KARIN SLAUGHTER
The US crime novelist has sold 40 million books and now publishes a new stand-alone thriller
After 21 novels, has the writing process become easier?
It would make sense that the more you do something, the easier it gets, but writing books is the exact opposite. I always want to do something new and exciting. If it’s easy, then probably I’m doing it wrong.
You’ve sold 40 million books, why do you think people are so keen on reading crime?
I think every human being has a fear of being vulnerable. Crime taps into that.
Is there a book that made you love writing?
Flannery O’Connor (the US author whose posthumously compiled Complete Stories won the 1972 National Book Award for Fiction) was the singular biggest influence in my writing life. I still aspire to her talent.
What’s the best book you’ve read?
There is no way to answer that question, because books are interactive – you bring yourself to them. So different books hit you different ways at different times.
A book that had a pivotal impact on your life?
When I discovered the Ripley books (by Patricia Highsmith), I understood what good crime writing could look like.
The book you couldn’t finish?
Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Anyone who says they love this is a liar and we cannot be friends. Sorry, but that’s how it is.
A book you wish you had read but haven’t got to?
I’m saving all the Harry Potters to read when I retire.
The book you are most proud to have written?
Girl, Forgotten but that is because I always feel the proudest of my latest book.
What book do you re-read?
On Mystery and Manners, where Flannery O’Connor talks about writing. There’s always something new to learn.
What books are on your bedside table?
The Book of Sand by Theo Clare, Things we do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier, Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger and Find Me by Alafair Burke.
What are you writing next?
My next book for 2023 will be a new book in the Will Trent series.