Please welcome Jodé Millman to Book Reviews & More by Kathy.
- Can you tell us about the real-life murder in Poughkeepsie that inspired THE MIDNIGHT CALL? In August 1979, Albert Fentress, a popular Poughkeepsie Middle School Teacher murdered Paul Masters, a teenager who was trespassing in his yard. Fentress tied up Masters in his basement and after mutilating his body, shot him. As a clever ploy to dismiss the murder charges, Fentress claimed that Wallace Schwartz, Esq., who received his midnight call for help, violated the attorney-client privilege. He claimed that Schwartz shared confidential information with Schwartz’s parents, who then informed the police about the homicide. After the dismissal was denied, Fentress was ultimately acquitted by reason of mental incapacity and has been institutionalized in a secure psychiatric center on Long Island. Under the law, a patient has the right to have his case reviewed every two years, and Fentress’s next potential petition for release will be in 2020.
- As a Poughkeepsie native, did you ever come across the history teacher who was the murderer? Surely, the most shocking this was the crime itself…that a teacher who was surrounded by kids all day could suffer a break with reality, and murder and mutilate a teen. It could have been any teen, at any time. Even me, as I had been one of Albert Fentress’s students. Ten years before the Masters murder, Fentress had been my World History teacher at Poughkeepsie High School. He’d been charming, charismatic and engaging to his students and had maintained a sterling reputation in the school district during his teaching career. Naturally, the effects of the brutal, senseless murder rippled through our community as my lawyer colleagues, former classmates, the school district and parents mourned the loss of Paul Masters. Poughkeepsie, New York is a small city, so the grieving family, the attorney charged with malfeasance, the criminal defense attorney, the police and prosecutors were my neighbors and friends, and I shared in their suffering. To this day, this tragedy remains a stain on our city’s history.
- You’re a member of Romance Writers Of America, International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. THE MIDNIGHT CALL intertwines a great love story and exhilarating plot. Do you think this is common in the thriller community? I believe in blending genres –thriller, crime, romance and action. When we read a novel, we want our characters to be three-dimensional and have true, believable lives. Simply because my characters’ lives are in jeopardy, that doesn’t preclude them from experiencing a passionate love life. Love always raises the stakes, creating tension to propel our characters, as well as the readers, forward. By incorporating crime, romance, office politics and courtroom drama, I hope to keep my readers on the edge of their seats.
- At what point in your life did you become an author? Believe it or not, I “inherited” my non-fiction writing career. My father, Sandy Millman, wrote a guide to Broadway Theater, “SEATS: NEW YORK,” in 1999. When he passed away unexpectedly, his publisher, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, asked if I would represent him on the promotional tour. When the book became a success, Applause wanted to continue the series and asked if I was interested in writing the second edition. This request arrived at a fortuitous time, as I had closed my law practice when my family relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan. After twenty years of practicing law, writing SEATS was a welcome change, and as all writers know, we can research and write anywhere.
- Has your career in law influenced any details in the book? Like my protagonist, Jessie Martin, I wanted to become an attorney ever since I was a teenager. Also like Jessie, it was my after-school job in a law office that hooked me on the intellectual and personal challenge of practicing law. While she and I also attended the same college and law school, Jessie is not modeled after me, however, I instilled in her my love, reverence and excitement about the law.
- What attracts you to the crime-fiction genre? As a litigator, I observed, first-hand, the darker side of human nature. Revenge, greed, anger, and betrayal transformed people who once loved each other or worked together into mortal enemies. Observing these intense emotions inspired me to write about law, dig deeper into the mystery of the human psyche, and in the case of THE MIDNIGHT CALL, to examine what would lead someone to randomly steal the life of a complete stranger.
Title: The Midnight Call by Jodé Millman
Publisher: Immortal Works
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 460 pages
Summary:
Who would ever suspect that their mentor, teacher, and friend is a cold-blooded killer?
Attorney Jessie Martin didn’t—at least not until she answers the midnight call.
Late one August night, Jessie’s lifelong mentor and friend—and presently a popular, charismatic, and handsome high school teacher—Terrence Butterfield calls. He utters a startling admission: he’s killed someone. He pleads for Jessie’s help, so out of loyalty she rushes to his aid completely unaware that she’s risking her relationship, her career, and her life—and that of her unborn child—to help Terrence.
Does Jessie’s presence at Terrence’s home implicate her in the gruesome murder of the teenage boy found in the basement? Why does Terrence betray Jessie when he has a chance to exonerate her of any charges? Has he been a monster in disguise for all these years?
To reclaim her life and prove her innocence, Jessie must untangle the web of lies and reveal the shocking truths behind the homicide. This quest turns out to be the fight of her life: to preserve everything and everyone she holds dear.
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