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Limitless Reach and Resources
In Gone to Ground, a high school senior fights to keep his brother from falling victim to the dangers of gang life while battling a developer bent on completing a devastating urban renewal project. What was the most difficult scene to write in this book?
Developing a romantic bond between Javier and Leslie was a challenge – most of the spark came from Leslie, and Javier is often making excuses to go work when anything with emotional weight comes up, “pushing rope” when it came to knowing how he felt and how to share his tightly wrapped inner world. I now read suspense with an eye toward the way suspense writers weave in a romantic thread which I think readers appreciate. I once wrote a more nuanced short story about Javier and Leslie detailing their first encounter when they were both elementary age. Javier was both observer and participant as he is Gone To Ground, though in much greater measure. By the time he is in high school, Javier’s sense of romance and adventure has been eclipsed by his family and future. I saw an article recently titled something like “What It’s Like Texting With a Man,” and I didn’t need to read it. I can imagine Leslie texting whole pages and getting one or two lines back from Javier.
Does writing a thriller energize or exhaust you?
I am energized when I find the kernel of action that will drive a scene, the tension, the twist, and an antagonist like George Jones with limitless reach and resources is fun because deep in my lizard brain this is all wish fulfillment. My favorite scene to write was Alex at the drop with Chuco because I got to not only have the guns come out but we got to look into Alex’s head and his sudden realization that he’s out of his depth. There are sections you write quickly and play out cinematically in your head, and in one sense, Gone To Ground is a collection of set pieces sewn together with some exposition. The parts that I constantly have to rework and rework and rework is the stuff in between – the character development, the collection of small moments that give the reader a fuller and more intimate knowledge of characters. My favorite authors like Richard Price, Tara French, and Dennis Lehane make it look effortless.
Can you give us a peek inside the second book in this trilogy? Where will it take readers?
Book two is a critique of the increasing role our custodians of the public trust abet the ultra-wealthy. The opening scene is actually a military op that foreshadows the role of this back-stage affair between these gazillionaires and the elected officials as they chart their own course with no consideration of public interest. We fast forward seven years from the conclusion of Gone To Ground. Javier is working for a financial consulting group that specializes in mergers and acquisitions which sounds dull and tedious, but he is more than he appears. The first body that drops is Betzaida’s friend Letty who is found with two in the chest and one in the head, so we have one plot thread from the same streets of Los Angeles featuring Betzaida and another that gets into the political machinations of water in the Colorado River Basin where “Whiskey’s for drinking, and water’s for fighting.”
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Gone To Ground
Gone to Ground, by Morgan Hatch, is an intricate tale of life on the edge, weaving together the lives of a high school student navigating familial and community pressures, a political operative balancing ambition and scandal, and shadowy figures pulling strings behind the scenes. Set against the gritty backdrop of East San Fernando Valley, the story unfolds through sharp prose and a cast of characters as diverse as the urban sprawl they inhabit. From Javier’s fraught attempts to keep his younger brother Alex from the clutches of gang life, to the machinations of power players like Jones, the novel paints a vivid and unflinching portrait of contemporary struggles.
Hatch’s writing is a highlight of this novel. The dialogue feels so real you can almost hear it echoing through a high school hallway. The humor is dry but frequent, as seen in moments like Javier’s sardonic observations about his economics teacher, Mr. Patel, who “recaps markers more than he teaches.” Jones, the principal antagonist, is a chillingly effective character. His calculated ruthlessness feels simultaneously inhuman and disturbingly relatable, making him a formidable force. Despite the overwhelming odds, Javier and Gio—an especially standout character—refuse to back down. Their determination and grit resonate deeply, keeping readers invested and rooting for their success.
Family loyalty versus personal ambition is a recurring theme, as Javier sacrifices his own future to protect Alex, whose flirtation with gang life is portrayed with chilling realism. The journey is harrowing, and the struggle often feels insurmountable, yet the emotional stakes are what drive the story forward. Readers are drawn into the desperate hope that the characters will prevail. Gone To Ground is a story that lingers long after the final page.
Gone to Ground is an engrossing read for anyone who appreciates layered storytelling with heart and edge. It’s a gritty, honest look at life in Los Angeles that doesn’t flinch from the darker realities but also finds moments of hope and resilience.
LITERARY TITAN 