Kirk Spangler was working through a particularly important element of his first mystery novel (the hairiest of all, actually; it was the murder itself) when he decided to take a tour of the Oregon State Capitol building. He was climbing the rotunda stairs and had made it to about ten steps from the dome when inspiration struck him in the form of an image.
“It all came together for me when I was staring at the windows in the ceiling,” Spangler said.
The initial scenes of Spangler’s book feature tidbits of that very capitol tour, but with a few grisly additions, such as the corpse of a young woman splayed across the state seal. But these days, when Spangler goes to the capitol he can see another pulse-racing sight: his debut mystery, “Capitol Crimes,” peeking out from the shelves of the capitol gift store.
“It’s great – my book is now selling just 10 feet from where the murder happens in it,” Spangler said.
An administrative judge with the State of Oregon for over two decades, Spangler infused “Capitol Crimes” with many of the local sights and issues that Salem readers will recognize as their own.
A traditional mystery novel with all of the hallmarks of the genre – a young woman is murdered, a philandering politician is implicated, a no-nonsense local detective is called upon to figure it all out, not all of the characters we meet along the way are to be trusted – “Capitol Crimes” has the added bonus that it uses Salem as its backdrop, drawing its scenes from some of the city’s most beloved local haunts and favorite stops.
All of this has the effect of making the book feel very familiar and endearing, something seldom found in books written to be page-turners.
Spangler’s detective Jack Davis hangs out – and does some of his best thinking – at Thompson’s Brew Pub. He drops in to White’s Restaurant for breakfast. He stops at Bentley’s to talk to a very attractive young Statesman-Journal reporter, who later becomes a love interest. His characters love the Salem Art Fair. Sometimes, readers can overhear their conversations as they sip on an especially delicious glass of Willamette Valley Vineyards 2001 Pinot noir.
“Salem grows on you,” Spangler said. “It has a lot of redeeming qualities.”
Spangler based his detective character, Jack Davis, partly on himself. Spangler came to Salem in 1983 in a ’66 Mustang with a U-Haul trailer (he remembers thinking that he would never settle here). He eventually took up work as an administrative law judge, deciding and sometimes mediating worker’s compensation claims.
A low-key guy who has been known to wear jeans and a cowboy hat to work, Spangler projects some of his own feelings about local politics and media onto his character.
“First-time authors often borrow from their own lives,” Spangler said. “I’m not a huge fan of bureaucracy – that definitely comes through.”
Spangler reads from “Capitol Crimes” at a launch event at Tea Party Bookshop on April 13 at 6:30 p.m.
