Crime Time asked me to contribute a few words about the writing of The Secrets We Keep.

Read all about why I decided to ignore the sacred mantra: “Don’t mention the pandemic!”

It’s a mantra I suspect most authors writing in a contemporary context have repeated to themselves over the past few years - and with good reason. After all, it’s not a period any reader looks back on with fond memories. Every reminder of the two-metre rule, the ban on gatherings and an hour’s daily allotted exercise - to say nothing of the immense human cost - takes us back to a place most of us would rather not revisit.