Cat and Mouse

It's publication day for And Then She Ran my second psychological thriller, described as a cat-and-mouse story as the main character Grace flees America with her baby, but suspects she's being followed.

I've always enjoyed the cat-and-mouse plot element in fiction, the pursuit, near capture and flight, the near misses and showdown, the psychological dance between characters that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I've read and watched many stories on this theme over the years and have picked out a few of my favourites.

1.  Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart

A classic cat-and-mouse tale set in the south of France where a war widow becomes involved with a gang of murderers and a plot to kidnap a young boy and has to figure out who the villains are. Plenty of twists and turns in a story that stands the test of time.

2. The Split by Sharon Bolton

One of the best books I read last year, described as 'a chilling, pulse-racing, emotionally charged thriller about a woman on the run, a deadly cat-and-mouse game at the edge of the world' which I agree wholeheartedly with. Gripping stuff.

3. The Serpent BBC

The true story of the so-called 'hippie-trail killer' Charles Sobhraj, accused of murdering Western tourists in the seventies who plays a long cat-and-mouse game with the police over many years. Great performances - and outfits.

4. YOU Netflix

A stalker/serial-killer series adapted from Caroline Kepnes' novel of the same name, with an oddly charming and likeable protagonist in bookshop owner, Joe (despite him being a stalker/serial killer.)

5. Strangers on a Train 1951

The Alfred Hitchcock film, based on the book by Patricia Highsmith, is a classic cat-and-mouse tale and one of my favourites - a chance meeting between two men on a train, speculating what it would be like to commit the perfect murder, with a private investigator on their case. A brilliantly constructed story.

6. Unsane 2018

A film starring Claire Foy as a woman who tries to join a support group after being pursued by a stalker and finds herself trapped in a psychiatric hospital. It's shot on iPhone, adding to the unsettling atmosphere of being stuck in your worst nightmare fighting to be believed. It veered a little too close to horror at times - I'm a coward - but well worth a watch if you're braver than me.

Published at HQ Stories 28/4/21

Another day, another book.

The end of March saw the digital release of The Perfect Nanny, the second thriller by me and the lovely Amanda Brittany. The paperback and audiobook will be out in May.

In the meantime, I've completed edits for my second thriller And Then She Ran, and the proof copy has been receiving lovely reviews on NetGalley. It's a little bit odd to know the words I've written are being read by strangers, but a massive relief that they don't hate them all.

Now, I'm pressing on with my next book, provisionally titled Her Sister's Child as I like to have a title while I'm writing, even though it will undoubtedly change before publication. My deadline is May 5th and I'm nowhere near finished (as usual) but hoping now I'm getting to know my characters that the words will keep flowing.

I don't know how it's April already, it's been exceptionally cold with a flurry of snow this morning, but things are blooming in the garden and I've been out hedge-cutting and chatting to a friendly robin. I tend not to notice anything about the garden during winter, then one day, when the wind is in the right direction, I zone in, cut the grass, replant the flower pots and declare that summer has arrived (even if it's snowing.)

It's good exercise, considering I've eaten my own body weight in Easter eggs over the weekend. Sadly, sitting about writing doesn't burn many calories though at the rate I'm going, I'll be writing so many words a day for the rest of the month, I'll be a shadow of my former self when I've finished.