My students often ask me what makes a good story. ‘Throw a dead body in there,’ is my answer. ‘A dead body never fails to make the story more interesting.’ Flippant yes, but an accurate narrative of my reading life.
Crime novels have been the home town of my life. I occasionally challenge myself to read something outside of the genre, but I come back to crime every time. Like others, I find crime writing, even at its darkest, to be reassuring. It’s not just the crime though, it’s the relationships and the plotting and the characters being built – those are what draw me back time and time again.
I hope you’ll feel the same way after reading the Vida Henrikson series – she’s a character I can come home to.
Shortlisted for the Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award 2018.
Forensic Linguist, Vida Henrikson, finds her professional life on the line when she’s asked to look into the suicide of the daughter of a high-profile businessman. Delving reluctantly into the case, she uncovers a horrifying truth which leads her straight into the path of a killer.
Will Vida be able to identify the killer before they strike again? Or will the next identification be her body?
freyawolfe.com 