Clean Cut

June 2008 Book of the Month.

A welcome return to detectives Travis and Langton. This is turning in to an excellent series with great characterisation and plot lines. Do read Lynda’s letter to our readers about where she gets her inspiration from and make sure you read this fantastic thriller an readiness for the next instalment later in the year.

A letter from Lynda La Plante to our readers.....

Dear Lovereading members,

I’m honoured to have my latest thriller, Clean Cut selected by Lovereading as your June Book of the Month. Each year I write a thriller novel, published by Simon & Schuster. The most recent of these is a series of novels featuring D.I. Anna Travis as the heroine. Clean Cut is a particular favourite of mine and I like to think that Anna has hit her stride and become a character to rival Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect.

In addition to this I have written Trial and Retribution and The Commander for ITV. With a new television series underway, it is not surprising that I am often asked 'where do all your ideas come from?

The truth is I am inspired by real life; so often fact is stranger than fiction. Newspaper articles provide me with a lot of the fuel for my imagination. Once you have the catalyst for that creative spark, it can take you into a whole new territory to research and develop.

I recently read an article about a woman who had eight different personalities. The news piece explained how she had built these very different characters to 'protect' herself and give her the strength to continue living an acceptable life after horrendous child abuse. Each one was a very clearly defined personality, from strong to aggressive to shy and introverted etc. Each one had a different name and she even had a wardrobe filled with clothes and wigs that suited the different personalities.

I began to question this as a plot for a thriller. What if one of these personalities became a witness to a murder? The ideas then begin to emerge: when interviewed by the police a statement is taken from a woman calling herself ‘Miranda’ and she is clearly a very valuable eye witness, having seen the perpetrator kill his victim. I then start to unravel, from the police perspective, the information that their perfect witness is in actual fact diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. Can they use ‘Miranda’ or would her condition make it impossible for her to be a prosecution witness? It becomes a fascinating scenario and dilemma upon which to base a story, however it is crucial for me to back these ideas up with detailed and thorough research. I will therefore interview numerous physiologists and gain an insight into ‘Miranda's’ condition. The reality is, it would be extremely difficult for the detectives to use her eyewitness statements in court but for me it is a fascinating premise for a new 'thriller'.

I have just finished the next Anna Travis novel, Deadly Intent, to be published later this year. I hope that Clean Cut will satisfy everyone’s expectations – I think every single Lovereading reader, whether they’re already Anna Travis fans or new to the series, will enjoy it very much.

With best wishes

Lynda La Plante