Five days, twenty strangers, eighty-four miles of whitewater and no way out. Today I am talking to bestselling thriller author Noelle W. Ihli about The Last to Drown, the book that has put me off whitewater rafting for life. Before that, three book reviews, and a swimming pool mystery I need your help with.
Three book reviews
A Knock at the Door by Louise Candlish (out 5 November). A three-year-old goes missing on a weekend break. Eighteen years later, a young woman arrives at the door claiming to be her. I thought I knew where this was going and I was wrong. This could be Louise's best book yet, and she will be joining me to talk about it in a few weeks.
The Angel of Death by Trevor Wood. The third DCI Jack Parker book. An anonymous killer in Newcastle is offering the terminally ill a dignified escape, while Jack tries to hide his own early onset dementia diagnosis. Superbly written crime with a fascinating lead, and now published by our friends at Orenda Books.
Wreck by Catherine Newman. I listened to this on audio while swimming and laughed out loud in the changing room. Funny in places, much more moving than I expected, and a family you want to sit with at the dining table. The narration is spot on.
Author interview: Noelle W. Ihli on The Last to Drown
The Last to Drown follows Kaia, recently widowed, on the rafting trip her husband always wanted to take. Seven years earlier a guide murdered a group of rafters on the same stretch of river, and the true crime community has never stopped asking questions. We talk about:
The family rafting trip in Idaho that gave her the idea, and why her guides were "slightly concerned" by her questions
Writing 500 to 1,000 words a day, and making herself sit there like a naughty child in time out
Why she cannot write on a plane or in an airport
Grief at the heart of the book, and the conversation with her husband that inspired it
Writing with real survivors in mind, and the line she will not cross
Being a true pantser who does not know how her characters will get out
Survival as a group effort and not something you do alone
Where to start with her books: The Last to Drown or Gray After Dark
The candy drawer that powers the words: peanut butter M&Ms and Twizzlers
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