Author Lisa de Nikolits stands outside Beaches and Cream ice cream parlour on the Boardwalk, a featured location in her book Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon.
By ABBY RUSSCHEN
Award-winning Beach author Lisa de Nikolits returns to the page with her 12th novel, Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon, described as a noir, darkly comedic suspense thriller featuring a 1950s-style heroine living in modern day.
Releasing July 25 with Inanna Publications, the book takes readers through a crime-filled, nuanced tale of fractured family and romantic relationships interlacing with insatiable greed. Originally intended for release in 2018, publication was put on hold until de Nikolits’ other two books, The Rage Room and Everything You Dream Is Real, had come out.
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon follows main character Jessica Wren, a bold, vintage-obsessed dreamer, inspired by Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential. She works as a janitor by night and fashionista by day, all while navigating a bumpy relationship with her sister. She’s not your typical leading lady; behind her beautiful exterior is someone trying to rewrite her life and becomes a mobster mistress to gangster Vincenzo “Mad Dog” Esposito, who regularly commits organized crimes.
Vincenzo has a twisted fondness for Weegee, a real-life crime photographer of the 1930s and 1940s who appears as himself in the book. Vincenzo is drawn from real-life Anthony Esposito, one half of the so-called “mad dog killers” who fatally shot a man for his paycheck in 1971 and triggered a robust police chase.
“I love writing about people who live in the quiet shadows of life,” said de Nikolits, describing her main inspiration for Jessica’s male counterpart.
The character’s obsession with Weegee was sparked by a photography exhibit de Nikolits attended at Toronto Metropolitan University, where his photos were featured.
Unlike her previous novels, Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is her first exploration into gangsters and organized crime. She calls it “one of a kind” out of all her books.
De Nikolits’ passion and love for writing are present in the story. With an ending that surprised even her as the author, there’s something for everyone in the 200-page paperback.
In Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon, de Nikolits transforms Toronto into a crime-scape playground where cons and swindles intertwine with splintered relationship dynamics.
De Nikolits drew inspiration from many Toronto locations. Ripley’s Aquarium once housed a rare leafy sea dragon, and its beauty inspired de Nikolits to shape her story around it, making it an integral part of the plot.
“I have to honour this beautiful little creature’s presence in this world in a book,” she said, and the rest fell into place.
Woodbine Beach was another source of inspiration, though not directly named in the book. De Nikolits alludes to her daily experiences and incorporates them into her stories. Beaches and Cream ice cream parlour is another community go-to which she alludes to in the book.
De Nikolits is originally from South Africa, moved to Australia, and has called the Beach her home since 2007. Her experiences from around the world influence her flow and communication on the page.
She hopes that readers find “a happy escape” in the story and come to love the characters as much as she does.
“There’s so much nastiness and worry right now,” she said, “I just want people to be transported from their worries with a good read.”
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon can be found at Book City in the Beach, and it’s also available online through Amazon and most book retailers.