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" For most of us, our protective lies or omissions are so insignificant that being found out would be only mildly embarrassing. But for some of us, our secret may threaten to destroy everything. And that is food and drink to a novelist. "

Fiona Barton

Destroy

Secret

Food

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" It's a wonderful experience to be reading a story and think you've got things all figured out, and then suddenly, it all goes upside-down on you. "

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" When I first became a journalist, people said, 'Oh, that must be interesting.' They saw it as slightly glamorous, slightly edgy. They wanted to know more. "

" It was this fascination with hidden lives, I suspect, that led me to journalism; seeking to uncover the truth about people became a job. "

" A lot of people think journalists are criminals, and there are some who haven't helped us. But the media is essential for democratic society. "

Fiona Barton

Some

Media

" When you think about it, psychological thrillers often involve extraordinary events happening to ordinary people. "

" I can't think whether I've actually interviewed the widow of a crime suspect. Obviously, I've interviewed members of the families of people who've been accused of things. "

" When you are a journalist, you are always looking for the next story. It might come from a phone call from a contact or an unanswered question you spot in someone else's article. "

" The unsaid is a powerful tool. It invites the reader into the narrative, filling in gaps, interpreting silences and half-finished sentences, and seeing the hidden fear in someone's eye. "

" As a journalist, your words are regularly read by lots of people, but they're not your words: they're someone else's. You're quoting people. "

" I like my villains clever, deep, and driven by pure evil. "

Fiona Barton

Clever

Evil

" The imagination is such as powerful tool: suggestion is all you need. People fill in gaps. "

" As a reporter, I spent a great deal of time in court. During brief breaks in testimony, I would often look at the spouse, usually the wife, of the accused. I began to wonder how listening to the details of a crime purportedly committed by your spouse would affect that person's view of her husband. "

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