Quick Summary
My writing began with poetry in Oxford. Then I worked at a solicitors firm and later in a Government Research Department. Both jobs taught me how truth grows from small facts. That habit shaped Shady Encounters, my debut thriller about Kate, Sara and Lucy.
Introduction
Readers often ask where my plots come from. The honest answer is quiet watching. If you enjoy psychological Encounters suspense fiction books, you likely spot small details too. A wrong date can nag at you for chapters. I am no detective, so you will not find a manual here. Instead, I will show you how two ordinary jobs shaped one debut. So let me start where my eye for detail began.
Why Psychological Encounters Suspense Fiction Books Start With Small Facts
My first job was at a respected firm of solicitors in Oxford. The Head of Chambers was also the coroner. A coroner must explain a death. And an explanation needs proof.
I never did the investigating myself. That was not my role. Instead, I watched. Month by month, I saw a case grow from scraps. One fact leaned on the next. Nothing arrived with a bang.
Watching Is Not the Same as Investigating
Some people think I trained as an investigator before I wrote Danger Encounters investigative thriller books. I did not. But I stood close enough to see the work done. That taught me plenty. Now I hand you the pieces as they come. Then you decide what they add up to. A twist should feel like something you could have noticed.
Why a Danger and Suspense Fiction Book Needs a Researcher’s Habits
Later, I joined a Government Research Department. The job sounded simple. You take a tangled issue and dig until it makes sense. In practice, you sort your pile into two heaps. One holds what you can show. The other holds what you only suspect.
How the Habit Shapes My Plots
I still sort every plot that way. Which character can prove a claim? Which one is bluffing? A plot needs that doubt, I think. It slows my writing down. Yet it keeps me fair to you.
Two Sons, Two Helpers and a Lot of Loyalty
I raised my two sons mostly on my own. My parents-in-law, Milly and Ed, helped me through it. From them I learned what loyalty and courage look like on an ordinary day. I also learned what it costs to bounce back.
Why Friendship Takes Time on the Page
Those themes follow me onto every page. When Kate and Sara hit trouble, I ask who would stay beside them. That is why I give the two friends time together first. After all, you will not care when a bond cracks unless you believed in it. Believing takes pages. So I try not to rush them. Is that slow? Sometimes. Still, I think it pays off.
Real Stakes Behind Page-Turning Shady Encounters Thriller Books
Shady Encounters is my debut. Kate Taylor and Sara Mansfield are criminology graduates. They are about to join the Criminal Investigation Department. But first, they take a farewell trip to Prague and then Hong Kong. In Prague, they meet Lucy. She escaped a trafficking network that tempts people with jobs that do not exist. From there, the chase runs between the two cities.
Prague and Hong Kong look nothing alike. So I let each city press on the women in its own way.
Treating Lucy With Care
Real people live through what Lucy lived through. Because of that, I spent months studying how these networks work. I also studied how survivors rebuild their lives. I wanted to treat her with care. If you like page-turning Shady Encounters thriller books, I hope you find the pace quick. Still, I did not want speed to flatten her. Did I get every detail right? I worked hard to. But I cannot promise perfection.
What I Hope You Notice
When you read, watch the small stuff. Look for an odd gap in someone’s story. Or a detail that changes size from one scene to the next. I leave those where you can find them. Some lead somewhere, and some do not. After all, real cases are messy. So if a detail nags at you, go back and look again.
Links I Never Meant to Make
You may even catch a link I never meant to make. I like that. A book should leave a little room for you to work.
How a Chapter Gets Planned, Then Derailed
I write early in the morning, when nobody needs anything from me yet. First, I plan every chapter. Then my characters push back against the plan. Sometimes a chapter ends up somewhere I never mapped. And I follow it.
Labels Come Later
I do not think about labels while I draft. If you later call the result a danger and suspense fiction book, I will happily take it. While writing, I only ask one thing. Does the next scene stay true to these people?
Where Else My Stories Wander
If you are browsing popular Shady Encounters fiction books and wonder what else I have written, my site lists two more titles. Jessica’s Journey and Climate Change follows a history teacher named Jessica and her friend Josie. Life’s Pebbled Path is a three-generation story that starts in World War I.
Quick Answers for Curious Readers
Did poetry lead you into crime fiction?
Poems came first, when I was young. Then crime came after my work at the solicitors’ firm and the research office. I would not claim a straight line between the two. Still, poems taught me to look closely. And the jobs taught me what to look for.
When do you do your writing?
Early in the morning. I plan each chapter ahead. But I leave room for the characters to surprise me. They do, often.
Do Kate and Sara already work for the CID?
Not yet. They are criminology graduates about to start. The trip comes first. Then Lucy changes everything about it.
Does Shady Encounters belong with psychological Encounters suspense fiction books?
I think so, though you should judge for yourself. The story follows two friends and a woman who escaped a trafficking network. The tension rests on who can prove what. It also rests on who is afraid of what.
Why do loyalty and courage matter so much in your books?
I raised my two sons mostly on my own. Milly and Ed, my parents-in-law, helped me. So I saw those qualities up close. Resilience matters to me for the same reason. That is why I put it into Kate and Sara’s friendship.
Before You Go
If psychological Encounters suspense fiction books are your next read, start with Kate, Sara and Lucy. Head to my Books page to order Shady Encounters online. Then join the Readers’ List. You will hear first about new books and events. Also, you will get a free short story to try before you buy another.