About Murder at the Pontchartrain
“I'm Sydney Lockhart. I solve murders, most of which I'm the primary suspect. My boyfriend/partner, Ralph Dixon, and I came to the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans to get married. Instead, Dixon's in jail for a double murder. I'm in a swamp, spying on the KKK. Helping me untangle this mess is my bubble-headed cousin Ruth who's undercover as a hotel chef. My twelve-year-old charge, Lydia LaBeau, dressed as a voodoo queen, is looking for clues at Pat O'Brien's. Rip Thigbee, a ghost detective, is my only hope.
I’m not making any of this up. This is my life and this is what I deal with, like it or not. So, mix yourself a Hurricane and join me in the Big Easy for another historic hotel murder case.”
About the Character Interview
What is your full name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Sydney Jean Lockhart. My close friends call me Syd, and my boyfriend/partner, Ralph Dixon, calls me hon, short for honey.
What is your occupation? Are you any good at it? Do you like it? What is your ideal job? That’s a good question. I started out teaching school; not my thing. Then drifted to news reporting and finally found my niche in private detecting, an unusual gig for a woman in the early 1950s. It all started when I was suspected of murder and realized that if I were going to stay out of jail, I’d have to find the killer. I discovered I had a knack for sniffing out the truth. I love what I do. I work with a gorgeous guy and wear a gun and stilettos.
When you’re not working, what fills your time? Not working? Since Dixon and I opened our agency, it’s been non-stop work. But when I find a free moment, I’m usually at the Next to Nothing live theater in downtown Austin, helping a young lady named Lydia LaBeau work on her latest production. The theatre is owned by her father, who has the business sense of an amoeba, so most of the work falls to his daughter. She may be twelve, but she’s usually the smartest person in the room.
What is your favorite childhood memory? My favorite memory involves my grandfather. He had an unquenchable fascination with the wonders of life. Once, he took me to the beach after a high tide began to ebb. The sand was covered with the creatures that had washed ashore, and he knew each one by its scientific name. Then he told me to never underestimate the small things in life and to never underestimate myself. As I got older, he taught me how to play poker, hotwire a car, and pick a lock; lessons every woman should learn.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Don’t worry so much, and remember, just when you think you have it all figured out, something always rushes by, grabs what little wisdom you have, and slam dunks it into the garbage.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you? There have been so many. Let me think a moment. It was probably when I was investigating a case in Palacios, Texas. I won’t go into details, but I ended up under the Luther Hotel after falling through the floor. I’d disturbed a nest of baby rats and had just surfaced when Dixon walked up, surprising me with a visit. We’d only recently met and were still unsure about each other. He found me in tattered clothes with spiderwebs in my hair. When a newborn pink rat crawled from under my blouse, he just smiled.
What is your greatest achievement? Staying out of jail. Oh, wait. I was in jail for a day. So, I’ll say my greatest achievement is staying out of prison.
What makes you laugh? Listening to my parents bicker. My dad is levelheaded and calm, and my mother is a nutcase. If the Bickersons ever needed a break from their radio show, my parents could easily step in.
What is your greatest extravagance? Shoes, books, and top-shelf martinis; the same obsession as the crazy woman who created me. Do you mean your mother?
What are your pet peeves? Bad guys doing bad things. My grandfather was murdered, and I was the one who found his body. I was eleven years old at the time. I had to face this nightmare in Murder at the Galvez.
Tell us something about yourself that no one else knows. When I was a child, I considered becoming a nun. I shared this information with my grandfather who he told me to forget about it, and luckily, I did.
What is always in your fridge? A bottle of gin, a six-pack of Falstaff, a jar of olives, a jar of mustard, and a bottle of milk.
What is your most treasured possession? The first gift Dixon ever gave me. A .38 with a shoulder holster.
If your life is made into a movie, is it a comedy or drama? Who plays you? Comedy, for sure. Marilyn Monroe. Okay, just kidding. Since I am a tall redhead and often too sassy for my own good, I think Maureen O’Sullivan could easily pull it off.
What is your favorite movie? TV show? I don’t have a TV. I haven’t gotten around to buying one yet, and if I did, I wouldn’t have time to watch it. Besides, I heard that those things scramble your brain. My favorite movie is Casablanca. Dixon, although much more handsome, reminds me of Humphrey Bogart.
What is your favorite song, and why? Blue Moon by Billie Holiday. It’s slow and sultry.
What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? I have a banana and a beer; both are already made and packaged.
Describe your perfect day. Waking up to see Dixon’s clothes strewn all over the room. Followed by a quick walk to the nearby Lake Austin to exercise my high-strung poodle, and then off to the detective agency with Dixon to find out what insanity is on the books for the day. If we have a successful day, we meet at the Driskill Hotel bar over martinis. Actually, we do the same thing even if we have a bad day.
About Kathleen Kaska
Kathleen Kaska is the author of awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s and the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series. Her first two Lockhart mysteries, Murder at the Arlington and Murder at the Luther, were selected as bonus books for the Pulpwood Queen Book Group, the country’s largest book group. Watch for Murder at the Pontchartrain: the 6th Sydney Lockhart Mystery in June 2023.
She also writes mystery trivia. The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book was published by Rowman & Littlefield. Her Holmes short story, “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke,” appears in Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street, a Belanger Books anthology. She is the founder of The Dogs in the Nighttime, the Sherlock Holmes Society of Anacortes, Washington, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars.
Kathleen is the owner of Metaphor Writing Coach. She coaches new and emerging writers and helps them discover their unique voices, and guides them as they learn the craft of writing and the art of storytelling. Kathleen also edits manuscripts and advises writers on how to look for the right publisher.
Website http://www.kathleenkaska.com
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