books similar to finlay donovan is killing it

It occurred to me that she was probably eavesdropping and had (understandably) misunderstood the nature of our conversation.įrom there, the basic premise of the story was born - a down-on-her-luck suspense novelist is discussing the plot of her latest book with her agent over lunch when she’s overheard by a woman who mistakes Finlay for a contract killer and offers her $50,000 to dispose of her problem husband. We were brainstorming through a scene I was drafting, which happened to involve a particularly violent murder and questions over what to do with the body, when the woman at the table beside us seemed very concerned. The idea for Finlay Donovan came to me in a crowded Panera in 2017, while I was having a working lunch with two of my longtime critique partners. I love writing about adults like Finlay Donovan because she is rediscovering herself, experiencing new firsts as she is rewriting her life story.įinlay is such a fun, interesting character. I love writing about young adults because they are experiencing so many firsts, discovering who they are. I’m asking all the same questions of my characters-who are you at the beginning of the story, and who do I need you to become by the end? What are your fears? What are your secrets? What do you most desire?įor me, the only difference between YA and adult books is the lens of life experience the story is narrated through. My process of creating character arcs and exploring themes doesn’t change with the age of my protagonist. In my experience, it’s very much the same. I think a lot of people assume that the process of crafting books for adults versus young adults is vastly different.

How does writing YA compare to writing an adult book? My favorite was a personal guided tour of the Northern Regional Forensics Lab in Manassas, Virginia (the same one that appears in my novels Nearly Found and Finlay Donovan is Killing It ).įinlay Donovan is Killing It is your first book for adults.

Those hands-on experiences carried me through many of my novels - which I’m even more grateful for now, since COVID has made it increasingly difficult to leave the house for research - but these workshops also gave me the confidence to seek out research opportunities on my own. A ride-along at the Writers’ Police Academy

Books similar to finlay donovan is killing it