Contagion of the Night: Historical Mystery

Contagion of Night: The Dan Brady Mysteries by Ed Leahy

Author Interview + Book & Author Info!

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Contagion of the Night

Minutes before twelve on a night in 1943, Detective Dan Brady is summoned to a churchyard where a woman has been found strangled. He soon discounts the theory that the woman was killed during a mugging, and an interview with her widowed husband yields more questions than answers.

When a man’s body is found on a rocky islet a few days later, Danny connects him to the woman’s murder, and soon suspects mob involvement.

As he widens his investigation to include the Bronx rackets, he encounters resistance from his lieutenant and an assistant district attorney, and is cautioned by a friend in the FBI, who nevertheless agrees to provide helpful information. As he probes deeper, he learns of the reach of organized crime in the city.

When a detective who provided him with information disappears and Danny discovers he is being followed, he realizes he is placing his fellow detectives, and possibly his wife and newborn son, at great risk.

Based on true events.

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Interview with Edward J. Leahy — Author of The Dan Brady Mysteries

Contagion of the Night is set in 1943, based on true events. Tell us how you discovered these events and how you wove the truth into your fiction:

I was drawn to the topic of mob control of the waterfront, partly from reading Nathan Lane’s Dark Harbor, and partly because my dad had worked on Piers 90 and 92 for Cunard Lines in the ‘50s and early ‘60s as an engineer. I had begun planning Contagion and was researching the circumstances of policing in New York City during World War II when I came across an article that described the investigation of a murder that was known as the Cupcake Killing.

A woman had been found dead in a churchyard in Jamaica, Queens, not far from where I lived for many years, with a bakery box of cupcakes next to her. I changed the location from Queens to the Bronx and the killer from a jealous lover to an enforcer in organized crime to fit the bigger story. Weaving these two threads together was easy once I devised a story for rackets in the Bronx in the ‘40s.

Contagion of the Night is the second Dan Brady Mystery. What would you like readers to know about Dan and the first book:

Dan was born in Dublin in 1910. His father died when he was very young, but Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader who eventually became Ireland’s first president, befriended Dan’s mother. By the time Dan was ten, he had become a runner for the Sinn Fein. When he was 17, after his mother died, he emigrated to New York and ultimately joined the NYPD.

At the beginning of Enemies of All, he is investigating a serial rapist who murdered one of his victims (also based on a true event) when he interviews a young married woman, Meg Corwyn, whose husband, Hal, obviously blames her for being raped. She later divorces Hal, leaving the door open for Dan.

At the same time, Dan is investigating a series of burglaries in which the burglar leaves a signature, a carved swastika, which leads him to a plot by Nazi saboteurs to destroy important infrastructure.

Contagion of the Night is set in New York City. Tell us about your research process for these historical mysteries:

I usually start with some historic event. Enemies of All was inspired by an episode on the show, “A Crime to Remember”, and then I read Michael Dobbs’ book, Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid on America.

There are plenty of books about the ‘40s, but the challenge is digging out details specific to policing during those years. It’s not just that there were no Miranda warnings, Exclusionary Rule, or public defenders; there was also much more limited technology, and very little interjurisdictional communication. I rely a lot on archived newspaper reporting. The NY Times archives are a solid source, but because they wrote to a certain standard, much of the “juicier” stuff, the kind of thing that was often found in the NY Sun or Daily News, isn’t there.

Fortunately, I’ve recently discovered Newspapers.com, which I’m hoping will help fill in the blanks. Googling specific topics also turns up relevant material in different places. And, when I simply can’t find a detail I need anywhere, I do what any good writer would do: make it up, but make it believable.

Tell us about your favorite places around New York City.

During the pandemic, my son and I would go for long walks on the weekend.

One of the neighborhoods we walked through is Sunnyside Gardens in Queens. It was designed in the late 1920s and modeled after English gardens. Our route took us past an Italian restaurant, Donato’s, where we have since become regulars.

I fell in love with the area and decided that Dan should live there. I’ve since met a fellow named Herb Reynolds, president of the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Society (a group that succeeded in securing landmark status for the neighborhood). He was able to provide me with background information that I will be using in the third Dan Brady Book.

I also recently discovered the oldest tavern in Queens, still operating: Neirs Tavern in Woodhaven, established in 1829. My wife and I were there the night the Mets beat the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS.

What can we find you doing when you aren’t reading and writing mysteries?

I run three days a week, two at our local YMCA and one in our neighborhood in Jackson Heights, and I cycle two days a week, also at the Y.

I’ve recently rekindled my love of chess (partly because I worked it into some of my books) and reactivated my US Chess membership. I’m still a patzer, but I love the mental focus I get from playing.

We also dine out at least once per week and keep in touch with old friends.

Where do you get the ideas for your titles?

All my titles are taken from lines in Shakespeare. Contagion of the Night is taken from Julius Caesar.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently preparing the fifth Kim Brady (Dan’s granddaughter) novel, A Tempest Dropping Fire, for publication next November. I’ve also started the third Dan Brady novel, tentatively titled The Lip of a Lion.

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

Read as much as you can from all genres because you never know what will appeal to you. Research thoroughly, because you never want someone to read what you wrote and say, “Nope, got that wrong!” And, in the immortal words of Jim Valvano, “Don’t give up; don’t ever give up!”

Great advice!

Edward J. Leahy

Contagion of the Night Edward J. Leahy is a retired tax accountant living in Jackson Heights, New York.

A life-long New Yorker, he enjoys taking advantage of all the city has to offer with his wife, Cindy, spinning stories of crimes past and present, with the city-that-never-sleeps serving as a character and their favorite restaurants as scenes.