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by Scott Juba Published: June 23, 2004
In many ways, Leslie Silbert is your typical Harvard graduate. She is an intelligent, highly sophisticated individual who finds success down nearly any path she travels. At the same time, however, Silbert is much more than an average Harvard alumni member. In the six years since she graduated from the elite institution, she has built an impressive resume, achieving more distinguished feats than many people twice her age have.The Renaissance scholar turned PI has just released her first novel, the fascinating thriller, The Intelligencer. Blending a compelling account of Christopher Marlowe’s life as a spy with a modern tale of intrigue centered around the fictional character, Kate Morgan, Silbert’s debut novel is an accomplished piece of fiction that is highlighted by elegant prose and richly detailed characters. Silbert became inspired to enter the foray of fiction writing while reading through a list of paperback bestsellers at an LA supermarket (“I think grocery stores collect the cheesiest of the bestsellers,” she comments lightheartedly). “I thought, ‘I could do better than this’,” Silbert says. “And then I thought, ‘Are you going to go through life saying things like that or are you actually going to do it?’; and so then I decided that I would do it at some point in life.” Writing The Intelligencer, however, proved to be a more time consuming experience than Silbert had originally anticipated. Contrary to her belief that she could complete the novel in one year, it actually took her close to three years to pen the 336-page spy thriller. The extensive research required for the historical sections of the novel was an on-going part of the process that added to the project’s time absorbing nature. “It wasn’t a step one, step two process,” Silbert recalls. “I did do a fair amount (of research) before, but it really was doing both at once. I would write one part and there would also be a lot of research I would need to do for another. I kept researching, actually, up until the last page.” Silbert’s hard work paid off, resulting in an engrossing page-turner that feels authentic in every way. The realism in the book can be attributed to many factors, including Silbert’s own experience as a private investigator. “I don’t think I’d done fiction since middle school,” she says, “and I hadn’t read ‘how to’ books or taken (writing) courses. But I had heard the saying over the years, ‘Write what you know’, so I figured that would make things easier.” With her educational background in Renaissance literature, her decision to shift her focus to the field of private investigation was not the most conventional option. Yet, after completing her studies, Silbert knew that the academic track wasn’t for her. “I loved school,” she says, “but my subject matter had inspired me. I wanted to take my interests into the real world, to pursue secrets for a living.” She originally considered applying for a position with the CIA but encountered resistance from her mother. “My dad was supportive,” she explains. “My mom was very against it. Applying to PI companies seemed like a good spring board to decide what the next step was after that.” Probably much to her mother’s dismay, private investigation has presented Silbert with its own share of hair-raising moments. “There was one situation where I was in a bar, and I was asking questions of a bartender about a bouncer about something illegal that he was up to,” Silbert tells me. “I was hoping I would make it out before she would tell him the kind of questions I was asking.” Luckily she did make it out, and despite the danger associated with the job, Silbert remains reluctant to completely abandon the occupation, even as her literary career continues to take off. She took a leave of absence from the PI agency while writing The Intelligencer but has since returned. “I went back to it about six months ago,” Silbert says. “(While writing most of The Intelligencer) I didn’t leave my apartment very much, and I lived in my pajamas, and I think I was becoming a little eccentric and a little removed, so I thought it would be a good balance to go back and do it part time.” Besides the detail with which she creates her characters and the “you are there quality” that she brings to the locations depicted in the book, Silbert also excels as a writer, because she avoids the storytelling clichés that many authors embrace. Silbert says, “There’s a technique a lot of people use which I call the ‘gun-point face-off’, where the good guy hold his gun on the bad guy (and asks), ‘Why did you do it?’, ‘How did you do it?’. And they’ve probably been trying to kill each other for 50 pages, but then they have this very polite conversation, which I find extremely unrealistic and aggravating. I knew I wanted to avoid that and find a different way to get all the explanations out at the end.” 
At a time when often low-rate novels are even being made into major motion pictures, the quality of Silbert’s storytelling may attract the attention of many movie studios. When asked who she would like to see play Kate Morgan, Silbert responds, “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who has all of those qualities that I would want, so I think a newcomer might be best.” She does, however, have a clear vision as to who should portray Marlowe. “I think Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp would be fantastic,” she tells me. “Actually, I know Johnny Depp, at least in the past, had been interested in playing Marlowe.”As exciting as it would be to have The Intelligencer made into a movie, at the same time, Silbert has reservations about a screen adaptation of her book, especially because The Intelligencer is the first in a series of Kate Morgan novels. “If there was a lousy actress cast as Kate, it would infect people’s minds forever and ruin my career,” she says with a laugh. Silbert’s second novel in the Kate Morgan series is tentatively scheduled for a summer 2006 release. Like The Intelligencer, Silbert explains that the sequel “also has two time periods and interweaves a different historical mystery from a different time and place.” Each of the installments in the series will also have a distinct theme. Whereas the theme of The Intelligencer is the pursuit of secrets and forbidden knowledge, Silbert tells me that the theme for the second book will involve “the clash of civilizations, Islam and the West, and what sparks war in the Baroque period vs. today.” With the success of Silbert’s first novel and her vision for future installments, the character of Kate Morgan is sure to be around for years to come. Yet, even in light of her promising literary career and her long list of noteworthy academic and professional accomplishments, Silbert’s best quality cannot be found anywhere on her resume or in her bio. In an age where common courtesy is unfortunately becoming more and more uncommon, Silbert is a genuinely warm and friendly person with enough charm to brighten any situation (even a disastrous coffee spill she encounters during the interview). She is also remarkably humble. When asked how Kate resembles her own personality, Silbert remarks, “I’d say (Kate’s) a lot cooler.” Most people, however, are likely to draw a far different conclusion. A smart, articulate, and attractive private investigator who has a Harvard degree and is well on her way to becoming a bestselling novelist, Leslie Silbert seems pretty cool to me. To Read Scott Juba's Review of The Intelligencer Click Here. To Visit Leslie Silbert's Official Site Click Here. To Purchase The Intelligencer at Amazon.com Click Here. |
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