PW: This is your first novel. What was the inspiration?

JF: I enjoy mystery novels; I wanted to set a series in New York. I wanted to do something about the implication of a family, community, society when parents—particularly fathers—don't live up to their responsibilities. It wasn't until I had those three elements together that I could write a novel. I also wanted to create characters completely driven by backstory and show how conflict affects them.

PW: Which writers have influenced you?

JF: Raymond Chandler, James Cain, Chester Himes, David Goodis, Jim Thompson. I like Philip Roth, Thomas Berger, David Mamet, the film writer Ernest Lehman, who wrote The Sweet Smell of Success and North by Northwest. Being a music critic exposes me to other types of writing—Bob Dylan and Tom Waits for instance.

PW: How long did it take to write Closing Time?

JF: I had some false starts. It took me eight years, off and on. The sequel was a lot easier, but I don't regret the eight years—I learned how to write a novel while writing Closing Time. I'm a huge believer in craft. The better the mastery of craft, the more likely the work will be sublime—in art and music.

PW: How long have you been a music critic, and why did you set your novel in the art world rather than the music world?

JF: I started writing about music when I was in high school. I was interested if rock could be analyzed as art, and I found that it could. I've been writing about music for the Wall Street Journal for 17 or 18 years, but I thought the art world was an interesting setting because Terry explores what is an honest piece of work. He's extremely judgmental, sees things in black and white. He has to learn nuance. The art world is closer to that than the music world.

PW: The relationship between Terry [Fusilli's protagonist] and Bella [Terry's 12-year-old daughter] is very real, and your portrayal of young Andre is very sympathetic. Tell us about that.

JF: I think that people have to understand how important it is to make being a parent the priority in your life, because when it's not, it's terrible for the child. I'm bombarded with media images that say that fathers are not important—and fathers feel they can walk away from their responsibility. I don't know why we should accept this—it's totally unacceptable to me. It's odd to have a detective who has to go home for dinner every night. An indication of Terry's failure as a parent is that he doesn't always go home, he isn't doing his most important job. His friend Diddio and his psychiatrist tell him he cares too much for strangers. Bella is the character I most identify with. These books are about Bella.

PW: What direction will your series take?

JF: In the next book, the characters are two years older. Their relationships have to change. Terry has to grow or blow away—it isn't possible to sustain his level of agony—and Bella has to take a stand. In Closing Time, their psychiatrist says that Bella has to step out of the shadow of her father's grief. Is it possible for Marina [Terry's dead wife] to be that good? That suggests a sequel. Then there's the specter of Weisz [Marina's killer]. Is he the maniac Terry thinks he is, or just a suspect, as the police believe he is?