By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
One wouldn’t think a small town on the tip of Cape Cod could hold so many secrets and mysteries. However, Needham-based author Judi Getch Brodman created a world in which an isolated fishing village became the setting for possible murders, resurgent visions, and disturbing stalking in her debut novel “She’s Not You.”
Although readers will get to know this mysterious town as “Oyster’s Point,” Judi was initially inspired by her summer vacations as a child in Wellfleet.
“In all my travels, I‘ve never found a place that I love more than that tiny town … mostly because of my deep family roots and memories there,” Judi said. “So my debut novel had to be anchored there. And what’s a better place to have murders happen than in a sleepy little town miles from anywhere?”
The story revolves around a Jamie Janson, who returns to Oyster’s Point to clean out and sell her late great-aunt Pita’s cottage. While Janson mourns the loss of her relative, strange things are occurring in town: the bodies of several dead women have washed ashore, and eventually, the chief of police, a former Boston detective, Jack Hereford, must band together with Janson to solve the mystery.
“The plot for ‘She's Not You’ actually evolved through many drafts,” Judi said. “When I began this story, I didn't have a roadmap. The characters were developed first and then, because I love mysteries, I found that the characters wanted – needed – to be involved in a number of storylines.”
While there was no particular audience in mind as she wrote, Judi combined her own image for her characters with something all mystery writers aim to do: keep the reader guessing.
“I'll stay with a book/story as long as it keeps me interested,” she said. “Exactly what a writer has to remember: keep the reader turning the pages.”
“I personally write for myself, but find myself gravitating to mysteries,” Judi continued. “I love the ‘process’ of writing … creating characters who come alive in my head, who take me along on their journey, who become stronger and are redeemed or changed though the events in the story. How can you not love that!”
Judi’s writing abilities prove to be quite multifaceted. She has ventured into the world of children’s books and wrote two of them entitled “Fiona - the Lighthouse Firefly” and “Fiona the Firefly - LOST!” – two books that her late sister had always wanted to write.
“I've found that writing helps me grieve... it’s a solitary endeavor that consumes you if you let it,” she said. “And I need that when I grieve.”
She has a scholarship fund established in her sister’s name and puts proceeds from the sales into that fund.
Judi has also already written another novel, a time-travel story, which she hopes will be well-received by her publisher, and is working on a sequel to “She’s Not You,” along with an international mystery story.
It is evident that Judi has a wealth of ideas to transform into stories and that “She’s Not You” will be her first mystery of many.
