Greensburg author, musician Karen Dietrich publishes 'dark thriller'

Evelyn Gibson, the protagonist in Greensburg author Karen Dietrich’s novel “Girl at the Edge,” is a 16-year-old girl living in Florida with her loving, slightly unconventional family.

“I’m into kind of dark stories, darker crime,” says Dietrich, 43. So the fact that Evelyn has always known her father was a murderer seems to fit Dietrich’s modus operandi, so to speak.

“Girl at the Edge” was released this month by Grand Central Publishing.

On death row for years, the father was convicted of a horrific mall shooting that killed 11 people before Evelyn was born. And at an age when many teens can be vulnerable and confused, she becomes increasingly preoccupied with who her father is, and what that may mean to who she is.

Nature versus nurture

Though her father is not discussed in Evelyn’s home, she grew up aware of her parentage. And like most technologically savvy teens, she easily accesses information about him and his victims online.

Evelyn’s fascination with her absent father and his crimes grows. And nature versus nurture, an issue Dietrich says she wanted to explore through a character, enters the plot line.

In a support group for children of incarcerated parents, she makes a friend in Clarisse, whose father also is on death row.

One day Evelyn’s father writes the family that his mother has died, leaving Evelyn a small gift. She begins to wonder if her father’s brutality may be her true inheritance.

She and Clarisse decide to put that question to the test. They come up with a plan they believe will determine if they are destined to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. The answer may be different for each girl, leading to a shocking incident and a conclusion some may find unsettling.

A look back

Dietrich’s first book, “The Girl Factory: A Memoir,” recalls a 1985 shooting spree at the former Anchor Hocking Glass Container Corp. plant in South Connellsville. Dietrich’s parents both worked at the factory, although neither was there on March 16 when an employee killed four supervisors and himself.

That story chronicles small-town factory life, as well as Dietrich’s own life as she grows into a young woman.

Dietrich has an English writing degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and a master of fine arts degree in poetry from New England College. She is an administrative assistant at Pitt-Greensburg and substitute teaches at Greensburg Salem High School.

Dietrich also plays drums in the acoustic-indie-folk band Essential Machine. Her husband, R.J. Dietrich, and son Robert, 18, also are band members.

“As a kid, I always wanted to be a writer and I loved books,” she says.

Judy Blume was a favorite author, and “The Outsiders” a favorite book.

Making characters believable

She met R.J. after moving to Florida following college, and her knowledge of the state shows in “Girl at the Edge.”

Teaching high school students gives Dietrich a feel for the language of teens, says her literary agent, Alice Martell.

“One thing that is hard to nail is dialogue. It so easily comes off stilted or not credible. Karen is very good at that. I thought (her book) was so realistic,” Martell says.

“Just the writing was so nuanced and insightful, so I fell in love,” she says, adding that she finds the concept of Dietrich’s newest book intriguing.

“I think Karen has the capability of delivering a book that satisfies readers,” she says.

The book also may prompt readers to ponder passing on traits relating to physical or mental health, Martell says.

Martell believes the ending Dietrich and her editor reached is “darker, but clearer,” than the novel’s original conclusion.

Dietrich agrees.

“The thing (the editors) wanted to have happen, I had thought about having happen,” she says.

Ultimately, the book is about “being on edge, accepting and embracing the dark side of one self,” Dietrich says.

Dietrich will participate in a “Coffee and Crime” event at 10:30 a.m. April 18 at Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont. She also plans a book talk at 6 p.m. May 21 at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library.

“Girl at the Edge” is available online and in stores including Target and Barnes & Noble Booksellers for $15.99.