Historical Thrillers THE RAVENWOOD CONSPIRACY with Michael Siverling

Nadia Ravenwood, the estranged daughter of a Russian spy, delves into the dark heart of 1927 New York City as a secret fixer for the rich and famous. Her associate, Stephen Locke, a World War I veteran, narrates this action-packed mix of mystery and thriller. When a Socialite is framed for murder, Nadia is thrust into a case that takes her from the opium dens of the Bowery slums to luxury hotels and a millionaire’s yacht in search of the real killer. Hounded by her client’s family patriarch and the police, she’s thwarted at every turn as alternate suspects end up dead. In the process, she gets entangled in the dangerous underworld of drug dealers, gun runners, and anarchists involved in a conspiracy orchestrated by her notorious father, Nicholas Ravenwood, which will have world-shaking consequences if she fails to foil his plans.

Michael Siverling recently sat down with The Big Thrill to discuss his latest historical thriller, THE RAVENWOOD CONSPIRACY.

Michael Siverling

A novel is such a major undertaking; there’s the writing of it, of course, then you’re spending months and months revising, polishing, and then promoting it. How did you know this was the book you wanted to spend the next couple of years on?

History comes on my like an addiction. The more I dive in, the more I want to know. It can start with the architecture, the fashion, the ‘news of the day’ that shaped that time and place. It all becomes connected and forms the foundation for the story to stand upon.

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

I’d just finished living in the Victoria London era inside my own head when I came across an article on the original Black Mask stories of the Pulp Era. Female Protagonists are rare in those stories, and it sparked an idea to create the kind of female detective who could not only survive, but flourish in that setting.

Were there any particular books, movies, or songs that were knocking around in your head while you were writing this one?

Newsreels from the 1920’s. As many as I could find.

When you first created your protagonist for this book, did you see an empty space in crime lit that you wanted to fill? What can you share about the inspiration for that character?

Nadia Ravenwood is the encapsulation of the line from the song ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, “where every cop is a criminal”. She’s a ‘fixer’ for New Yorks rich and influential. The reason she’s so good at stopping everything from blackmail to burglary is the fact that she’s had a criminal upbringing. It’s pointed out in the story that if she’d not chosen her current line of work, she be ‘Queen of her own Criminal Empire’.

In addition to a great read, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

A bit of an education on life in New York in 1927.

What can you share about what you’re working on next?

I’ll have to see if there’ll be interest in another story of this kind.