A past Chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), Margaret Murphy has published nine internationally acclaimed psychological thrillers under her own name, and two forensic series under pseudonyms. A Short Story Dagger and CWA Red Herring award winner, she has also been shortlisted for the ‘First Blood’ critics award and CWA Dagger in the Library. She has recently returned to writing under her own name with Before He Kills Again just published by Joffe Books.
Margaret, how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?
M: Thanks so much for inviting me! I’d usually have a cold, crisp glass of white wine, but as it’s a special occasion, and in deference to the psychoanalytic psychotherapist in my new novel, could I have a Freudian Slip, please?
Wonderful – I never knew there was so many different cocktails but I love the idea of this one! So where did we first meet in real life?
M: At Morecambe & Vice crime festival, September 2019, though we’d been online buddies for some time.
That was such a lovely festival. First impressions?
M: Wow, what a warm greeting! I have a bad memory for faces, and for a second, I was mentally scrambling to recall where we’d met before. Unless we really had met before . . ?
Yes I thought we’d met before but maybe the years on Twitter just make it feel that way. Points in common?
M: I love the research process because it sparks so many ideas for setting, character and plot; I imagine that, as a journalist, you do, too? And we’ve both written about the vulnerability of sex workers. Before He Kills Again features a predator who targets street prostitutes, as does your first Hannah Weybridge novel, Dancers in the Wind.
It does. Tell me more about Before He Kills Again.
M: It has just been published by Joffe Books, and I’m really hoping it will become a new series. A serial rapist is on the prowl in Liverpool: the “Furman” has taken seven victims so far – mostly working girls. DC Cassie Rowan, working undercover, has gained their trust, but the investigation stalls, and the next victim turns up dead. After a TV appeal yields a name, Rowan is convinced that he is the attacker and tracks him down to psychotherapist Alan Palmer. He has recently returned to work to after a devastating mistake which led to his young daughter witnessing a mentally scarring tragedy. He resists Rowan’s rather tactless attempts to elicit his help, and she finds herself at odds with both Palmer and her bosses. Can she find the Furman before he kills again?
Sounds like a great basis for a new series. What are you working on now?
M: I’ve just completed the third of the Detective Jeff Rickman books – a series I’d actually set aside for many years. Joffe Books are relaunching the first two (See Her Burn and See Her Die) and will publish the third later this year. I’m delighted to return to Jeff and his team: Scouse scally, DS Lee Foster; cool, sharply observant DC Naomi Hart; and slow-but-steady Lancastrian, Chris Tunstall – it was like meeting up with family after a long absence.
I love how our characters get under our skin like that. No Morecambe this year but what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?
M: I’d love this to be a more informal round-table discussion over a meal and drinks, if that can be arranged? I mentioned after reading your interview with Victoria Dowd that Jeffery Deaver should be there – he’s a charming man, a brilliant writer, and widely read, as well as read widely. Richard Montanari, would be on my guest list, too: his books are always so different and the premise of his stories very inventive. Added to this, they often they have delicious film references, and I’d love to talk film with him. Patricia Highsmith, because she’s a supreme psychological writer, and to my mind, the originator of the serial killer genre. Her insights into the psychopathic mind are also chillingly authentic, so I might pick up a few tips. When I taught creative writing, I’d often turn to Margaret Atwood’s novels to inspire students to write compelling characters that lived and breathed in their readers’ imaginations. She has such a broad spectrum of interests, including popular fiction, and a ready, dry wit, that I’m sure she’d keep us spellbound. She also has a cocktail named for her: the Margarita Atwood – which would be the perfect ice-breaker!
Brillaint. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?
M: Go EVERYWHERE! I’ve had to shield during the lockdown, because of an underlying health condition, and was sent increasingly doomy texts by the government, warning of the dire consequences of face to face contact and imploring me to stay indoors, so I’m going quietly stir crazy! So, I’ll be going places, seeing wide skies and meeting with friends – one of whom conveniently lives on a cliff top in Cornwall, so I can combine the two.
One thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?
M: My first degree was in environmental biology, so nature and the environment are always on my mind. I’ve made my garden a wildlife haven over the years, with hedges, bird feeding stations and bee & butterfly friendly plants. It’s been a haven to me, too, during lockdown, and so encouraging to see the variety and numbers of butterflies this year (though I wish they would lay off my brassicas!). I’ve done fundraising in the past for a couple of wildlife charities, but I’d like to take that further by doing some hands-on volunteer work.
That sounds wonderful, Margaret, and I look forward to hearing more about your garden when we next meet in person. Thank you for joining me today.
Find out more about Margaret’s books here and she’s always up for a natter on Twitter @murphy_dyer
