Dennis Lehane Tells Crowd at Perkins School About his Inspirations

Dennis Lahane said his father’s misfortune led to his own blessing — which he gave as an example of an “irreconcilable phenomena.” That is one of the things that drives his writing, the Dorchester-native told the audience at thes “A Book and Author Brunch."

Joining Lahane were to other local mystery writers ­— Hank Phillipi Ryan, an investigative reporter with Channel 7 news and author of the Charlotte McNally series, and Barbara Delinsky, who lives in Belmont and has penned such best sellers as “Escape.”

Lehane grew up in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester surrounded by Irish immigrants, who had a rich storytelling culture. He recalls sitting around his relative’s homes, listening to their tales.

“They would sit around and tell the same stories, with variations — like jazz,” Lehane said. “The endings would change.”        

He would not have even been in Boston if his father had not been on the losing end of contest, of sorts, back in his native Ireland.

Lehane’s grandfather was a farmer and he told his father and his uncle that who ever got married first would get the farm. His uncle won, which led Lehane’s father to immigrate to the United States.

“If my father doesn’t lose the contest, then I would have grown up on a farm in Ireland,” Lehane said. “I don’t know if you have ever been on a farm, but I hate farms. I’m so happy my father couldn’t hook up with a woman in his village.”

These strange coincidences and unexpected results have been the theme of Lehane’s books, such as “Gone Baby Gone” which poses the question of whether a missing child should be returned to her parents if those that took her provide a better situation in which to grow up.

As a Boston Irish, Lehane said he also tends not to be too social. When he does not want to do something, he said he is “harder to find than Jimmy Hoffa.”

One thing Lehane is happy to come out for is an event benefiting a library.

“Libraries are why I am here,” Lehane said.

Thursday’s event was presented by the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library, which provides a wide range of accessible library services across the state and New England.

Phillipi Ryan grew up in Indianapolis reading Nancy Drew Mysteries, Sherlock Holmes stories and other mysteries. She always wanted to be a mystery writer, but she did not get into fiction writing until many years of being an investigative reporter.

Her first book featuring Charlotte McNally, an investigative television reporter in Boston, came to her one day.

“As a journalist, I cannot make things up,” Phillipi Ryan said. “I never had an idea (for a book) but I got a strange email, and I had an idea that led to ‘Primetime.’”

Writers don’t have to be great English students, Delinsky said. She grew up in Newton and when she was in high school she was “asked to leave” her advanced English class.

Oringally, the Belmont-resident wrote romance novels, but she later switched to mysteries. She said she comes up with her ideas for stories on her own.
“I think, what is the worst thing that could happen in my life?, and that’s how I come up with ideas for books,” Delinsky said.

While touring to promote books can be grueling, she said being an author fits well with her life.

“It’s a career that I did not plan, but it was a great fit,” Delinsky said. “I can be home to be with my kids, and I can go to Washington to see the grand kids, but I am always working.”