Book after Book

By Denise Mina Published by Harvill Secker Synopsis: The morning starts as any other for Anna McDonald. But the moment she opens the front door to her best friend, everything changes. Anna turns to see her husband standing at the top of the stairs, suitcase in hand. They’re leaving, together. And they’re taking Anna’s two daughters with them. With her safe, predictable world suddenly shattered, Anna tries to drown out the pain of their deceit by listening to a true crime podcast. There’s a sunken yacht, a multiple murder and a hint of power and corruption. But when Anna hears the name of one of the victims, she realises that this is a murder she can’t ignore. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent. To escape the trauma of her loss, Anna throws herself into investigating the case in the podcast. Little does she know that her past and present lives are about to collide, and throw everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall. How did ...

Hi Denise ! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of  Conviction ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: A woman is listening to a true crime podcast and realises that she knows the accused. Her husband walks out on her and she decides to go and solve the crime on the podcast. Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: No! I did have the last scene in my head though because the book is all about story forms and there was one story scene that I’ve always loved and wanted to incorporate but the murderer changes several times. I never start knowing what I’m doing. It's what makes it so exciting! What kind of research, if any, did you have to carry out while you were writing this novel? In general, is research something you enjoy or a means to an end? A: I adore research but can get too carried away. The book is a road trip aro...