Steve
asked
Dale E. Lehman:
I am in the early going of Fibonacci Murders and the setting puzzles me. Peller's birth and age should make this early 1990s, but cell phones and 911 on them didn't happen then. Am I missing something? When does this take place?
Dale E. Lehman
Hi Steve! I'd be interested in hearing what details gave you that impression. It's been a while since I read it, and I don't remember everything that's in it.
You're correct that I made a chronology mistake, but I didn't think it was that. When wrote Fibonacci Murders, I intentionally avoided specifying a year for the events. I did, however, have in mind a time somewhere around 2007-8. As I recall, there's a reference to the recession that occurred around that time. It was only when I got into True Death (HCM #2) that I realized I had flubbed some of the chronology. In particular, the ages for Peller, his son Jason, and his grandchildren do not stack up correctly. I fiddled with a timeline to try to make things as close to reasonable as possible, and ended up with Fibonacci and True Deathtaking place in 2005 and Ice on the Bay in 2006. (The forthcoming HCM #4, A Day For Bones also takes place in 2006.)
But there was no fixing the chronologies. The ages in Peller's family are still out of whack. My editor/wife told me not to worry about it, since most people likely wouldn't notice anyway. I make this confession only because you've asked. And as I say in "About the Setting," I won't guarantee perfection in all areas. ;-)
You're correct that I made a chronology mistake, but I didn't think it was that. When wrote Fibonacci Murders, I intentionally avoided specifying a year for the events. I did, however, have in mind a time somewhere around 2007-8. As I recall, there's a reference to the recession that occurred around that time. It was only when I got into True Death (HCM #2) that I realized I had flubbed some of the chronology. In particular, the ages for Peller, his son Jason, and his grandchildren do not stack up correctly. I fiddled with a timeline to try to make things as close to reasonable as possible, and ended up with Fibonacci and True Deathtaking place in 2005 and Ice on the Bay in 2006. (The forthcoming HCM #4, A Day For Bones also takes place in 2006.)
But there was no fixing the chronologies. The ages in Peller's family are still out of whack. My editor/wife told me not to worry about it, since most people likely wouldn't notice anyway. I make this confession only because you've asked. And as I say in "About the Setting," I won't guarantee perfection in all areas. ;-)
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