What makes author Lynda la Plante tick, plus a hot new read

Bestselling British author Lynda La Plante races against the clock

HER fast-paced novels have earned her a legion of devoted fans, and their hit TV adaptations have won her many awards, including Emmys and Baftas.

Lynda La Plante, author of almost 40 page-turners, crafts plots that are so convincing she remains the only layperson ever to have been made a fellow of the Forensic Science Society, an international body based in the UK.

Lynda is best known for her Prime Suspect series featuring kick-ass detective Jane Tennison (originally played by actress Helen Mirren in the TV version). And at 74 she’s still cranking out bestsellers.

Her latest offering, Good Friday, takes us back to the early days of Tennison’s career in the ’70s during the height of the IRA bombings in Britain.

The much-loved crime writer divides her time between London and New York. In this fun interview she reveals what makes her tick.

10 words to sum up your working life to date

1 Exciting 2 Fascinating 3 Educational 4 Heartbreaking 5 Funny 6 Exhausting 7 Achievement 8 Professionalism 9 Dedication 10 Grateful

Nine minutes to prepare a meal. What’s it going to be?

Eggs Benedict. I could eat this every day.

Eight things you can see from where you’re sitting

1 Native American paintings 2 Zebra heads (china ones) 3 Lamp with a lion’s head base 4 A monkey puppet 5 Life-size Jack Russell dogs 6 Bookcases crammed with books 7 The most incredible view of a bay 8 The tracks of my son’s motorbike, which have destroyed my beautiful lawn

Seven people you’d like to go for a drink with?

1 American actor Marlon Brando 2 French designer Coco Chanel 3 SA president Nelson Mandela 4 US singer Elvis Presley 5 British prime minister Winston Churchill 6 French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte 7 Austrian-born inventor and actress Hedy Lamarr

Six things you can’t live without

1 Gin and tonic 2 Kettle crisps 3 My computer 4 Pinot grigio 5 Lobster 6 My son, Lorcan

Five favourite words

1 F**k off 2 Lovely 3 Sorry 4 Delicious 5 No

Four places you’d run away to

1 Necker Island (tycoon Richard Branson’s island in the Caribbean) 2 Lipari (Italian island off the northern coast of Sicily) 3 Hawaii 4 Egypt

Three books you’ve bought recently

1 The Late Show, by Michael Connelly – I love all his books. 2 Ripper, by Patricia Cornwell – her research is astonishing. 3 Sweet Little Lies, by Caz Frear – I read it in one sitting.

Two things that make you rant

1 TV commissioners 2 Parking tickets!

One thing you’d tell your teenage self

Don’t sign anything that has the words “in perpetuity” attached to it! Get a good lawyer.