Writing Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear: A Tale of Justice, Closure, and Lingering Revenge

 

Writing Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear: A Tale of Justice, Closure, and Lingering Revenge

When I was working on Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear, there was one concept that kept coming back to me: the idea of revenge. Not the kind of flashy, movie-style revenge, but the slow-burn kind that lurks beneath the surface, shaping decisions and relationships over time. Both of these novels explore how long-buried resentments and unresolved issues can affect a person—whether it’s Keegan or his old partner Matty Long.

In Fourth Gear, revenge plays a more subtle role. While Keegan is trying to close a case that dates back to the early days of his career, there’s more at stake than just solving a crime. His partner Matty Long is back, and Matty’s history is still haunting them both. If you’ve read Third and Long, you know Matty had his share of issues with other cops, bad blood that never really got resolved. Those tensions were left to fester, and now, with the past coming back in Fourth Gear, it’s as if Matty is chasing his own form of closure—his own justice, or maybe even revenge.

Writing Fourth Gear allowed me to delve into how those old grudges between Matty and the cops around him continue to affect the present. Matty’s desire for closure is deeply personal, and in some ways, that makes him even more vulnerable. He wants to make things right, but as we know in Keegan’s world, nothing is ever that simple. Matty’s drive to settle old scores with the people who wronged him isn’t just about justice—it’s about finally getting some peace. But as Keegan uncovers in Fourth Gear, the line between justice and revenge is always blurred.

In Ghosts of Days Gone By, revenge is more of an undercurrent, but it’s there. The characters Keegan deals with all have their ghosts—things they can’t let go of, things that drive them to act out of spite or anger, whether it’s about power, money, or personal vendettas. Keegan himself is haunted by his failures to protect those closest to him, and the ghosts of his own past mistakes are ever-present. But in Fourth Gear, it’s Matty’s need for resolution that really brings the theme of revenge into focus.

Matty’s past, his issues with other cops, and the lingering tensions from Third and Long all bleed into this story. He wants closure—not just for the case they’re working on, but for the way his career has been tainted by those old conflicts. Matty’s struggle with the NYPD has always been personal, and in Fourth Gear, that desire to settle scores becomes central to his character arc. It’s not just about who committed the crime they’re investigating—it’s about who’s guilty in the broader sense, who’s complicit in letting things spiral out of control, and whether Matty can truly walk away from it all.

Keegan, on the other hand, is the balancing force. He knows Matty too well to ignore the signs of an old wound being reopened. As they push through the investigation, Keegan’s own feelings about loyalty, justice, and revenge come into play. Keegan’s always been a detective who values closure, but with Matty in the mix, he’s also confronted with the question of how far they should go to give Matty the resolution he needs. It’s not just about solving a crime for Matty—it’s about giving him a sense of redemption, which may or may not involve revisiting old grudges.

I’ll admit, writing Fourth Gear wasn’t just about the case. It was about these characters—Keegan, Matty, and the people they cross paths with—and how revenge often simmers quietly beneath the surface, affecting everything from decision-making to relationships. Matty’s unresolved issues with the police force cast a shadow over the whole investigation, making every move feel loaded with the weight of the past. The deeper Keegan and Matty dig, the clearer it becomes that some people can’t just walk away from the past without trying to settle scores.

In both Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear, the killers aren’t the only guilty parties. There are layers of complicity—people who’ve let things fester, who’ve looked the other way, or who’ve actively contributed to the tensions that eventually lead to murder. But in Fourth Gear, the most dangerous kind of guilt might not come from the killer at all. It might come from the unresolved anger that Keegan and Matty carry with them, and how it threatens to boil over.

Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold. But in these stories, it’s often served quietly, over years, and with far-reaching consequences. Writing these novels gave me the chance to explore not just who did the killing, but why people act the way they do when the past refuses to let go.