fiction book of the month
EVERY LAST SUSPECT
Nicola Moriarty
$ 32.99 $ 27.99 available 5 june
Our Fiction Book of the Month for June is Every Last Suspect by Nicola Moriarty . This domestic thriller is Nicola at her best . As Harriet lays dying and is trying to figure out who did it , we are told the story through the perspectives of the main suspects who had motive to kill her . Every Last Suspect has a narrative driven plot that expertly weaves together many twists and turns that will keep you guessing right until the end ! This is an enjoyable , pacey read that we are excited to share with you ( warning – you may not be able to put it down !).
Congratulations on being the Collins Fiction Book of the Month ! Can you tell us a bit about your new book ?
Thank you so much ! Yes , of course . Every Last Suspect opens with Harriet , a woman who is meant to be celebrating her 40th birthday , coming to and discovering that she is lying face down on the floor , bleeding from a wound on the back of her head . She can ’ t move , she doesn ’ t know what ’ s happened to her and she knows that she doesn ’ t have much time left . So she decides that the only thing she can do , before she dies , is figure out who murdered her .
This book is full of twists and turns ! How challenging is it to keep revealing small snippets of information throughout the narrative to keep readers guessing ‘ who did it ’ right until the end ?
Extremely challenging ! At first as I ’ m writing , I usually don ’ t know myself what the outcome will be , and so I guess that means I ’ m uncovering the answers along with the reader as I go ... but of course , eventually I have to come up with a solution . Afterwards , I then spend a lot of time going back through the book , making changes to ensure I haven ’ t given away something too early and leaving hints . It can be difficult at that stage as I try to find the right balance with those clues and find myself second-guessing if I ’ m revealing new information at the right time or not ... but it ’ s also a lot of fun creating that sense of mystery and hoping I ’ ve pulled it off .
Harriet – who is dying and trying to figure out who killed her – is a complicated character who seems to control all those around her . Was she a fun character to write ?
Yes and no . On the one hand , I did have a lot of fun with her because she has these villainous aspects that can be quite entertaining to explore ... but on the other hand , I realised I had to be careful not to make her too dark or unlikeable because it was important that readers still cared enough about her to want to solve the mystery with her . The more I explored her character , the more I grew to like her myself and I ’ m hopeful that readers might feel the same way about her . She ’ s difficult to love , she has so many flaws , but she has her reasons , and she does care about the people in her life .
The book weaves together numerous plot elements that all build up to the final climax . Do you start the writing process knowing how the story will end or does the story change and evolve as you write ?
I definitely never know how any of my books will end when I first start them . I always start with a simple scene – just the spark of an idea , often a question of ‘ what if ’. For example , in some of my previous books : What if you found a hidden letter written by a friend , threatening to hurt someone in your friendship group ; what if your new boyfriend ’ s ex started stalking you ; or what if you came across a car accident and realised you knew the victims in the cars ? So Every Last Suspect started with the question : What if you knew you were dying , and you had to use your final minutes to solve your own murder ?
I then just start writing and see where it goes , and the story evolves so much throughout the process ... which means plenty of editing is needed after the first draft once I do finally know how it ’ s all going to work out in the end .
Every Last Suspect is a domestic thriller with all the drama to draw the reader in : envy , affairs , complicated friendships , revenge . What is it that draws you to writing this genre ?
I think I ’ m always drawn to writing the same kinds of books as I like to read , which has shifted a little over the years and so my writing has shifted with my own likes and dislikes . At the moment , I really enjoy anything with a good twist , a hint of darkness and a satisfying ending , so that ’ s what I try to produce with my own work . But I guess over time that may shift again if my mood changes !
What do you hope readers will get out of this book ?
I ’ d love for them to get to know Harriet and come to understand her and empathise with her in the same way that I did as I was creating her character . And I ’ m hoping that they ’ ll have a good sense of satisfaction with how it all works out in the end . But mostly , I just really want them to enjoy the mystery ... As long as I can keep them turning the pages , I ’ m happy .
Do you have any plans for your next book ?
I have some snippets of ideas ... but once again , nothing is fully formed and I don ’ t quite have that one main ‘ what if ’ question that I usually like to start with . However , over the last few years I ’ ve been involved in a local soccer club ( as a player , a parent , a coach and a committee member ) and I ’ m feeling keen to explore that world as I think it might be the perfect setting for my next big mystery .
Finally , do you have any recommendations of books you have loved recently ?
I ’ m loving every single book that B . M . Carroll brings out , her characters are always so complex and clever . I also recently devoured Dark Mode by Ashley Kalagian Blunt , which was absolutely riveting and I definitely recommend anything by the extremely talented Dinuka McKenzie !
fiction
EDENHOPE
Louise Le Nay
$ 34.99
available 4 june
Marnie is 63 and downwardly mobile . Her middle-class marriage is long gone , her only child
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more or less estranged . She ’ s living in a granny flat behind a stranger ’ s house . Things could be worse . She likes her new boss , Trinh , and her flat has a leadlight window depicting a galleon in full sail . Also , her daughter Lenny has just brought Marnie ’ s adored grandchildren to stay . She ’ s also brought her repellent boyfriend and raging drug habit , so nothing new there . But this time it ’ s different . Marnie can see with absolute clarity the danger the children are in and this time she ’ s going to do something about it . This is the revelatory story of an |
ordinary woman who will let nothing , not even the law , stand in the way of her grandchildren ’ s safety .
THE DESERT KNOWS HER NAME
Lia Hills
$ 34.99
‘ Listen deeply now , if you remember how and why .’ On a hot October afternoon , a girl walks
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barefoot out of the Wimmera desert , near the small town of Gatyekarr . She finds sanctuary with Beth , a regenerative farmer and collector of seeds , devoted to bringing her family ’ s farm back to life . The arrival of the mysterious ‘ desert girl ’ unsettles the community and old tensions erupt . The longer the girl stays silent , the more volatile the town becomes . Who is she and what does her presence mean ? The Desert Knows Her Name is an exquisite novel that speaks to a deep longing for connection with the land , and the silences that persist in contemporary Australia . |
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