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Juri Pill on his book’s inspiration: None of the bankers who caused the 2008 financial meltdown spent a single day in jail. That bothered me…”

A Death In Greenwich received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Juri Pill.

What is the name of the book and when was it published? 

A Death In Greenwich, published in February, 2017.

What’s the book’s first line? 


He was sure someone was in the suite. Courtney had left hours ago, and he distinctly remembered locking the door. He glanced at the alarm clock – four A.M. He breathed in slowly and exhaled quietly. Dead silence. Maybe it was a dream.

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. 

A well-to-do family becomes the target of a vicious serial killer during the week of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008. Set in Greenwich, Connecticut, the main arc of  the story concerns the metamorphosis of this family’s life from idyllic bliss to kill-or-be-killed mayhem.  The impending financial crisis provides some background and drives the plot, as it leads to the implosion of a gigantic Ponzi scheme, and results in some very nervous billionaires – who will go to any lengths to keep their billions, including the hiring of a professional assassin who happens to love his work.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? 


It was inspired by the fact that none of the bankers who caused the 2008 financial meltdown spent a single day in jail. They got much richer instead. That bothered me, and my book tries to fix that.

What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? 


It will keep them on the edge of their seat.

What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?  Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of? 

My  book actually has two main characters who are co-equals: a financial nerd and his artist wife. They remind me of Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man, except that my loving duo has two complicated teenagers rather than a charming dog. A Death In Greenwich does include a dog, but it meets a sad end.

If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

When did you first decide to become an author?

In high school many years ago, but it took me fifty years to actually sit down and do it. Life is what happens while you’re making plans.

Is this the first you’ve written?

This is the fourth one, and by far the best.

What do you do for work when you’re not writing?

I’m a retired business executive, so when I’m not writing, I play golf and read. I’m also a singer/songwriter, and have an alter ego named Smokey Witt. You can Google him to hear some of my songs, and music therefore runs through the plot of A Death In Greenwich. I have also indulged in race cars over the years, so the book includes a deadly car chase, with suitable details based on my own experience, which includes a number of crashes.

How much time do you generally spend on your writing?

It generally takes me a year to write a novel, working almost every day. I enjoy the writing, which makes it easy.

What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?   

The best part is being your own boss, but the hardest part is finding readers.

Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling?  If so, why?  

Yes, because the probability of finding wide readership would increase, and that is my only objective. I think the book is good, and everyone who has read it seems to have enjoyed it, but it’s very difficult to break through into wider readership on my own.

Is there something in particular that motivates you?

I’d like a lot people to read my book and enjoy it, thus increasing the sum total of happiness in the world. That’s all there is to it.

Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?

Joseph Heller. Also Elmore Leonard. And Mark Twain. And of course Alexandre Dumas, who was my initial inspiration in high school. Sorry, that’s more than one, so I’ll stop there. But picking just one is impossible.

Which book do you wish you could have written?

Catch 22. The Hot Kid. Huckleberry Finn. The Three Musketeers. And so on. And so on.

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