Q&A WITH RACHEL ABBOTT: #1 BESTSELLING INDIE AUTHOR
This week we're utterly thrilled to feature #1 bestselling indie author Rachel Abbott!
Rachel Abbott is the bestselling author of the DCI Tom Douglas thrillers, which have sold over 4 million copies in the English language and have been translated into more than 20 languages.
She is also the author of the Stephanie King series, published by Wildfire Books. The first in this series, And So It Begins, was a Sunday Times top thriller of 2019.
Join Rachel's reading group, Rachel Abbott's Partners in Crime, and get a FREE short story!
Q: Your debut novel, the introduction to DCI Tom Douglas, is set in London. When did you decide to base subsequent books in the series in Manchester?
A: Only the Innocent was planned as a one-off thriller – never part of a series – but the readers seemed to love Tom, so he became a permanent fixture. He was always a Manchester man, but I felt the setting for Only the Innocent had to be London, so I decided he had to move there for family reasons. By the time the novel was published, my second novel – The Back Road – was half written and set in Cheshire, but I managed to sneak Tom in by giving him a sabbatical! That allowed me to take Tom back home to Manchester for the rest of the series. As it’s a city that I know well and I have family there who are more than willing to do any research to fill in the gaps, it seemed the best solution.
Q: What do readers like most about your books?
A: That’s a difficult question for me to answer! I think/hope that they find the situations credible, and the characters are people they can relate to. I like to believe that my readers will wonder: ‘What would I do if this happened to me?’ and for that, the dilemmas need to feel realistic. I never worry too much about readers guessing who the bad guy is. I think my stories are far more about the why than the who.
Q: Which writers would you say influence and inspire you the most?
A: Too many to mention, but I would have to say that some of Harlan Coben’s early books really struck me as being both credible and complex. I loved the idea of a man believing his wife to be dead, and then eight years later he receives an email with a message that could only be from her. It’s the whole sense of what is happening here? that intrigues me, and he is the master.
Q: You share cooking recipes with your readers – where did the idea come from?
A: When I was developing the idea of Tom Douglas, I wanted him to have a life outside the police – to be a real person. In Only the Innocent, he is cooking for himself, so I mentioned (briefly) a pasta dish which we eat regularly, and which takes only the time it takes to cook the pasta (and it’s delicious). So I decided Tom could make that after work one evening, when he’s hungry and doesn’t have a lot of time. The man has to eat! Readers asked how to make it, so I put it in a newsletter. By then I was already well into writing the second book, much of which is based around a dinner party, and for that, of course, there had to be a menu! I chose food I love to cook and eat, and added those recipes to my website. And Tom had the opportunity to cook up a curry or two in that book as well. That’s how the idea began, and now I have a Hungry Detective section on my website (under Bonus Content). And yes – I love to cook, principally because I love to eat!
Q: Who would be your ideal choice to play Tom Douglas in a TV/film adaptation and why?
A: Jack Davenport. No question about it, for me at least. It’s been him for years now, although I know everyone has a different view. Jack Davenport is the right height, hair colour and he’s the right age. He’s a good-looking guy who I believe can play it straight, but who also has the ability to be both stroppy (as Tom is occasionally) and thoughtful. I think he would be perfect.
Q: What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
A: There have been so many, but other than the first time I reached the top position in the Amazon chart – a huge moment – I guess a highlight must be when, back in 2015, I was listed in the Amazon top sellers on Kindle over the previous five years. It wasn’t the fact that I was the top of the independent bestseller list that thrilled me the most. It was the fact that, despite having only written four books by then, I was the fourteenth bestselling author across all authors – including all those traditionally published – and the list put me ahead of authors such as Jeffrey Archer and JoJo Moyes. I was thrilled by the thought that readers loved my books so much. Readers are the reason I write, and every great review is just another highlight.
Q: How can our readers reach you?
The best way to keep in touch is via my mailing list. I keep readers informed about upcoming releases and special offers and also recommend other authors’ books (and the occasional recipe!). Readers can sign up here: www.rachel-abbott.com/contact-w.
I can be found on:
And I have a Facebook Group – Rachel Abbott’s Partners in Crime
Readers can find my latest novel – No More Lies – in bookshops, or on Amazon here.
OUT NOW — £3.49 | $4.81
Life's been good for Mallory: a great job, a lovely home and a wonderful man, Nathan, to share it with.
But now, a shocking accusation has been made against Nathan and Mallory doesn’t know who to believe. She finds herself being pulled into a web of mistrust.
DCI Tom Douglas must try to unravel the past and discover who is the architect of their misery.