it out. You want more clues, you want more suspense, you want more drama, you want more crime scenes. And I think it makes for an easier read.

 

Q: How was writing about the Berkshires?

 

A: It was a lot of fun to write about Western Mass. because I love it. I love the people up there. It's different, it's a lot different than Boston. It's more laid back, the people are very real, there's very few phonies out in that area. You know where you stand with people. I think people come from solid stalk in North Adams. It was easy to identify with some of the good characters ... some of the characters are somewhat loosely based off my friends in North Adams.

 

Q: When was the last time you were up to North Adams?

 

A: I was in North Adams in 2011, and before that, I'm guessing 2003 to take photos of the Hoosac Tunnel. ... Before that, was 1999, and that's ... when I was probably half way into the first draft. I went up there on a wing and a prayer on my own. I ran into one of my old college professors, a guy by the name of Harris Elder ... So I went up and had lunch with Harris at the Pitcher's Mound. He was a good influence on me in college anyway, but he became a good writing influence on me because he changed the direction of my novel. I was writing a whole book in the first person, and he steered me into another direction. He said, 'Write in the third person narrative, you have more writing room, you have more flexibility, you can get inside the head of other characters. It's a little bit easier, you have a better command of your novel.' So I took his advice.

 

Q: How did your experience at the sheriff's department tie into the book? 

 

A: Immensely. The prison sub-plot in the book, and I bring my perspective of county corrections to the novel. Anything I write as far as the culture of corrections, that's just my perception. ... Actually the greatest strength in my book is the the subplot because I've been in the business for 21 years. I work at Suffolk County sheriff's department, I'm a lieutenant. Working in the prison system for years, you know, gave that an added bonus.

 

Q: Why did you choose the Pitcher's Mound for a book signing?

 

A: That's because I worked there. And my crew ... we were there when Fritz Spooner, and Jack Rivard was a young guy ... when they pooled their money and bought it. So we were there when that happened, so we were part of that crew that they inherited, so that's why I have a connection with that group of guys.

 

Q: Were you a bartender there, a bouncer?

 

A: No, I worked the door ... I wouldn't call it a bouncer, I was a door man.

 

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

 

A: I think it's an intriguing read, I think the reader will be guessing at the ending. And the reader will definitely be brought into Massachusetts county prison system. The reader will get an inside peak at the culture of corrections.