Lynn Gray

Make / Believe Lynn Gray

Make/Believe is set in contemporary urban Los Angeles and focuses on the suspected kidnapping/murder of a middle-aged Hispanic woman. Her husband reports that she has been murdered after he finds blood in their house and his wife gone. The police find no blood, and so begins a tangled tale of conflicting perceptions, remembrances, histories and secrets. The story proceeds forwards in time as clues to the "crime" are discovered and backwards as possible motives for the crime are revealed. Make/Believe explores the impact of how the person with "the best story" often determines our perceptions of reality and truth; i.e., how frequently it isn't the most logical or believable story that is deemed the truth but the story that satisfies an emotional need, such as that of revenge or justice. And that even with all the information-gathering technology available in forensics and other areas, access to more information does not necessarily lead to clarity but often just the opposite. In a sense, Make/Believe is not a "who-done-it?" but rather a "was-something-done?" and if so, what was it? It is written almost entirely in dialogue, like a courtroom drama, so the stories that are heard are not interpreted by an author or character and the reader is left to decide not only who is telling what they believe is the truth but who is no longer capable of determining what is true and what is imaginary.