Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.

People with children and people with their own business always pick up a ringing phone.

Generally my typical books have lots of twists and turns a big surprise ending and then usually another surprise at the end and ideally, as in Garden of Beasts, we get to the very end and we find at the last few pages that there's yet another surprise.

So I work hard to present the human side of my characters while not neglecting the plot.

I like the way words go together and I like the gamesmanship of writing poetry. It is such a challenge.

The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire.

Throat clutching from the outset! The Never List stands as a sterling example of psychological thriller writing at its best. Cancel appointments and give up on sleep. It's that kind of book.