Books

Fictional crime with an Ithacan touch

Trumansburg author publishes a crime novel that features familiar scenes like a beloved Fall Creek diner.

By Jaime Cone

Tom Harley Campbell’s journey toward publishing his first novel began more than a decade ago when the aspiring author first wrote “Satan’s Choir” and received a chilly response from New York City’s large publishing houses.

“I wrote the first draft and had a lot of trouble getting it published due to one of the main themes being sex abuse in the Catholic Church,” said Campbell, 70, who resides in Trumansburg. “Publishers didn’t want to deal with it, which was odd, but that was the way it was.”

So he shelved that story and began working on another book with the same protagonist, the second installment in what he hoped would become the John Burke Mystery series. But he still thought “Satan’s Choir” deserved another chance.

“One of my brothers talked me into getting back on the horse and getting it published,” Campbell said.

Finally publishing “Satan’s Choir” with Cayuga Lake Books has been an immensely rewarding experience, Campbell said. He recently returned from a trip to his hometown of Dayton, OH, where most of the novel takes place. Sure enough, when he visited local booksellers he found “Satan’s Choir” on the shelves.

“What a thrill to walk into Barnes & Noble and see three copies of the book,” he said. “That’s exciting.”

Campbell said that over the last 20 years he started reading crime fiction, particularly novels by Scandinavian authors Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbø. An idea began to take hold for a book, set in the 1960s, with a “Stand By Me”-style cast of teenage characters who plot to take revenge on an abusive priest in their church.

As he began to write, Campbell’s original idea began to morph into “Satan’s Choir,” which loses the teenage boys — it was too hard to believe they could actually pull off such a clever crime, he said — focusing instead on the homicide detective working the case when the remains of a priest are discovered decades after his mysterious disappearance. Like the fictional detectives that inspired him, Detective John Burke is complex and deeply flawed. Other characters borrow their careers, personality quirks and even favorite restaurants from Campbell’s own life. Two chapters of the book in particular feature scenery and settings that Ithaca-area residents may find familiar — this is the part of the story when the detective travels from Ohio to Ithaca to interview a potential suspect.

He is an older man with whom Detective Burke already shares a past, and he greets the detective warmly and takes him to none other than the Lincoln Street Diner, where he trades lighthearted, sports related insults with the owner, Chris, and is attended to by Erin the wisecracking waitress.

“Chris, the owner of the diner, is a real guy, and the waitress was a waitress there who was always my favorite — she was sassy and a lot of fun,” Campbell said.

The book can now be purchased at the Lincoln Street Diner as well as Odyssey Bookstore, Pastimes and Barnes & Noble.

When he isn’t writing, Campbell can be found playing bass in the popular local band TOiVO. He and his wife has lived in Trumansburg for 40 years

He will be giving a reading Aug. 15 at The Widget Factory in Ithaca from 3- 5 p.m..

Tom Harley Campbell (Photo Provided)

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