Crime fiction is the fiction of social history. Societies get the crimes they deserve.

Journalism is a Darwinian process.

I came from this very traditional background and I benefited hugely from feminism. I felt privileged going to university and doing a PhD. Most people of my background don't get to do that.

Most of the people who write to me are really clever, really engaged. They just want to say that they have read my book and liked it.

We don't really go in for big family dinners, but Scottish people are famously confrontational. It's a cultural thing, so maybe we don't need to have them to clear the air. Also, traditional family food isn't as nice here so there's no payoff for traveling hundreds of miles.

Even if people do wrong, we're social animals, so what can we do about stopping them doing the same things in future? Saying people are 'bad' or 'evil' is just an unwillingness to engage; an unwillingness to try to empathise. That sanctimonious attitude doesn't help anyone

I grew up in London under Thatcher and that really was disgusting. A feeding frenzy.