Louise Phillips has opened up about why she feels her novel The Hiding Game was a “risk”.
The author, who is nominated for Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards, told Her how she felt she was “starting from scratch” with her latest book.
Explaining that it was a “huge relief” when she heard her book had been shortlisted, the award-winning author continued:
“It was something very different; I didn’t know how well it would be received.
“And there were a lot of times when I was writing it that I was filled with all those writer-y doubts about it…so when it got published last month, and then it was shortlisted, it felt like a strong affirmation that people who are in the industry respect the story and what I’ve done with it.
“It was a huge relief, and in another way, it was highly complimentary. I think, because I had taken a risk with this novel – although it’s still psychological crime fiction, it’s very different [from my previous work] as it’s not based in Ireland; it’s not based on criminal psychology, it’s based on a legal thriller in the US. It was a risk.
“But it was fantastic when I heard [I was shortlisted], it was the best news.”
The book follows Abby Jones, a young nanny from the town of Corham -which is just south-east of Boston – who is on trial, accused of fatally harming an infant in her care.
Defence attorney Heather Baxter, who is from the same small town, sets out to prove her innocence. She knows the case isn’t as clear-cut as the Assistant District Attorney claims – and the stakes only get higher, with the media attention focused squarely on the trial and Corham.
As Heather digs into Abby’s case, the shadows of her own past – and those surrounding the unsolved murder of her mother Elizabeth 25 years earlier – begin to surface.
Louise explained how the inspiration for the gripping courtroom thriller came from “a few different places.”
She said:
“The story is very loosely based on the Louise Woodward trial, which was a trial back in Boston in the late ‘90s.
“It was where a British nanny was accused of harming a child in her care.
“I suppose it was a true story that never really left me because, obviously, it was hugely emotional – I was a young mum at the time myself, and you’re just thinking of the loss of an infant, which would change everything.
“Emotions are really high. That trial never really left my head.”
She explained that when she began to come up with ideas for The Hiding Game, she was keen to write a book which would be set outside of Ireland.
And she told how she drew on her own family’s experiences for the novel.
She continued:
“I think, in part, I was also influenced by the fact that I lost two siblings.
“My sister, I lost when I was aged four. She was only a few days old. We always told the family that she died due to cot death – she was in hospital at the time, but she was five days old.
“So, I think my mother’s true life story and the trial of Louise Woodward fused together in this fictional story that had quite an emphasis on women.
“Women who may have gone through difficult times in their life, whether it’s Abby, the young girl on trial; Heather Baxter, having lost her mother; or Elizabeth Baxter, the voice of Heather’s mother.
“I wanted, in some way, to walk that pathway of all the emotional difficulties. But to do it in such a way that it was presented as…women, you know, there are times in life where we can be quite fragile because of what life throws at us. But there’s other times we’re extremely strong.
“The same can go for men. But because the book dealt with losing a mother, and then a mother losing a baby – all those interconnections, it circled that feminine emotional lifecycle for me.”
The author weighed in on what she thinks it is about the crime genre that draws readers in so much.
She said:
“I think it’s just that basic obsession; in some ways, when people read crime fiction, they’re exploring a lot of issues that they can explore within the safety of a book.
“I think we love solving puzzles. I think this whole thing of, ‘whodunnit’ or why did they do it – even if you know the killer straight out, why did they do it.
“It comes from this fascination with humanity, and the darker side of [humanity]. I do think the solving of the mystery, either ‘why’ or ‘who’ did it, is part of it.”
She added that she reckons crime documentaries and dramas on telly have exposed readers to the genre “quite a lot”.
Louise continued:
“But within that, there’s a safety in the navigation: most times, the bad person is brought down. The good person, they survive – even if they have a few scratches, they come out the other side.
“I think it’s a combination of solving the mystery and the fascination with the darker side of humanity.
“And in crime fiction, you often find ordinary people put into extraordinary circumstances – you can relate to some of the characters. You can put yourself in their position, and wonder ‘how would I behave if that happened to me?’
“There’s a huge arena of empathy, understanding and fear – all of those human emotions that come into play.”
Louise Phillips is nominated for Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards for her book ‘The Hiding Game’. You can vote for your favourite at anpostirishbookawards.ie.
