Worthing author offers dark psychological thriller

Lucy, aged 32, said: “How can she find him when she has no idea who he is? The murderer could be anyone, anywhere – and he could even be in her life already. It’s an emotional book about grief, guilt and the fear that sometimes the people we meet really could be too good to be true...

“I adore the tension and suspense of psychological thrillers, and at its core, The Edge is about paranoia: how well do we really know the people around us? Whether it’s a younger sister we should have spoken to more, a colleague, a neighbour, or a housemate, there will always be grey areas in people that we fill in for ourselves and hope that we’re right about. The Edge tells the reader exactly what this grey area could be – a murderous intent – and then sits back, letting the reader stew in the claustrophobic paranoia of friendly characters who could be anything but. If you like to be kept guessing, this book is for you! Although The Edge isn’t exclusively aimed at women, I think female readers will strongly relate to the themes within the book – especially in this horrible era of news when there are so many stories of women murdered by their partners and predatory strangers.

“Growing up, a lot of the crime fiction bestsellers seemed to force women into the ultimate non-speaking victim role: a dead body on the pathologist’s table where the most important thing about them was the trauma they’d endured. The Edge flips this trope, presenting victims’ voices instead of their bodies, where the clues are scattered within their stories and in their own words, rather than swabbed from their wounds. Their lives are the important part, not their deaths.

“Although the plot is very different, The Edge is inspired by serial killer Ted Bundy: the monster who could gain women’s trust because he didn’t look like what we assume a monster to be. While watching a documentary about him, I found myself wondering what it would take to get me in his car. Would an arm in a sling work? What if he pretended to know my family? What if we met in a meet-cute scenario and it seemed like a budding romance? These thoughts worked themselves into The Edge where the reader is presented with several likeable men who say and do likeable things – but the more likeable they are, the less we trust them.

"The heavy emotions in The Edge were difficult to write at times, but creating the claustrophobic atmosphere of fear and paranoia was a dream. I love a good whodunit mystery so being in control of so many twists, turns and surprises was hugely satisfying, particularly now that I’ve heard from enough readers to know that they worked. Every writer’s ultimate goal is for their readers to enjoy their books – but for me, tricking them is an even better feeling! As a local myself, I hope other Worthing residents will enjoy the scenes set along the coast in Brighton.”

The Edge is a stand-alone novel and Lucy’s debut.

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