Caroline Mitchell’s previous novels include Witness, Murder Game, Sleep Tight and Death Note. Her latest novel, Truth and Lies, was published by on 30 August 2018.
Caroline answered a few of my questions.
1. Tell us a little about Truth and Lies.
Truth and lies features a detective inspector named Amy Winter who is desperate to follow in her superintendent father’s shoes. However after his funeral she receives a letter from prison and discovers her biological parents, Jack and Lillian Grimes, are ‘The Beasts of Brentwood,’ Britain’s worst serial killers. But Amy must put her horrors aside if she is to help the victims of the families whose lives the serial killer couple have blown apart.
2. What inspired the book?
When I began planning Amy Winter’s story, I wondered what awful thing that I could throw at her which would shake her to the core. My husband and I had been talking about genealogy, which made me wonder what it would be like to discover your parents were the worst serial killers Britain had ever known. Lots of my book ideas come from such musings. The idea took hold and Amy’s storyline was born.
3. Are you a plan, plan, plan writer or do you sit down and see where the words take you?
I’m a plotter to a certain extent. I plan and plot character arcs for the series as well as for each individual book, which is tricky when you don’t know how long the series will run for. Equally, I’m happy to allow my characters free rein and see where they take me. Some of my best endings and twists have come in right at the end.
4. Having been through the publishing process a number of times is there anything about the process of creating a novel that still surprises you?
Everything about novel writing surprises me. No two books are the same. Some can glide effortlessly from the first page to the last, while writing others can leave me tearing my hair out and ready to torch the lot. But that’s what I love about writing and being an author. It’s never boring and you never know what tomorrow will bring.
5. What do you do when you aren’t writing? What do you do to relax and get away from it all?
When I’m not writing I’m thinking about it. I often sit with a glazed over look on my face while scenes play out like movies in my head. I love it. There’s no getting away from it. I like boring things like walking the dog or watching Netflix, but even then, my characters are lurking in the back of my mind. You could say I’m obsessed!
6. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life which book would it be?
Stephen King has some whopping books, and I could read them ten times and still pick out something different from the story each time. The Stand is a great example of that.
7. I like to end my Q&As with the same question so here we go. During all the Q&As and interviews you’ve done what question have you not been asked that you wish had been asked – and what’s the answer?
Oh, that’s tough. I suppose the question would be who would I like to thank? I’m hugely grateful to readers and bloggers for spreading the word. It makes such a huge difference to authors and can even extend the life of a series when word gets around. Such is the power of recommendations. Thanks so much for your support on this tour.
About the book
Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.
DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.
Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.
While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.
But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?
About the author
A former police detective, Caroline Mitchell now writes full time.
She has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with the vulnerable victims—high-risk victims of domestic abuse and serious sexual offences. The mental strength shown by the victims of these crimes is a constant source of inspiration to her, and Mitchell combines their tenacity with her knowledge of police procedure to create tense psychological thrillers.
Originally from Ireland, she now lives in a pretty village on the coast of Essex with her husband and three children.
You can find out more about her at http://www.caroline-writes.com, or follow her on Twitter (@caroline_writes) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/CMitchellAuthor/).
(Synposis and author info taken from Amazon).
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