Photograph by Michael Hewitt/ColorWest
Los Gatos author Tom Davis incorporates his interest in philosophy into his detective novels.
By Deanna Wulff
Raised as a Southern Baptist, author Tom Davis was not allowed to dance, smoke, drink or associate with anyone outside the church. "I was made a loner," Davis said.
Both a rebellion against his past and a desire for knowledge motivated Davis to study philosophy in college, which eventually led to a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Michigan.
Today, the Los Gatos resident has written three mystery novels. "I wanted to be a writer since I was a sophomore in college," Davis said. "It took me 30 years, but I finally got published."
His latest detective novel, Consuming Fire, takes place in Scotts Valley and Felton. His other two novels also took place in California: Suffer Little Children in the Central Valley and Murdered Sleep in Monterey. His 1991 detective novel, Suffer Little Children, won the Shamus Award.
Although the names have been changed from Scotts Valley to Granite Valley and Felton to Bear Creek, town descriptions can easily be recognized by locals.
The protagonist describes Scotts Valley's main street. "As it runs its short stretch through town, it offers views of office buildings and construction yards. The offices, occupied by high-tech firms, testify to the town's attempt to build up its business base."
In Felton, he visits local hangouts. "The road made some long graceful curves, the quarries disappeared and the hills became thicker, richer green. Farther on the road ended in a T with a shopping center left and a field of horses right; straight ahead was a park with an old covered bridge."
While Consuming Fire is a detective novel set in serene Scotts Valley, it explores serious issues. Davis uses his philosophy background to explore suffering and religion. In the novel, Det. David Strickland meets John Havens, who has come through the fire of his son's death to write a book on grief and healing. Now other children are dying and Havens is being accused. While the detective tries to unravel the complex case, he and Havens suffer moral dilemmas.
"Suffering is an interesting feeling," Davis said. "It is something we do not like, but it creates admirable qualities in people; empathy, for instance, would not be possible without it."
Davis can relate to his character's struggles. "The detective is just trying to sort things out," Davis said. "He is like me five or ten years ago. I had a restricted childhood that I had to work through."
These moral struggles add a new twist to the traditional detective novel genre, which makes Davis's novels unconventional.
Davis plans to take time off from teaching and focus on writing. "I've always wanted to write," Davis said. "It has been more of a compulsion than anything. I think carefully about every sentence."
His next novel will take place in Italy, where he and his wife travel annually. "Italy and Europe are beautiful," he said. "I look forward to doing the research."
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 23, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved