the end of the beginning.

‘Hugo & Madeline’ is finally yours. It feels as if it’s been a while since I finished this story (the pesky summer of mine played a part in that), but I’m thrilled you finally get a chance to get to the end of the story and that you’ll enjoy it.

I have mixed feelings now that the prequel trilogy is completed and released. From a story that I had never planned, I’m so pleased with how these three books perfectly encapsulate Hugo and his teenage years. We can almost see him becoming the man we meet much later on in 2015. It was a nice change for me to see this character I thought I know so well and transfer that into how I imagined he would be aged 15-18. Hugo and Madeline ends soon after his eighteenth birthday where he finds himself alone and uncertain, but on the last page, in the last paragraph we see him walking towards his destiny.

The story itself was always going to be a tricky one, primarily because I was restricted by what I had written in the very first Hugo book. We already know Madeline died when Hugo was 18 and that Hugo was traumatised by it. I had thought I couldn’t make it a straightforward murder mystery, so what did that leave me? A not straightforward murder mystery! My starting point was simple: Madeline Duchamp is dead. How did she die? And is there room in that scenario for a WHY did she die? So, I began there and worked backwards.

‘Hugo & Madeline’ takes place predominantly at an exclusive Swiss clinic, tucked under the beautiful but imposing Alps. Our cast of characters include two old friends of Madeline and the three of them find themselves caught up in a violent power struggle between the owners of the clinic. Hugo arrives because he is concerned about his grandmother’s health but he soon realises that there is an altogether more pressing danger and Madeline is front and centre of it all. I couldn’t end the saga without bringing back one of my other favourite characters: Captain Bertram Herve, someone else I wish I could go back and revisit. The small, round man with the dour disposition but inquisitive nature is also Madeline’s very unlikely paramour. They share a love story that was never quite fulfilled. The dynamic between Hugo and Bertram also continues, and Bertram is instrumental in what happens to Hugo after Madeline’s death.

Now that the trilogy is over, I’ve thought of revisiting the character of Madeline, telling her story, a sweeping story beginning in her adolescence and ending with the day Hugo came to live with her. I can almost picture the story and I’m sure it would be a lot of fun to write, but at this point, I’m just not sure if it’s something I can do to justice to. I like writing my little murder mysteries and honestly I’m not sure Madeline’s story would fit into that. That being said… never say never, I’ve enjoyed getting to know this character very much and now that I’ve killed her off (spoilers!) it would be nice to revisit her somehow. We’ll see.

So, that’s it. The prequel trilogy is all yours. I really hope you enjoy it.

Love,

Gary

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