It’s been a couple of months since I last posted but I have not been idle. I munched my way through The Butcher’s Boy,’ for which he won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel, back in the day. As a portrait of how a hit man evades the law, it’s sensational. Now I’m on to ‘Small Mercies’ by one of my favourite writers, Dennis Lehane.

On screen, I’ve been mesmerised by the BBC production of ‘Guilt.’ Following a hit and run, two brothers, one a dodgy lawyer played by Mark Bonnar, attempt to cover their tracks and come up against serious organised crime. There’s a blistering performance by Phyllis Logan as a crime boss. Set in Scotland  (Edinburgh and Leith get a grand showing) the thriller runs to three four part series and comes highly recommended.

And the big news for me: this month sees the release of the audio of ‘My Daughter’s Secrets,’ courtesy of Podium Audio. 

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with Hannah Curtis’s wonderful rendition of my novel. She breathes life into my characters in a way that I never dreamt possible. The story focuses on Grace Neville and her overwhelming grief following the murder of her only daughter, Tara. Yes, this is a crime novel  – who really killed Grace’s daughter? Yes, it’s about the devastating consequences of a miscarriage of justice. Yes, it’s about how teenage girls can be manipulated by unscrupulous sexual predators. But at its heart, and what makes it tick, (no pun intended) it’s a story about the unconditional love between mother and child. 

I saw a perceptive review recently that wondered whether the author had lost a child or someone close. I haven’t lost a child, thank goodness, but I did draw on my own painful childhood experience of loss and I think in My Daughter’s Secrets this, more than in any other story I’ve ever written, it comes through. I hope somewhere my own mum is thinking that’s my girl.  

The audio version of My Daughter’s Secrets will be released on 20th June, 2023.