A Q&A WITH KATE BRAITHWAITE
Since this is your psychological thriller debut, what inspired you to transition from historical fiction, and how has the writing process differed?
The historical fiction I write is based on real events and real people. That means there’s a whole world of reading and research to do before writing a single word. My first task is always to find the story and decide which character will tell it best. After I finished The Scandalous Life of Nancy Randolph, I had an idea for another historical novel but still needed to do so much more prep work. At the same time, I wanted to keep writing. My other favorite genre as a reader is psychological thrillers so I decided to have a go and see what happened. NANCY was a sister story, and they are something of an obsession of mine, (I have a whole Substack devoted to them). I started thinking about a sister story with lots of secrets that would also be a ‘then’ and ‘now’ set up, simply because I love to read books structured like that.
I’ve always read crime fiction and had crime elements in my historical novels, so the jump felt quite natural, but it was a different process in some ways. These characters all come from my imagination, and they’re not bound by historical events. Nothing was pre-determined, and one character in particular took on a life of their own! I relished the freedom to set the story in locations I know and draw on my own life experiences — at least up to a point. I’m happy to say I’ve no first-hand experience of murder, disappearances, or fake relationships! But there was still research to do and much of the business of novel writing — character development, plot-building, creating conflict — was the same, although with a thriller there’s also a lot of work behind scenes to pull off the twists and surprises we all love to read. Overall, it was a fun experience. I enjoyed it and hope readers will too!
What are some of your favourite psychological thrillers?
I’m a big fan of Lisa Jewell, Mary Kubica, Megan Miranda, Sally Hepworth, Ruth Ware, Gillian McAllister, Paula Hawkins, Riley Sager, Rosamund Lupton . . . I’m not kidding when I say that this is one of my favorite genres. Every month I post a round-up of the books I’ve read on Instagram, and you can see all those authors recommended there.
What was the most interesting topic you researched for this novel?
Death! Quite a few people get killed off in the novel and I have no medical background, so I bought several books by D. P. Lyle MD based on his column for Mystery Writers of America where writers pose crazy questions, and he answers them. I could sit and read them all day! Here are some examples:
- Is there a drug or poison that mimic’s death but allows the victim to survive?
- Will a body encased in concrete mummify?
- What injuries occur when someone is thrown down a stairway?
- What’s the best way to kill someone with a knitting needle?
How would you describe THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR in 3 words?
Sisters, secrets, surprises.
How will you celebrate the publication day of THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR?
Just like it says in the blurb for the book, I’ll be enjoying a margarita or two with my ex-neighbors, now very best friends, who still live in the neighborhood where my fictional story is set.