Neely Tucker - The Ways of the Dead

In helping establish certain police details, I am indebted to MPD detective Danny Whelan, who was instrumental in solving those killings. Former assistant U.S. attorney June Jeffries prosecuted homicide and sex crimes for a quarter century in the District and patiently answered many queries about the intricacies of that line of work. Connie Ogle and Michael Cavna read the manuscript and cleaned up details.

But mostly, this book would not exist without the efforts of five wonderful women.

I am very lucky to be married to the first, Carol Josephine Tucker, who believed in this project when it was a gauzy sort of idea, and who created the time and space for me to develop it into the thing now in your hands. (Also, editing. She excels at politely telling you that your brilliant late-night inspiration, that stunning literary passage not equaled in our time, does, in fact, suck.)

The second is one of the free world’s great literary agents, Elyse Cheney, who signed on before the first page was written. She worked through drafts, editing with a sense of patience and perspective, before representing this book as well as it can be done.

Lynn Medford, my very most wonderful boss at the Post , supported this project in ways large and small. She sneezes better than anybody.

Allison Lorentzen, my editor at Viking, turned this from manuscript to finished book, making sure everything was in its final place, adding good edits, grace notes, and enthusiasm.

And fifth and finally is Elizabeth Tucker, my mother, who read me books when I was a child, took me to the library over and over again, and, intentionally or not, instilled in me the sense that stories are how we make sense of the world.

I am blessed among men.

Neely Tucker was born in Lexington, Mississippi, when kids used to run around in the chemical fog sprayed behind the mosquito truck, which his wife thinks explains a lot. He is a former foreign correspondent who worked in a lot of places, many of them where people would shoot you for free. He is the author of Love in the Driest Season , a memoir about war, reporting, and adopting his gorgeous elder daughter. A staff writer for The Washington Post , he lives in a house with a Jamaican, a Zimbabwean, two very small Americans, and one very large dog. They are all Saints fans. For more, see www.neelytucker.com.