Robert Rotenberg Author of Old City Hall Reviews of Old City Hall by Robert Rotenberg Globe and Mail: Rotenberg is a master at farming personal histories, embedding clues that forebode future actions. His devotion to his characters is unique, in that it's predominantly their flaws that hook readers … the plot is chock full of atmospheric tension. From the sometimes banal police protocol to the haunting, eerie incandescence of the morgue, it's clear that Old City Hall has enough hidden motives and gumshoeing to make it a hard-boiled classic. Times Literary Supplement: Apart from evoking the seasonal rhythms of life in the city, the novel offers a convincing portrayal of backstage operations in the justice system, from details about prison hygiene to the catering in the police cafeteria (where lattes, smoothies and mini-brioches are served). The author, a defense lawyer, represents and thereby raises questions about such serious and central parts of the procedure as interview techniques, plea bargaining, media pressure, and the deals that may be made in judges' chambers or coffeeshops in the pre-trial process. Insiders will perhaps detect a roman à clef. For the rest of us, Old City Hall is an enjoyable addition to the literature of urban crime. Library Journal: (Starred review)… Rotenberg's debut novel turns into a roller coaster of a legal thriller that's got it all—an outstanding and fast-paced plot, well-developed characters with depth and personality, great dialog, plenty of courtroom and investigative drama, and an explosively satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Macleans: But even when the secrets are laid open, and everyone’s private life exposed, it doesn’t always follow that the truth will come out, not in life and certainly not in Old City Hall. Rotenberg’s novel ends in a way that manages to be both satisfying and remarkably uncertain for the genre. Kirkus Reviews: A debut thriller in the vein of Scott Turow and John Grisham … Rotenberg knows well and captures compellingly the rivalries, ambitions and chicaneries of the courthouse … the other star is the city itself: Rotenberg makes Toronto less a backdrop then a character in the drama … the atmospherics and Rotenberg’s affection for the city of Toronto and the involutions of the law make this a fast-paced, appealing addition to the genre. Booklist: (Starred review) This truly fine first novel, which is both a police procedural and a courtroom drama [is] nominally focused on the murder of Brace's common-law wife. The author, a criminal lawyer in Toronto, leads his characters – police, prosecutor, and defense attorney – on a circuitous chase toward the truth that is full of twists and surprises … Through his characters, Rotenberg also fires sly and funny barbs at political correctness and bureaucratic inanity. And most of all, he tells a compelling tale and tells it skillfully and smoothly. The London Free Press: For those familiar – or even perhaps unfamiliar – with Toronto, … there's much to be said for Old City Hall, whose title comes from the novel's main dramatic setting, the historic building downtown that years ago became a huge courthouse. In and out of this building wander a cluster of lawyers and cops, even a journalist, with compelling interests in the murder of the partner of a nationally beloved radio host. Q&A with Robert Rotenberg 1. Toronto exists in Old City Hall (OCH) as both a setting and a character. What inspired you to give Toronto such a leading role in this drama? I firmly believe that all great drama is local. In grade thirteen I wrote an essay about the film The Last Picture Show, which is set in a tiny town in Texas, and why that was so much better than the ‘No Name U.S.A.’ movies being made in Canada at the time…and for decades after. Toronto’s a great story. I’ve lived here, off and on, my whole life, drove a cab, ran my own city magazine, been a criminal lawyer. And still I feel I can’t capture it all. 2. What are some of your favourite places to go to in the city? Noisy coffee shops where I can disappear behind my laptop, secret bike paths where I can ride, outdoor hockey rinks where I’m usually a few decades younger than everyone else on the rink and strip mall plazas in the middle of nowhere with store owners from ten different countries. 3. You said of your ensemble cast in OCH that: “There’s a line through all of them. I just have to keep drawing it.” What compelled you to portray an ensemble cast instead of the more conventional novel’s focus on a single protagonist? Ignorance is bliss. It was only after I finished Old City Hall that I read a list of the ten things you had to do to write a mystery. Well, I broke about half the rules, and I’m glad I did. I see the world, this city, people, as infinitely complex and unknowable. That’s the fun of it. Writing in this style lets me show thing as I try to see them. 4. Do you think in the future you’ll experiment with other narrative styles? For sure. I’ve written many short stories (and a novel that is safely hidden away) in different voices and styles. For this series I’ll certainly keep the same ensemble feel, but I’ve already started something totally different that’s...well I think you’ll have to wait and see. But please keep it a secret. My agent and publisher will be mad at me if I don’t stay on deadline for this series! 5. You have plans to make OCH part of a continuing series. How do you see the world of OCH growing and changing? Are you working on your next novel directly, or do you have ideas for several books in the works? The ‘world of OCH’ is a great way to put it. I’ve just finished the second book, The Guilty Plea, have a good start on the third and even written the first chapter of the fourth. In this new book some minor characters from the Old City Hall step forward, while others are off traveling, working on their careers, figuring out romantic entanglements, etc. I think of all these characters as my fictional friends in my fictional sandbox. The one constant is Detective Ari Greene. I see him not so much as the protagonist as the centre - is it too pretentious to say the moral centre - of the books? Speaking of pretentious, I’ve always wanted to say: “In my next book...” So, in my next book, Greene is thrust back working with…well, I guess you’ll have to wait to find out. 6. You’re one of Toronto’s top criminal lawyers, which no doubt leads to witnessing cases that would spark the adage: “Truth is stranger than fiction.” Obviously, your legal cases must be kept confidential, but in a more general sense, how does your daily work inspire what you write? It inspires me all the time. I have a job where total strangers walk into my office, and within fifteen minutes tell me secrets they’ve never revealed to anyone in their whole lives. I’ve dealt with thousands of clients and not one is ever totally predictable. It’s still a thrill when the phone rings. Will this be the law society telling me I forgot to fill in some form, or the next murder case? I think it’s people, not truth, who are stranger than fiction. 7. Do you have a favourite character in OCH? That’s like asking if I have a favourite child. Nada. 8. Who are some of your favourite characters from other writers’ works? Hmmm. I tend to follow a writer I like and read everything they’ve written. It takes real skill to get you to follow a main character through many books. Think Smiley in the John LeCarre books, Rebus of Ian Rankin fame, the Glass children in Salinger’s work, maybe Nick in Hemingway’s short stories. Last year I got hooked on James Bond. Right now I have a crush on the Italian writer Andrea Camilleri and his delicious Sicilian mysteries. One of my favourite books of the last few years was A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth. I loved all the main characters. And hey, it’s a book with an ensemble cast. Wonder how that happened. 9. The key mystery driving the plot of OCH is why Kevin Brace does not speak. Keeping secrets and withholding information are a major source of power in the novel. Do you ever think that withholding information is an ethical choice, especially if motivated by protecting someone else? This is a very nice question. Especially the point about power. I think we all withhold things. Mark Twain once said people are like the moon, we only see half of them. I have a good friend whose parents are Dutch. During the war they hid Jews in their basement, while serving coffee and cake to Nazi soldiers in their front room. How brilliant. They did it so the Germans would never think they were doing such a noble thing, and hiding innocent people from certain death- that kind of withholding information is an ethical choice of the highest order. But what do we say of someone who withholds knowledge of a crime? At first blush it might seem like an immoral act. But, well, read Old City Hall and I hope you’ll see that these choices are not always so clear. Silence isn’t golden. It’s complex. Author Q&A Old City Hall 10. Albert Fernandez has a habit of underestimating women—notably his wife, Marissa, and Nancy Parish. Do you think this kind of underlying sexism is still prevalent in Toronto’s legal system? This question surprises me. I didn’t think he ever underestimated Nancy Parish, the female lawyer who was his rival. His wife, well perhaps, but I thought that had more to do with class. She was from a rich and pampered lifestyle and he was impressed how she dug in and made things work. As for sexism, I can only speak to the criminal justice system in Toronto. Woman are fully represented as judges, Crown Attorneys, police officers, parole officers, prison guards. I don’t see any glass ceilings, which are still prevalent so many other places. Even more important, unlike when I was in law school, now people from diverse backgrounds work in all parts of the system. (FYI I hate and refuse to use the word ‘ethnic.’) It’s one of the things I love about practicing criminal law. 11. In OCH, you keenly observe how human nature and the legal system intersect, such as the way Nancy Parish successfully cross-examines Gurdial Singh because she takes a gentle, welcoming approach. Would you say that all lawyers need this kind of insight to be successful? Every lawyer has their own style. The most successful are those who don’t try to parrot others, but find their own voice. I once cross-examined a young woman who was clearly lying about a consensual sexual encounter (how is that for being discrete?) she had initiated with my client in the basement of their high school. In my cross-examination I simply had a very pleasant conversation with her. Eventually she told the court: “Yes. I wanted to do it to him.” Why did she lie about it? “You know, all those other girls,” she said through her tears. “I just knew they would talk. And what would I tell mother?” (I had made sure her mother out of the court during this part of the trial.) After my client was acquitted and I was packing up my briefcase the police officer in charge of the case came up and clasped me on the shoulder. “Nice work counsel,” he said with a wry smile. “Too bad you didn’t yell at her.” 12. With a colourful, diverse cast of characters, OCH provides a microcosm of how the many cultures and demographics in Toronto—North America’s most multicultural city—interact. Do you think that Toronto provides a positive example to the rest of the world, or do you think there are still problems with how our many cultures collide? Where do you think improvements, if any, can be made in our understanding of each other? I have no interest in writing a puff piece about how perfect and wonderful a city Toronto has become. Although at times I marvel at how the different people in this city get along, of course there are still problems. My kids go to schools with children from every kind of background. It’s the best thing about living here. But this isn’t a Disney movie. Improvements. The way poor people are treated in this city – from the inefficient and overpriced transportation, to the terrible court facilities, to the run down parks in outlying neighbourhoods. I could go on and on. These are the things that make me grind my teeth. Too many wealthy Torontonians aren’t aware of how others live just miles from their home. The heroes in the city are the school teachers, the librarians, the cops, the TTC bus drivers, the small shop owners, the majority of people who work hard, treat others with dignity. I don’t think understanding is the issue. It’s making things a bit better every day.