Missing Maryland Woman and Media Overload Are Catalyst for Thriller Set in Aruba
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| A Novel of Aruba Inspired by Actual Events |
Putkowski, a part-time expat who lives much of the year in Aruba, has penned other novels set there, including the 2008 bestseller An Island Away. "This is my first foray into crime fiction and the process was both sad and fascinating," says the author. "There were so many twists and turns in the actual case that it was not difficult to fictionalize a scenario." The latest twist being a lawsuit filed on June 14 by Giordano against Chicago-based AmEx Assurance Company claiming he is owed $3.5 million from an insurance policy on Gardner he secured just days before her mysterious disappearance. During Giordano’s four-month detention in Aruba, authorities focused on the insurance policy as a possible motive for foul play.
"I write fiction, so I had no interest in speculating on what really happened," Putkowski explains. "Rather, I wanted to explore the affect the media can have on high-profile cases. My goal was to create a compelling story of a man and woman whose assumptions lead them down a deadly path." From the beginning, Gardner’s disappearance had all the elements of a gripping thriller--details that didn’t quite add up and national media attention on a suspect who had arranged for an insurance policy that could make him a very rich man.
On the island, the author interacted with reporters and law enforcement to craft his storyline. Independent television journalist Donald Wood--on assignment at the time for NBC--noted, "Putkowski fit right into the pack scouring Aruba for clues in the weeks and months following Gardner’s disappearance. He was out there working leads as hard as any of us journos." CNN anchor and correspondent Martin Savidge said of Dark Currents, "Take it from someone who was there, Putkowski takes fact and wonderfully weaves it into a captivating tale of what if." A reporter who requested anonymity appreciated the author’s sense of humor in Dark Currents, "The real situation was terrible. A missing woman, lots of loose ends. I was grateful Putkowski was able inject a little levity into his novel with characters like fame-obsessed Attorney Jeff Nedd and scowling, desk-pounding Judge Nadine who’s part Nancy Grace, part Judge Judy."
Putkowski, who discussed the Gardner case on the August 31 broadcast of NBC's TODAY show, ended last year with more questions than answers. "We may never know what happened," he now concedes. "I hope someday those who were close to Robyn can find closure." Dark Currents will be available in the U.S. on June 26 and in Aruba in July. The novel can also be read as an e-book. For more information and tour dates, visit DanielPutkowski.com.
Hawser Press publishes fiction.
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