When Ann Thallemer was a child, her father’s hobby was collecting detective magazines. She started reading her dad’s collection and developed an interest in them. Now, Thallemer has published her own murder mystery novel, “Unequal Justice”. “It’s loosely based on an incident that was told to me when I lived in D.C. My imagination filled in the blanks,” Thallemer said during an interview Aug. 25 in her Warsaw home. According to a press release from her publisher, Xlibris, the novel is about a town affected by the murder of a beautiful young socialite. “When a struggling builder is arrested, old resentments surface and a mother is determined to clear her son’s name. Families are torn apart as people they love are drawn into this web of anger and good,” it states. As the investigation spins out of control, police chief Matt Cahil struggles against all odds to go by the book. Respected attorney Ben Rigley jeopardizes his career when he reveals information that can help Cahil stop the cycle of injustice that has become a way of life in the county. And there’s a tainted judge who has the chance to end the unfairness, if he only has the courage, the release states. “The characters came easy. I love developing characters,” Thallemer said of the challenges of writing the book. “The challenge was making it interesting to readers without being too wordy. I wanted to create intrigue. I think the story brings out the best and worst in people. It’s about the difference between the haves and have nots.” The ending is a twist. “I think the audience will be satisfied with it,” she said. “The goal of any serious writer is to capture the interest of the readership.” “Unequal Justice” is not Thallemer’s first book. She worked with Thomas Truong on his book “Our Brothers: The Enemy”. Truong had escaped from Saigon, but had to leave his family behind initially. Eventually, he was able to bring his family to the United Sates. When they worked on his book, Truong’s English at that time was very poor, so Thallemer helped him organize his thoughts. “He had a wonderful story,” Thallemer said. She then became involved in genealogy and created three family books. One was for the Thallemers, one on her mom’s parents and one on her dad’s parents. The genealogy went all the way back to the 1600s, she said. Thallemer began working on “Unequal Justice” about 15 years ago. She’d put it aside at times to work on other projects. When she finished the genealogy books, she decided she wanted her own book published. “I was turning 80 in June and decided now was the time,” Thallemer said. She decided to go with self publishing and put up some of her own money to do it. “I was very involved in its editing and cover,” Thallemer said. She found out later that her book’s title wasn’t the only “Unequal Justice”. With other books out there with the same name, for a website for the book she had to go with annthallemer.comThe book was published in June. Toward the end of September, she said, she plans a book signing for it at The Party Shop in Warsaw. Thallemer said her family has been very encouraging to her with the book. She has a large family and she and her husband, Don, play an active role in their family’s lives. For the past 18 years, they have a family brunch every Sunday for any of the family who can make it. She said they came to Warsaw from South Bend in the 1970s. “We love Warsaw. We have lived in large cities ... but I like the small town for raising children and grandchildren,” she said. “There’s actually a lot of opportunity in Warsaw for entertainment and employment,” she said. Thallemer already is working on her next book. If she stays on the course she is now, she said it will be a crime novel, too. Thallemer’s book can be purchased online at www.annthallemer.com, Xlibris.com, amazon.com or barnesandnnoble.com After the book signing, copies of “Unequal Justice” also will be for sale at The Party Shop for awhile. “They don’t have to be interested in crime to find it a good read,” Thallemer said. “The characters are well developed. There’s a couple of substories in it that are interesting.”
