Interview

Minette Walters talks about her life, her work and why she has never chosen to write a series based on one character.

Where did your interest in crime come from?
Two things really. Reading Grimm's Fairy Tales as a child. It's all about baddies getting their come-uppance and wicked stepmothers being rolled down the hill. Then there was the James Hanratty A6 murder case in the 1950s. (involving a man hanged for a murder that many thought he didn't commit). To hang someone with the level of doubt that existed in that case, it was so dreadful. He was one of the last people to be hanged in Britain. I was only about nine or 10-years-old then. But I was absolutely fascinated.

Why did you pick a psychological thriller as your first book?
I have always been fascinated by the challenge that crime fiction represents to an author. I wanted to know if I could carry an intricate plot for 100,000 words, and keep readers guessing, while I was portraying characters under considerable tension.

Why don't you have a series character?
I'm always asked why I chose not to create a series character like Poirot or Rebus, but I was never interested in creating a series character because I wanted to be free to tackle whatever I wanted, when I wanted, without being shackled to a particular person or place.

Of the books you ...