Now having just published his fifth Lucio Vella book, Robert Busuttil explains how he wrote the first in the series, Murder in St Jude’s, whilst he was going through a loss in his life. It was primarily a way for him to process what he was going through. Having the novel published wasn’t his primary motivation.
“My writing stems from my own experience as a child, and the world view I had back then,” he continues. “It also reflects the knowledge I gathered from my social work experiences and training.” Busuttil has also been influenced by the crime fiction he enjoys reading himself, and undertakes some additional research when he needs to describe a particular place or period of time.
Why did you decide to set the books in a fictional world that mirrors Malta and Gozo so closely, rather than on the islands themselves?
“To be honest, I found it a more liberating process. It allowed me to develop the way I saw the world when I was a child, and I liked the fact that readers could have a mystery on the side, trying to match the fictional places I refer to, with the real places which had inspired them – an ‘investigation’ within the investigation, so to speak! It also allowed me to steer away from the factual style of reporting which is expected of me in my day-to-day job as a social worker.”
Throughout the series we see police inspector Lucio advancing in his career to become a Superintendent. However, Busuttil explains his primary focus was on making Lucio an amazing family man who, on his days off from crime-solving might be on a beach with his wife Valentina, teaching his daughter Luna how to swim.
Was Lucio inspired by a real person, the literary canon or purely imagined?
“If you had asked me this as I was writing the first book, I would have said that Lucio was the kind of person I needed to have by my side in that difficult time in my life! A friend who was kind, bright, determined and driven. It was only when I finished the manuscript that I realised that there were bits and pieces of me in him! That was what helped me heal. Lucio is not just a good person, but he is also a true mentor. He believes in people, and he inspires them to be better, and do better, a quality which I believe every leader should have. Through Lucio I realised that I am enough, that no matter the hardships I was going through, I had the power to overcome them. It was not just Lucio… without realising I had entrusted other the characters with parts of me, like trusting Marius to embody my queerness, Jeremiah my wit, and Henry my sense of righteousness.”
Tell us about the latest case Lucio finds himself tasked with, in your new book Under an August Moon. What new characters have you introduced, and what appeals to you, about them?
“I built up this new case around the President of Malita, being the prime suspect for a murder. What lies beneath is something readers must uncover! #nospoilers However this book was particularly inspired by my great-aunt’s devotion to the Ta’ Pinu Shrine. Unfortunately, she passed away before I had finished the book, but she will now live forever in the character of Antonia. In this novel, I also introduced a new officer, Martin Debono, to remind the readers that with the right motivation, people can have purpose and how with that same purpose, they can enhance their sense of self, as well as using it to serve for the greater good.”
How does the story and the solving of the crime emerge as you write?
“I never know who’s done it until the last few chapters. I start with one episode, either a murder or an accident, and then whatever comes next is where the story takes me. I like to think that unless it’s a mystery to me, then it will never be a good enough mystery for others! Besides, it makes the process intriguing and engaging for me too. Also, knowing how the story ends at an early stage, might encourage me to speed write to meet it, and miss all the action along the way that makes this series enjoyable, intriguing and easy to read.”
What themes or ideas do you hope readers take away from your series beyond enjoying the mystery itself?
“I would say the value of humanity. Even though this is fictional work, the topics referred to are very real in our present day. In my line of work, I have learnt to see beyond behaviours, because behaviours are just windows to our feelings: we deal with traumas, and how such traumas make people react. At times, the pain is so dense that it escalates to engagement in crime. Whilst I would always condemn criminal actions, my logic challenges me to understand its intent further. Most of the time, I learn that people are not inherently bad, but that bad situations happen to them. Perhaps they simply never found the right support and guidance to help them process them.”
“If I may, I would like to mention that the journey so far would not have been possible if the team at Horizons had not taken a chance on me. Kindness is a recurrent sentiment in my novels, and Horizons have shown me this many times over. I hold them forever dearly in my heart, as I will hold every other person who pushed me to towards pursuing this venture.”
