Oh, this book was a doozy to write! It challenged me more than any other I’ve written because I wanted to do the subject matter justice.
There are a lot of people who helped me along the way.
This book’s first and biggest cheerleader was my agent of almost 14 years, Ger Nichol, who saw something in the fairly ropey earlier drafts and encouraged me to keep digging and teasing out this storyline. She gave me faith in the book and in myself as a writer when I was struggling to find it myself and I am incredibly grateful.
Also encouraging and cheering, and holding my hand through the scary bits, was my editor Helen Huthwaite whose faith in my writing is massively appreciated, as is her keen eye and her ability to push me to make a book the best it can be.
Along with Phoebe Morgan, who is taking over the reins while Helen is on maternity leave, I know that I have the best editorial team in the world behind me.
So love and thanks to all at Avon and Harper Collins Ireland for all the incredible work they do behind the scenes to get my books looking great, onto shelves and into people’s hearts. Their enthusiasm and dedication is second to none. A special mention to Claire Pickering who has once again made the copy-editing process a relatively painless one.
To my police sources, who offered information on police procedure in such cases, including my sister-in-law Inspector Penny Jones of the Cheshire Police, and Karen – thank you for your guidance.
Also thanks to those lovely Twitter people who offered me advice on autopsies and the release of remains in ongoing criminal cases.
Any mistakes in the above are mine and mine alone.
To sell books, authors need booksellers and huge thanks to all those who get behind my titles and support me and this industry. In particular, love and thanks to Jenni at Little Acorns, Dave at No Alibis, Bob (the giver of the BEST hugs) at the Gutter Bookshop and the team in Eason, Foyleside. Thanks also to the supermarket buyers who put my books front and centre.
Heidi Murphy of WH Smith in Ireland has been a huge support to me, and happened to mention that you don’t get many Heidis in books these days. So I’m delighted to have named a character after her in this book.
To my writer friends who have just been amazing and who fully understand how insane this business can be, thank you. You have gone above and beyond. Thank you in particular to John Marrs, Louise Beech, Rowan Coleman, Liz Nugent, Cally Taylor, Sheila O’Flanagan and Brian McGilloway.
Special thanks to Jane Casey and Alex Barclay who took time out of their hectic lives to read this.
Special thanks to my best writing pal, Fionnuala Kearney who did most of the tea-pouring, and wine-pouring, and Diet Coke providing, and listening and hugging. And thanks to her husband Aidan for allowing me to steal his wife every now and again and to the wider Kearney family who always make me feel welcome when I visit the Claire Allan Suite.
To all the journalists and book bloggers who provide invaluable support and who take part in blog tours and offer reviews. You are amazingly generous with your time and praise and I am forever grateful. Special love to Mairead at Swirl & Thread and Margaret Bonass Madden at Bleachhouse Library.
To the friends who have held my hand, Julie-Anne, Vicki, Carey Ann, Erin, Catherine – thank you.
To my readers, Facebook followers, Twitter pals – thank you so much. Our chats and interaction help to make a very isolated profession a lot more bearable. Thanks in particular to Sam Missingham for invaluable industry support and advice.
And lastly to my family who are my everything. Mum and Dad, Peter, Eavan, Lisa, Mark, Emma, Niall, Abby, Ethan, Darcy, Arya, Thomas and Finn – thank you. To my husband, Neil, thank you for giving me the time and space to live my dream. To my children, Joe and Cara – everything is for you both. You are the greatest loves of my life. And to the two frankly disinterested cats, and the one very interested and amazingly cute puppy, Izzy, thanks for the cuddles.