Books
About The Savage Kind
The iconic femme fatale has been misunderstood. This novel is my homage to her—the sympathetic coming-of-age story she deserves.
Two lonely teenage girls in 1940s Washington, DC, discover they have a penchant for solving crimes—and an even greater desire to commit them.
Philippa Watson, a good-natured yet troubled seventeen-year-old, has just moved to Washington, DC. She’s lonely until she meets Judy Peabody, a brilliant and tempestuous classmate. The girls become unlikely friends and fashion themselves as intellectuals, drawing the notice of Christine Martins, their dazzling English teacher, who enthralls them with her passion for literature and her love of noirish detective fiction.
When Philippa returns a novel Miss Martins has lent her, she interrupts a man grappling with her in the shadows. Frightened, Philippa flees, unsure who the man is or what she’s seen. Days later, her teacher returns to school altered: a dark shell of herself. On the heels of her teacher’s transformation, a classmate is found dead in the Anacostia River—murdered—the body stripped and defiled with a mysterious inscription.
As the girls follow the clues and wrestle with newfound feelings toward each other, they suspect that the killer is closer to their circle than they imagined—and that the greatest threat they face may not be lurking in the halls at school, or in the city streets, but creeping out from a murderous impulse of their own.
Praise for The Savage Kind …
"Philippa Watson and Judy Peabody, the nervy teenage duo at the center of John Copenhaver’s delicious trilogy opener The Savage Kind, each bring loneliness to a friendship that burns with intensity from the get-go. Their fascination — or is it obsession? — with each other, and with crime, begins after the death of a fellow student and the disappearance of a beloved pulp-fiction-loving teacher. To expose the darkness and rot beneath his tale, Copenhaver peppers it with literary allusions — Greek tragedy abounds, as do allusions to Wuthering Heights, classic poetry and contemporary detective fiction. But this 1940s noir homage would not succeed if it weren’t for Judy and Philippa’s chemistry, which promises to deepen — and perhaps combust — over two more books." —Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review
"John Copenhaver’s dark sparkler of a second novel, The Savage Kind, tantalizes from its first pages. With rich period detail and a sneaky subversion of storied noir tropes, it brings to life the delicious intricacies of teen female friendship and the slippery line between identification and desire, between desire and desperation." —Megan Abbott, award-winning author of The Turnout
"Wow. The Savage Kind is evocative, seductive, and rivetingly creepy. John Copenhaver proves he is a brilliant talent, and this gorgeously unsettling story of power, control, gaslighting, and murder is not to be missed." —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today Bestselling author of Her Perfect Life
“Copenhaver does a magnificent job of capturing the ever-shifting nature of teenage girls. Intelligent, bold, and passionate, Philippa and Judy are bursting with the possibilities of who they may become. The Savage Kind accomplishes a self-aware nostalgia, reveling in the good memories while shining a light on the more sinister aspects of the past. The result is a suspenseful and thrilling novel unapologetic in its revitalization of classic elements of crime fiction and its appreciation for complicated, morally gray women seeking agency over their lives, using whatever means possible to do so.” ―Supriya Saxena, Zyzzyva
“A gripping coming-of-age story set in 1948 propels the character-driven The Savage Kind, which explores the unresolved sexual attraction between two teenage outcasts, quiet Philippa Watson and opinionated Judy Peabody. John Copenhaver's second novel (after the Macavity Award-winning Dodging and Burning) captures the awkwardness of teenagers grappling with identity and a need to belong.” —Oline Cogdill, Shelf Awareness
“Perfect for readers who love a historical fiction feel with a true mystery at its core, John Copenhaver’s The Savage Kind is a beautiful homage to film noir and an intricately woven tale of murder, secrets, jealousy, and everything we love to find in traditional mysteries.” —Marla Warren, The Nerd Daily
“The Savage Kind, John Copenhaver’s new crime novel, has so many twists that most readers will conclude before the end that they have before them a Gordian knot. But this one does not need to be slashed; instead the author carefully unravels all the gnarls so that by the conclusion, the two teenage sleuths are revealed in all their brutal reality —Eve Ottenberg, The Washington City Paper
About Dodging and Burning
In a small Virginia town still reeling from World War II, a photograph of a beautiful murdered woman propels three young people into the middle of a far-reaching mystery.
A lurid crime scene photo of a beautiful woman arrives on mystery writer Bunny Prescott's doorstep with no return address―and it's not the first time she's seen it. The reemergence of the photo, taken fifty-five years earlier, sets her on a journey to reconstruct the vicious summer that changed her life.
In the summer of 1945, Ceola Bliss is a lonely twelve-year-old tomboy, mourning the loss of her brother, Robbie, who was declared missing in the Pacific. She tries to piece together his life by rereading his favorite pulp detective story “A Date with Death” and spending time with his best friend, Jay Greenwood, in Royal Oak, VA. One unforgettable August day, Jay leads Ceola and Bunny to a stretch of woods where he found a dead woman, but when they arrive, the body is gone. They soon discover a local woman named Lily Vellum is missing and begin to piece together the threads of her murder, starting with the photograph Jay took of her abandoned body.
As Ceola gets swept up playing girl detective, Bunny becomes increasingly skeptical of Jay’s story about the photograph and begins her own investigation into Lily’s murder. A series of clues lead her to Washington, DC, where she must confront the truth about her dear friend—a revelation that triggers a brutal confrontation that will change all of them forever.
Praise for Dodging and Burning ...
“Copenhaver makes a powerful debut with this unconventional novel that mixes a coming-of-age tale with a puzzling mystery and a haunting portrait of the experiences of the LGBTQ community in the 1940s. Admirers of William Kent Krueger’s Edgar Award–winning stand-alone, Ordinary Grace, may appreciate this candid story.”
—Library Journal (Starred Review, Debut of the Month)
“Complex and multilayered, Copenhaver’s outstanding debut combines a murder mystery with a coming-of-age tale. [His] darkly lyrical exploration into the consequences of war—and prejudice—in small-town America will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A riveting debut. The intricate plot melds a coming-of-age story, a coming-out tale and a mystery with realistic characters who want to be accepted for themselves. The brisk pace is augmented by the character studies and an in-depth look at gay rights. Gay and lesbian mysteries have been published for decades. Columnist and short story writer Copenhaver brings a new voice to this genre with Dodging and Burning.”
—Oline Cogdill, Associated Press
“LGBTQ crime-writing has its heroes. John Copenhaver lists many of them. He may have to add himself to that list now.”
—Neil Nyren, BookTrib
"On the widest possible level, John Copenhaver’s Dodging and Burning is crime fiction featuring LGBTQ+ themes, however to pigeonhole it as simply that is to vastly under-appreciate this fine novel. Dodging and Burning is a historical novel depicting the coming-of-age of several different characters during a time when their moments of self-discovery clash with the ideologies of the larger community."
—BOLO Books
"Copenhaver beautifully addresses the difficulties faced by two gay men in this time period, and the dangers of such a love, a story that will break readers’ hearts.”
—Erica Ruth Neubauer, Mystery Scene Magazine
“Dodging and Burning has some absolutely lovely writing, filled with deep imagery and complex, living characters … The final few pages are an absolute gut punch, one which is vital. This is a book that must be read and discussed with as many people as possible. Very highly recommended.”
—Kristen McQuinn, Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice
“Copenhaver beautifully renders the lives of four young people through alternating lenses of photographs, letters, diary entries, notes, and other documents.”
—Washington Independent Review of Books
"Whatever your expectations for this novel are, put them aside. You will not be able to predict a single twist or turn to this book. "
—MysteryPeople