This episode is a special one — Linwood Barclay returns to talk about Not a Word, a family secrets thriller that opens with a horrific discovery and spirals into a story spanning three generations, inspired in part by the real-life opioid scandal in North America. We talk about why the book was originally titled The Pond, his rule that a twist has to land at the end of a chapter or it loses its punch, and his refreshingly no-nonsense take on writer's block ("there's no plumber's block"). Linwood also explains why his dream writing location is just... upstairs from his kitchen, and delivers a very firm verdict on cookie dunking.
Before that, a spoiler-free look at three very different things I've been reading and watching:
The Distance, Ben Norris — a play performed almost entirely on a treadmill at the Edinburgh Fringe, and just as gripping to read as it clearly was to watch
A Schooling in Murder, Andrew Taylor — a wartime boarding school murder mystery that needed a slow, immersive start (audiobook helped) before I couldn't put it down
Fruit Fly, Josh Silver — raw, dark, and not for the cosy crime crowd; one that's stayed with me since
Featured book:
Not a Word, Linwood Barclay
This episode is available as video on Apple Podcasts — watch it here.
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