Siobhan sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can get to know her better.

What is your full name?
Siobhan O’Brien. My name has a tendency to throw people for a bit of a loop when they meet me. Even though it’s a fully Irish name, I’m actually a Korean American. I was adopted by my Irish father and my Norwegian mother. My brother, also adopted, is named Sven. I’ll let you figure out which parent named which child.

How old are you?
I just turned 40, and it is every bit as awesome as people say it is. (That’s a joke. They do not.)

What is your profession?
You could say I’m a small business owner, but the more specific title is private investigator. I was an assistant to my boss until he passed away and left me his firm in his will.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes. His name is Craig.

What is their name and profession?
He’s a lawyer and sometimes helps me out in cases. We’ve only been dating for a short while, but he’s a good egg and a total keeper.

Do you have any children?
No. And you couldn’t pay me enough to have any.

Do you have any siblings?
Yes – my very Black, very handsome, and very tall and big brother Sven O’Brien. He’s an automotive engineer for a truck manufacturer out in the Pacific Northwest.

Are your parents nearby?
My parents live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and yes, they talk just like Frances McDormand in Fargo.

Who is your best friend?
Jesus. You just made me realize I don’t have one. Seriously – I don’t. I’m a loner. At the next full moon, I ought to howl at it.

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
Nope. As I have told people in the past, I can barely manage to take care of myself.

What town do you live in?
Athena, New York. It bears a striking resemblance to Ithaca, New York, but let’s not forget that my life is entirely fictional and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or places is entirely coincidental.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Rent all the way. If I owned a house…I’d feel pity for that poor house.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
The couch. I Netflix and chill with the best of them.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
That would be from Elkwood Restaurant, in Athena (which may resemble another fine vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, but remember, total coincidence). How about polenta cakes to start, Moroccan chickpea stew for my main…and let’s finish with the warm apple crumble for dessert. Yum! And not a single animal was harmed in the making of those fine dishes.

Do you have any hobbies?
If lockpicking can be considered a hobby, then yes. If not, then no.

What music do you listen to?
I’m a sucker for the British New Wave – especially New Order. But I still listen to new music every now and then. If you haven’t checked out Grace Ives, please do.

What is your favorite color?
I don’t really have one, though I must say, Vantablack is pretty cool. I saw quite a bit of it on my last case…

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Paris, France. I don’t know what I enjoy more, the art or the food. Actually, I do know: food.

Are you a morning or night person?
Fan of neither extremes, though if I had to choose, I suppose morning. My favorite time of day is 10:30AM – post-breakfast and pre-lunch, my most productive hours.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Is it very lame of me to say I have the most fun while working on my cases? I’m afraid it’s true. There’s no high like figuring out who did what, and why.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Casing The Joint.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m a professional private investigator, and I have the license to prove it! As I have previously mentioned, my boyfriend Craig sometimes works with me, though with my latest case, I’ve also had the assistance of my intern, Beaker. That’s his nickname, of course.

What is a typical day in your life like?
The life of a private eye is every bit as exciting and glamorous as the movies and TV shows portray. Ha! How I wish. Nine times out of ten, I’m in my car, looking at someone. The other one time out of ten, I’m following that person. And mostly, it doesn’t pan out and I have to do it all over again with someone else. Good thing nobody writes about those cases…

Deep Roots, A Siobhan O’Brien Mystery Book #2
Genre: Private Investigator
Release: September 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

After solving her first case, Siobhan O’Brien faces her biggest challenge yet – Thanksgiving! With her lawyer boyfriend Craig in tow, Siobhan travels to Minneapolis to endure small talk with the extended O’Brien clan and chow down on some seriously delicious turkey and dressing. Everything’s swell until her sister-in-law Gwen tells her about her brother Sven’s frequent late-night meetings with his co-workers. Since Siobhan’s next case is just a ferry ride from their house in Washington state, she asks for Siobhan’s help.

Big sister is happy to oblige, though she’s got her hands full. Hired by Phillip Ahn, a Korean artificial intelligence genius with his own personal island in the Pacific Northwest, Siobhan enters the strange, sequestered world of the uber rich, where Ahn, his wife, his two ex-wives, and his five children all live under the same gilded roof.

Ahn brings Siobhan to his estate because he swears that Duke, his youngest child and only son, is an impostor. Is Ahn crazy, or is Duke really someone else? And could it be possible that Sven’s troubles are somehow linked to Ahn’s? As Siobhan digs into these dangerous mysteries, she learns that family secrets have some very Deep Roots.

About the author
Sung J. Woo’s short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, PEN/Guernica, and Vox. He has written four novels, Deep Roots (2023), Skin Deep (2020), Love Love (2015), and Everything Asian (2009), which won the 2010 Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Literature Award. In 2022, his Modern Love essay from The New York Times was adapted by Amazon Studios for episodic television.

All comments are welcomed.