Laura Wolfe's Blog: Writing with Laura

Now Trending

A year or so ago, I was flipping through my options on Netflix, looking for a new show to binge-watch. Being the true crime addict that I am, a trending documentary about the mysterious disappearance of a young woman from a hotel in Los Angeles caught my eye. The documentary was called, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, and by the end of the first episode, I was completely hooked.

The documentary detailed the tragic story of a young Canadian tourist, Elisa Lam, who ventured out on her own for the first time in 2013 to travel to California. While in Los Angeles, she lodged at a trendy youth hostel called Stay on Main, which occupied several floors of another hotel, The Cecil Hotel. The two entities were in the same building and shared a common elevator. The Cecil, originally constructed in 1924, was an old building with a sordid past. Due to its proximity to skid row, the hotel often attracted a less-than-stellar clientele. During the 1980s, in particular, drug use by occupants of the Cecil ran rampant. Previous guests had been threatened, beaten, raped, and murdered behind its walls. Several suicides at the Cecil had also been documented.

Elisa Lam disappeared from the hotel without a trace, while her personal belongings remained in her hotel room. The only clue to her disappearance was several seconds of creepy footage from a camera mounted inside the elevator, which showed Elisa acting erratically. While glued to my screen, I had so many theories about what had happened to the young woman, and it turned out that all of them were wrong. The hotel’s sordid history was intriguing and I wondered if the building was somehow cursed. I was shocked that a woman could disappear from a busy hotel in the middle of a major city without anyone seeing something suspicious. The premise got me thinking…

What If?

Mostly because I could not get the story of Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel out of my head, the documentary inspired me to write my own tale about a missing woman, this time an Australian woman who was temporarily living in the U.S. Because I prefer to write what I know, I set my story in a ten-story 1920s building in Chicago, a city where I lived for nearly ten years of my life. I remembered what it felt like being a young woman and moving to a big city for the first time. It had been my first time living alone, without roommates, and I’d initially enjoyed the freedom of having my own space. But I also recalled how difficult it was to fall asleep those first few nights in the old apartment building. My ears weren’t used to the creaky floors and hissing pipes. It had been impossible to ignore the sirens frequently blaring somewhere in the distance and boisterous late-night conversations from people outside. Even then, the constant noises made me think that it would be difficult to know if someone else was inside my apartment.

Much like the story of the Cecil Hotel, my novel had to be set in a building with a sense of history and a feeling of “if only these walls could talk.” I created the fictional building in my story to further the unease surrounding the missing woman. The creaky elevator, thin walls, and shadowy storage cages in the basement all contribute to the unsettling atmosphere.

The Girl Before Me

With these ideas and memories swirling through my head, I sat down to write a harrowing tale of Rachel, a woman who realizes the woman who lived in the apartment before her, has gone missing… or worse. Now Rachel senses she may be the next victim. It’s important to note that the circumstances and ending of my story are much different than the tragic fate that met Elisa Lam. My intent was not to copy the documentary but to write my own version of it, featuring fictional characters, facts, and plot twists. The manuscript ended up as my psychological thriller, The Girl Before Me, which will be published by Bookouture on April 29th, 2022 (But is available for Pre-Order now!)

Back cover blurb:

I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late…

When Rachel moves into a new apartment with her young daughter, Lily, it’s with a huge sense of relief. After escaping an abusive marriage, this perfect downtown fourth-floor rental, within minutes from the lake, feels like the new beginning the two of them deserve.

It’s a place to call home. A place for them to grow together. A place for them to heal. And, as Lily starts at a nearby elementary school, and Rachel begins to develop feelings for her neighbor, Alex, who lives just down the hall, she dares to hope that their life is looking up.

But soon handwritten letters begin to arrive for someone called Annie. Alex says she was just the tenant who lived there before, who moved out one day without a word. Tentatively Rachel opens the first letter, intending to return it to the sender.

But the note says ‘Annie. I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late.’

Something happened to Annie. And Rachel is not nearly as safe as she thinks she is…

A totally unputdownable gripping thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and Gillian Flynn.

Pre-Order Here!

Has a real-life crime documentary inspired you to write a story? I’d love to hear about it!

I’m really excited because my next psychological thriller, The Girl Before Me, will be published by Bookouture on April 29th, 2022! (But it’s available for Pre-Order now!)

I’m so happy to be able to share more about this book with readers. I hope you love the cover as much as I do! 

From the back cover:

I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late…

When Rachel moves into a new apartment with her young daughter, Lily, it’s with a huge sense of relief. After escaping an abusive marriage, this perfect downtown fourth-floor rental, within minutes from the lake, feels like the new beginning the two of them deserve.

It’s a place to call home. A place for them to grow together. A place for them to heal. And, as Lily starts at a nearby elementary school, and Rachel begins to develop feelings for her neighbor, Alex, who lives just down the hall, she dares to hope that their life is looking up.

But soon handwritten letters begin to arrive for someone called Annie. Alex says she was just the tenant who lived there before, who moved out one day without a word. Tentatively Rachel opens the first letter, intending to return it to the sender.

But the note says ‘Annie. I’m so worried. You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late.’

Something happened to Annie. And Rachel is not nearly as safe as she thinks she is…

A totally unputdownable gripping thriller, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and Gillian Flynn.

Pre-Order Now!

Thanks for taking a minute to learn more about my upcoming release. If only those walls could talk!

Happy holiday season! I can’t believe we’re already halfway through December! This year has been a whirlwind – mostly in a good way. I will tell you more about my books and writing from the past twelve months at the end of this post, but first let’s spread some cheer.

My Favorite Reads of the Year

First up, my favorite reads of 2021! (Please note, some of these books were not necessarily published in 2021.) I had to check my Goodreads reading challenge to remember all the books I read, and (no surprise) most of them were psychological thrillers. So here were my 2021 reads that stood out from the rest:

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica — I absolutely love everything Mary Kubica writes and this one was right there at the top in terms of my favorite books she’s written, and that many of her books are set in Chicago, where I used to live. Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier — OMG! I was not expecting to love this book so much or to find a new favorite author to follow. This one kept me turning the pages from start to finish. The Guest List by Lucy Foley — I love a good locked-room mystery, and this one transported me to a distant island wedding where the guests were isolated by a storm and everyone was a suspect!One by One by Ruth Ware — This was another great locked-room mystery featuring a work trip at a ski resort gone murderously wrong. I’ve seen lots of mixed reviews for this one, but I really enjoyed it! Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle — I’ll admit that I found this one in a little free library near my house, and I’m SO GLAD I picked it up. It was my first book by this author and I DID NOT see that twist coming! I look forward to reading more of her books in the coming year. (I will buy them this time.)Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin — Double bonus for this one because it was written by one of my fellow Bookouture authors. It was so well-written and I never knew whether or not to trust the narrator, which is the thing I loved the most about it! Thank You!

Now I’d like to give a shoutout to a couple of authors who have gone above and beyond in supporting my books in the last year. It wasn’t too long ago that I was an Indie author and I very clearly remember how difficult it could be to find a readership without the backing of a large publisher. Here are a couple of Indie authors to look out for:

Author D.G. Driver — This is a Nashville-based author who writes a little bit of everything, from picture books to YA, and beyond. I became acquainted with D.G. when we both had YA books published by the same small publisher back in 2015. Since then, she has supported several of my books by reading, reviewing, and recommending them to others. I enjoyed her YA mystery, Lost at Sea, as well as her Juniper Sawfeather YA fantasy series, which is great for young readers who enjoy reading fantasy and/or are concerned about environmental issues. Her most recent release is a musical romance called Songwriter Night. It’s an audiobook filled with songs–perfect for the broadway musical and/or country music lover! You can view all of her books on her website: www.dgdriver.com

Author Joan Hall — I have never met Joan Hall in person, but I’ve noticed that she is usually one of the first people to read and review my books as they come out. I so appreciate her early reviews (and she writes great ones!) Joan writes mysteries and romantic suspense. I hope a few more people discover her books through this post. Please check out her books on her website: www.joanhall.net

My 2021 Highlights

As for my own books, I had a productive year. Her Best Friend’s Lie was published by Bookouture in March and eventually reached the Top 50 on the US Amazon Kindle store! It was also recently named as a favorite read of 2021 by Nicki’s Life of Crime book blog! In November, We Live Next Door, my fourth novel with Bookouture, was published and reached Amazon’s Top 10 Kindle Bestseller in Psychological Fiction and reached the Top 100 in the Amazon UK Kindle store!

What’s coming in 2022? I have recently completed structural edits to my next psychological thriller, The Girl Before Me, coming from Bookouture in April 2022. I’m REALLY excited about this one, set in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, because it’s scary and has a killer twist that I hope readers won’t see coming.

I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who has supported my books in some way this past year. I greatly appreciate it!

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-large-file="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-attachment-id="3467" data-permalink="https://suspensewithatwist.com/2021/1..." data-orig-file="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-orig-size="867,1300" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="happy new year text" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com

" data-medium-file="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-large-file="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." srcset="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr... 600w,https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr... 867w" alt="" data-height="1300" data-id="3467" data-link="https://suspensewithatwist.com/?attac..." data-url="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-width="867" src="https://writingwithlaura.files.wordpr..." data-amp-layout="responsive" />

I feel like it’s been a long run-up to this one… Literally, months of revising, copy editing, polishing, proofreading, and watching with trepidation as the early reviews started rolling in. And now my newest psychological thriller, WE LIVE NEXT DOOR, is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible formats!

Publication Day was three days ago and I’m a little late getting this post out because it’s been a whirlwind. One of the highlights was this gorgeous and delicious cake I received from my editor and the team at Bookouture! The main character in my book dreams of opening a cake shop, so this was the PERFECT gift!

From the Back Cover

You think you know the people next door… What if they know you better?

I always dreamed of moving back home to Ridgeview Pines, with its white fences and sloping lawns. I wish it had happened under different circumstances, but now I’m here I feel safe and ready for a fresh start with my little family.

The first thing I do every morning is pick up my phone and check The Neighbor List—our local message board. Maybe the people next door know a little too much about where their neighbors are and what they’re doing, but it’s safer that way, isn’t it? And my husband—he wouldn’t dare sneak behind my back with so many eyes watching.

Just when I’m beginning to relax, a woman I’ve known since I was small is found dead on the white tiles of her bathroom floor. I watch messages of condolence flood my screen. No one else suspects a thing.

But I know that among all these friendly people, watching out for one another, someone knows more than they’re sharing. And I wonder—how far back do they remember, and who’s next?

An utterly gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of  The Couple Next Door, The Woman in the Window  and  Behind Closed Doors.

Readers are loving  We Live Next Door :

“Wow, just holy wow. This was a brilliant read. Set aside plenty of time to read in without a workday. It had my head spinning on the guilty person… Just get it, you will not stop until your jaw drops.” NetGalley reviewer

“WOW WOW WOW! I absolutely loved this!” Goodreads reviewer

“Great book!! Wow what a storyline! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, and whoa so many twists and turns!!” Goodreads reviewer

“Had me gripped from the very first page and did not let go until the very last. Clear your schedule, because once you start this shocking and completely addictive thriller, you will not be able to stop.” Goodreads reviewer

Thanks for celebrating Publication with me! If you enjoy reading dark and twisty psychological thrillers, I hope you’ll check out We Live Next Door!

Behind the Book

Curious about what inspired me to write We Live Next Door? It’s all here in this article Behind the Book published in Crimespree Magazine!

November 2021 Issue

I’ve been reading The Big Thrill every month for years. For those who are unfamiliar, The Big Thrill is a monthly publication produced by the International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization. I found it THRILLING to be contacted for an interview prior to the upcoming release of my new psychological thriller, We Live Next Door. (coming Nov. 5th from Bookouture!)

Click HERE for the interview!

Please visit the link above and discover more about my newest domestic thriller and the inspiration behind it. It was fun answering the questions about my book and the characters! Thanks for checking it out!

Pre-Order We Live Next Door HERE!

I apologize for not posting in a while. I’ve been busy with summer activities and writing novels! Today, I’m so excited to reveal the cover of my upcoming psychological thriller WE LIVE NEXT DOOR. It will be published by Bookouture on November 5th, 2021 and is available for pre-order now. I think the cover designers really nailed this one. I hope you like it as much as I do!

So without further delay…

Pre-Order on AmazonFrom the back cover …

I never wanted to hurt her. But what she wrote… it changed everything.

The pretty, leafy suburb of Ridgeview Pines is everything Jessica Millstone had ever dreamed of. The white picket fences, the neatly manicured lawns, the matching little post-boxes with their tiny red flags, right at the front of everyone’s yards. It’s the perfect place for Jessica and Mark to raise their three-year-old daughter, Isabelle, the perfect place to be a family.

Even when a neighbor has a tragic accident. Even when Isabelle falls unexpectedly from her high-chair. Even when strange messages begin appearing on Jessica’s phone, most people think nothing bad can happen here.

Because in Ridgeview Pines, everyone’s watching each other. And it’s all being noted down on an app called ‘The Neighbor List’. Everyone uses it, and most of the time it makes them all feel safe, secure, protected.

But telling tales on your neighbors is also a way to make enemies… And it turns out that even in the safest suburb, there are people who’d kill to protect the secrets they are hiding behind their front doors…

A totally and utterly gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of The Mother-in-Law, The Woman in the Window and Big Little Lies.

For my fellow Midwesterners, this one is set in a fictional suburb of Detroit. I wonder what suburban secrets are lurking behind those windows.

Thanks for checking out my upcoming release!

About a month ago, my family and I embarked upon an epic journey into the unknown. We took a blind leap of faith, having no idea the pitfalls that lay before us and the true cost of our endeavor. Yep, we decided to renovate a bathroom. (Those of you who have lived through home renovations know what I’m talking about.) I was hesitant about the remodel because the bathroom in question shares a wall with my writing space, and I’m easily distracted by loud noises. Our contractor told us the remodel would take two weeks, which didn’t sound so bad… We gave the green light.

Oh, how naive and gullible I was! I would be laughing if I wasn’t crying. There was no way we could have known about that giant pipe running through the wall that was demolished or that our insulation wasn’t up to code. We couldn’t have foreseen that the floor leveler would leak into our downstairs bathroom, fill the pipes and harden. (I wish I was making this up, but I’m not.)

[image error]

Anyway, the project, while several weeks behind schedule, is slowly moving forward despite the setbacks, and I’m not here only to complain. I’m sure the bathroom will be nice when it’s done and I’ve gotten used to writing at my kitchen table with my dog barking at every person who enters and leaves. The purpose of this post is to reveal a silver lining to this ongoing project. Anyone who has read my books knows that I love mysteries, and now I have my own personal one to solve.

When the workers tore down the bathroom wall to gain space into a neighboring closet, they discovered a yellowing newspaper clipping shoved into the wall, dated May 1964. Our house was built back in 1931 and has tons of history, but apparently the last time this bathroom was remodeled was 1964 (not too surprising, as that’s exactly what it looked like!) I don’t know if it’s normal behavior to place a dated relic into the floor or wall when doing renovations, but I’d never heard of anyone doing this before. The discovery felt so intriguing and mysterious, like someone from the past offering a clue to whoever could find it. I could just imagine a long-ago owner thinking to him or herself, I bet fifty years from now someone is going to tear down this wall. Let’s leave them something.

Actual newspaper clipping found in our wall

The article was ripped but still readable: Suddenly its’ a Snap to get to Fly to all South America (For fun or profit). The discovery of a message in the wall reminds me of so many books I’ve read, particularly historical fiction, where relics and clues are found hidden inside the bones of an old house, ultimately solving a decades-old mystery.

So what does this one mean? What was the previous owner trying to tell me? Maybe they were eager to flee to South America. But why? A vacation seems unlikely. Were they involved in a drug deal gone wrong? Or implicated in a murder? Is it some sort of secret code where I take the first letter of each word and read it backwards? Maybe Jimmy Hoffa is buried under out house and the previous owner is offering an escape route. My psychological thriller writer’s brain is going nuts with sordid possibilities. Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of it…

Now that our bathroom walls are (seemingly, indefinitely) open, I can’t help feeling like I should leave my own message for a future owner. I think it would be funny to creep out someone thirty or forty years from now by leaving a note scrawled in red marker that says, “Help Me!” I’d be referring to the bathroom renovation, of course, but they wouldn’t know that. (Hee, hee.) Alternatively, maybe a warning to rethink their remodeling project before they get in too deep. Something like, “It’s not worth it. Close the walls back up.”

In the end, I hope the renovation is worth it. Maybe I’ll post an “after” photo when it’s all over.

Have you ever discovered something tantalizing and mysterious inside your walls? Tell me about it!

My new release, originally titled The Lake House, now has a new title–Her Best Friend’s Lie. This change was made three weeks after its publication on March 17th, 2021, and, hopefully, will not confuse any readers. Everything else about the book remains exactly the same!

My publisher (Bookouture) gave me the title change news a few days ago after doing some market testing. While I was fine with the old title, I think the new title better encapsulates the story. It hints at secrets between friends, rather than just a house where people’s lives are in danger. While Her Best Friend’s Lie contains elements of horror (e.g. multiple murders), my novel is a psychological thriller at heart. I’m happy this new title conveys that message in a clear way in order to attract the most appropriate readers to my book. I hope you like the new title too!

How much does a book’s title influence your decision to read it? Have you ever been misled by a title? Tell me about it!

Every once in a while, a book blogger’s review of one of my books makes me jump for joy. I hope you don’t mind if I share this recent review by Nicki’s Life of Crime of The Lake House because this review made all of my pre-publication anxiety seem worth it! Click the link below to read the full review.

Nicki`s Life of Crime : BLOG TOUR,BOOK REVIEW – The Lake House by Laura Wolfe

Thanks for checking it out!

Has anyone ever gotten you out of a slump by writing a spectacular review? Tell me about it!

There are secrets beneath the surface

I’m taking a breath because my newest psychological thriller, The Lake House, was published yesterday by Bookouture! I’ve been wanting to write my own version of “locked room” mystery for some time now, and I’m happy to say I’ve now accomplished that goal with my story of a girls’ weekend gone murderously wrong. For anyone who is intrigued by the concept of false friendship or who enjoys reading dark, twisty, fast-paced murder mysteries, I hope you’ll check this one out. It makes a spine-tingling poolside or beach read!

One of the most stressful parts of publishing is waiting for the first reviews to come in. My publisher made my book available on Netgalley about six weeks before publication, so I was lucky enough to garner some early reviews. Here’s what some of those readers said about The Lake House…

Finally, here’s a little blurb from the back cover:

You can always trust your closest friends. Can’t you?

This trip was a chance to reconnect away from our busy lives. The five of us used to be so close—going right back to our college days, when we shared a rickety house and all our favorite clothes, as well as every high and low of our lives—but that was then.

Now, the thought of three days in a small cabin far from anywhere, surrounded only by water and trees, with my four oldest friends makes my stomach sink and my hands sweat. Because if they knew what I’d done—the betrayals I’ve committed—they’d never forgive me. And neither would you.

The straight-A student, the sports star with a bright future ahead of her, the sheltered girl who blossomed away from her family and the hippie child who was going to save the world. Their lives have turned out so differently to how we pictured all those years ago. I try not to think about why.

But then danger strikes, and too late I discover I’m not the only one keeping secrets. And I wonder: who will go furthest to keep the truth hidden?

Gripping, addictive and totally unputdownable, The Lake House will have you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Big Little Lies.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my new release. I hope your weekend getaways go much, much better than the one I’ve portrayed in my book!

Until next time, happy reading!