ASHEVILLE — Just as it once inspired Thomas Wolfe’s classic work “Look Homeward, Angel,” the “Old Kentucky Home” boardinghouse in Asheville has again popped up in a novel, the recently issued “Blackman’s Coffin” by local mystery writer, playwright and film producer Mark de Castrique.
The author will sign copies of the murder mystery at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial on Saturday, July 18, at 1:30 p.m. The book is present-day and features a former Wolfe Memorial employee, the late Ted Mitchell, and a current staffer, Susan Bradford.
“Blackman’s Coffin” takes place in Asheville and evokes the days of the Vanderbilts, along with the literary legacy of Thomas Wolfe. Just as Wolfe wrote about places in his hometown in “Look Homeward, Angel,” readers follow Sam Blackman as he searches the city’s numerous historic areas for clues to a friend’s death.
The novel has received starred reviews from both “Publishers Weekly” and “Library Journal.” “Publishers Weekly” raves that “a wealth of historical detail, an exciting treasure hunt and credible characters distinguish this fresh, adventurous read.” The sequel to “Blackman’s Coffin,” “The Fitzgerald Ruse,” is due out in August.
Author of the popular “Buryin’ Barry” mystery series, de Castrique was born in Hendersonville and now lives in both Asheville and Charlotte. As a child, he lived over a funeral home where his father worked as the undertaker. Though de Castrique’s father later left the business, the writer remained interested in his father’s trade. Today he cites it as a key inspiration in his writing.
De Castrique has also written a series of mystery novels: “Dangerous Undertaking,” “Grave Undertaking,” “Foolish Undertaking” and “Final Undertaking.” His works include two books for young adults: “Death on a Summer Breeze” (released in April), a historical mystery that unfolds on a train traveling from Charlotte to Charleston, S.C., in the summer of 1860; and “A Conspiracy of Genes,” a science fiction thriller set in Charlotte’s Children’s Hospital.
A playwright, author and award-winning veteran of the television and film production industry, de Castrique serves as an adjunct professor at UNC-Charlotte.
Wolfe spent a decade growing up in his mother’s ramshackle boardinghouse, his childhood played out against the backdrop of intrusive boarders, small-town provincialism and his colorful but sometimes unhappy family. The goal of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of Wolfe and his mother’s boardinghouse as depicted in his novel “Look Homeward, Angel.” It is located at 52 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. For more information about this program, contact Patrick Willis at the Wolfe Memorial at (828) 253-8304 or e-mail him at patrick.willis@ncdcr.gov.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, the Wolfe Memorial is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Join the Cultural Resources 2009 theme observance of “Treasure N.C. Culture.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.