As my third novel makes its way into the world, I’m still in absolute disbelief that my childhood dream of being a storyteller has become a reality.
My agent Kate Burke has been a constant support, adviser and friend. I wouldn’t be anywhere without her pulling my debut novel out of the slush pile and working her incredible editorial magic on it before sending me out to publishers. Thank you so much for your incisive advice, and for your ability to read my mind and make me laugh. And thank you to everyone at the brilliant Blake Friedmann Literary Agency – your hard work to support my career is appreciated more than I can explain (and I’m a writer!).
As always, thank you so much to the fantastic team at Penguin Michael Joseph. I am still so proud whenever I see that little penguin logo on the cover and spine of my books. Clio Cornish: you are a dream of an editor. Your notes never fail to make my writing shine and you just get me. Thank you also to Ella Watkins and Courtney Barclay, my publicist and marketer; Madeleine Woodfield for her support during the publication process; and Sarah Bance, Nick Lowndes and Emma Henderson for the exceptional copy-editing and making my book ready for publication.
The Confession Room felt like a slight steer away from my previous novels, which felt far more firmly rooted in the world of psychological thrillers, while this novel leans more heavily into crime, the trope of the ‘serial killer’, with sprinklings of horror. This led to the most challenging writing experience of my career so far, but I’m immensely proud of this novel.
I must give thanks to the man responsible for the catalyst of the idea for The Confession Room. I stumbled upon it as I read an article in Crime Magazine. A man named Allan Bridge had created a project in 1980s New York called The Apology Line. He left flyers around NYC with a number for an answering machine where people could leave anonymous apologies that until then had gone unsaid. And from there, the idea for The Confession Room was born. So, thanks to Allan Bridge and his wife, who created a podcast on the experiment in her late husband’s honour.
Turning to my friends: thank you to the VWG who never fail to amaze me: you are the most talented and inspiring group I’ve ever had the honour to be a part of, and this journey as a writer would be one hundred times harder without you beside me. Special thanks to Fíona Scarlett, Neema Shah and Daniel Aubrey for responding to my ‘anyone fancy coming with me to Iceland?’ message with a resounding, ‘Yes!’ I had the best time with you all. And, thank you to my Harrogate and festival companion Laure Van Rensburg for your brilliant plotting mind and for keeping me company on multiple train journeys from Kings Cross!
Thank you to my family for their constant and unwavering support. My parents always make me believe that anything is possible, and it is because of that, I feel able to keep pushing when writing feels insurmountably hard. I couldn’t physically write without my husband, Daniel, who wrangles the kids away from me when I need time during the day and spends many a night alone on the sofa while I hide away in my office. And, as you can tell from the dedication, my siblings mean the world to me. They spent their tweens and teens entertaining their baby sister with ridiculous games of make-believe, and for that I’m forever thankful. They have also grown into my closest friends who know me better than anyone. For a story that revolves around one woman’s love for her sister, I couldn’t dedicate this book to anyone else.
And finally, thank you to you, dear reader. Without you picking up my books and immersing yourselves into my imagination, I wouldn’t be able to tell stories at all. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do.