DuBOIS — R.H. Emmers had past lives as a journalist and private investigator but always felt called to write.
Today, he’s an acclaimed short story writer and now the author of a new political thriller, “The Secret History.” The novel is a story of deceit, conspiracy and violence set in 2024 with Donald Trump dead and Ron DeSantis poised to win the presidency.
It was a fascination with the real-life murder of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Mexico that led Emmers to write “The Secret History.” That was coupled with an interest in the dirty underside of the intelligence business.
“At its core it’s about the men and women who control the intelligence apparatus, the faceless ones who pull the strings, for good or for ill,” Emmers said. “Were they responsible for the torture and murder of a U.S. drug agent in Mexico?” He added, “And it’s also about the obsession that takes over the main character: an obsession to do what’s necessary, not necessarily what’s right.”
As a private investigator and later as an investigator for an insurance company that sold many high-end disability policies, Emmers concentrated on fraudulent claims. Some of the claims were incredibly complicated and difficult to unravel, requiring months of work and numerous interviews.
It was as a journalist that Emmers learned how to get the most out of an interview subject.
“I learned how to listen to what they’re really saying,” he said. “When I was a private investigator, my partner was an ex-cop. I was a better interviewer because, in my opinion, he was accustomed to people having to talk to him while I had to work at it.”
“Newspaper work taught me that what is most true is often what is most hidden and that it’s a writer’s job to find that truth,” Emmers said.
Emmers grew up in the State College area and got his start in journalism at the Centre Daily Times.
“The Secret History” is available for purchase on Amazon. Learn more at rhemmers.com.
