My latest novel, The Wife Before Last, was published on 23rd May. Marcus, a former Stasi officer now criminally active in the UK, is about to learn that no-one is who they seem. A master of online disguise, he uses his abilities to scam money from unsuspecting women, but he discovers, there is a reason that history is full of vengeful goddesses. One woman with a disguise, a dark secret and an agenda of her own means he must run for his life – and not just from her.
My thanks to Matthew James Publishing for offering this opportunity. It was interesting when they asked me what inspired the novel. I realised, as so often, that it had spiralled out from an obscure thought. For me, it’s rare that a story-line presents itself in full and even rarer, that the inspiration provides the opening of the story. In this case, I had jotted down a comment made in a meeting at a previous place of work, regarding someone owing our company money under unusual circumstances. It mushroomed from there! I find most of my work develops a life of its own. A seed is planted and I wait to see what shape the tree will take. That’s life, isn’t it?
I think my novels are known for the occasionally labyrinthine nature of their plots! At the writers’ workshops I run, I have discussed my need to step back sometimes and draw a timeline, to help overcome what I call plot-knots. I believe stories have a certain organic life of their own. If you create believable characters and allow yourself to be absorbed into them, then they will sometimes be subject to the vagaries of life, or its changes of momentum. That is fine, as long as the logic isn’t lost; hence the timelines. It’s actually fun and a good challenge. Let’s put it this way – if the author gets misled, the reader gets a mystery!
Talking of labyrinths, a key element of part of the story is the dominance of the internet in so much of modern life. Marcus is more internet savvy than his criminal friends, establishing his connections and pursuing his activities mostly through that medium. His actions and success make him secretive, leading several lives, but he learns that while the online world is a treasure-chest full of opportunities, it can also be Pandora’s Box. I’m sure we’ve all found this at times. Just one example – dating websites are full of people looking to enter relationships for reasons other than romance. Social media opens doors too, and some should remain shut, as Marcus discovers. The all-pervasive influence of technology is shown as unavoidable, but a double-edged sword. One character, a female author, learns how the internet makes it so much easier to achieve fame, but hiding from its shrapnel leads her into isolation and danger.
While the novel examines a number of elements of modern society, it looks at some eternal themes which, for better or for worse, have stood the test of time. We see betrayal and revenge, sibling love and rivalry, the irresistible and often destructive power of sexual attraction, the battle between brute force and mental acuity. I should also add that my books all contain strong female characters, and this one is no exception!
Parts of this story was shaped by my travels, having lived in Germany, but the darkness that pervades some literature will also have impacted. I love the novels of Robert Harris and I guess reading them showed me how the post-World War Two period – a world traumatised and full of secrets which have only crept into the daylight as the decades have passed – is ripe with material for thrillers. As I mentioned before, a city like Berlin, with people literally divided by a wall, evokes a feeling of surrealism – I visited pre- and post-Wall. The COVID era, during which time I put part of this story together, added to that feeling of humanity divided. It’s ironic that prior to lockdown, I invented a bar near Camden Lock as a setting for part of the action, and called it Lockdown!
I think it will be fun for the reader to work out who is really whom in this novel. Who can you trust and who not? Will you find yourself siding with someone, only to want to see that character fall? How will you define the lesser of two evils? Will you want someone to succeed because you hate them less then someone else? I hope you enjoy it.
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