A Place Of Her Own

There’s a new Tana French (right) novel on the way, although the bad news is that we’ll have to wait until August to see THE SECRET PLACE (Hodder & Stoughton). What’s it all about? Quoth Tana:

Q: What are you working on now?

A: “I’m partway through my fifth book, which is currently called The Secret Place. The narrator this time is Stephen Moran, Frank’s young sidekick from Faithful Place. Frank’s daughter, Holly, now sixteen, shows up at Stephen’s work with a postcard she found on the noticeboard where girls in her school can post their secrets anonymously —a postcard with a photo of a murdered teenage boy, and the caption ‘I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.’ And this time Frank does come back …”

  For the rest of the interview, clickety-click here …

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 1,098: Patricia Rainsford

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Hard choice but probably DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND, by Dennis Lehane.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
To be honest I watch TV for guilty pleasure – would you be shocked if I told you I watch Charmed sometimes?
Most satisfying writing moment?
Always when I get to the place where the writing starts to have a momentum of its own.
The best Irish crime novel is ...?
THE THIRD POLICEMAN by Flann O’Brien.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
THE THIRD POLICEMAN.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Just like in life – the worst thing is being misunderstood. The best – being understood.
The pitch for your next novel is ...?
“War, huh, yeah – what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, say it again ...”
Who are you reading right now?
Lillian Hellman.
The three best words to describe your own writing are ...?
Too embarrassing, sorry! (That’s three words - will it do?)

Patricia Rainsford’s A SECRET PLACE is released in paperback on February 28