LE PORTRAIT MAGAZINE MARCH-SEPTEMBER ISSUE | Page 51

greatest thrill, although it came at a difficult time: her father was dying
in hospital. Did he know the novel had been accepted? “Just,” she says.
Did she ever terrify herself with what she wrote? “Yes,” she laughs,
“and I know some people will go, ‘How long have you had thoughts like
this?’” To which, she imagines herself replying: “Doesn’t
everybody?” KK
The Butcher’s Hook is published 25 February, Hodder & Stoughton,
£14.99.
Nicholas Searle: ‘All novelists aspire to tell lies. So in that sense, I do
hope I’m a good liar’

Nicholas Searle’s tricky plot is inspired by a conman he encountered in
real life. Photograph: Karen Robinson for the Observer
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