Everyday psychopaths: Kelli Hawkins

Writing a crime thriller marks the author as a slightly suspicious person; perhaps even a downright shady one – or so I’ve recently discovered. My debut novel, Other People’s Houses, was released in March and I’ve lost count of the number of friends and family – even strangers – who’ve asked how, and why, I …

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Vanda Symon – pharmacist, fencer and NZ crime queen

After a six-month hiatus, Murder Mondays are back, but with a difference. The one-on-one author interviews which proved so popular during last year’s pandemic won’t be weekly this time round. They’ll be monthly but national co-convenor (and author), Karina Kilmore, will still be the one asking the tough questions. This month, Karina put fellow-Kiwi, Vanda …

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Zipping on the zeitgeist: Q&A with Meg Mundell

The Trespassers, Meg Mundell’s first foray into crime fiction, is presciently set during a global pandemic, and tracks the deprivations and fears of passengers sailing from London to Melbourne as new infections break out on board. It won Sisters in Crime’s 20th Davitt Award (Best Crime Novel). Meg talked to Janice Simpson about how this …

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Surviving the odds: Q&A with Elizabeth Flann

How does a woman alone on a remote island and running out of food escape the men hunting her? Elizabeth Flann’s debut novel, Beware of Dogs (HarperCollins), explores what happens with Robyn Walton.   A warm welcome to your first novel, Elizabeth. Your bio tells us you have a background in publishing, literature, and film? …

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The Creative Leap – Sarah Thornton

Looking back, the leap seems inconceivable. But when the notion first arrived I could not ignore it. I’d taken up law as a second career in my thirties. It was challenging, stimulating, sometimes thrilling, ultimately lucrative and I thrived on it. But twenty years on it had lost its lustre. I wasn’t even sure what I …

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Seeking justice through the crime novel : Q&A with Robin Gregory

Sisters in Crime’s Vice-President, Robyn Walton, spoke to Robin Gregory about her debut crime novel, Traffic (Clan Destine Press).  Hello Robin. Is Traffic your first publication? And what led you to choose crime fiction? Thanks for the opportunity, Robyn. In relation to the first half of your question, I self-published a thriller called Novice Death …

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Place in crime – Sandi Wallace

When we pick up a crime novel, we have expectations. Perhaps we anticipate that it will have a serious crime, or a memorable, possibly larger-than-life central character … or two or three. We may want high stakes, something surprising yet credible, or a story packed with rising conflict, making it powerful and urgent. But what …

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