Bookwild - Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett: Missing White Woman Syndrome and True Crime Fanaticism

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

This week, I talk with Kellye Garrett about her writing journey and her new thriller Missing White Woman. We discuss Kellye's early interest in writing, her inspiration for her Hollywood Homicide Series, and her writing process. Kellye also shares how her experience in TV writing influenced her novel writing, particularly in creating suspenseful chapters and realistic dialogue. We dive into the themes of Missing White Woman, including true crime Internet culture and the racial dynamics explored in the story.    Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

This week, I'm super excited because I got to talk with Kelly Garrett about her newest thriller Missing White Woman. I absolutely devoured this book. If I could have read it in one setting, I think I would have. But it was just so good. The tension through the whole book is insane. It has some of the fun elements of kind of like satirically critiquing true crime culture and our obsession with people who go missing and the way that sometimes we kind of forget that there are also people, too, when we're talking about them. It just has so many things going on in it, and I enjoyed reading it so much. But it's about Brianna, who her new boyfriend, Ty, takes her on a romantic getaway weekend in New York City. He took care of everything,

the train tickets, the dinner reservations, the rented four-story luxury row house in Jersey City with a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. But when Bree comes downstairs, is their final morning, she's shocked. There's a stranger laying dead in the foyer and ties nowhere to be found. A black woman alone in a new city, Bree is stranded and out of her depth, especially when it becomes clear. The dead woman is none other than Janelle Beckett, the missing woman the entire internet, has become obsessed with. There's only one person Brie can turn to, her ex-best friend, a lawyer with whom she shares a very complicated past. As the police and a social media mob close in, all looking for hashtag justice for Janelle.

Bree realizes the only way she can help Ty or herself is to figure out what really happened last night. But when people only see what they want to see, can she uncover the truth hiding in plain sight? This was like just such a classically fun missing persons thriller as all the things that you love if that is a type of the genre that you really love, while also still bringing up a lot of questions about police and how they pick their suspects and whether that's racially motivated or not. And like I mentioned earlier, the whole true crime obsession that happens online sometimes and what the consequences of that can be in some cases. It's super suspenseful. I was so stressed

out with Brianna the whole time I was reading it and I was so torn on who I thought I could believe in the book, which is a really fun way to experience a thriller, in my opinion. So I just absolutely loved it. I think all of you guys will love it. Before we dive into the book, though, I did want to get to know a little bit more about you as an author. So when did you know that you wanted to write or when did you know you wanted to be an author? When I was five, I was an annoying person who kind of knew. I just did something yesterday and they were like, what was a moment? And I was like, There was, like, I was five. There was like no moment.

I was just like, I just knew. And there just sometimes you just know things. And I used to try to like, when I got a little older, I always would start stories and I can never finish them. Still true to this day. Lots of good ideas. The follow through is not great. And so I would have like a, I just got there, my mother for my mother's house

because I've had my stuff at my mom's house for like 20 plus years. So I finally made me get them. got it back and it's like this notebook just the beginnings of stories. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. I did that when I was growing up. I definitely found a couple like just like legal pads that just had like the beginnings of things that never ended up going anywhere either. That's awesome. So then your first books where like how did that come about though with a Hollywood homicide? How far back? How deep do we want to go with that? I mean, I'll give you the,

it was it, the TLDR, is that what they say? So basically, I had been working in Hollywood, on TV writing. Nice. I let go for my job, broke up with my writing partner, and was at like a low point in my career. I was like early 30s, had no clue what I was doing with my life.

And I was dead broke. And I drove past a billboard one day, Kate, and it was in L.A., so it had, like, offering $10,000 for information on a murder. And like my first thought, because I was so broke, because I should try to solve that, get the reward money.

And then my second thought was my mother, my father would kill me. And that's a horrible idea for a life, a life decision. However, I was like, that's a really good idea for a book. And so that's the idea for what would eventually become Hollywood homicide.

Like, I don't know, it took me a good, like four years and three book titles later, Hollywood Homicide. Yeah. That's cool. It was literally like, you're just driving. You're like, that could be a book idea. I just, I didn't, I didn't, I think of it.

Yeah, I just get my inspiration from like, mostly, like, ripped from the headlines, but it's just like, you never know where it's going to come from. Yeah. Do you feel like writing in TV, like, influenced your writing process when you started to write a novel? It did. There's certain things that I stole. I think there's certain things that I'm really bad at, and I blame TV writing, and there's certain things I'm really good at.

And I credit TV writing. So like I'm really bad because with TV writing, I haven't done in a long time, but I'm pretty sure it's still the same. We have a very set amount of time like 40 to like 42, 43 minutes with commercials to tell an entire beginning, middle and end. So there's not a lot of time to waste on like,

here's scenery and all this stuff. You have to get to the nitty gritty of it. You got to move that plot along. You have to use the dialogue because there's no internal thoughts to share what's going on without making it too obvious. So I think I'm good at plot and I'm good at dialogue, in my opinion, I'm good at dialogue because of TV. Because good dialogue is not realistic. It just sounds realistic. And the thing I took most is with old school television, you had to watch commercials.

So the last scene before the end of, before the commercial was called the end of the act, the act out. And it always ends on a climactic moment to make people sit through the commercials that you've seen 500 times to find out. happens next. And so I just took that and I would do what I call chapter out and I try to have each chapter end on a really exciting note. So hopefully whoever's reading is like, I want to stay up and read one more chapter. Like that's the ultimate. Like, you know, for me, like that's the ultimate compliment for someone would tell me about my books, but also for someone else's book that I couldn't stop reading it. So that's the goal with my writing. Yeah. That actually, I was realizing when I was prepping for this interview that I have talked to multiple authors now who have done

screenwriting in some sort of way, basically. And what you just said makes it make sense why I probably love books from authors who do write that way, because I've been realizing just more like in the last year, I just like love fast-paced stuff where like stuff really is always happening. Like that's like the number one reason I start to like consider. and Fing a book is like if I just feel like there's just not any like there's just like long pieces of things not happening. So that like that makes a lot of sense. There are some people who are so good at it and like can just talk to pages and pages about emotions or the scenery and like I'm not like honestly and I'm the same where like if I see it in a book I'd scam or I skip to the like let's get to the action.

Yes. And so I'm just not good at it. And even like with describing I have to remind myself to describe what a place looks like. So there's sort of things I have to work really hard to do that don't come naturally to me. And I think part of it's me and also part of it's just my background. Yeah. Well, with Missing White Woman, I did feel like there was, like, some of it too was like the scenery you touched on. Like it's like near Manhattan, but it is Jersey City. Like some of it also, like I was just like Googling it because like anytime it takes place somewhere I haven't been like I end up Googling it. But I feel like it did like. It did like. give me a good sense of like where basically where brianna was without like slowing it down at the

same time too good because it's interesting because half of the places are real and some are made up and um i have a good friend who lives in jersey city so i would just text her i would i was like what's the best place for this to happen and she was like that she immediately responded with this spot like and i was like okay and i went and i went and i walked over to the spot and i was like like, oh, it takes a really long time to go from this spot to get to that spot. And I was like, oh, why do I make that a plot point? So like there's just certain things I think you get with, with like once you've been up to a place and it's real and it kind of inspires me. So. Yeah. I remember reading your acknowledgments when you were talking about that because I like stopped and like

had to tell my husband about it because I love the part where you were like thanking your friend who he had to be like, where's the best place to hide a body in Jersey City? I was like that's amazing. Like then she responded immediately and I was like, okay, great, thank you. And like they, my, my uncle is a former police officer. So I would ask him the wow, this question's too. And like, they know they don't even, they're not even like, why are you asking? They just immediately like answer me.

And I'm like, great. Yeah. That's amazing. You're like, I'm suspicious that you have this answer so fast. Right. So what was like as you started writing and it. may have changed with each book, but what is your writing process like? Do you outline or how do you go about it? I have, if you've gotten emails for me, so you know, like my signature is like, I hate writing. I love

having written, which is a Dorothy Parker quote. And so I've had that signature for since Gmail's been around for like 20 plus years. And I literally hate writing. And so the blank page scares me. So especially when I first started, I would do like 30 page. outlines. I think part of that was screenwriting too because you have to do outlines. And I would, and each one, I would have three-act structure and I would white it. And when I'd get to the third act, I'd throw it out. And that happened for both Hollywood homicide and Hollywood ending. Like a sister too. Like I was like, oh, what I thought was going to happen now that I know these characters is not happening. With missing white woman, I did what I think Allison

Galen and Valerie Wilson-Wesley call like the headlights approach where I would just figure out enough where the headlights reached to like and so I would just figure out I had the overall idea for the book but when it came to actual details I would write and I'd like let me figure out the next section of the book and so yeah um I don't know if it worked better or worse yeah but that's right that's just was organically what I used um yeah because I did not have a super long outline for missing white woman I think part of it is because I had sold the book I had a two-book deal with my publisher. And one part of that, I had to give them a synopsis for the second book.

So it had to be short. And that's what I had as a basis. I was like, okay, I'll just stick with this. And then make it as needing. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I read Story Genius by Lisa Kron. And she kind of talks about doing it that way where, like, you know, some of your, like, major plot points. But then she just recommends outlining, like, five chapters at a time.

or five scenes at a time and then once you get through them then you think forward but that makes a lot of sense i like calling it the headlights approach yeah i did i stole that from allison and valerie yeah i love it i feel like that fits really well um what was your inspiration for this book like what hit you for okay so i think most of my books are wrote from headlines but this is actually my own idea so pat on the back um yeah set of friends house in baltimore and um I was doing a writer's retreat and she was not there. And she had this beautiful four-story row house. And I was by myself on the third floor bedroom and I have a really overactive imagination.

And so I said, I can go downstairs tomorrow and find a dead body in the foyer and have no clue how it got there. And her neighbors would be like, who is this woman? Why did you kill someone? And so that is the idea behind missing white woman. I think it. She's from Baltimore, goes to Jersey. I'm from Jersey. I went to Baltimore, but, you know, she comes for a romantic getaway with her boyfriend to Jersey City. There's this missing blonde, beautiful blonde who's been taking over the internet, who's gone viral.

And she comes downstairs one day and the missing white woman's in the foyer. And her boyfriend's gone. And she has no idea what happened because she could not hear anything. Yeah. Yeah, I don't want to get, I'm going to try to avoid spoilers. So that's why sometimes it sounds like. I don't know what I'm saying, but the, it was so interesting because you managed to like include kind of like true crime. You were saying like the internet kind of gets obsessed with her. So there's like the true crime dynamics of like how we follow missing persons cases and like maybe the way we lose touch with like who they are as people. And then there's also like the racially motivated tension of dealing with the police. So how did you?

kind of like I loved how both of those were included in the plot and like added to it emotionally and with like suspense. So how did you approach writing those parts? So I had always known that I was going to have her be like a missing woman who kind of was like missing white woman syndrome is a thing, right? And I had known that but I hadn't thought about how much to focus on the true crime element. And so I kind of do it through TikTok. There's this one character in there who is kind of like a TikTok influencer who is also an internet slew. And when I was writing the book, unfortunately, Gabby Petito was happening. And I like everyone else in the, like in the America, I was really into the case. And I was trying to find out what was going on. And one of the sources was TikTok.

And there was a couple of TikTokers who would post multiple times. today and they would post every theory. And it would just be like, every theory was not the correct theory. So like they would like post something. I remember they, they thought someone had thought they saw the guy, the guy who killed her somewhere.

And they had, they really took a photo of him and put it on the internet and it was not him. And it's like, because the internet is not the police or the lawyers, they don't have the same rules that they have to abide by, right, people. And so I thought that was interesting how they could just say something, you know, oh, this person did it without any proof or facts. And because they have this huge platform,

it was taken as truth. And then like it would be wrong. They'd have the next theory. They'd act the exact same way. And so that's what I want to kind of, kind of look at. And I think in terms of racial dynamics, one thing I always say is that I think one of the reasons why domestic suspense does not have a lot of diversity is because the hallmarks of domestic suspense are treated differently for a black woman versus a white woman. And so like, like the prime example is a missing child. Like if like, you know, if I, I went and left my baby at the house and went to a party next door, I would be treated differently than if, you know, there would not be a lot of empathy and sympathy for me. Right. And so I wanted to say, how do I take?

the hallmark of the missing woman, you know, like you think of stuff like gone girl, but how do I also take it from the eyes of a black woman? Because that's what I write. And I want to see more of. And so that's where it came from. Like here's this huge big thing, this syndrome and this woman in viral, but who does who is it actually affecting? And if it's affecting a black woman, how is that going to truly affect her and the ways that would not affect other ethnic, in the U.S. Yeah. Yeah, you do feel it especially, like, from the beginning, like the opening chapter.

You feel how, like, there's an extra, kind of to your point, there's actually like an extra layer of suspense just to her, like, being a black woman going somewhere where, like, the neighbors everywhere don't know her. So, like, even from the get-go, you're, like, feeling that it's, like, such a different experience, even then. And it's so, for a good example. I literally went to my normal grocery store the other day. And I was doing self-checkout.

And the grocery guy comes over and decides to look at like something that has been there forever, like some kind of like flower set or something by my thing. And when I happened to be putting my stuff in. And I was like, while I said it, and that's been there for literally all day. When I come and I'm doing self-checkout, here you're coming to check on something right next to me. And I just happen to be trying to put stuff in and pay. And that's the type of thing that it's a micro, that we deal with and it's like and it's because it's a microaggression you're kind of like did he just

happen to be curious at this moment even though he you know it wasn't early in the morning you know like one o'clock he'd been there since nine and all of a sudden he noticed these flowers and he had to come over or is it because there were some microaggressions going on because I was a black woman and so that's that's what we deal with yeah that's what it keeps reminding me um I read the other black girl earlier this earlier this year but the epigraph at the beginning is black history is black horror and i was like it's strong well so every time i read a book now that's like touching on that i always think of that quote and i'm like it does it does lend itself well to the thriller genre even though it's disappointing that it's the truth in real life yeah as well um so with your characters

i also i'm trying again i'm trying not to do spoilers here but I thought it was part of Brianna's backstory makes her, like, it also makes her a really good lens to see the story through. Because it basically the tension of her wondering, like, who did do this. Like, her backstory is kind of what makes her even more perfect for that. So how did you develop her character to kind of be the main character for the events that were happening? Okay.

So I'm going to, it might be a split. So if you're listening and you don't want to be spoiled, skip ahead. But her backstory is that she has been wrongly accused when she was in college of having drugs during a routine traffic stop. And literally no one believes her. Even her mother doesn't believe her. You know, the police don't believe her. Her friends abandoned her. And she feels like she's had all these really big dreams.

And they all were put on pause because of this one very pivotal. moment in her life. And I find that fascinating, like the justice system and on a much bigger note, the idea, like you see someone who's like, oh, you know, DNA test proved that this person who's been in jail for 30 years didn't kill somebody. And then they released them and give them like a million dollars and expect them to be okay. And it's like, you're not going to be okay. So I put it on a much more, like a more smaller level with her.

But I just thought it was interesting to explore that type of person and then put her in this world where once again, you know, she has this risk of being falsely accused. And she knows how it could go wrong because it's happened to her. Yeah, totally. I felt like it added to the suspense of it as we were reading because like I was even torn the whole time I was reading where like sometimes it's like, I really think it's this way. And then another time I was like, I really think it's that way. but you understand why she's like wanting to actually figure out what happened instead of just assuming it was him. And I think the tricky thing for me as a writer is you don't want, and this was a, I don't read bad reviews because I had my first bad review for Howard Homicide is my character is too stupid to live. And so maybe legit sometimes legit criticism.

But I think with these type of books because they're crime fiction, yes, they have to be. stupid in quotes enough to want to investigate a murder, right? Yeah. But I don't want her to literally be where you're just like, you're so stupid. Like, you know, like that's an delicate balance. And, you know, I think maybe sometimes I hit it too hard or not enough, but that balance of understanding why she's doing all of this,

giving her a legitimate reason to do all this. And I hope I hope I've nailed it. But like, I thought you did you do this? And I was like, no, I would never do any of the phrase I have my characters doing. But like, my book would be two pages long because it'd be like, oh, there's a dead body in the, like the foyer.

Police, okay. You know, like my story's over for me. I'll read it online, you know, but. It is like the point of writing a different character. Like you're not going to write yourself every time either as well. mine would yeah i i saw i saw an author here recently saying that like she gets reviews like that too sometimes where it's like why are these characters so stupid and she did like a kind of like a whole response video where she was like the characters shouldn't think that they're in a thriller

like they don't know that like how much dangers on the other side like if you if you want to actually have a character like they're not thinking like oh i'm in a horror movie i shouldn't do this or, oh, I'm in a thriller, I shouldn't do this. Yeah. So it is, sometimes it is hard to get the motivation, but I felt like I felt the tension of like why Brianna was doing it the whole time. I loved it. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah. So you may have kind of answered the question, but what, you've written multiple thrillers, what draws you to writing the thriller genre? I just, I'm a reader first and foremost, and I love, I love reading crime fiction, period. You know, my mom is a huge reader. When I was little, she would give me, like, full access to her bookshelves. So I was, like, reading Jackie Collins at, like, 11.

But also I was reading, like, you know, Sue Grafton and all these really great Walter Mosey, all these really great authors who are primordish authors, you know? And I think I thought about this the other day. I used to love Encyclopedia Brown. And the great thing about them is that they're distort stories. And at the end, you have to help. but you have to figure out the answer yourself. Like they just,

they're like, what do you think happened? And I think I kind of like that idea. You know, like me as well, you super nosy and curious, one, like the idea of figuring it out myself.

I think that that's also the appeal of me writing books. Because I'm literally figuring it out myself. I'm just going to know you're writing it. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome though. I love, I've definitely been reading for a long time,

but I wasn't reading that as early on, but that's so cool that it came. that it carried on from your mom's bookshelf even as well. So I've been asking people here at the end as readers what you've loved that you've read recently. It's such a tricky thing because one, it's hard for me to read as I write because I tend to mimic people. Yeah.

Yeah. I've had people say that. Yeah. And then also I'm lucky that I get asked to do blurbs a lot. So I'm reading things that are ahead. Like I'm reading things that are coming out this year. Two, I liked Amina Optar's book, Almost Shirley Dead, which came out earlier this year. It got me over a reading song, but I read it in one night.

And then two that are coming out later this year, Wanda Morris has a new book coming out in the summer. And so does Yasmango. And they were both like Black women who write thrillers. Yeah. Like both of those. I'm so excited for Yasmus. I know she does, you know, she's always been doing like she had the series. And then now she's going to domestic suspense.

And it's, she doesn't mislead it. So it's exciting. I think it comes out. July, maybe. September? No. I can't remember. Yeah.

I know I requested it on that galley. And then, yeah, I had her on. We've, I think she's been on for all three of the Nina night. Yeah, all three of the Nina night one. So I, oh my gosh, I loved the Nina night ones. Those are like still some of my favorites. writing like action and creating back stories and and like I'm friends with her but

so she's such a positive sweet like nice fun person and you're like how are you writing all of this like dark like action scenes and I'm like you're like the last person but she's so good at I know she said when I interviewed her about it she said that like she'll be in her like office where she writes and just like gets up and starts like blocking it off and like doing weird stuff and her kids walk by and they're like what are you doing she's like I'm writing but yeah I love it she is she's so good at action I could not I couldn't put any of those books down this are yeah and as someone who my climax has always stuck and I have my literally

I've had my editor to be like this needs to be a lot better um I can appreciate I can write good action and climactic scenes yes yeah ominous I love dominos this year too um almost surely dead. It was so creepy and scary and thrilling. It was just like so many things together in one. And it had that same like true crime kind of. Yeah, the commentary with podcast form. Yeah. I loved it so much. So good. Where can people follow you to stay up to date with what you're working on? I am like the last person that's on Twitter. So that's, I'm on Twitter still acting like it's okay over there. I'm on Instagram.

It's all, so I have a college nickname, Kelly Cal, that's rewriting books. I thought would be a really cute name for all my social media. So even though now I'm like 45 and have four books out, I'm still Kelly Cal on everything. It works. K-E-L-L-Y-E-K-E-L-L-L-L. So that's on Twitter, Instagram. That's my personal Facebook, too, so you can just follow me there. I'm not on the TikTok.

I'm just not a visual. Like I'm not a video person. Like I like watching games, but the idea of how you to do them freaks me out. And I'm not in my life if something freaks me out. I'm not doing it. So I'm not on the TikTok. I have like two videos that my seven-year-old niece edited for me. But Instagram and basically Twitter are the best.

Yeah. That's perfect. Yeah, TikTok is a whole other thing. but I love scrolling it for sure. I mean, some people are so good at it and I admire that, but I just know I have to kind of look at the benefits of it. The reach versus just the stress of it. And even like right now thinking of the idea of having to put, because I would want to do a good one, right? Like create like a really good TikTok freaks.

And so I'm just not going to do it. I feel bad because I know it's such a great place to find really good books. so yeah bookstagram is good too though so you're there i don't i don't like my booksgram is not as curated as i feel like other people's are that i'm little jealous but again it's like like i i do a lot of stuff and i'm just the idea of trying to curate that just stresses me out so i get yeah every now and i'm like i'll have a theme and then i like end up switching it anyway and i'm like are the folks who do it so well. I just know. I'm like, you're just going to get some selfies from me and some really crooked pictures of the book. Yeah. Yes. Right. That's pretty much mine too. Well, I will put all those links in the show notes so that everyone can find you there really easily. And thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Of course, kid. I'm super excited to be here and for your podcast.