Beyond the Page: What Crime Novels Get Wrong About Police Work with R. L. Carpentier III
Page Chewing · Oct 29, 2026 · 51:22
Page Chewing · Oct 29, 2026 · 51:22
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What do crime novels get wrong about real police work?
In this episode of Beyond the Page, Steve welcomes author and law enforcement professional R. L. Carpentier III to discuss his Overlook trilogy, beginning with Our Lady of the Overlook, and how nearly two decades working in law enforcement have influenced his approach to writing realistic police procedurals.
Carpentier explains the details that immediately reveal when a crime writer hasn't experienced police work firsthand, from terminology and investigative procedures to the unrealistic responsibilities sometimes given to rookie officers.
We explore how he creates believable characters, why small towns make compelling settings for murder mysteries, and how his experiences hiking in New York's Catskill Mountains helped inspire the fictional world of his novels.
Carpentier also shares the unusual origin of Our Lady of the Overlook: an idea that struck during a quiet overnight police shift and eventually developed into a mystery involving an unidentified murder victim, a decades old cold case, and a rookie officer following in his father's footsteps.
Beyond the books, we discuss the challenges of writing a first novel, discovering a plotting method that finally worked, choosing independent publishing over traditional publishing, and learning how to connect with readers through book events, newsletters, and direct sales.
We also discuss the challenges of bringing a trilogy to a satisfying conclusion, his plans for future mysteries, unusual food combinations, and what his first job taught him about working with other people.
Join us for a conversation about crime fiction, authentic storytelling, creative persistence, and the realities behind the badge.
Learn more about R. L. Carpentier III:https://rlcarpentierwriter.com
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