Unsolved robbery makes novel idea
Staff writer
A long-unsolved bank robbery in a quiet Marion County community has inspired a new novel by local author Thane Schwartz, who recently released his tenth book, Tumor: A Love Story.
The book draws loose inspiration from a 2002 robbery of Pilsen State Bank, a case that has never been solved, Schwartz said
“It’s just the fact that it hasn’t been solved yet,” he said. “It seems like that would have been solved a while back. And it’s just a little town like Lincolnville.”
Though rooted in the mystery, the novel is fiction and shifts the story to the 1970s, allowing Schwartz to draw from his own experiences living overseas.
“I lived in Korea in the mid-’70s,” he said. “So I needed to be able to grab onto some things for the character to go through.”
The book follows a struggling Kansas farm teenager who robs a small-town bank, hides the money, and joins the Army in an attempt to escape suspicion. Much of the story takes place overseas, where the character attempts to outrun both federal authorities and his own guilt.
Schwartz did not formally interview law enforcement officers or others connected to the original case, relying instead on general knowledge and speculation.
“It is a work of fiction,” he said. “I didn’t talk to anybody.”
The real-life robbery’s lack of resolution continues to intrigue him.
“Everybody’s pointed their fingers at certain people,” Schwartz said. “Well, if they did it, the feds would have got them by now.”
While the book centers on crime, its core is something else, Schwartz said.
“It’s a love story kind of thing,” he said. “It comes full circle. Even though he steals the money, maybe something good happens with it.”
Schwartz described the novel as intentionally jarring in tone.
“Even though it can be profane and not the nicest at times, that’s the way life is,” he said.
The book took eight months to complete, part of a steady writing routine that Schwartz said occupies several hours each day.
“I’m writing from 11 p.m. until 2 or 3 in the morning,” he said. “It seems like I’m always spitting out a book.”
“Tumor: A Love Story” differs from much of his previous work by avoiding overt political themes.
“This book has no politics in it,” he said.
The novel is self-published and available through Amazon.
Schwartz does not plan public appearances or events tied to the release.
“I keep it kind of low key,” he said.
Despite its fictional framing, Schwartz acknowledged that the story could draw renewed attention to the decades-old robbery.
“Maybe it will open up a can of worms,” he said.