Character Interview for Painter of the Dead

For every book we release, we'll feature an interview with one of its major characters. This week we sat down to chat with Akeela ("Aki") Lee from Painter of the Dead. Read below to see what main character Theo's spunky friend and colleague had to say.

​Good morning, Mr. Lee.

​Morning, detective. Nice of you guys to schedule an appointment. Last time I was in a police station, I had a St. Patrick’s Day hangover and you guys were very unsympathetic.

We’re following up on the recent developments in the Collector case, and we’d like to ask you a couple of questions about your friendship with Ms. Speer.

Theo. Yeah.

How did you first meet Theo?

We went to the same high school. Eastlake Preparatory. Which was actually west of the lake—go figure. She was the quiet weird kid in the back of the room; I was the loud weird kid in the front of the room.

How do you feel about Theo?

Do I think she’d rob a museum, you mean? No. I don’t. She’s obsessed with her job—but not in a robbery kind of way—and gets this crazy-eyed stare if she senses that you’re thinking about disrespecting anything antique. She’d give me hell if I threw out expired baozi.

What is your life philosophy?

I decline to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

If you spotted the Collector breaking into the museum, how would you react?

Call the authorities, of course! I’m a law-abiding citizen. Promise.

Are there any misconceptions you’d like to correct about yourself?

Yes. Whatever Seth Adler told you about me was a lie.

Good to know. Ideally, what would you like to do next?

Go home and take a long couple of days to rethink my life. Maybe finally ask out Sandy from the Interactives department. Turns out life is a lot shorter than I realized. Or in a certain someone’s case, way longer. Incidentally, do I get a phone call?

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Painter of the Dead is out now! Read this "fun adventure . . . and love story that defies age and time" (Lorelai Kuhn) here.

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