Even though Sean Chercover’s debut novel is about a Chicago private investigator, the former Windy City PI says Big City, Bad Blood is far from autobiographical. “We don’t share the same opinions,” he says. Protagonist Ray Dudgeon isn’t exactly a guy you’d like to hang out with. He’s cynical, stressed, and idealistic to a fault. “He’s the person I would have become, if my life didn’t change course,” says Chercover. @cal body 1:Big City, Bad Blood revolves around a Hollywood location scout who accidentally stumbles on a shady racket while in Chicago. Dudgeon is hired to protect him from the mob, which is knocking off other witnesses. Before he knows it, Dudgeon uncovers a plot involving sex, politics, and a complex con game using vacant buildings. “I heard about this fake-landlord scam when I was a private investigator,” says Chercover. “That became my launching pad.” In addition to sleuth work in Chicago and New Orleans, Chercover also spent some time in the movie and TV industries, working behind the scenes on kids’ programs and documentaries. “I just woke up one day and said, If I don’t write this goddamn book now, I’m never going to,” he says.
Thu., Feb. 22, 7 p.m.